There's No Telling What's Next
(by J.A. Adande, LATimes)
It's his squad now, a responsibility he yearned for and now embraces. So we'll
see whether he can choose between the right and wrong way to handle that free-
dom.
I talked to one ex-Laker (and that's a growing demographic) who said Bryant is
savvy enough to know that he'll be judged by the team's wins and losses, not
his personal statistics. But he also wondered whether Bryant's ego would allow
him to give up a shot at the scoring title.
The new-look Lakers were most effective when Bryant created open jump shots for
his teammates or drove and found Caron Butler cutting to the hoop.
For what it's worth, Bryant's two highest scoring outputs of the preseason —
35-point nights against Seattle and Golden State — occurred in the only two
games the Lakers lost.
But it's hard to grasp any knowledge based on this preseason. After eight games
, we still know very little about this team.
...when all else fails, the Lakers still have the best perimeter player in the
NBA.
Bryant will be the difference in a handful of games just by himself, by coming
through in the clutch at a level no other active player can match.
Everyone on the roster feels as if he has something to prove, primarily Bryant.
Ironically, if he embraces the team concept, it would only reinforce the point
Phil Jackson was trying to make in his book.
"Even though there's things that are discussed about Kobe, there's a tremendous
amount of support and care and belief that Kobe can turn this around and get it
going in the right direction," Jackson said recently.
Bryant's ability to do whatever he wants on the basketball court, in addition
to having some pretty good teammates by his side, means the Lakers will make
the playoffs.
It's the lack of an interior presence that eliminates this team from the cham-
pionship discussion. The game is still about shooting near the basket as often
as possible.
The Lakers don't have an intimidating last line of defense and might not have
the defensive rebounding abilities to ignite the fastbreaks they hope to run.
The Lakers have passion and attitude. They already showed more intensity in the
exhibition games than the Lakers showed in the first round of the playoffs last
season. In many ways, it will be the most entertaining and intriguing regular
season in years.
In the past, the attitude of the team and many fans was: "Wake me when it's
June."
Sleep that long this year and you'll miss the show.
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