RealGM

I wanted to avoid posting this on the General Board because we all know how discussions can lead into stupid stuff there.

So in terms of the Lakers team, how do you feel about Kobe's efficiency, his shooting when he goes for volume, or picks his spots. Statistics show that the Lakers win more when Kobe attempts less, which kind of makes Kobe seem like a bad chucker or volume shooter. How do you think it affects the team dynamics, and do you think the efficiency statistics or attempts for a game are a valid indication of the kind of impact Kobe has on the game?

It puzzles me, because when I watch Laker games, I only feel like Kobe really gets inefficient when it's late game and we're down in a hole (usually when the Lakers don't play their best, and the other team has us beat). I also think Kobe takes tough shots when the play breaks down. I just don't know. While I love having Kobe on the Lakers team, I just cannot really understand his specific impact, especially in regards to efficiency and his game attempts.

Long story short, what is the response to the common criticism that Kobe is a volume shooter, he's inefficient, bad PER, selfish, blah blah blah. I hated when ESPN shoved that down our throats last year about how the Lakers won alot of games when Kobe took less shots...

I still get angry and Kobe when he takes forced shots but I can't blame him when he misses but then cheer him when he makes it. Plus he's so good that he thinks he can make any shot any time. That's how good he is.

But I do wish that he would defer to Pau more. Pau is not getting the touches he deserves.

He becomes a decoy once he begins looking for his teammates. I forget which game exactly it was, but I saw him do it in one of the later Denver series games with great success and so forth from there on out. The most potent weapon in his arsenal as a player is his scoring, so even when he's not shooting the ball, defenses are still focused on him. I think he's learned a lot more how to play this role more especially with some quality players around him for once. Before it was really frustrating with guys such as Smush, Kwame, Atkins and just Odom having to be his only options out of double teams situations. He is still a great scorer though. His game isn't feared because of his passing. He isn't Magic. Some nights the scorer in him gets the better of him I think, but it isn't that big of a problem these days.

kobe needs to draw oppositions' defensive attentions in order to draw doubles and triples resulting in increased TS% by the rest of the team

its great when teams double/triple early, kobe just passes out resulting in hockey assists and the triangle spacing does the rest...

its not great when teams are able to single cover kobe and kobe is required to beat opponents by himself. fortunately for the lakers, kobe is that great that he will usually win that matchup...

eventually kobe will have a bad shooting night and the rest of the team cant benefit, on those nights its a good thing theres gasol drawing doubles on the low post...

kobe is on the level now that if u single cover him he feels disrespected and hes gonna light u up but hes come a long way and in the finals him n pau worked together beautifully and he made ariza a threat so i think hes got the team thing on lock

He's getting much better at choosing his shots, but there are still times where he shoots 8 times straight even when they weren't behind. Definitely frustrating, but I don't mind it as much as I did a years ago.

CowsMoo wrote:Statistics show that the Lakers win more when Kobe attempts less, which kind of makes Kobe seem like a bad chucker or volume shooter.

Correlation does not imply causation.

NetsForce wrote:

CowsMoo wrote:Statistics show that the Lakers win more when Kobe attempts less, which kind of makes Kobe seem like a bad chucker or volume shooter.

Correlation does not imply causation.

That's true.

Frequently the Lakers win by blowing the opposing team out and the majority of these times Kobe will spend less time on the floor and thus attempt less shots. So therefore the correlation between shot attempts and a higher winning percentage is flawed in my eyes.

NetsForce wrote:

CowsMoo wrote:Statistics show that the Lakers win more when Kobe attempts less, which kind of makes Kobe seem like a bad chucker or volume shooter.

Correlation does not imply causation.

Precisely. When the LAkers are flat and there is no offense, Kobe is the CREATOR. If they are losing and no one else gets it done, Kobe needs to pull up, Kobe needs to drive and everyone just gets passive and Kobe actually needs to carry the team.

That's what scares me. As Kobe gets older, he won't be able to carry the scoring load as much as he does now. The triangle is great for creating shots but in this NBA, when offenses die, teams need a player to take over. That's why Gilbert Arenas has a max contract.

NetsForce wrote:

CowsMoo wrote:Statistics show that the Lakers win more when Kobe attempts less, which kind of makes Kobe seem like a bad chucker or volume shooter.

Correlation does not imply causation.

Hey bro! If you see this, send me an email (it's listed on my profile or on the website in my sig).

I want to talk to you about the new album cover - if you're still interested.