I'd love see MWP out there. ****, we're 0-3. Why not? His presence does seem to uplift the others around him. For the record guys, I don't think Kobe's done at all. I agree @therealdeal I think he looks great health wise. I just miss the explosion he had and the achilles injury took that away. He had some ridiculous dunks in 12-13. I think he's still figuring all of this out. He had a few shots that he just missed and only took 15 shots. But please, stop the three balls.
Man, that was a good read. Ding pulling no punches with Byron, calling him Kobe's biggest fanboy. I agree with his take on Kobe too, delusional if these are the shots he wants.
Yeah, he did. However, when he tweeted that out last year about 'Byron building a shrine' nearly everybody lost it; LOL!. Now, we're sitting here with the worst coach in the league, Kobe on his last legs hoisting contested 3's, and quite frankly, he looks far, far, removed from the Kobe we've all come to know and love the last 3 years. It's a complete mess. This whole dynamic (Kobe, Scott) need to move on next year. Hate to say it, but Kobe needs to retire, and Byron needs to be relieved from his duties as head coach. We need to wipe the slate clean, get a new head coach and head in a different direction entirely. Luke is getting much needed valuable experience, Thibs is probably already itching to go back to work. So, let's make this happen at the end of the season and move on completely.
I think most people (or at least me), were 1) trying to give it a chance and 2) knew how bad the overall roster was and just didn't expect much. You could see the pretty much never-ending leash that Byron gave Kobe but I overlooked it because of those factors. Now, we have talent. We have guys who can shoot. We have two guys who can set up and run the offense. Kobe doesn't have to do the bulk of the playmaking or scoring and he is still going hero mode out there. It all makes Byron's failure to reign him in much more glaring.
Agreed. There's also a stark contrast in the difference that Dirk got his shots last night and the difference in how Kobe got his looks and the quality of those looks. If Kobe's put in a more advantageous position to succeed, maybe we see higher efficiency numbers; nonetheless, if I'm the young guys, I try to learn as much as I can from 24 because I think Kobe knows he's limited on the court, he's tired, and quite frankly I think he sees the end nearing... Edit: Admittedly, he has said he sees the end nearing as well. I think he's gone by the end of the year, and I think deep down somewhere, even though he hasn't said anything and in fact said he'll take it one game at a time, I think he knows he's done at the end of the year...
Yeah. You can see it in his eyes and body language. I think we will still see some more big games from him, but this looks like the last run.
I don't think the Lakers would be going to this much trouble to honor his last season if they didn't feel like it was definitely his last. His legs are almost cooked (although he's got some life still to be effective if put in good positions), he looks tired mentally, and one thing Byron said kind of stuck out to me: Byron said Kobe never looked shaken as a rookie like he does now. I think the word he used was "frustrated". Byron said Kobe never got frustrated as a rookie, but he's been nothing but frustrated now for years. The sand in that hourglass is ticking away and it's definitely sad, but man I wish we'd have stronger people in the FO/coaching staff to tell him when/where to pick his spots anyway. I know we want him to go out on his terms, but his terms suck. Let's get him out on OUR terms which are beneficial to all of parties.
I do not think he's done, I think he can still scor effectively and efficiently. He's gonna be a mess defensively once we see him having to guard more dynamic 3s but not much you can do there. If we actually ran some sort of offensive system that put him in his best spots, he wouldn't look so bad. We keep giving him the ball on. The wing and he'll either launch a contested 3, dribble dribble pull up 3 or drive ever so slowly into a bunch of players. Get him in the post, let him work his footwork and smarts to get high percentage shots. I'd hate to see him go out like this if he's going to look like this for the rest of the season. He actually looks healthy this time around coming back from injury.
I refuse to believe Kobe won't figure this out. He has a perfect spot on the floor available to him with this squad. If only he will make the necessary adjustment. Hibbert is no offensive weapon. Randle is, but his whole game right now is taking it off the dribble. Clarkson is best on the perimeter. Russell is too. There is no one on the starting team that is a post threat... except Kobe. He also just happens to be one of the most skilled post players in the world. Get your old butt down in the post and start abusing the young pups who will be trying to guard you where they have no experience. Say "buh bye" to the three point shot and live down there and at the FT line. C'mon Kobe. Take one last example from MJ in his last season.
^^ Great post TIME! That's it. It's pretty freaking simple, just like the answer to Byron's lineups. Go with the simple, basic, common sense stuff. That makes it easy.
Kobe Bryant Excused From Practice For Being 'Really Angry' With Himself NOV 2, 2015 4:22 PM Kobe Bryant was given the day off from practice on Monday following his disappointing performance in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Byron Scott said Bryant was told to just come back on Tuesday since he was "really angry" with himself. Bryant shot 3-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-8 on three-pointers. "I'm just playing like (expletive) right now. I'm getting the shots I want. I'm just not making them," said Bryant after the game. Scott isn't worried about Bryant figuring it out. "He’s going to get to the Kobe that we know. It’s just three games into the season." MIKE BRESNAHAN/LOS ANGELES TIMES http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...-Practice-For-Being-Really-Angry-With-Himself
Wut? How about you let him sit out the other parts of practice, but make him scrimmage with the starters anyway? How do you build rhythm with a guy that doesn't practice but takes every shot? I'd absolutely hate that.
"I'm getting the shots I want"???????!!!?!?!?!?!?! "Kobe, those aren't the shots you're looking for."