3/20/12 Lakers @ Houston 5:00PM PST Rockets fans welcome!

[Father Time]

Anyone ask Kobe about his shooting tonight?

[NoseBleedLakers]

Wow, am I glad I had somewhere to go when the Lakers had that 10 point lead in the 4th. These moronic chumps still can't close out a **** game on the road hahaha. Allowing 34 points in the 4th quarter alone? Hell of another choke job.

[kobeaki]

so lets revisit browns alleged defense? giving massive leads to pedestrian teams? if this is his specialty, what are his weaknesses?

here is a little slice of hell the consider...what if we got rid of fisher/walton , you know the things this board has been praying for for years now, and we got a decent servicable point guard, and with all these moves what if we were exactly the same and had the same issues...was it worth it ? to destroy th chemistry and locker room leadership ? to really be the same team? save a million?

yikes, dark times are ahead...i really hope not, but all evidence to the contrary..

[Blackfyre]

Last year I thought it's painful to watch Kobe...this year it's much much worse :/. We have to admit he is just terrible.

[Honey Bear]

For anyone that didn't see Bynum's ejection.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_VQQS6leCg[/youtube]

[dirtymike]

I thought the squad that was on the floor before Kobe came in was doing a terrific job. Energy. Shots falling. Quick pace. Then....when Kobe came in, it began to be all iso plays and jump shots. No spacing. No open shots. Who's to blame? Did Mike Brown do the right thing??? It was just brutal to watch!

[semi-sentient]

this is the key for the lakers ....when sessions was in, he did a good job of getting pau involved with his penetration and scoring...then when kobe came in, sessions was either out or not involved...it killed the momentum i thought.

Sessions was not involved because Kobe kept demanding the ball only to throw up a brick or turn the ball over. That's when the offense died, and that's why the game was lost.

Kobe needs to settle down and trust his teammates in the 4th quarter. For a guy that brings up the word "execution" so much he sure doesn't seem to grasp the concept very well.

... and where is the leadership? This guy seems like a totally different player than the one who led the charge to 3 consecutive title appearances.

[Anklebreaker702]

this is the key for the lakers ....when sessions was in, he did a good job of getting pau involved with his penetration and scoring...then when kobe came in, sessions was either out or not involved...it killed the momentum i thought.

Sessions was not involved because Kobe kept demanding the ball only to throw up a brick or turn the ball over. That's when the offense died, and that's why the game was lost.

Kobe needs to settle down and trust his teammates in the 4th quarter. For a guy that brings up the word "execution" so much he sure doesn't seem to grasp the concept very well.

... and where is the leadership? This guy seems like a totally different player than the one who led the charge to 3 consecutive title appearances.

Kobe has hit that point it seems like, where i'm going to be the star or we're not winning. I do blame Mike Brown for bringing back in at that exact moment but Kobe has been around enough to know how & what to do.

[semi-sentient]

Yeah, I'm starting to really hate Mike Brown. His rotations are idiotic, just like they were when he coached the Cavs. I can't believe we're this far into the season and we still haven't figured out our main rotations yet. What the hell happened to Goudelock? He's one of the few guys on the team that has range and he gets no PT?

Whatever the case, I would have left Kobe on the bench last night. There was no reason for him to come back in the game when our offense was executing as well as it was. It would have been a good test to see if they can close things out and hold onto a lead, and it would have been a real confidence builder had they been able to hold on.

I would have rather seen our 2nd unit lose the game due to inexperience than what went down when Kobe came back in the game. That makes me absolutely hate watching games and just ruins my evening, and I'm quite sure it's demoralizing for the team as well.

[picc]

Last year I thought it's painful to watch Kobe...this year it's much much worse :/. We have to admit he is just terrible.

Better physically than last year. Worse mentally, if thats even possible. Way to go Bryant, your way or the highway huh?

[poorboy]

Last year I thought it's painful to watch Kobe...this year it's much much worse :/. We have to admit he is just terrible.

Better physically than last year. Worse mentally, if thats even possible. Way to go Bryant,the your way or highway huh?

Hasn't it always been this way..Like Ankle said in one of his posts, he was forced to play a certain way with Shaq..and the last 7 years without him he was more efficient..getting worse by the season. Now its at an all time low and your seeing the results. He plays absolutely ZERO defense and I feel like it's so he can save his has energy to put up 30 shots. Even with him playing no defense and not setting guys up, it still cant save his terrible shooting percentage.

[The Skyhook]

this is the key for the lakers ....when sessions was in, he did a good job of getting pau involved with his penetration and scoring...then when kobe came in, sessions was either out or not involved...it killed the momentum i thought.

Sessions was not involved because Kobe kept demanding the ball only to throw up a brick or turn the ball over. That's when the offense died, and that's why the game was lost.

Kobe needs to settle down and trust his teammates in the 4th quarter. For a guy that brings up the word "execution" so much he sure doesn't seem to grasp the concept very well.

... and where is the leadership? This guy seems like a totally different player than the one who led the charge to 3 consecutive title appearances.

At this point I'm not even sure Kobe would have trusted CP3 to carry the Lakers offensive load in the 4th. I don't think Kobe was kidding when he made that comment about jacking up 40 shots a game or whatever it was if Chris Paul was on the Lakers. Kobe has a difficult time seeing that there is a way to win outside of him taking over complete control of games. Kobe won't change and we have been saying it for years but during those years the Lakers were actually able to get by with "Kobe ball". Nowadays "Kobe ball" does more harm then good. The only way this team can get far is if everyone is on the same page.

Right after writing this up I went on NBA.com and the first headline one the page is "Touchy Subject". Can Kobe Bryant change his game?

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/03/2 ... ef:nbahpt1

Everyone in the world but Kobe Bryant sees he has become a problem.

[crazy8ights]

Time to ride this and see where it goes, does Kobe adjust and make us contenders we'll see what we're made off soon enough. I think after this game everyone is going to have an eye on Kobe. The only thing we can do is ride or die #teamlakers

[Kilroy]

Kobe's right... Win or loose, it's up to him...

But just not the way he thinks. Trusting his team-mates and passing more gets us the win... It's true now and it was true during his 81 season...
He can't win it alone. Only now we have a solid core with the exception of MWP and Blake, that can help him win if he buys into that.

I guess we'll soon see.

I also agree that Mike Brown needs to do a much better job with this team... It shouldn't be this hard to figure out our PG rotation... That's basically all that's changed.

Kobe and Mike Brown are a deadly combination... You want a coach that knows how to work with your star player to minimize his weaknesses... Mike Brown might be the wrong coach for this point in Kobe's career... It seems like rather than maximizing his strengths and minimizing his weaknesses, his and Kobe's styles combine to make the situation worse.

[poorboy]

All in all..It's kind of sad to think 10 years later were still even having the discussion of him shooting too much and being selfish. I for one did not think it would be a problem this late into his career. I thought for sure by the time he reached 30 and with all the experience under his belt, he would have learned to play the right way. Becoming that wise old vet. What a shame hes 33 and still insist on doing it his way, which is the WRONG way. The selfish way.
I think thats why the whole Jordan or Kobe argument has been put to rest. Jordan might have still taken alot of shots late into his career, but he was also doing other things to help his team win, and I can't remember him costing his team a game, or 2, or 3 because he refused to excecute and make the right play down the stretch. Not to mention he didn't have 2 of the top 5 post players on his team at the time.
I really do believe with the pieces he has around him he could surpass Jordans 6 titles or at least catch him with one more but the only way to do it is to put his ego asside. Unfortunately there is no reason to believe he is ready to do that now, 16 years later.

[desertlakerfan]

Kobe has to learn how to play with Sessions, the only way to do that is to play on the court together.

The longer we wait to start Sessions, the worse off we'll be come playoff time.

[Ribalding]

Rox fan here.

Just wanted to thank you guys for the class gesture of welcoming opposing fans into your game thread. Well done.

(So long as you never repeat it for the Jazz, we're cool.)

[Anklebreaker702]

Yeah, I'm starting to really hate Mike Brown. His rotations are idiotic, just like they were when he coached the Cavs. I can't believe we're this far into the season and we still haven't figured out our main rotations yet. What the hell happened to Goudelock? He's one of the few guys on the team that has range and he gets no PT?

Whatever the case, I would have left Kobe on the bench last night. There was no reason for him to come back in the game when our offense was executing as well as it was. It would have been a good test to see if they can close things out and hold onto a lead, and it would have been a real confidence builder had they been able to hold on.

I would have rather seen our 2nd unit lose the game due to inexperience than what went down when Kobe came back in the game. That makes me absolutely hate watching games and just ruins my evening, and I'm quite sure it's demoralizing for the team as well.

There is absolutely no reason that Glock shouldn't be playing

[Ribalding]

There is absolutely no reason that Glock shouldn't be playing

Last year, during the final four (here in Houston) Glock played in an all-senior all star game. I went with my bother. Midway through the 2nd period, my brother turned to me and said "the only NBA stud out there is that Gooeyduck kid".

(The only 2 other players who really impressed were, ironically, Keneth Faried and Jimmy Butler. Funny how things work out in the long run. They're both low picks who are also contributing.)

Why isn't Glock getting more run? I know Brown's never going to be confused for Pat Riley, but this situation kind of defies explanation, doesn't it?