Thoughts on the LA Lakers and Kobe

Can Kobe propel the Lakers to more postseason Success?

The Los Angeles Lakers and their leader Kobe Bryant have been intertwined with drama throughout the season. Phil Jackson has been playing his mental games as usual, taking shots at Shaq, the refs, the league, and his own players like Kwame Brown. Kobe, once touted as the next Jordan, has created his own identity in the NBA as a top player and 3 championship rings.

Don't Invite Kwame Brown to Your Birthday Party Brown, the #1 pick of the 2001 draft who IS

one of the biggest bust of all time, has been making news
of his own, in January 2007, he was accused of throwing
a man's birthday cake to the ground and driving away in a limo.

Although Kobe's legacy is nowhere near Jordan's, he is a great player in his own right. He leads the league in scoring with 30.8 points per game and is also known as a solid defender. Still, Kobe has still managed to preserve his identity as a "love him or hate him" player. He is still criticized for his role in the Lakers trading Shaq to the Heat; all the Lakers have to show for that trade is Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. His off court allegations of rape also linger in the background. Even Phil Jackson is on the record for having said that Kobe could have committed the act of rape. Kobe has since been proven innocent since the accuser had like 100 different men's sperm in the tests.

Arenas Schools Kobe

Kobe has drawn controversy this year as well. After Washington Wizards' point guard Gilbert Arenas scored 60 points to take down the Lakers, Kobe did not praise Arenas but criticized his game on what he considered a lucky feat. Kobe stated after the game, "It's funny, he doesn't really seem to have that much of a conscience. I really don't think he does. Some of the shots that he took tonight, you miss those, they're just terrible shots, awful shots. You make them and they're unbelievable shots." Kobe has also drawn suspensions for one game apiece for elbowing Manu Ginobli and Marco Jaric in the face.

Brian Cook clearly loves Kobe.
The performance of the team, like the drama that has ensued, has been anything but predictable. The Lakers were exceeding most experts' expectations with a 26-13 start after consecutive victories against Shaq-less Miami and title contender San Antonio. The Lakers were brought down to earth shortly there after when Dallas blew them out by 19 points. Injuries further depleted the Lakers including those to Lamar Odom and Maurice Evens who suffered knee injuries (and no they will not visit Colorado like Kobe did), and Luke Walton, Kwame Brown, and Chris Mihm are all suffering ankle injuries. Even Vladimir Radmanovic suffered a shoulder injury due to a snowboarding fall (seriously, what was he thinking).

Phil Jackson's Crazy New Plan







































After the Lakers proceeded to lose 7 straight games and fell to a record of 33 wins and 32 losses, Phil Jackson and company decided to go to an interesting and bold strategy, pass it to Kobe and let's see what happened. Kobe did not disappoint as he scored over 50 points in 4 straight games and as many as 65 points in an OT win against the Portland Trailblazers. While Kobe's tear of 4 straight games with 50 or more points is amazing, it happened against 4 teams who are currently on the outside looking in for the playoffs. A lot will be said on how Kobe's shoot first strategy will excel against teams like the Houston Rockets, whom the Lakers face tonight. They are not only considered to be a threat in the postseason with the re-emergence of Tracy McGrady but also one of the best defensive teams in the league.

"I Learned How to FLUSH!!!"

Kobe also has an interesting metaphor on how to not to get caught up in the downfalls in the past. After being told that Lamar Odom was really down on himself for not securing the rebound Tim Thomas eventually converted into a trey (which led to OT and the loss in the 2006 postseason), Kobe was asked how he keeps guys from dwelling on mistakes. "You just put it behind you. There's nothing you can do about it. You know what I mean? After you go to the bathroom, you don't stand there and look at what you just dropped in there. At some point, you gotta flush it, man." Let’s see if Kobe can “flush it” for the Lakers to continue with success down the road.