Nuggets & Jazz Vs Lakers

Wounded Animals
In the third back to back set of the year, you got to see a microcosm of the best and worst this Laker team can offer. What makes it frustrating for the fans is that from game to game you rarely know which team is going to show up.
For instance, in that Denver game, one of the best of the year after the 1st quarter, you saw a Laker team lethargic, sleepy, passing incredibly soft, running no plays, watching the ball handler, rarely moving off the ball completely switch to a motivated awake and active group that ran away with the game in the later stages.
Among the highlights of the Nuggets win, the 45 point turnaround. It wasn’t just a turnaround b y the starters or by a star driven core of players. That flip-flop in the game was predominantly run by the bench unit and secondary players. It’s a rare thing when Phil plays complete bench units in the meat of a game. That entire 4th quarter wasn’t just run with bench guys, it was run without a scorer or a prime time type of player on the court at all. Most encouraging was that the Lakers not only preserved the lead in the 4th but they built on it and most admirably played with hustle until the final buzzer.
Flash forward to Utah where an again sleepy, listless, and above all sloppy Laker team came trudging onto the court. The big difference was obviously that the Lakers never dug themselves out of this hole.
Which brings me to the main point of both of these games.
It’s vitally important that the Laker team doesn’t get into the habit of coming into games soft. At the outset of this year the Lakers were coming into every game with strong, assertive play. That type of play both won them games and kept them in games when they were behind until the last couple of minutes. Now for some reason that theory of play has been abandoned. Chalk it up top another Laker mystery. It’s been a long time since a Laker team has thrown this many schizophrenic games together at such an early point in a season.
What the guys have to realize is that they are nowhere near good, experienced or complete enough to expect the type of Denver comeback every game. Even the best teams can’t turn it on and off at will. There’s no reason this team should EVER come into a game thinking it’s a n easy one. Whether the team is crippled by injury or running at full strength, the best lesson this young squad can take to bed at night is that every game, no matter who the opponent, deserves your full attention and energy – every, single game.
Against the Jazz the Lakers did a terrible job o f pulling Kirilenko off of the weak side of the ball. Most of that is due to Lamar’s soft defense. Lamar has got to learn how to put a player on their heels by making them play more active defense against him. If he plays assertive and aggressive on the offensive end his assignment won’t have the type of rhythm or energy they have now in their offense. Likewise, by pushing that ball right into them at every given chance, Lamar wears out defenses, opens up shots for others, takes pressure off of Kobe and best yet, contributes the stats to the game he need to contribute in order for the Lakers to be successful on any level.
In other words, yeah, a lot of the Laker game plan hinges on Lamar and right now, he’s not delivering in the slightest. This can’t continue, it simply can’t go on if Lamar is expecting to stay a Laker or the Lakers are expecting to jump up to the next level of NBA teams.
In the Denver contest the Lakers were making one cardinal mistake that haunted them straight into the Jazz game – sloppy passing. It’s not just a sloppy pass here and there, the Lakers are promoting the mistake by keeping planted when dribbles are picked up. Nobody is coming to help with the ball, so passing angles are flattening out instantly, and the Nuggets were jumping into every passing lane.
This kind of unforced error is absolutely deadly. Its one thing to get an occasional pass jumped on due to hustle, but it’s another to literally be throwing the ball to the other team. There’s yet another thing that cannot become a habit any more than it has.
The thing about the early deficit in the Nuggets game and the ongoing drubbing in the Jazz game was that the problems were self-inflicted. In an odd way, it’s a positive, a very odd way, that they can be corrected with smarter play by the Lakers.
In the Nuggets game, it was slow off ball movement and lazy passing (along with a penchant to watch transition offense from the wrong end). In the Jazz game it was unadjusted soft defense (and moreover help defense) in the middle. Sure the Jazz are a pound it inside kind of team, but there’s no reason to make the job even easier for them by 1) not helping on a beaten player and 2) straight up sidestepping drives with matador defense.
That smacks of communication problems. The blind steals in the first half of the Denver game and the entire game in Utah were victims of a Laker team that was not talking to each other whatsoever. This team doesn’t know the offense or defense well enough to let the court go silent at any point. In fact, when they get better, there should never be a point where the Lakers become mute.
This game is motion, determination, teamwork and communication at its heart. If any of those elements are missing things get awfully tough – and in a hurry.
Alright, enough preaching, now for some positives…
Kobe – He struck an incredibly perfect balance of offense, aggression, scoring and passing against the Nuggets. The leadership skills of Kobe really came to fore in that game and it served as a huge lynchpin to the Lakers running the game more as a team in last ¾ of the game.
Sasha – Well that was a game of a lifetime for Sasha and even for a long time detractor like myself, it was good to see. Sasha played an all around good game as well. What was most impressive was Sasha’s best Rip Hamilton impression. Motion off the ball was fantastic. It was so fantastic that it frustrated the Nuggets to the point of knocking Carmelo out and essentially sealing the game. I also liked seeing Sasha keep shooting. There was no break in confidence or persistence from Sasha on and off the ball and paid off huge for him.
Jordanr – He did a great job of pushing the ball up the court even into half court sets. Getting the ball up on the offensive end with that kind of aggression does a lot of good. Versus Utah Jordan was the sole bright spot. His confidence in his jumper continued and he played undaunted throughout the whole game. Again, defending the Utah point guard core after the Lakers let them get into such a rhythm is nearly impossible, but Jordan played with good energy and hustle as he has all year so far.
Andrew – What is most impressive about Andrew in both the Jazz and Nuggets game was Andrew’s positioning. He was getting early deep post position in the spots he needed to be in on set plays and didn’t give up ground. Once he got rooted into the paint it was pretty damn hard to nudge him out. The Jazz and Nuggets had trouble with it; the difference in the game s was the soft high post and middle defense in Utah that took Andrew out of position early and often. He keeps the ball high on traffic rebounds and puts the elbows out in light traffic, securing the ball and never turning it over after it was in his hands.
Derek – (In the Nuggets game) had yet another solid offensive performance. He’s been really sharp on shot selection and thus has shot an impressive percentage. Defensively, he was over-matched with Williams and his side to side dribbling speed. Allowing himself that extra step of space would have served him better, though keeping up with Williams was a long shot to begin with.
Luke – He did a real good job cleaning up his sloppy play in a hurry. What he had trouble with these last 2 games was the physical play of his assignment. It’s nothing Luke can instantly improve upon, it’s something he has to account for and ask for early help with.
Team wise, there weren’t a lot of positives in Utah. This was a horrible game by the Lakers. Again, in the last two games you got to see what makes the Lakers who they are – unpredictable, sometimes amazing and sometimes baffling – all leading to sometimes winning.
What can kill that frustration is a Laker team playing at 100% awareness, not matter who the team is. When you see a wounded animal of a team con your schedule, you can’t relax. When your opponent is weakened you go in for the kill even stronger. And when a team is at full strength, you go in for the kill again. There can never be a game or a quarter in a game where you take it easy – NEVER.
Alright, so the Lakers and the Magic come into Sunday’s game on a loss. The game will come down to which team decides to use that loss as inspiration – and which team plays with their head and heart the entire 48.

by Crucifido's Corner
ClubLakers.Com

Endurance Test

How many years can Kobe Bryant remain a dominant star? As a 29-year-old in his 12th NBA season, the assumption has been that he senses his biological clock ticking away and that he may have only three years of supremacy left in him -- which would explain why he's in such a hurry to win now.
But Bryant doesn't see it that way. He takes offense at predictions that he'll begin to decline at 32.
"You're telling me I only have two or three years left,'' he said when I approached him with the theory last week. "Tell me that. I want you to.''
In other words, he's happy to use the shrinking-window theory as inspiration to prove everyone wrong.
The issue of his longevity is hard to assess because the league is still trying to define players like Bryant, who jumped to the Lakers from high school as an 18-year-old in 1996. Does the league take his birth certificate at face value? Or is he viewed as being 32 or 33 in NBA years because he started his career so much earlier than the college-raised players of previous generations?
"Kobe's won three championships in a row from October to June, and that's a lot of basketball at a high level. So there is a lot of mileage,'' said Nets point guard Jason Kidd, who teamed with Bryant for USA Basketball in August. "But seeing him this summer and the way he takes care of himself, he's always preparing himself to play and be the focal point.
"It would be interesting if you compared his minutes. Don't look at the field goal attempts -- just the minutes, and that will be what it's all about.''
Taking Kidd's advice, I chose seven shooting guards and small forwards who rate above Bryant on the NBA's all-time scoring list and looked at how old they were when they had played roughly as many regular-season and postseason minutes as Bryant should amass by the end of this season (see chart, above right).
"It's silly,'' Bryant said of such comparisons. "It depends on the person.''
Of course, he's right. Bird had a far more brittle career than Bryant. Dantley was primarily a low-post player, while Miller was a catch-and-shoot scorer who played without the ball. The best comparison is with Jordan, but even that one was skewed by Jordan's "retirement'' from the Bulls for almost two years in the prime of his career.
I spoke with four executives from NBA teams, and three of them said they viewed Bryant as if he were actually a 31- or 32-year-old player because of his NBA mileage. But even if Bryant is more worn than the typical 29-year-old, one of the execs warned that he shouldn't be written off prematurely.
"Kobe is such a workout fiend, and there's nobody in our league as single-minded as he is,'' this team president said. "With his toughness and his mind-set, I would not put it past him to find a way to keep dominating for a long time.''
Then there was the one dissenting executive who cautioned against the entire theory, noting that there isn't enough data on players in Bryant's position to be able to draw a conclusion. This assistant GM believes -- as does Kobe -- that Bryant's NBA minutes may be far less relevant than his physical age.
Bryant has already adapted by becoming more of a perimeter threat, much as Jordan became over the latter half of his career. Jordan clinched his sixth championship with a jumper at age 35.
"Kobe could play at this level for a long time,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Not only has he become a great jump shooter, but he's also developed that fadeaway [from the] post that Jordan developed. But it obviously depends on what's around him. If he has to carry the load, then that shortens his longevity.''

While Jordan was surrounded by positive energy, a negative -- and surely draining -- aura has enveloped Bryant in recent years.
"I just wish more people would celebrate Kobe, I really do,'' Rivers said. "Of all the guys in our league, that bugs me more than anything, that it just seems like we spend so much time trying to tear him apart and I think we're missing how great he is. And I think it's a shame.''
Bryant said he has relied more on his jumper because of the NBA's defensive rules -- and not because of his advancing age.
"The rules are completely different now,'' said Bryant, comparing his era to Jordan's. "I've always been able to shoot the ball, but the rules have changed since he played in terms of playing a zone defense. You have to be a jump shooter now because there's no way you can get to the basket -- particularly myself because they just stack guys up. I wish we had the rules they had back in the day where you could isolate guys and you could go to the basket anytime. But now you have to be able to shoot.''
The evolving science of athletic training should also enable Bryant to extend his career. Jordan took personal training to a new level by working year-round with Tim Grover. Now Bryant is raising the bar again.
"The techniques that we have available to ourselves now, the level of treatment that we have available is basically around the clock,'' Bryant said. "I have a solid team of five or six guys and women that are very capable in different areas: chiropractor, neuromuscular therapist, dietician, chef, yada, yada, yada.
"It's a lifestyle. If you want to continue to play at a high level, you have to make certain sacrifices. I mean, you can't have a burger every damn day.''
Bryant has learned to adjust his workouts over the years. "As you get older you get smarter, watch your diet, change your program a little bit. If you're willing to adapt, you can play for a long time.
"I work a lot smarter, more efficient, and it's not as taxing on your body. In the past it was just balls to the wall -- running and running and running and running, and jumping and plyometrics and all that stuff. If you're older, you don't need to do all that stuff. It's just about maintenance and injury prevention and staying in shape.''
Regarding Bryant's approach to the backstretch of his career, I don't think he's interested in winning just one more championship. I'm sure that he wants to win several of them. He wants to win more rings than Jordan's six and go down as one of the great players in the league. He was talking in those terms when I first met him a decade ago, and I would think his resolve has only strengthened since then.
So in that sense, the window is indeed shrinking. Say he is playing at as high a level as Jordan was at 35; that gives Bryant only seven seasons in which to win those four rings. If that's the way he's looking at it, then of course he's going to want the Lakers -- or another team -- to seize on his skills and exploit them to go for championships now, for their benefit as well as his. And the more talent he has around him, the longer he'll be able to extend his career at this level.
"I roll with it a little bit when they say there's a [two-to-three-year] window,'' Bryant said. "No way, no way. Barring injury or something like that, if you're willing to adapt, you can play for a long time.''
So how long can he play at his current level?
"I don't know,'' Bryant said. "We'll figure it out. I have a great staff of physical therapists and trainers, and we'll figure it out and work through it.''

by Ian Thomsen

SI.Com

The Lakers Nation: “We Want Revenge!”

We all originally came to this site for one reason: to “GetGarnett.” Now the time has come to get back at Garnett. Though we have two more games before the big finale this week, we can certainly discuss how we might stack up against the most hyped team in the NBA.
It has been roughly 15 years since a game against the Celtics actually mattered as much as it does this coming Friday. Some of us had grown apathetic towards the Celtics until this past summer when former Celtics Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, and even Larry Bird himself gave the Lakers Nation a collective “screw you.”
Just in case we need some reminders of why this upcoming game is important, consider the fact that the Lakers and Celtics have competed against each other ten times in the NBA finals. Of those ten meetings for the title, the Lakers have only defeated the Celtics twice, and those were the last two meetings in the 80’s. Of the eight times that the Celtics crushed our hopes, half of those times were devastating game 7 defeats.
If you thought losing to Phoenix two seasons ago in game seven was horrible, just imagine what it was like when we lost eight times to the Celtics in a row and four of those were heart crushing game 7 losses.
Larry Bird, at one point in the off season, had to finally tell Mitch Kupchak to quit calling unless he was willing to send over Lamar and Bynum plus filler for Jermaine. Larry Bird didn’t think getting a package such as Jordan Farmar and Lamar Odom plus salaries to match were even worth discussing.
Just think about how some of the Lakers must think about Larry Bird’s opinions. In a way, Bynum, Farmar, and Lamar were all deemed unworthy of Larry Bird’s attention. Of course, we know he didn’t have the option of getting all of these players, but he could have had at least two of them.
Our Lakers must feel somewhat insulted, especially with the paltry numbers Jermaine has been putting up lately. Now picture in your mind what it will be like for Larry Bird as he watches the game. Sure, he was laughing over the summer thinking that he humiliated us, but now he will be forced to wonder what could have been, because the Lakers will get even with Larry for once and for all beginning with the tip off.
And once our Lakers face Indiana and Milwaukee, they must face the ultimate mental challenge. Think of the arrogant fans in Boston. After breezing through the MLB World Series, their football team is on the cusp of being the first team in 30 years to go undefeated. Meanwhile in the NBA, the hype is at an all-time high for the “Big Three.”
We wanted Garnett, and Boston beat us just as they have numerous times in the past. You can visualize the three Celtic GM’s sitting around and lighting cigars while they laugh at our despair. Likewise, when we show up on Friday, the Celtics fans will hold insulting signs, will taunt our beloved players, and will expect to send us home crying.
I promise you, the Lakers Nation will cry.
The question is, will we shed tears of pain or tears of joy?
The Boston Celtics are currently the top defensive team in the NBA. They only allow 0.93 points per possession. To contrast, the Lakers currently give up 1.04 points per possession. As tough as our defense has been, the Celtics appear to be better according to this metric. The Lakers are the top rebounding team in the NBA with an average of 46 rebounds per game. However, the Celtics are the number one team in the NBA for rebounds allowed (36 RPG allowed). Finally, the Boston offense has put up more than 102 points per game while we have scored 104. When you look at the point differential, or the average margin of victory, the Celtics are the number 1 team in the NBA at just more than 13 points per game and the Lakers are ranked 8th with a differential of less than half that, even after the Bulls blow out!
While the Celtics haven’t faced the type of schedule that the Lakers have, those metrics tell us there’s still plenty of reasons to see this upcoming game as an accurate measure of where our team stands.
In the mind’s of the players, this game is as important as they used to be prior to 1992.
Don’t let the rhetoric fool you, the players will tell you that it’s just another game, but you can bet your bottom dollar that our Lakers desperately want to face the NBA’s “#1″ team. In addition, the Boston Celtics, fresh off their loss to the hot Orlando Magic, want to prove to themselves and the entire Lakers nation that they are the top team.
The Boston fans want to feel superior to us once again. The Boston players want to make a statement.
The Lakers players want to show up, in Boston, and dethrone the top team. The Lakers franchise wants to make a statement to Kevin Garnett that he made a huge mistake in choosing Boston over Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant wants to prove that he is the MVP, even in Boston.
As for The Lakers Nation, we want revenge.

by Tim-4-Show
LakerNation.Com

Bulls Need to Live With Distraction

If the Staples Center crowd had any urge to shout, "Thabo, Thabo, Thabo," it restrained itself.
This might have been easy because rarely does a crowd at the Staples Center have an urge to do anything as ordinary as shout, and the Lakers were so thoroughly blowing out the Bulls that Lakers fans might not have seen much benefit in lobbying for Thabo Sefolosha and a package of other, more heralded Bulls players in exchange for Kobe Bryant.
If nothing else, the Lakers' first meeting with the Bulls this season might have scratched one more destination off Bryant's wish list, if Chicago – despite some of the silly rumors that have been bandied about lately – was still on it.
But beyond that, by trouncing the Bulls the Lakers might have demonstrated something to Chicago the Bulls should have known long before the United Center crowd serenaded them with a chant of "Kobe, Kobe, Kobe," a chant more stylish than boos but hit with similar impact.
The Lakers, it would seem, have had a few distractions this season, too. Whether the Bulls had been sidetracked by the Kobe trade rumors, or the less likely influence of the stalled contract negotiations, they clearly have become sidetracked.
There is not the edge, the toughness and competitiveness of last season's Bulls; though the roster is filled with the same players who brought those qualities last season.
It has not helped that the Bulls have not shot straight this season. But they are better than the team they put on the floor in Los Angeles, better than 2-7, or at least they should be.
They could get it all back. They have started badly before and regrouped. But if they were knocked off track by something as ordinary as a trade rumor, the question later will be: What will be more than they can handle?
Things happen in the NBA. Bad calls one night; an injury the next. A schedule loaded with tough travel and back-to-backs. In the case of a good team struggling, there could more trade rumors - or for that matter, actual trades.
The Lakers will live with distraction as long as Bryant is among them. And they had an injury on Sunday, losing Kwame Brown to a sprained left ankle and knee in the first quarter.
At least for the moment, the Lakers are happily chest-bumping their way around the league, winning their share of games – but will it stay that way?
They don't look like contenders, particularly given that they would have to escape the West. Bryant will not accept that fate indefinitely, or perhaps even for another week or two. His contract, with a chance to opt out after next season, means he does not have to. That reality will always hang over the Lakers until Bryant moves on, or something changes to make them seem to be championship material.
Yet, for all the nonsense of life with the Lakers, their young players not considered good enough, seem to make it work.
The Pistons, too, were hit with a few days of Kobe trade rumors, out of date and largely inaccurate as they were. But that veteran team brushed them aside easily and quickly.
It might not be the Bryant trade rumors pushing the Bulls off course, but they have been unable to find their way so far.
At least now they might not have to worry about trade possibilities with the Lakers. If there was ever much of a chance that there could be a deal, the Lakers would seem as averse to it as the Staples Center fans who sounded far more content with their team than United Center fans have with theirs.

by Jonathan Feigen

HOOPSWORLD

Bryant Effectively Shows What Could Have Been To The Bulls

This would have been Kobe's homecoming had the rumors that peaked a few weeks ago become reality.

This would have been Kobe Bryant's homecoming, had the rumors that peaked a few weeks ago become reality and the Lakers had dealt Bryant to the Chicago Bulls for a package of somebodies, maybes and whatever else might make the dollars balance, if not the exchange of talent.

Every Lakers game has plots and subplots galore, but Sunday's plot twist was almost stranger than truth.

Here was Bryant, who has not publicly rescinded the trade request he made last summer, facing the team he reportedly was willing to leave the Lakers to join.
Would he sulk over not having been traded?

Or would he be especially assertive and try to show the Bulls what they missed out on when their trade talks with the Lakers fizzled?

The conclusion became obvious in the first 7 minutes 13 seconds of the third quarter, when Bryant outscored the Bulls, 9-2.

Bryant finished with a team-high 18 points and had three assists and five rebounds in 32 minutes as the Lakers rode a 61-point second half to a 106-78 win over the Luol Deng-less Bulls. Bryant left Staples Center as he entered it -- a member of the Lakers for now and for the foreseeable future.

He still may be dealt at the trade deadline or next summer, but the immediate chances of a deal between the Lakers and the Bulls have evaporated.

"It's over. It's dead. Dead story," Bulls Coach Scott Skiles said.

Bryant may come to realize that not being traded to Chicago -- or anywhere else -- is the best thing that could have happened to him.

Where else could he go and have a better chance to win another title after his new team trades its top players to get him?

His best chance to win a championship this season may be to stay here, to play as he has been playing, to let the newly confident and productive bench give him a rest and preserve some of the spring in his aging legs.

The evolution and effectiveness of the bench "helps tremendously," said Lamar Odom, who scored nine points in just over 35 minutes.

"And it really helps, of course, Kobe and myself. The last two years I've played a lot of minutes and Kobe has been playing deep in the playoffs for years. It helps when these guys can step up."

Although every indication is that Bryant still wants out, his teammates are glad he's still here and that all the rumors were just talk.

"You know, it was getting a little hectic there for a while," said Luke Walton, one of five Lakers reserves who reached double figures in points.

"I mean, the way the team's playing right now and the way he's playing right now, I think there's no one in the organization who's not happy he's still with the team."

The Lakers are not going to trade him to another team in the West.To get Bryant, the Bulls reportedly would have had to deal Deng, and/or forward Tyrus Thomas, guard Ben Gordon and rookie big man Joakim Noah. Ben Wallace's name showed up at various stages, too, and none of it came to fruition.

"It was talked about incessantly for two or three weeks amongst everyone," Skiles said. "We talked about it all the time with the team and we haven't talked about it in several days now."

Any other East team with enough assets to interest Bryant in waiving his no-trade clause would have to give up a good chunk of those assets to get him. Then, he'd be no closer to a championship than he is here, now, with the Lakers off to a 6-3 start that includes victories over Phoenix, Utah, Houston, Detroit and Chicago.

"I don't see why we can't win with the talent we have," Walton said.

"There's a lot of good teams in the NBA right now, especially in the West, but no one that we feel we can't compete with. I don't see why we can't get something done here."

Bryant was far more cautious in his outlook, as he has been in times of prosperity and famine.He praised the chemistry of the bench players and lauded the team's overall defensive effort in holding an opponent under 100 points for the sixth time in nine games but was hesitant to say how far that might carry them.

"I don't know," he said. "For us, it just depends on staying healthy and continuing to stay focused. You can't get too excited. We had a tough schedule to start the season and still do and we managed to keep our heads above water to this point.

"We can't get excited about it. It's early, still early in the season. We have to stay focused and that's my job, to keep us focused and continue to move forward."

They weren't focused during training camp, as Coach Phil Jackson acknowledged before the game in saying that the trade rumors adversely affected the younger players.

It was, he said, "the insecurity not of a trade so much as of the lack of affection or lack of interest Kobe had for a period of time at the end of camp, a period of time five days or so. They went through a little lull. 'Is he with us or is he not?' "

Bryant is with them now. For how much longer, it's impossible to say. But his best chance to win, like it or not, is here.

by Helene Elliott

LATimes.com

When it Comes To The Bulls, Kobe Beats Them Rather Than Joins Them

LOS ANGELES -- The theme of the night was convergence. Within a three-block radius you had all three Los Angeles obsessions on display Sunday night: cars, celebrities and Kobe.
The crowd gathered outside Staples Center wasn't there because the Lakers were about to play the Chicago Bulls. The fans' eyes were fixated across the street, where pop stars were arriving for the American Music Awards at the new Nokia Theater. Meanwhile, parking garages in the area were at capacity from people attending the L.A. Auto Show at the convention center next door.

Honestly, Lakers vs. Bulls turned out to be the worst entertainment option of the three. Loads of turnovers and missed shots in the Lakers' 106-78 victory, with the only second-half tension stemming from the distinct possibility that Kobe Bryant would personally outscore the Bulls in the third quarter. (After Kobe took an early 9-2 lead, the Bulls wound up winning, 14-10.)
The game's underlying theme and its real intrigue came from the, ahem, convergence of the still-unsatisfied Bryant and the most-discussed trade destination for him, the Bulls. Here was a chance for some one-stop shopping, to gaze down on the court, swap a few uniforms in your mind and imagine a world in which the trade did go down.
In reality, it currently looks as if this is as close as Bryant is going to come to the Bulls. The problem was the Lakers wanted too much initially, while the Bulls offered too little initially, and they never could come close after those disparate starting points.
Publicly, at least, things have cooled off.
"It's over," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "It's dead. Dead story."
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said: "There's nothing to discuss."
Still, until Bryant recants his trade demand and the Lakers officially take him off the market, nothing can be discounted.
That's why Bulls forward Luol Deng doesn't believe the story's over.
"Nah," he said. "I'm pretty sure every team in the league is talking. I feel that every team that's struggling is trying to get better. That's the way it should be."
With a 2-7 record, the Bulls are definitely among the strugglers, and they're sinking to the point that not even the addition of Bryant would transform them into a championship team. True, Deng didn't play Sunday, still bothered by a sore back he first injured at Phoenix Thursday night. But he would probably have to be included in a trade package that the Lakers would accept, so his absence wouldn't change the scenario. You'd probably also have to subtract Ben Gordon, the Bulls' only consistent scoring threat Sunday night, who finished with a game-high 20 points. So you're left with a group that still has no low-post threat and few easy shots.
It's not simply a matter of the Bulls taking a lot of jump shots. Pro players can knock down open jumpers all night long. But the Bulls usually take contested jump shots. And the detailed stats some teams keep show that percentages drop dramatically when the shooter has a hand in his face. The Bulls' 38.3 field goal shooting percentage is the lowest in the league.
Bryant could draw double-teams and create open shots for his teammates. But you don't acquire Kobe Bryant to turn him into a playmaker. You bring him in to be the primary scorer and to address Chicago's other glaring deficiency, the lack of a go-to guy in crunch time. That didn't even come into play Sunday, since the Bulls trailed by15 points at the start of the fourth quarter and by 28 when it ended, and the Lakers only played Bryant for three of the final 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Lakers' supposed weakness -- everyone not named Bryant -- is looking stronger every game. In fact, the Lakers' second unit (and Phil Jackson prefers to play them as a separate unit, subbing five guys in at once) is turning into one of the best in the league.
Five Laker reserves scored in double figures Sunday, and the Laker bench produced 73 points. That's on the heels of their strong performance (led by Jordan Farmar) against the Pistons Friday night which helped the Lakers cap off a surprising week that saw them go 2-1 in a stretch against San Antonio, Houston and Detroit.
Yes, Tracy McGrady went out with an injury in the second quarter of the Lakers' victory over the Rockets, and Chauncey Billups didn't play for the Pistons. But the end result is the Lakers are 6-3, in the upper half of the Western Conference. It's hard to imagine a realistic trade that would put Bryant or the Lakers in a better situation.
Here's another indication the Lakers are the best location for Bryant, at least until he can wander as a free agent in 2009: while the trade rumors appeared to weigh on the Bulls, the young Lakers kept their heads. If anything, they've been inspired to play better.
Skiles, quite candidly, said the Kobe talk was discussed within the Bulls' locker room as much as anywhere else. "It was talked about incessantly for two and three weeks," Skiles said. "Even with the team. We would talk about it all of the time. And we haven't talked about it for several days now …
"It's one of those unfortunate things about our business where stories get out there. Generally there's some grain of truth in them. Sometimes there isn't. We care about all of our guys on one hand. On the other hand, you've got to toughen up and be able to play through it."
That's what the Lakers did.
"The coach has done a great job, and everybody seems to have worked through the distractions and now they're playing well as a team," Kupchak said.
Since the only Laker who was discussed in trades was the guy who requested it, the issue Phil Jackson saw among his players was "not of the trade, so much as the lack of affection or lack of interest that Kobe had for a period of time. They went through a little lull: 'Is he with us or is he not?'"
There he was in the Lakers' locker room Sunday, saying he was "impressed" with the Lakers' results so far, even if he isn't ready to proclaim them championship contenders. He singled out Andrew Bynum, who had his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
He even joked about a Chicago newspaper report that he was buying Michael Jordan's house in the northern suburbs.
"I actually thought about purchasing it, decided not to," Bryant said. "I like Oprah's penthouse instead."
He doesn't make enough money to live in Oprah's house. And as talented and skilled as he is, he is not good enough to make any team's situation better just by showing up. Unlike, say, Beyonce, who joined Sugarland for a countrified version of "Irreplaceable" during the American Music Awards and turned it out.
Now that's convergence.

by J.A. Adande

ESPN.COM

Team Effort Carries Lakers

LOS ANGELES -- We arrived at Staples Center not on a mission of simple healing but with the goal of complete resuscitation.
We were going to perform CPR on a story marked RIP, doing so PDQ.
But Chicago coach Scott Skiles first performed a little action of his own, and it wasn't mouth-to-mouth. It was foot-to-throat.
"It's over," he announced with the certainty of a coroner's inked signature. "It's dead. It's a dead story."
Dead? Dead doesn't work in the rumor business. Dead is the absolute last way to go. Dead is a killer.
Truth is Kobe Bryant-to-the-Bulls has been bull for a while now. Any trade wind in that direction is just hot air circulating. If Chicago is going to get a Kobe from the Lakers any time soon it will be Coby Karl.
But something that isn't going to happen — at least until further notice — is still more interesting than what did happen Sunday, specifically a mid-November NBA game decided by 28 points.
(This is particularly true when the Lakers produce a first quarter as they did against the Bulls, with nine turnovers compared to six field goals, with no one capable of stopping Andres Nocioni, with Kwame Brown going down to knee and ankle injuries.
Said Coach Phil Jackson afterward: "That first half was really a difficult half for us. I'm surprised the crowd was still there when we started the second half.")
Anyway, deaths have been declared prematurely before, so we pressed on, knowing a column on anything Kobe would be read more than a column on everything anybody else.
Face it, if the Lakers trade Bryant, they immediately become as intriguing as the Utah Jazz, a franchise as sterile as the state it plays in. Depending on the deal, they actually could be a better team. No way, though, are they as fun a team.
And this game was a layup for us, Bryant's current team against his former future one. This was Jackson then and now. This was Bryant as — more literally than ever — the second coming of Michael Jordan.
"We haven't talked about it in several days now," Skiles said. "But we talked about it incessantly for weeks. Even within the team we talked about every day."
The Lakers talked about it, too, in case you forgot about Bryant's radio rants and Jerry Buss' lulu in Honolulu.
They talked about it more Sunday, during the morning shootaround. Jackson said he discussed with Bryant the need to avoid trying to do too much right at the start.
In response, Bryant did nothing. At halftime, he had two field goals and eight points despite being guarded by Adrian Griffin, Thomas Gardner and Thabo Sefolosha. And not all at the same time.
The Bulls were without injured forward Luol Deng, a development Skiles said robbed his team of its "small chance to do something against Kobe." He started Griffin and assigned him to Bryant, calling the move "a little bit unfair to Griff."
So given a half in which he disappeared almost as well as Lamar Odom regularly does, Bryant was making himself a viable story here. He was misplaying right into our eager hands.
But then the third quarter arrived, Bryant awoke to do enough to blend into the rest of the night and the Lakers buried the Bulls with their bench for goodness sakes.
At the end, Bryant wasn't playing for either team, instead sitting for the Lakers, laughing it up while something named Aaron Gray was scoring perhaps the least significant layup in NBA history.
It was garbage time, the trash being where all this Kobe-versus-Chicago hype and anticipation ended up Sunday.
"As far as I'm concerned," Odom said, "he's happy here now."
Following the game, all everyone wanted to talk about was the Lakers bench, and reserve players generally are as interesting as tire ads. Immediately afterward, they interviewed Jordan Farmar on the television and Chris Mihm on the radio, while Bryant exited silently.
Later, in the locker room, Mihm said something about the Lakers subs "stepping up," about the fact this is "a very deep team," about how this sort of bench production is possible "on any given night."
Nearby, Odom said: "Everybody's confident in here. Everybody's ready to play at any given time."
Finally, Bryant emerged and was asked four consecutive questions about the Lakers reserves.
When he was asked if he had anything to say concerning the Bulls, Bryant responded, "No, I don't."
Dead? Put it this way, by the end of the night, doornails were sending their condolences.
The Bulls have departed town and Bryant will leave today — on the Lakers' flight to Indianapolis.
We failed to breathe life back into the beast. For now, the Lakers are just about basketball.
Can't have that, no way. So how about this? Just for your ears, Mihm-to-the-Bulls.

by Jeff Miller
OCRegister

The Subtle Difference Between Kobe and T-Mac

There are two ways to look at this season's opening night matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets:
Rockets 95 - Lakers 93
or
Kobe 45 - T-Mac 30
However you choose to look at it, they will face each other again Wednesday night in Houston. What a great opportunity to compare and contrast two of the top scorers in the NBA.
Watch almost any game Kobe Bryant plays, and what he is becomes evident pretty quickly - an aggressive, attacking scorer, with so many different ways to make a play it is almost impossible to defend him with matchups or schemes. Inside, outside, in transition, in the halfcourt, off the dribble, off a cut, in the post - you name it. The scouting report reads: Watch Out For Everything!
Although Kobe plays in the Lakers version of the triangle offense, he will frequently bail out of that three-sided ship and take on the whole defense by himself - and often with great success. He is fearless against any defender or defensive scheme, and will take on the whole team in the lane or at the rim. In any given game you may not see him score the same way twice.
In just the first quarter against Houston on opening night, Kobe took these shots:
- Catch and shoot jumper from a handoff at the top of the key - Sweeping right handed sky hook off an elbow handoff - Back to the basket spin move from the left elbow for a right-handed lay-up in traffic - Transition jumper at the left elbow extended - Transition hesitation drive from the right wing for a foul - Catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the left wing - Transition hesitation crossover - left-handed runner - Steal, breakaway lay-up for a foul - Catch-and-shoot jumper from the top of the key off a curl cut - Curl cut, catch and drive, behind the back dribble shot fake for a foul - Transition hesitation crossover dribble jumper - Crossover - split the trap - left-hand lay-up off the high ball screen
That's just in one quarter - good luck defending that for 48 minutes.
Tracy McGrady also has great versatility. He can score in transition, hit the jumper, drive and create, and post up. Whereas the Lakers run their triangle and allow Kobe to pick his spots, Houston seems to run more sets to get McGrady the ball in certain situations.
He will get lots of ballscreens on the wing and on the top of the key from Yao to get free on the dribble. When he hasn't had the ball in his hands in a few possessions, Houston will run the classic "single/double" to allow McGrady to catch and shoot off the screen. They will also dive him into the post and isolate him on a smaller defender.
Sometimes the Rockets will start T-Mac down in the post, and the action will begin with the point guard passing to the high post at the elbow. The guard cuts off the outside shoulder of the high post, then down screens for McGrady - who cuts off the post, gets the handoff, and drives to the foul line area. Getting T-Mac to the middle on the dribble is a common theme of Houston's action for him.
In another set, Yao Ming and McGrady will set up on opposite elbows. The point guard feeds McGrady, cuts off his outside hip, then Yao comes across the foul line to set a ballscreen - again allowing for T-Mac to dribble to the middle of the foul line area.
The Lakers take advantage of Kobe's versatility and creativity by allowing him to freelance within their system; the Rockets use McGrady's in a more systematic and structured way.
One interesting aspect of this matchup is McGrady rarely guards Bryant, but Kobe defends McGrady a significant amount of the game. The Rockets will start with Shane Battier on Bryant, then rotate as many as three and four players to guard him throughout the game. Luke Walton and Kobe share the duties of guarding T-Mac.
At the defensive end, Kobe relishes the challenge of guarding Tracy McGrady. Kobe gets up in him, picks him up full-court, denies him the ball, and contests hard on every shot. While T-Mac seems to accept this challenge, Kobe lives for these confrontations.
When Kobe has to guard a lesser player, he appears almost disinterested. But when he is matched with McGrady, you can see him come alive - aggressively challenging every move, being physical, and daring T-Mac to try and beat him. He competes hard and concedes nothing.
When McGrady does find himself guarding Kobe, Bryant smells blood and goes right at him. On one possession in their first meeting, T-Mac switched onto Kobe on a ballscreen. As soon as Kobe saw this, he backed out, stared McGrady down, then went between the legs, behind the back, then between the legs again and blew by McGrady. T-Mac "matadored" it and just swiped at the ball trying to get the strip.
On another occasion, Kobe had just jumped in and stolen a pass at the elbow, and was racing to the basket on the dribble with McGrady chasing. The fans were expecting a confrontation at the rim - dunk, hard foul, etc. Instead, McGrady just conceded the rim and swiped down hard at the ball - committing the foul.
T-Mac doesn't appear to want to challenge Kobe when faced with guarding him. He seems content to lay back, bail out, or just try to get a strip.
And maybe that's the true difference between these two great players. Both are versatile, creative, and can score in so many different ways. However, Kobe is also among the best in the league at both ends of the floor, while McGrady deosn't seem to have the desire to really mix it up on the defensive end. You don't hear T-Mac mentioned in the same sentence with "Killer Instinct" and "Rip Your Heart Out." Kobe should wear those on the front of his jersey.
It's that difference in mentality that may be the biggest contrast of all, and what makes Kobe arguably the best player in the game and McGrady merely a talented All-Star who can't advance in the playoffs.
However, this season T-Mac is playing with the best supporting cast of his life. So, this may put him in his best position to go deep into the playoffs - which is the real showcase for the game's best players.
And that is a stage on which Kobe Bryant has already shined.

by Mike Moreau
HOOPSWORLD

All or Nothing with Kobe

Kobe Bryant is a lot of things; competitive, determined, passionate, hardworking, mentally tough, and he plays with the heart of a lion. He’s also immature, dramatic, arrogant, selfish, and lacks loyalty; just to name a few. But most importantly, he’s the Lakers best chance to win a championship.
There were a ton of questions heading into the 2007-2008 season, but Kobe has already answered the biggest on-court question surrounding him. Will he put his heart and soul into this team? He has answered that with a definitive yes.
Now the ball is in owner Jerry Buss’ court. Will Kobe remain a Laker? And for how long? A lot of things factor into how Buss is feeling right now, but make no mistake about it; Jerry Buss is hurt by his star player’s comments this past off-season. Buss has stuck by Bryant through the hardest of times on the court (problems with Shaquille O’Neal) and off the court (legal problems in Colorado), and he’s paying him over $19 million this year, so he has every right to feel betrayed by a son-like figure who he has supported for the past 12 years.
Fortunately this isn’t Match.com or E-Harmony; this is basketball. And the owner and star player don’t have to be on good terms in order to win basketball games.
That is why the Lakers need to come out and say they won’t be trading Kobe Bryant. Not now, not ever. And if that’s a little white lie and they still want to listen to offers as it nears the date of his 2009 opt-out clause, that’s fine, just do it behind closed doors.
Of course this strategy involves risk. What if Kobe opts-out in 2009 and the Lakers get nothing in return for him? The following is an excerpt from what ESPN’s Chris Broussard had to say about this particular topic. He points out that Kobe leaving without the Lakers getting anything in return might not be the worst scenario in the world…
“It’s not like a lot of teams will have the cap room to sign Kobe for $20 million plus per year, certainly not many good teams that are ready to compete for a championship.
Obviously, he’s a great talent, but rather than get chumped in a sign-and-trade deal, why not just let his $21 million roll off their payroll? Lamar Odom’s contract will end that year as well, giving the Lakers plenty of cap room to work with.
Remember, LeBron will be able to opt-out of his deal the year after that in 2010. If Cleveland can’t put the right pieces around him, who’s to say LeBron won’t be ready to go rejuvenate the Lakers.”
We all know that Buss is an avid poker player, so my message to Buss is to stop all of this non-sense and go “all-in.” And if Bryant comes out and says he’ll enact his opt-out clause, then call him on it (not literally Jerry, keep your mouth shut please).
Two years from now is long time in basketball years, and there are a ton of unknowns: Will Kobe at 31 years-old really want to start all over with a new team? Will the young Lakers be a contender? Will Andrew Bynum mature into a consistent, powerful player? And I would think the Lakers would make a splash in the free-agent market in one of the next two years (Jermaine O’Neal and Gilbert Arenas might be pipe dreams at this point, but both have said they will opt-out after this season).
Buss went all-in with Kobe when he was a free agent back in 2004. It’s time to do it again.

by Justin Page
LakerNation.com

The NBA’s Gatsby

The other night I went to my first Lakers game in a long time. I was extremely excited, as I hadn’t seen Kobe play on anything but a television since he was with Shaq and I was about 10 or 11.
That night, I saw something from Kobe that enlightened my perception of him. He played fantastically, scoring 28 points while making more than half of his shots. Still, I couldn’t help but focus on was what he had failed to do. The Hornets had been leading almost the whole game, with Chris Paul going to the future and dishing out 21 assists and Peja Stojakovic going to the past and dropping 10-13 from three point land. With around seven minutes left in the fourth and the Lakers down by only a half-dozen, Kobe returned to the game. For much of it, he had mixed distributing the ball with flurries of scoring. Now it was his time to tear out the other team’s heart.
To my surprise, that’s not what happened. Kobe was passive for a few possessions, fired off a few off-balance jumpers, and then watched as the Hornets ran off with the game. I think he may have driven to the basket once. On the way home, I thought about what I’d just seen, as well as everything else that had happened to Kobe since Shaq left- the low win totals, the failure to get out of the first round, the meltdown in Game 7 of the ’06 playoffs against the Suns- and had myself a revelation.
While Kobe may be human basketball perfection, he was never given a divine mandate for greatness.
Kobe is basketball’s answer to Jay Gatsby.

Gatsby was once Jim Gatz, a successful man who nobody ever said would be great, a soldier in World War I, part of the ultimate team victory. But then he met Daisy Buchanon, and in his romance with her saw that no normal man, however successful, would ever have her all to himself. Daisy could only be wooed by greatness. So Gatz, singularly driven to claim his holy grail, reinvented himself through hard work and sheer force of will into Jay Gatsby, the ultra-wealthy and mysterious baron of West Egg, armed now with everything he needed to obtain that which haunted him. But Daisy never became his. Gatsby was left to look into the window while Daisy shared cold fried chicken with Tom Buchanon, the racist, cheating, unpleasant man who was destined to have her for reasons that Gatsby did not understand, and never could.
Men who end up with girls like Daisy are not made, but ordained.
So it is with Kobe.
Like Gatsby, Kobe was highly successful as a mortal, getting three rings in Shaq’s shadow and gaining a reputation as one of the NBA’s best players. A hyper-athletic slasher who played great defense and was a crucial part of a championship team. Like Gatsby, Kobe was unsatisfied by the trappings of mortality. As Gatsby was seduced by Daisy, Kobe was seduced by the glory of being the next Jordan, a man whose mere presence on the court meant championships. And so Kobe devoted himself completely to joining the NBA’s Valhalla of Champions, pushing Shaq out to make the team his own and working tirelessly to turn himself from a fantastic if incomplete slasher to the perfect basketball machine, then waited for the world to bend to his will.
To his chagrin, that’s not the way it happened at all.
Kobe’s team, and by proxy him, has never broken through to greatness, and he was forced to watch from his couch while Shaq- fat, lazy, arrogant Shaq- ate cold fried chicken with the Jim O’ Brien Trophy. Just as Gatsby felt that Tom never deserved Daisy, Kobe will go to his grave believing that Shaq never earned his success. But just as Gatsby failed to understand that Tom’s knowledge of Daisy’s world could never be acquired artificially, Kobe will never understand what it is that makes Shaq, Jordan, Duncan and the rest so great.
It’s an understanding of how and when to make your teammates better and when to take the game over yourself, a sense of the game’s flow that cannot be taught, even by Phil Jackson, that Kobe has over and over again proven to lack in his doomed quest for immortality. Just as Gatsby felt his money meant nothing if it did not bring him Daisy, Kobe feels he will never be complete without a ring tainted by Shaq.
Kobe’s personality even seems to mirror Gatsby’s. For all of their outward charisma, something inside them makes them impossible to connect with, and both have ended up alone in their worlds despite their apparent friendliness. (Can’t you just see Kobe calling Andrew Bynum “Old Sport?”) And just as Gatsby was nagged by rumors that he made his money in unseemly ways, Kobe will always be haunted by the rumor that it was his own hubris that chased Shaq out of town, as well as the happenings at Eagle, Colorado.
Love or hate Kobe, he remains one of the NBA’s most interesting characters, and the doomed hero of the Lakers continues to put up 50-point games against the current while being back borne ceaselessly into the past.

by John Krolik
SportsHubLA

Making A Case For Keeping And Trading Kobe

Kobe Bryant, Provocateur.

Say what you will about the Lakers great's motives, ego or lack of loyalty, he remains one of basketball's most gifted players. Express-News NBA writer Mike Monroe breaks down Bryant's stated desire that the Lakers trade him.
The case for keeping Kobe
Fair Value as Fantasy: When there is bad blood in the water, NBA sharks circle. Nobody is going to give Lakers owner Jerry Buss fair value for Bryant when Buss is deemed desperate to deal him.
81 Points: When Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game is the only one ahead of you on the NBA's list of "Most Points, Single Game," you are worth keeping, if only for the box office appeal.
Bruce Bowen in Purple: Because Bryant is such a great scorer, few who aren't true basketball experts recognize that he is one of the league's great defenders. Ask any of the international players he locked up while he represented Team USA over the summer.
The case for trading Kobe
Happy Is as Happy Does: Bryant pouted through training camp, possibly feigning minor injuries so he could sit out sessions. He has seemed uninterested at times, even unwilling to shoot. This can't be good.
A Deal Worth Making?: Should the Bulls decide, probably as the trade deadline nears, they can part with Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Andres Nocioni to get Bryant, the Lakers can rebuild nicely around those four and Andrew Bynum.
The Nuisance Factor: Buss and the Lakers' organization have stood by Bryant through his trying personal times and endured criticisms planted through media sycophants. Everyone has a breaking point. Mitch Kupchak probably is past his. Buss could be getting close.
Bottom Line Unhappy or not, Bryant leads the NBA in scoring, at 30.6 points per game. He's averaging 7.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists and plays lock-down defense. Despite the opening-night boos at Staples Center, he is still L.A.'s most popular sports figure. Dr. Buss can't trade him unless he gets fair value. That won't be possible until the trade deadline nears, no matter what you read on the Internet.

by Mike Monroe

MySA.Com

Paxson Shoots Verbal Airball

It's troubling enough that the Bulls can't win, can't score, can't play defense, can't play together and can't tie their sneakers without hearing a Kobe Bryant reference. But now, even their well-spoken general manager is having problems articulating. I hope John Paxson doesn't really mean what he seemed to suggest Monday, that the only fans who are dissatisified and chanting ``Kobe! Kobe!'' are those in the more affordable upper reaches of the United Center.
Because that is an insult to the entire fan base, a socioeconomic commentary as snobbish as it is inaccurate. This isn't about which fans have money and which don't. This isn't about 100 Level fans having a well-heeled comfort zone and 300 Level fans having less patience. Simply, this is about the Bulls starting a putrid 1-5, frustrating an entire metropolis with their listless play and putting themselves at risk of losing Chicago this winter to the hot, young, home-telegenic Blackhawks.
Everybody is booing the Bulls, Pax -- wealthy and working-class, young and old, male and female, black and white. The only thing you're correct about: They have every right to boo and bounce Bryant's name off the rafters of Michael Jordan's house, a chorus that might persist until a pummeled front office grants the wish.
``It's an ugly thing,'' Paxson said. ``But they have the right to do it. They're the ones that pay my salary, the coaches' salaries, the players' salaries. If they're not happy with what they saw, they have that right. Sometimes we get comfortable going to the United Center and seeing the 100 Level full, and you know those people probably have money. But sometimes you forget the people sitting up in the 300 Level that use their entertainment income on coming to see us play.
``And when you play the way we played the other night and the way we played earlier this year, they have every right to go after us. And you hope that players don't go in a shell on that. You want them to say, `I'm going to have some pride and we're going to get this together and we're going to make these people who are booing us today happy.' ''
The dissatisfaction goes beyond a rough two weeks. Customers are sensing that Paxson's master plan is flimsy and falling apart, not what anyone expected when the organization talked so confidently about making a quantum leap to the NBA Finals. Suddenly, people are realizing this is Year 10 since the Jordan dynasty was dismantled prematurely.
Suddenly, people are remembering the 341 losses in six years, the false promises that Tracy McGrady and big-name free agents would be delivered, the embarrassment when Jerry Krause dispatched Benny the Bull to greet Tim Duncan at the airport. When the Bulls finally won 47 games three years ago, there was legitimate promise that the learning curve would produce more titles. But now they are regressing and stuck in the quicksand of no man's land, with Paxson's collection of tough, hard-working overachievers from prestigious college programs topping out before our sore eyes.
All the people want for their money, no matter where they're sitting, is effort and results. The Bulls are providing neither, which is why they were booed out of the arena Saturday night in a 30-point loss to Toronto. These are grim times when Scott Skiles benches his starters in the third quarter and never lets them return, prompting the ``Kobe!'' chants that gall Paxson and Skiles, if you read between the lines. ``No athlete wants to play on his home court and be booed," Skiles said. ``The way we have performed, the boos are natural, and fans have a right to voice displeasure. I hoped that we'd a reached a level where with bad play or a chant, we could stay on course. But it's possible that's not the case.''
It's stunning how brittle and easily rattled this team is, that the Bryant trade rumors and chants have shaken the collective equilibrium. But maybe that speaks volumes about the tenuous nature of a so-called contender. The Bulls are too consumed by what fans and media think, starting with Luol Deng, who came of age last spring only to become a tentative, withdrawn player after rejecting a $50-million-plus extension and hearing his name in the Bryant talks. He admits to being stung by Kobemania, not exactly a profile in emotional toughness. ``That definitely hurts,'' he said. ``As hard as we work as a team, to hear boos and the `Kobes' when we're losing that much, it definitely hurts.
``I think since I've been in the NBA, this is the lowest I've felt.''
Said Kirk Hinrich, another so-called cornerstone who is performing poorly: ``I can't remember it being this bad since I've been here. Frustration is at an all-time high ... We are frustrated, embarrassed -- use whatever word you want. We're at a crossroads where it can't get much worse.''
Oh, really? With the catcalls ringing in their ears, the Bulls now embark on their annual circus trip at the worst time. It involves six games over 11 days, starting Thursday night in Phoenix, with a particularly exhausting experience coming this weekend. They'll venture to the Staples Center, L.A. home of Kobe, with a game against the Clippers preceding a Sunday night drama fest against Bryant and the Lakers. What are the chances that Kobe, locked in one of his egomaniacal zones over The Trade That Wasn't, pounds the Bulls for 60? Wouldn't that be a message to Paxson? Bryant hasn't softened on his wish to be traded, with Chicago still his favored destination, but he has settled down to become the league's early scoring leader at 30.4 points a game for a 3-2 team. He has gone so far to praise Andrew Bynum, the young center he blistered in the infamous parking-lot video in which he said he wanted to be a Bull. So impressed is Phil Jackson, he didn't hesistate to name Bryant a co-captain with veteran Derek Fisher.
``I was sitting on the john one day, and I said, `That's a good idea,' '' related Jackson, providing too much information. ``It wasn't very much of a thought process. It was a pretty gut-level idea. Who's the spokesman for this team, the guys that step up and lead this team as they do?''
Very soon, though, expect the Bryant trade buzz to heat up. This time, Paxson not only has to listen harder, he has to try more aggressively to make it happen and reinvigorate his wobbling franchise. He was asked about his roster again. ``That's a hard question to answer,'' he said. ``But obviously in my position, I sit there every day and evaluate what's going on. After what happened with all the [Bryant] rumors out there, to start more would be a really bad thing. I'm not going there. I evaluate every day. Time will tell what direction we need to go.''
If time doesn't, the boos will.

by Jay Mariotti SunTimes.Com

Tex To Kobe: The Lakers Are Where You Belong

Back in the good old days, when he was remarkably mistake free, I used to marvel at Kobe Bryant. How could he be so young and make such good decisions?
I posed that question and he launched into an answer without hesitation: It’s not that you don’t make mistakes, he said. It’s just that you must be very careful, once you make a mistake, not to follow one bad decision with more bad decisions.
The secret, he said, was not to compound your problems.
Obviously, Bryant was quoting someone else’s wisdom, because once he began making those big nasty mistakes that tend to define your life, he began showing a particular talent for compounding them.
Well, it’s time for all that to stop, Tex Winter told me in a recent phone conversation.
It’s time for Bryant to realize that being a Los Angeles Laker is the best possible situation for him, time for him to stop pushing for a trade, offered Winter, who over the years has been a mentor to both Lakers coach Phil Jackson and to Bryant himself.
“He should just play basketball where he is,” Winter said. “Los Angeles is a good spot for Kobe.”
Winter has expressed admiration for the Chicago Bulls and their talented young roster, but he never saw Bryant as a good fit there. “Frankly, I’m not sure how much he’d be able to help that club,” Winter said.
Winter, of course, is the man who innovated the triangle offense, then nurtured a young assistant named Phil Jackson into a triangle coach (he did much of that nurturing coaching with Phil years ago in the L.A. summer league). Jackson and Winter watched Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen mature into forces in the triangle that won six NBA championships. Then they came to Los Angeles and won three more titles by using the triangle to focus the effectiveness of Bryant and center Shaquille O’Neal.
Winter is now 85 and wracked by the pain of shingles in his chest, but he retains a high enthusiasm for the system of play he has spent decades developing. It remains a dandy offense, Winter says unabashedly. “We’ve used it so long, that concept. Gosh, look at how many years we’ve relied on that triangle, and the success we’ve had with it.” Bryant is simply the best triangle player, born for it, with his mix of physical ability, smarts and work ethic.
“And he knows it,” Winter said. “I wish he would concentrate on playing the game and making his teammates better and not worry about all this other stuff.”
In quiet, low-key ways, Bryant has perhaps moved into the mode that Winter hopes he’ll take. He had effusive praise this week for the work ethic of Andrew Bynum, the young Lakers center who just months ago Bryant had targeted as trade bait.
And Bryant has certainly played within the offense and in tune with his teammates in the early going this season.
“He’s trying to do what’s right,” Winter said of Bryant. “He’s certainly working at it. Defensively he’s improved. He’s trying to get better at off-the-ball defense. He’s always been very good as an on-ball defender.”
And Bryant certainly retains his titanium grade confidence, Winter said with a chuckle. “He hasn’t shot the ball well yet, but that’s not a concern with Kobe. He’s not concerned about anything as far as his play is concerned. He thinks he’s fine, thinks he’s the greatest. Phil has made that remark to him, trying to point out things about his game. But Kobe doesn’t worry. He’s something. He’s got tremendous confidence. That confidence is a key part of who he is.”
So, what is the key for Bryant and this young Lakers team in terms of becoming one of those great triangle teams? As always, it’s execution.
And execution also follows the familiar path: Fundamentals, and more fundamentals. That’s why Jordan and Pippen were so dedicated to working on all the little things in each Bulls practice, passing, cutting, running through the numerous drills that Winter has devised over the years for making players into effective triangle components.
It also means the Lakers need to take on more of a retro Bulls look.
“Remember all the third cutter looks we used to get with Horace Grant?” Winter asked. “Or what about the baseline cuts we used to get with Pippen and Jordan?”
The recent Lakers teams have gotten those passes every once in a while, but the key is their big men, Winter said. “Their game is not passing; it’s trying to score.”
Whereas the Bulls’ centers were great at finding a Jordan or a Pippen along the baseline, the Lakers centers haven’t shown great effectiveness there. The one center who has potential as a passer is the young Bynum, Winter said. “He does the best job of the three at seeing the cutter. The centers have to recognize that if the cutter’s not open, someone else will be. They need to get the ball back out and keep the offense moving.”
Like Bryant, Winter has been a critic of Bynum. And like Bryant, Winter is starting to see positive signs from the young guy. The key to Bynum’s improvement, Winter said, is learning to hold his position down on the block. “That’s one of his weaknesses, as big as he is. He’s inclined to get moved off the block too easily. Because he doesn’t hold his position as well on the block, teams don’t front him very much. They play behind him and force him out.”
As he learns to hold his position better, he’ll present more of a problem for defenses. As his passing improves, he’ll compound those problems for opponents.
The Lakers’ potential to reach the next level lies with Bynum’s work ethic and determination.
If Bryant stops and thinks about it, he’s actually much closer to getting the competitive team he wants in Los Angeles than he would be anywhere else, Winter says.
Bryant may have his faults, but lack of logic usually isn’t one of them. Perhaps that helps explain why he’s quietly moving back within the team and in the process slowly repairing the relationships around him.
Winter, meanwhile, watches many many basketball games a day from his Oregon home. The basketball helps take his mind off the pain of the shingles. He went to Lakers training camp in Hawaii this season, but he says the pain was so great that he wasn’t of any use to the team.
He’s scheduled to come to Los Angeles this week to serve in his regular role as a consultant to Jackson. That, of course, will depend on how the shingles are treating him. It goes without saying that Bryant’s recent play has gone a long way toward easing Winter’s pain.
Like many Lakers fan, the veteran coach is hoping the relief will be long-term.

by Roland Lazenby
SportsHubLA

Bryant praises Bynum

It was buried inside a week that seemed relatively routine and unremarkable for the Lakers, if such a thing actually exists for them this season.

Kobe Bryant, who chastised Andrew Bynum on an amateur parking-lot video over the summer, praised the Lakers' 20-year-old center for the effort he has given this season.

"He's working really hard in practice and before practice, and I see a lot of improvement in him," Bryant said. "The more he plays, the more his feet get wet, the more he gets acclimated to the type of conditioning that he needs to play at this level, but he's doing a fantastic job."

Bryant, of course, derided the Lakers for not trading Bynum for New Jersey guard Jason Kidd before the trade deadline last February, declaring in the infamous video that Bynum should be shipped out.

Fast forward to Thursday, and Bryant was showing Bynum some post-up possibilities before practice."I was showing him some moves, some of that things that I've kind of learned that I think he could use," Bryant said.

Bynum had 10 points and 10 rebounds against Minnesota on Friday, his season averages.Coach Phil Jackson chose Bryant and Derek Fisher as team captains this season.

Despite Bryant's demand to be traded, Jackson said it wasn't a difficult decision."I was sitting on the john one day and I said, 'That's a good idea,' " Jackson said jokingly. "It wasn't very much of a thought process. It was a pretty gut-level idea. Who's the spokesman for this team, the guys that step up and lead this team as they do?"

Lamar Odom was not selected to be a captain, although Jackson said not to read too much into it."Titular or not, it doesn't matter to me. He's definitely a leader on the floor," he said.The way Odom tells it, it's a good thing he didn't sit out more than four games.

"It's about time, right?" he said. "It's not great for me to be sitting around. I need order. I need a schedule. It's always tough to watch -- win, lose or draw."At the same time, he said not to expect too much right away.

"I've just got to take my time," he said. "It won't all come back in one day."Luke Walton struggled after being dropped to the second unit to make room for Odom's insertion into the starting lineup.

Walton had four points on one-for-six shooting and an uncharacteristic six turnovers against Minnesota.

"He tried to do some things that I thought were a little bit risky," Jackson said.

by Mike Bresnahan
LATimes.Com

The Pack is Back

In ancient times, 1991, a great leader and teacher, Phil Jackson, observed that the nature of his team, the Chicago Bulls, was similar to a pack of wolves. Before Chicago engaged the rival clan, the New York Knicks, in playoff battle, it was Jackson’s task to band his team together and bring them to self awareness. Jax borrowed from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book 2 and gave to each player, at the top of their Knicks scouting report, the following quote…
Now this is the Law of the Jungle – as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back-
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
That pack went on to create NBA legend, cruising through the playoffs, winning the 1991 NBA finals, three-peating twice.
Lately our own alpha wolf’s been up on a hill howling, alone. He misses a different chapter of NBA lore, one created by his own pack, the days of the Monster and the Killer. A 330 pound monster controlled the lane, and Kobe ran free, wreaking havoc. That pack was stocked with lean, savvy veterans. Surrounded by Rick Fox, Robert Horry and Derek Fisher, Kobe grew up safe. Even Horace Grant was there, to help bring legend back into reality. Kobe was the golden child, the adored one, the young killer. He was free then to sharpen his new teeth, humiliate opponents, and be showered by an annual parade of adoration. In that safe environment, Kobe grew into a fearsome, respected opponent who constantly challenged even the Monster’s alpha status. And back in those days, the pack was full of experience and mature with only a couple young pups running around, like Devean George. Remember?
In these last years that’s all been gone. After the big split, the Lakers clan was reformed as a young pack of cubs. Only Kobe and Devean remained from that successful society. Soon even Devean was gone. And so was the Lakers’ dominance.
Kobe spent last summer up on lonely hill, howling. He’s missing the glory, his youth, the clan. He wants to go back. In his fantasy he’s even jumping back through time, right into the old legends, mythological Chicago. Kobe’s grown dissatisfied with his lot and with his days. He misses dominance, and he can’t stand not being great. That, we understand.
But, lately, winds of Laker change have come. Derek Fisher’s back, bringing with him a long memory of the old ways. And he is someone to help lead this new, young pack. The roles of leader and killer are so different. It is the difference between acting and directing. When one directs, their acting often suffers. It diverts some of the vital energy. It’s better then for them to take on a supporting, rather than a main role. Think of it as old energy vs. young. It takes mature energy to lead, but young, quick, vital energy to attack. Jordan led only by example in the old days, not by nurturing. Kobe is much the same.
Fisher, on the other hand, is perfect for a leadership role. For 30 minutes he plays hardnosed ball and leads a team of young wolves. He is a wise, gentle, but firm mentor. He carries with him a fierce, protective energy. He knows all about putting the clan first. And with that same protective energy he leads on D. Did you see what he did to Steve Nash the other night? He ripped him and held him down to 5 turnovers and only 3 assists, crippling the Suns offense. He shot over him. He asserted a tradition, the old knowledge he carries with him. “I am a member of the three ring clan. You shall not pass.”
Kobe, meanwhile is free again. To run. To hunt. To unleash his own, unparalleled fury. Someone else is there to gather the pack. And some of the young cubs have been growing some serious teeth too. Jordan Farmar looks quick and hungry. Ronny Turiaf has grown into a scrappy starter, howling with energy. Mihm and Odom have nursed their wounds and returned strong. And who is that new 10 point 10 rebound bench giant? Listen to the sudden hush that has come over the Andrew Bynum doubters, as it comes clear. There is a new Monster growing in the middle.
What was that sound we heard last week? The mighty being torn? We heard it in previously dreaded and feared Phoenix. We heard it in Staples against mighty Utah.
Yep. The winds have changed. And Kobe’s come right down from lonely mountain, back to the only society of mighty wolves he’s ever known. Chicago? Are you kiddin’ me? I don’t think so. Because the pack is back, baby. The pack is back.

by Davey Da

LakerNation.Com

Kobe Still Wants Off the Buss

You’ll be happy and (I’m guessing) relieved to know this column will NOT be about the pros and cons, the merits and demerits, the whys and why nots, of trading Kobe Bryant.
I’ve read enough of those to be www.bloggedout.com.
Besides, there’s really only one reason the Lakers can’t trade him right now, or maybe not at all this season: It’s called $89.24 per ticket, highest average ticket price in the NBA.
You think Laker fans are gonna want to pay that to see Luol Deng? Deng right they don’t.
No, this isn’t about wins and losses, the quality of Kobe’s teammates, his court compatibility with Lamar Odom or the ticking of Kobe’s athletic biological clock.
For professional purposes, Kobe and his Laker teammates get along just fine.
If the Lakers changed owners tomorrow, Kobe would buy two more mansions here and sing “I Love L.A.” on Leno.
Plain and simple, this is about a broken marriage, a love affair gone sour.
It’s about a high-end employee who has decided he hates his bosses and can’t work for them anymore.
I mean, he WILL work for them because he has to, and because he’s a pro, and because it’s a lot easier being unhappy on the job when you’re making $22 million a year, $14 million of which you’ve already collected up front in one very fat check.
But Kobe Bryant is working for the Buss family under strong, silent, yet unmistakable protest.
This is about the relationship between Bryant and the two Busses being over, done, kaput, finito. Get it?
Or as Kobe himself would tell you because he knows Italian, capiche?
This is about hurt feelings and bitter resentments and (figuratively) having to be in bed with someone who makes your skin crawl.
I don’t know Kobe personally, but I know people, I feel Kobe’s vibe, intuit his emotional withdrawl from the Lakers; so when I watched his face and body language Tuesday night against New Orleans, I saw a man seething on the inside, a man now fully disconnected from the people who sign his check, a man who does not want to be where he is one second longer than he absolutely has to.
Laker fans, I hate saying this as much as you dislike reading it, because who doesn’t love watching Kobe Bryant play basketball? But it is over. Irrevocably and irretrievably finished. The Lakers improving by 10 wins or Andrew Bynum morphing into his mentor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, isn’t going to change that inalienable fact.
What Kobe said last summer, Kobe meant. He wants out, and that hasn’t changed at all.
Chicago, Dallas, Washington, Pluto, Wherever.
Just out.
If anything, Kobe today is even more firmly entrenched in his position than he was in July.
He has boxed himself into this corner and there are four defenders around him that even he can’t dribble through.
Now, there is a big part of me that wants to tell him: C’mon, kid, grow up. You don’t like YOUR bosses? Try working for jerks when you’re making 10 bucks an hour! You’re in the real world now and it ain’t always pretty. But look on the bright side: You still take the most shots, play the most minutes, sell the most jerseys and make the most money. And you live in Newport Beach. So over this you’re unhappy? I want to tell him: Son, you’re a long way from a thousand feet underground breathing coal in a mine in Pennsylvania, so instead of wallowing in pettiness, can’t you just be happy for the many blessings you do enjoy?
The other voice I hear, maybe not as strong but present nonetheless, tells me that if the Fat Lady indeed has sung on the Bryant-Buss relationship, then fine. End it. Cut the cord. It is becoming more joyless watching Kobe’s nightly highlight show while knowing he can’t wait to get the hell out of Dodge.
And because the story is still out there, etched on the very face of Kobe Bryant, you tried and true Laker fans might as well come to grips with the idea that there is no such thing as equal value in a trade, unless it’s Lebron James. At least then you’re in the conversation. But even if the Bulls give the Lakers everyone they want–Deng, Heinrich, Gordon and Tyrus Thomas–the Lakers will still be missing the one thing you can never replace, the one thing their fans are making a house payment to see, the incredible star power of Kobe Bryant.
And so unless both aggrieved sides go to mediation, or marital counseling, this looks likes it’s going to end badly, one way or the other. Like War of the Roses, with Michael Douglas dangling from a chandelier and Kathleen Turner crumpled on the perfectly polished marble floor.
Even if Kobe sucks it up, they win 54 and go to the Western finals, it looks like nothing short of a one-way plane ticket out of Los Angeles is going to soothe the hurt feelings or repair the fractured dynamic.
Right now Kobe Bryant is with the Lakers, but he is not of them.

by Ted Green
SportsHubLA

Why the Future of the Los Angeles Lakers Rests With Everyone but Kobe Bryant

Ever since Kobe Bryant’s “Trade Me, Don’t Trade Me” radio tirade this past summer, media outlets from here to Beijing have posed every imaginable question about No. 24 and his team for the present, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Is Kobe to blame for shaking the organization to its Staples Center core, or is Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss and team management responsible for failing to make any blockbuster off-season moves to placate the Black Mamba?
Was Kobe the reason Shaquille O’Neal left Los Angeles?
Has Kobe played his last game in a Lakers’ uniform? (If you believe ESPN’s Ric Bucher, he has. Several times now.)
The focal point of all discussion has been No. 24, yet strangely enough, almost no attention has been paid to the assumption underlying his original complaint — namely, that Los Angeles has failed to surround him with the talent he needs to compete for a championship.
To a degree, Kobe is right. This team has not competed for an NBA title, or gotten past the first round of the playoffs, though two seasons ago, the Lakers came within a basket of doing precisely that.
But what about No. 24’s teammates — the Others, if you will. Do they have any talent at all? Enough to be competitive? To compete for a championship?
Start asking these questions, and the answers are surprising — both because they reveal talent on the Lakers, and because they lay the blame for Los Angeles’ current woes not on Kobe or Lakers’ ownership/management, but on the players themselves.
THE PARALYSIS OF AWE
Ever since Shaq’s departure, the Lakers have essentially passed through two periods.
The first, After Shaq, was short-lived. Kobe discovered quickly that he wasn’t Michael Jordan — at least, not yet — and that winning meant more than scoring 30+ points a night. Or to put it another way, he was Early Jordan (63 points v. Boston in the playoffs for a loss, etc.).
In the second, Understanding the Team Concept, Kobe began to grasp that he was going to need some assistance if he ever wanted to reach the post-season again. Being reunited with Phil Jackson helped Kobe move through this period rather rapidly. People say that No. 24 is selfish and so forth, and I’m the first to harp on the quality of his shot-selection/ball distribution, but he wants to win more than anything. You need teammates to win. He gets it.
The problem is that the majority of Kobe’s teammates — at least, the ones who have been here the last few years — have been awestruck by him, so much so that they’ve looked lost on the floor a lot of the time.
As a result, people have reached two conclusions. The first is that the Others simply aren’t very good. The second is that Kobe has done little to make his teammates better. Once every other week (if not more often), you can find a story out of a major media outlet questioning his ability to interact with other players, as if he were a two year-old.
THE MYTH OF MJ
What is commonly meant by “making one’s teammates better?”
Typically, this refers to a few things. Some are strategy-related — drawing opposing defenses to open up opportunities for your teammates, setting them up to score via great passes, etc. A good deal of making your teammates better, however, seems to revolve around intangibles. Somehow, the true leader improves the performances of his teammates through positive encouragement, inspiring them through his own effort. And of course, Michael Jordan is the standard by which all other aspiring leaders are measured, since he — as a friend of mine puts it — managed to win a few titles with Scottie Pippen and some guys from the gym.
Except, as the following review of David Halberstam’s book about MJ, “Playing for Keeps,” points out, that that’s really just the popular myth.
Jackson occasionally stood up to Jordan; early on, he demanded that Jordan share the ball more often. It took him a long time to develop such trust in his teammates. Jackson was so effective in running this delicate ship, Halberstam doubts any other coach could have led the Bulls to those six titles. “Maybe four, no more,” he said.
Halberstam also watched the way Jordan interacted with his teammates, no idle matter. Once, during Chicago’s first championship run, two exasperated teammates counted the number of times Jordan used “I” during a pregame chat with several writers.
The Jackson that’s being referred to, of course, is none other than Phil Jackson, the current Lakers coach. The article goes on to provide some more intriguing details that show an uncanny parallel to the current situation in L.A.
Jordan occasionally showed his wicked side. He ruthlessly hassled Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who longed for public credit and was eager to dump Jackson and start anew.
MJ, as reality would have it, was a ruthless taskmaster early in his career, barely tolerated by his teammates, who got along with him at least partly (if not more so) due to the management skills of Jackson.
What I’m driving at here is this: If Michael Jordan didn’t make his teammates better by patting them on the back — at least during the first championship run — how did he do it?
HE DIDN’T DO IT, THEY DID
There’ s an old cliche in psychology that goes something like this: You can’t make anyone do anything they don’t want to do.
I would argue that Michael Jordan didn’t do a thing to make his teammates play better.
Yes, he played the most incredible basketball we’re all likely to ever see.
Yes, he put forth more effort to improve his game and excel than anyone else in his era, and arguably, ever.
Michael Jordan’s teammates saw how he played every day of his career, and they responded.
Will Perdue and Luc Longley worked hard enough for people to remember who they were.
Steve Kerr worked on his shot, and went from being a good college player to one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history.
Scottie Pippen pushed his skills so far, people argue that Jordan wouldn’t have been Jordan without him.
Yes, MJ might have inspired his teammates, but ultimately, they tried harder. They improved their skills. They made themselves better.
THE OTHERS
One crucial difference between Jordan’s teammates and Bryant’s is that MJ won his first title with the “role players.”
When the current crop of Lakers arrived, Kobe already had three NBA championships under his belt. He was already KOBE BRYANT, the superstar who Los Angeles chose to keep over Shaquille O’Neal, arguably the most dominating center of all time. The context was different. And that, to an extent, accounts for the inability of Kobe and the rest of the Lakers to coalesce the way that they would have normally.
Only No. 24 has remained on a pedestal, and for the most part, his teammates have been content persisting as more serving staff at the royal table than peers. Lucky to be playing with him, there to serve him, with no real standing of their own.
And that is their fault.
After all, if the “supporting cast” can’t see itself as anything more than the supporting cast, how is Kobe Bryant to blame for that? How is management or Jerry Buss to blame, for that matter?
Looking back, it’s amazing to me how remarkable Lamar Odom’s performance was during last year’s playoffs — not because he played so well, which he did, but because it was such earth-shattering news. Some of the attention, at least partly, was due to his injuries and his effort; he played through a torn labrum and a wobbly knee.
But people seemed to be almost more astounded that someone else on the Lakers besides Kobe Bryant was battling to win. And that is inexcusable.
Fans may not like a team that loses, but if players are fighting through injuries, diving for loose balls, and raging against the expectation of defeat, they can at least be respected. Fading into oblivion, as many of Los Angeles’ role players have done over the past few seasons — you just would expect to see some modicum of pride.
I don’t agree with how Kobe has handled his situation, but I certainly empathize with him. He’s done everything he can to make his teammates better. Now it’s their turn.
Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf need to stop being in awe of Kobe (I’m fairly certain Bynum has a more human view of Kobe now), and start playing like they belong. So far, there are signs that this is the case; Farmar seems confident in his abilities, as opposed to last year, when he seemed more confident in his confidence than anything else.
Luke Walton needs to stay healthy and do everything that his surprisingly wide array of talents allow him to do. Odom needs to stay healthy and pick up right where he left off last season: dominating the opposition at both ends of the floor.
Derek Fisher just got here, but Los Angeles needs him to embrace the role only he can fill as confidant and counselor to KB. (Not to mention veteran point guard.)
Vladimir Radmanovic needs to stay at sea level and keep hitting threes.
Kwame Brown needs to remember that on one memorable night last season, Staples Center actually reverberated with fans chanting his name. And he needs to make that happen more than once a year.
More than anything, Kobe’s teammates need to show some pride, and match his effort and drive with their own.
Contrary to the popular take, I do think the Others on this team have talent. Will it be realized? Can they make themselves better?
The future of the Lakers franchise — and of No. 24 — is riding on the answer.

by David Neiman
SportsHubLA