am i the only one that is not impressed by kobes 40 point

[RocketPower23]

I guess people didn't see how god-awful the Lakers offense was when Kobe was on the bench tonight. Especially in the 4th.

Uhh, you think that might have something to do with the unprecedented level of chucking on Kobe's part? How's the rest of the team supposed get in rhythm?

LA's offense ranks a mediocre 13th this year, and likely to get worse after tonight's game. How's a core of Kobe/Bynum/Gasol + floor spacers in Barnes/Blake/Fisher/Kapono so mediocre offensively? And they have played a very soft schedule so far.

New offensive system, Kobe being the only actual decision maker on the team?

Barnes is hardly a floor spacer, Fisher has been shooting atrociously and Kapono plays selectively.

The Lakers were a poor shooting team last year with Kobe "chucking" less.

Kobe shooting /= Laker offensive struggles. At least not necessarily a given as you make it.

[ennui]

I love Kobe, he is my favorite player.

[jmb987]

People are just mad because it's messing with that stat that says the Lakers have a poor record when kobe shoots more than 20 times

[DrewBynum77]

People are just mad because it's messing with that stat that says the Lakers have a poor record when kobe shoots more than 20 times

lol I forgot about that **** stat. kobe usually shoots more when the team struggles more and when the team struggle the team generally lose.

nowadays with the bench scoring 1 basket in the whole game he'll have to shoot a lot even in an "easy" game and therefore gonna win more.

[c rasheed]

Yeah, not THAT impressed either.

Pau: 9-16
Drew: 7-9

For me it's not about the efficiency. It's the fact that Kobe think he needs to take 40 shots in a meaningless game against the Cavs. What is he trying to prove? Why doesn't he have more faith in his teammates abilities? This is reminding me of the egotistical Kobe that chased all of his teammates out of town.

[Storm Surge]

Mike Brown can't stand up to KoME so he lets him do whatever he wants. Phil Jackson kept KoME in check and forced him to play a team game. Now KoME can ballhog and be a selfish player again.

[34_fifty]

Impressed but don't expect it to last.

[fart]

If you watched tonight's game, you'll notice the lakers offensive execution was awful. Every play was Kobe shooting a contested shot. This offense is going to be the end of them come playoff time.

Edit: Also Bynum started the first quarter on fire, and he had 4 more shot attempts the rest of the game. WTF?

[The MVPlaya]

Y'all argue about the same stuff in every Kobe thread.

For real though, y'all don't get tired of repeating yourselves? Give props and move on.

[djay]

Yeah, not THAT impressed either.

Pau: 9-16
Drew: 7-9

For me it's not about the efficiency. It's the fact that Kobe think he needs to take 40 shots in a meaningless game against the Cavs. What is he trying to prove? Why doesn't he have more faith in his teammates abilities? This is reminding me of the egotistical Kobe that chased all of his teammates out of town.

You do realize Kobe was hot early right? When Kobe was feeling it, he's going to shot. That is part of scorer or shooter mentality. Kobe had the highest +/- in this game. That say a lot

[DirtyDez]

Didn't he score 50 for 4 straight games a few years back? What year was that?

[DrewBynum77]

If you watched tonight's game, you'll notice the lakers offensive execution was awful. Every play was Kobe shooting a contested shot. This offense is going to be the end of them come playoff time.

hopefully we'll have dwight by the time the playoffs start.

[Ghosttown]

Poster's here act like it's easy to even put up shots in the NBA. Yes Kobe is taking almost 30 shots a game but I consider that a strength not a weakness. Now don't get me wrong I don't think that simply throwing the ball up to the hoop is a strength but getting quality looks at the basket is. And yes I think most of Kobe's shots are quality looks because he is Kobe Bryant. I'll take a contested 2 from Kobe over an open 3 from Ron Artest any day.

He is shooting nearly 50% in his last 7 games (with a broken wrist and while double-teamed); his shooting percentages are higher than most guards in the league.

Honestly, if it's winning them games then I don't see what everyone is complaining about. It's clearly an effective tool to use so why not use it? It's like telling a guy that's on fire from 3 not to take another shot because he shouldn't exceed this imaginary shot limit a player must maintain to be considered good.

I'm not even going to go into how open Pau and Bynum's looks have looked since Kobe has been drawing all the attention because that's a whole other argument altogether.

[bballcool34]

I'm impressed, but it seems a little odd that the Lakers are playing this way since it's basically counter to how they should play in the playoffs to win.

Bryant knows this btw, he doesn't tend to go as crazy in the playoffs, but yet he insists on carrying out these shooting sprees at various, odd times in his career.

[chubby_1_kenobi]

Yeah, not THAT impressed either.

Pau: 9-16
Drew: 7-9

For me it's not about the efficiency. It's the fact that Kobe think he needs to take 40 shots in a meaningless game against the Cavs. What is he trying to prove? Why doesn't he have more faith in his teammates abilities? This is reminding me of the egotistical Kobe that chased all of his teammates out of town.

Which teammates got ran out of town?

[Mamba Venom]

Michael Jordan's career average: 1.316 points per field goal attempt
Kobe Bryant tonight: 1.355 points per field goal attempt

Yeah, Kobe's playing great.

Wow I never knew

I bet d whistle and Durante are both higher than mj and kobe

[djay]

Kobe is the smart man. He knows when he needs to shoot and when he needs to get Pau/Bynum involved. When he's feeling it, he going to ride that momentum. In the playoff, he would slow down and make sure his big get comfortable. That's why the guy had 5 rings.

Btw, somebody make a thread calling out Wade for his poor performance. I can't believe this guy get away with murder from fan criticism. Maybe the mod is a fanboy of Wade?

[ennui]

I'm impressed, but it seems a little odd that the Lakers are playing this way since it's basically counter to how they should play in the playoffs to win.

Bryant knows this btw, he doesn't tend to go as crazy in the playoffs, but yet he insists on carrying out these shooting sprees at various, odd times in his career.

He's sending a message, that much is obvious. What is most impressive about this streak, is that he is seemingly willing these huge offensive outings.

[RocketPower23]

They have played a very soft schedule so far to boot.

The Lakers rank 10th in SOS. That's above teams like Miami, Dallas, Chicago and San Antonio.

[TheOUTLAW]

Kobe was shooting well over 50% in this game and in fact his shooting actually helped the Cavs keep the game close. The real advantage that the Lakers had was inside where Bynum was abusing the defense.