Is Kobe Trying To Prove a Point?

iamworthy · Post #1 » by **iamworthy** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:27 am

When was the last time Kobe was this passive in a game, let alone a playoff series. Is he tired of the feed the post, the 7 footers are our best option talk. He clearly seemed dis-intrested during the playoff games once the lakers were down to the mavs. He played the perfect solider, making passes and not taking over games like he is known to have done. Is he trying to prove a point? In the most important game of the season he shot 8-16. Thats good for some but not for kobe.

Post #2 » by **Slava** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:30 am

He can carry his point proving ass to Minnesota to ball with the rest of the Lakers discards. He couldn't get anything done against Kidd and this isn;t the first time he struggled against strong PGs defending him. Billups did it, Payton used to do it and Kidd is great at defending Kobe.

Kobe was good and we can win with good if Gasol doesn't turn into a fking liability.

followwind · Post #3 » by **followwind** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:30 am

Kobe took 28 shots: omg he is ballhogging!!!!!
Kobe took 16 shots playing facilator mode: omg he is trying to prove a point!!!!

Will this ever end?

iamworthy · Post #4 » by **iamworthy** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:31 am

followwind wrote:Kobe took 28 shots: omg he is ballhogging!!!!!
Kobe took 16 shots playing facilator mode: omg he is trying to prove a point!!!!

Will this ever end?

It wont end. You obviously just started following Kobe as a player :lol:

LakerLegendMikeSmrek · Post #5 » by **LakerLegendMikeSmrek** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:32 am

You're giving him too much credit. The only point he's proving is that he's no longer a spring chicken. The rest of the nation knows this, it's just the Laker fans who are still holding on to this notion that he has some sort of MJ game that he can summon anytime he wants. 1 free throw today, some costly bricks and a pass to Pau's back during the crunch. The man is mortal. The time is near for the Lakers to find a new alpha dog and start a transition of Kobe being the complimentary piece. Easier said than done when dealing with someone of Kobe's stature and accomplishments. Shaq didn't give up his status too easily, neither will Kobe.

Doormatt · Post #6 » by **Doormatt** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:35 am

followwind wrote:Kobe took 28 shots: omg he is ballhogging!!!!!
Kobe took 16 shots playing facilator mode: omg he is trying to prove a point!!!!

Will this ever end?

lol no it wont. this is (Please Use More Appropriate Word), especially from lakers fans.

he did a great job of feeding the post all game and played a very balanced game. for **** sake, bynum and odom had the same # of shot attempts!!! he tried a little bit too much one-on-one towards the end, but he still hit some shots, so its not like it was game crushing. i know we want him to be perfect and make all the right decisions, but thats not who he is. and in fairness, his teammates didnt give him a lot of reason to show trust, other than bynum.

lakers just couldnt defend when it mattered and couldnt get a bucket when it mattered most. the coaching staff, the players, even kobe, they are all to blame.

but to think he was trying to prove a point? ridiculous.

fareweatherfan · Post #7 » by **fareweatherfan** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:38 am

kobe played a fantastic game offensively, lock this damn thread

chefy · Post #8 » by **chefy** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:40 am

I blame the lost on Kobe and Phil.

the last two errors by Kobe cost us the game.

the ball was in his hands way too long. and it resulted in two bad shot attempts.

I blame Phil for not making the Lakers stay on the 3 point shooters.

Dirk is just automatic right now period.

you do not double him and leave Stojakovic, Terry, Kidd wide open. Dirk always make the right passes, he'll find the open man.

RocketPower23 · Post #9 » by **RocketPower23** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:40 am

Seriously? I mean really, this question is being asked. What's funny is that through 3 1/2 quarters, everyone was talking about how pitch perfect Kobe was playing. He faciliatated the offense to perfection, while keeping himself involved with his scoring. He hit three consecutive shots over Kidd, made a number of plays that spoon fed the Lakers buckets, the Laker defense was just effing awful. From memory, Kobe took one bad shot with the shot clock winding down, he should've passed it to Odom for a good look at the three. Kobe played great, there's no doubt in my mind he could've went out and scored 30+, but then we would be saying why don't we feed our bigs.

Wile E. Coyote · Post #10 » by **Wile E. Coyote** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:43 am

You blame the loss on Kobe and Phil when Gasol the BEAST had 12/8 and played some of the worst ball I've seen him play since he came to LA. Unreal.

Doormatt · Post #11 » by **Doormatt** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:43 am

chefy wrote:I blame the lost on Kobe and Phil.

the last two errors by Kobe cost us the game.

the ball was in his hands way too long. and it resulted in two bad shot attempts.

I blame Phil for not making the Lakers stay on the 3 point shooters.

Dirk is just automatic right now period.

you do not double him and leave Stojakovic, Terry, Kidd wide open. Dirk always make the right passes, he'll find the open man.

LOL! you blame it on kobe and phil?!?! phil who got gasol motivated? kobe who played a near perfect game? you gonna try to blame it on bynum next?

wtf do you people watch the games?

Wile E. Coyote · Post #12 » by **Wile E. Coyote** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:46 am

Kobe cannot take over games like he used to and I think he knows this. It's all about getting Bynum the ball. Bynum should be option 1, Kobe option 2. We won't see it in action much any more this season, because, for all intents and purposes, it's over. Maybe the transition will be smoother next year.

microfib4thewin · Post #13 » by **microfib4thewin** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:47 am

This game is on Gasol. Kobe is pretty low on my to blame list and I usually don't defend him.

KB24Gold · Post #14 » by **KB24Gold** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:50 am

followwind wrote:Kobe took 28 shots: omg he is ballhogging!!!!!
Kobe took 16 shots playing facilator mode: omg he is trying to prove a point!!!!

Will this ever end?

Damn if you do, damn if you don't. This has been the on going drama for Kobe for a long time now. It's a very annoying thing for him to deal with but he played a great game today. There was times I wanted to see him do his takeover but the truth is the Mavs played great and are making everyone work for a shot. This isn't the same team that Kobe outscored in 3 qtrs. It would of been nice to see him get touches in the closing parts of the game but he didn't. We can't even speculate on what if's anymore. Sunday is our last chance....I just hope we give them hell if we are to go down.

Bryant doesn't need to prove any points. The man is a competitor and I know it's killing him inside that he's this close to get number 6 and now it's basically falling off his finger tips.

chefy · Post #15 » by **chefy** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:50 am

Gasol is sucking right now period

I don't expect anything more from him. I'm just happy he got at least 5+ rebounds.

to Kobe it's more of decision making and trusting your teammates in crucial situations.

But, I admit, I kinda overreacted, I apologize, I'm probably just very upset.

Kudos to the Mavs defense, they played Kobe very good down the stretch.

crimsonkb24 · Post #16 » by **crimsonkb24** » Sat May 7, 2011 4:53 am

pls stop it slava

magic1fan · Post #17 » by **magic1fan** » Sat May 7, 2011 5:04 am

come on iamworthy you are better than this. i know we are looking for someone to blame but kobe isn't it. if he had taken over everyone would be saying he cost us the game. he did fine today.

iamworthy · Post #18 » by **iamworthy** » Sat May 7, 2011 5:07 am

Im not looking to blame kobe but at some point you have to look at his history and the present and say whats up. Im not the answer by any means necessary.

shobe_81 · Post #19 » by **shobe_81** » Sat May 7, 2011 5:10 am

This is a stupid thread!

I'm sorry but I'm gonna say it, this is something I expect from a Kobe hater on the general board. You guys damn well know the bench is throwing the game away every start of the 4th quarter and defensively the guys are just letting every shooter have open looks.

To put the blame on Kobe's like saying why isn't Bynum stopping their guard from getting inside.

Dr Pepper · Post #20 » by **Dr Pepper** » Sat May 7, 2011 5:11 am

Who knows about his attitude but Kobe's 17 points on 16 shots seems underwhelming since you'd expect him to thoroughly dominate the Jasons. He hasn't been getting the kind of defensive attention that guys like Dirk and CP3 have commanded and the team hasn't been able to get better from that. Although the size for the Lakers is their main advantage, you'd expect Kobe to be much more of a factor than he has been on both ends of the court in this match-up versus Kidd and Terry. Kidd is 38 years old man!

Imo Kobe's more banged up than we think. He had knee surgery in the offseason and tweaked his foot towards the end of the season and again in the playoffs. It seems like he's hardly been able to get to the rim and finish there in this series.