I'm getting tired of this "Kobe misses = buckets" lameness, so let's look at this.
Kobe missed 14 shots in this game, so let's have a look.
1Q
2:30 missed a 26-footer 3pt, by which time the Knicks had already scored 30 points. Jordan Hill grabbed an offensive board.
2:05 missed a 19-footer, Jordan Hill grabbed an offensive board.
1:31 missed a 3-footer, Metta grabbed an offensive board (when Metta missed, Melo boarded and got a layup in transition)
So right away, in the game-changing quarter, it's total crap. The Knicks scored 41 points in the first quarter and literally none of those points came in transition off of a Kobe miss. There were a number of bricked 3s and other shots from Jamison, Meeks, Metta and so forth that were turned around quickly, but it was not Kobe's fault.
After the first, the Knicks scored 27, 25 and 23 points, declining in efficacy as their shots cooled down and they sat Melo. They'd on their damage already.
2Q
7:07 missed 3, Prigioni rebounds, Sheed hits a 3
Right after that, Kobe turned it over to Prigioni on a bad pass, then stole it back and Ebanks got a layup.
4:31 Kobe misses a layup, the Knicks turn it around but blow the layup at the other end.
1:04 Kobe misses a 3, Knicks turn it around for a dunk off of Kidd-to-Brewer.
0:18 Kobe missed a 4-footer but L.A. got the team offensive rebound.
3Q
11:41 Kobe misses, Kidd rebounds but Metta steals it from Felton.
8:41 misses a 12-footer, but New York blows the shot and Ebanks secures the board.
Given how hot he was in the second quarter and how neither of those shots turned into points turned around the other way, it's not really a big deal (especially since similar stuff happened to Melo, Felton, etc). At this stage, Kobe's given up 5 points on the basis of transition turnarounds from missed shots.
4Q
9:27 missed a 3, Jamison secures the defensive board on the missed shot that resulted
3:30 missed a 3, Metta gets the offensive board
0:14 grabs an offensive board, misses the tip, then fouls Kidd trying to get possession back
0:06 missed a 3, Felton rebounds, game over.
So yeah. 5 points all game in a 9-point loss. There were far, FAR worse issues. They gave up 14 points off of turnovers, which is right away like 5x more problematic than the issue of shots off of Kobe's misses. It really is quite foolish to continue this train of thought; the Knicks game was not one where Kobe's shot selection really murdered the team. That people continue to pursue this is embarrassing.
Yes, Kobe's shot selection has always needed work but people need to remember this is a guy around whom two title squads were built and who was a huge part of 3 others (consecutively, no less). The guy is a legendary player, one of the best ever. He's not MJ, but he's damned good and with his style of play comes certain drawbacks, the same as with ANY other player. He thinks he's the best scoring option all of the time; he passes with similar frequency and efficacy as does MJ. He's a little bit in love with the 3, which causes problems at times but he tends not to bomb away when his teammates are going. This post here is about as definitive as it gets: it is FLATLY WRONG to assert that Kobe's shot selection caused this huge shift and turnaround on the team, or exerted huge pressure on their defense. Again, remember that the Lakers took 37 3PA and made only 12 of them. Jamison, Metta, Duhon, Ebanks and Meeks combined to miss 19 3PA. Metta was 3-6, so he gets a pass. Kobe was 5/11, missing only 6. The other guys combined to miss THREE TIMES as many 3PA.
Where's the issue?
Hint: If you say "Kobe," then you don't know what you're talking about and are rabidly anti-Kobe and have no sense of balance or perspective.
djay wrote:Nonsense. When your team is missing a hole and you ARE the STAR and with the talent to do it, you have to adapt your game for the benefit of the team, at least temporarily until Nash got back. Fact is Kobe iso offense is hurting the team offensive flow.
This is a foolish comment. You can't adapt a star player THAT much to the nature of the team. Meantime, Kobe's scoring game has been the foundation of three straight Finals appearances (including consecutive titles), and that's AFTER partnering up for three straight titles and four Finals appearances in five seasons alongside Shaq. I can't imagine how you think this is legitimate argumentation.
Everyone knows the defense is the issue. BUT what caused this defense? It's Kobe isolation and fail to run back in transition? Psychologically, it affect his teammates to consistently play defense whenever he took a tough iso shot. And no he is not the best offensive threat, not at this stage of his career. He leads the league in turnover and there's a guy name Durant.
If his teammates are as weak-minded as that, not running back in transition because they're lazy toolbags who didn't get a shot, then they are useless players. That is plain. How do you think Steve Kerr felt? He tended to take about 6 shots per game for the Bulls. What about Ho Grant? He averaged 10+ FGA/g only three times in his Chicago career.
In this game, Jamison is the only one who wasn't consistently involved after the first quarter. Metta took 15 shots, Duhon took 6, Kobe took only 24 (more than his average, but right about what his average has been at for a decade) and then Ebanks, Meeks and Dwight all took 11 shots.
Dwight is averaging 11 FGA/g this season. In Orlando, he typically averaged 12-13. Given that he's coming to a team with the spread of talent that the Lakers have, it's not surprising that his usage has gone down a little, especially since there is still Pau to consider (he's played 17 of the 24 games).
Meeks averages 6.5 FGA/g, Ebanks 4.3 and Duhon 3.4. Metta averages 10.5
You don't have a leg to stand on here, guys were getting more shots than usual, the ball was whipping around, there were tons of 3s from kick-outs and swing passes as the ball moved from corner to corner or from the post to the wing. There is nothing to the notion that these guys were feeling lazy because they weren't involved in the offense, that's total crap.