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The Roar

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Kobe needs to learn from the Lakers' upset victory

Kobe Bryant plays his final NBA All - Stars game, as the Western Conference do battle with the Eastern Conference in Toronto. (AFP, Mark Ralston)
Roar Guru
25th December, 2014
5

Let me start by putting two facts on the table. I love the LA Lakers, and I love Kobe Bryant.

Okay, now let’s be frank about the current state of play in LA.

Kobe Bryant is getting paid a copious amount of dosh – $23.5 million this season and a further $25 million next season. How much is too much?

From a sales and ticketing perspective you can easily mount an argument as to why the ‘Black Mamba’ – a nickname he assigned himself – should be afforded everything he wants and more.

It’s generally desirable to watch a player like Kobe because despite being 36 and in the midst of his 19th season in the NBA he still oozes electricity from time to time.

Fans still want to wear his singlet, whether it’s the gold one, the purple one or that black one that defies Laker history and in my opinion isn’t much chop. But from an on-court view, Kobe’s contract extension last year is looking like more of a flop than a flip of genius.

The Lakers, desperate to put season 2013-14 behind them after going 27-55 for their worst ever return since relocating to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960, made a few key off-season signings. In came veteran big man Carlos Boozer, a former offensive weapon who is well past his prime and easier to penetrate than an open door, Jeremy Lin, whose ‘Linsanity’ moment feels like it happened while James Worthy was still making lay-ups, and extended the contract of unproven but potentially very handy centre Jordan Hill.

The latter signing is not bad in my opinion, though I’ve spoken to many who feel Hill is not worth the $18 million contract over two years. He’s averaging 12.2 points per game, 8.3 rebounds and a block in an average of 29.5 minutes. Those are passable stats for mine.

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The Lakers also snared top gun prospect Julius Randle via the draft with pick seven overall. All agree he could be pretty special and we can’t wait to see him back next season after his rookie campaign was scuppered by injury.

There are some other pieces in among the line-up but let me get back to the point.

Kobe is 36, the Lakers were awful last year, their additions have thus far failed to improve their situation and the purple and gold at 9-19 look destined for the lottery again. As most teams take their turn at the bottom of the NBA ferris wheel they load up with young talents, throw them into the sea and find out who can swim.

Not the Lakers. Well, not totally at least.

Jordan Clarkson, Xavier Henry, Ryan Kelly, Ed Davis and Rob Sacre are all young and fit the mould I’m talking about. They’re not guaranteed long-term deals at LA but should be looked upon as potential pieces for the next title run.

To get their opportunities they should be playing plenty of minutes and given enough free rein so as to showcase how they react under all sorts of NBA situations. Some will sink, some might swim. Short term, you’d think the team might kind of suck from a win-loss point of view. You’d think…

But back to Kobe. He is averaging 24.6 points at a woeful and career-low 37.2 per cent. He’s playing 35.27 minutes per game. He’s taking 22.4 shots a game and, anecdotally at least, it seems he can be difficult to play with.

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You only have to look at the Lakers’ enormous upset triumph over Golden State – a team with the best record in the league – when Kobe was rested by coach Byron Scott.

“Some guys played like Django Unchained. They were free tonight,” Nick Young said.

There’s a report online titled “The Lakers Had Fun With Kobe Bryant Sitting Out”.

Jeremy Lin’s post-game remarks recently after Kobe missed his game-winning shot attempt about how he too liked to try to hit the winner smacked of someone who is frustrated about his current role in the side.

The Lakers now have a 1-0 record with no Kobe in the mix this season. I know it’s just one game and I don’t want to get carried away, but who’s to say the Lakers wouldn’t win more games if Kobe was rested more often? That’s a worry.

I tweeted after the Golden State shock that I hope Kobe learned a thing or two from the victory. The key lesson needs to be that the Lakers as an organisation should be front and centre of his mind. He won’t be there in three to four years time, surely, and thus it’s his duty as a Lakers legend to help the side transition towards its next title run.

This means he can’t keep on demanding he’s the centre of attention when it comes to the match-winning shot. All plays should not revolve around Kobe. He needs to stop jacking up those ridiculous low-percentage jumpers that sure look great when they go in but are awfully embarrassing when they miss.

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He needs to stop critiquing his teammates in the press – he’s done this for years and it is not how a leader should do it. Lakers management needs to stop pandering to him with every decision they make. The Kobe-less Lakers took the court against Golden State and played for one another. It was quite extraordinary. Who’d have thought they could be that good? It was like a group of ballers who had been let off the leash and told ‘just play on instinct’, and it worked.

The Lakers need to forget about the playoffs this season – if they make it then it’s a bonus – and instead they need to focus on developing their players and learning everything they can about every single one of them.

This can’t happen while it’s all about Kobe.

He’s a man who says he bleeds purple and gold, so I hope the guys’ win over Golden State enacts a change in Kobe’s mindset and he does the team thing and starts looking to bring his teammates into the game regularly.

By helping the guys develop and the Lakers build towards their next title shot, Kobe will maintain his place as the greatest Laker of all time. He’s a star, he’s getting paid great coin so we want him out there doing his thing. But his thing needs to also be the team thing.

I’d much prefer that than the trajectory I fear we’re heading at the moment. That being Kobe taking a million shots between now and season’s end, LA bottoming out further, no one wanting to play with Kobe, the Lakers turning over perfectly capable players and the fans copping a carbon copy of ugliness in season 2015-16.

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