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bigpimpin
Posts: 22176
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Joined: 11/17/2004
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It's Time for the Lakers to Be Honest
By Donald Christopher
April 16, 2007
http://www.nykfanpage.com/editorials/viewarticle.php?articleid=226
NBA great Charles Barkley once said, "Anyone can score 50 points in a game if they take enough shots."
Kobe Bryant's perceived selfishness is exactly what the Lakers need to succeed.
He was being honest.
The legendary "Round Mound of Rebound" made the statement in reference to the offensive onslaught being produced at the time by another legend -- the great Michael Jordan. Intended as a knock on "scorers," Barkley was correct. If you hoist up enough shots, the law of averages dictates just as many makes as misses. In Barkley's defense, there are many NBA players who can lay claim to having scored 50 or more points in a single game.
But what about 50 or more in four consecutive games? Only two players in history can attest to that -- the late, great Wilt Chamberlain and the latest of the greatest, Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant.
No matter how many times Lakers coach Phil Jackson promotes a "there is no 'I' in team" philosphy to his ultra-talented yet sometimes troubled superstar, the nine-time champion coach would be the first to tell you that when the heat is on, it's on, and there are no better hands in the league to put the ball in than the skillful hands of Bryant.
Jackson is a great basketball coach. Bryant is a great basketball player. Both men display more than their fair share of arrogance. Jackson understands the concept of team play, but only ever seems to coach the great ones. Bryant also understands this endearing concept except for one small thing; his greatness keeps getting in the way.
But judging from the scoring outburst of late, Jackson may be serving notice to the entire league that the reins have been removed from Bryant and number 24 is now on the loose. As his team wallows in the waters of mediocrity, trying to hold on to a playoff seed in the Western Conference, Bryant is now being given the welcomed freedom to take matters into his own hands. Don't look now but the Zenbastard...er, Zenmaster, has released a stealth weapon upon the league -- an underappreciated Kobe Bryant. The player who averages 31.1 points per game has now been given permission to seek and destroy. And it's about time, if you ask me.
During his fierce scoring outburst, it almost appeared as if Bryant was alone on the court by himself. He is seemingly in a zone where he takes imaginary defenders to school with every dribble of the ball and each highly-contested shot. During this barrage, he exercises sheer determination, as if he has something to prove to not only himself, but to others as well. And this may very well be the heart of the problem between the Lakers and Bryant.
Instead of being allowed to perform his outstanding talents without reservation, Bryant seems to have to apologize for being blessed with such greatness a la the formerly Jackson-coached Jordan.
"Yes Kobe, we know you're an unstoppable force, but could you please get your teammates involved?"
"Make your teammates better!"
Maybe its the fickleness of those statements that Bryant is really competing against.
Bryant is unquestionably one of the best that has ever done it on a basketball court. At times, perhaps a certain -- albeit understandable --amount of resentment exists when he feels like his game is not being appreciated. I mean, how do you ask a scoring machine to stay within the parameters of the triangle offense when he is the offense? How do you ask him to stay within the concepts of the team when he conceivably is the team? For such an entity, there is a fine line between one knowing when to take it upon oneself to carry the load, but doing so without inevitably alienating teammates. Since Bryant has more than shown that he has trouble finding that perfect medium, wouldn't it makes perfect sense to allow him to play his game and not his game and his teammates' game too? Let's be honest. Kobe Bryant is the only hope the Lakers have. And there's a reason the franchise is paying him $136 million over seven years. And it's not to defer the ball to Maurice Evans either.
I hope no one thinks for a second that Bryant would stick to the script and watch the Lakers fade away like his turnaround baseline jumper. Imagine the nerves of everyone asking him to allow his game to suffer on the account of his less-than-talented teammates. Are you kidding me? It's the same tired argument that once followed Jordan. Perhaps Bryant doesn't truly know how to transform Kwame Brown and Luke Walton into Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, or Smush Parker into Jason Terry. It can and should be suggested that if he's ultimately responsible for making the Lakers better as a team, then maybe Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak should sign his paycheck over to Bryant. Wait, I know, how about instead of Bryant making his teammates better, how about if Kupchak got Bryant some better teammates! It's not like Lamar Odom's numbers are suffering anyway. That's because Odom has talent. No talent equal no numbers; talent equal numbers. See how simple that is? Only after former Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause went out and brought in the likes of Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, and Dennis Rodman were the talents of Jordan "championed," which in turn made everyone involved happy.
At the end of the day, the bottom line in Lakerland is wins. And that's it. As long as they get the W, it hardly matters if Bryant stayed within the designs of the offense. Choosing to impose his will upon opponents becomes nothing more than a subplot. True, it is of some importance to get his teammates involved at key moments of the game in an effort to keep the defense honest, but either way it goes, Bryant will be the one who has to ultimately shoulder the blame in light of the team's failures.
It may be that this acceptance of truth by both Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will in fact make them a much better team. If the Lakers allow Kobe to do as he pleases on the court, it still wouldn't be enough. But it would make things very interesting. "Anyone who sits around waiting to hit the lottery, whether basketball or real life, in order to better their position is a loser."
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4/17/2007 2:47 PM