3 Game Slide: Kobe 48.5% FG, other Lakers 34.1% FG

[sodapoppenski]

Not a surprise to most of us, I'm sure. But from latimes.com's most
recent Laker Report...

Last 3 Games:

Kobe: 48.5 FG% (32ppg)
Others: 34.1 FG%


Without a doubt the loss of Odom and Mihm has hurt us in those games
as well, and it's only three games - so it's a small sample with which to
discredit the entire remainder of the team offensively...

...but that's with doubles on Kobe on most every play. In other
words, we're missing alot of shots to begin with, but we have guys open
even more often than other games where he's been doubled with
less frequency.

All season my friend and I (he's a Suns fan) have watched most every
Laker game over at my place... and for the last couple years we've
always noticed Kobe's "would-be assists": those passes which are
clearly to an open shooter where the receiver either doesn't take the
shot or simply misses what should be a make.

We've talked most of this season about how often we've seen that, but
these last three games in particular have been loaded with would-be
assists from Kobe, and it's really getting old.

I'm really tired of hearing the media question his willingness to pass the
ball, and of every "away game announcer" (League Pass here) always
dropping jabs about how rare it is for him to make a pass.

The guy's played alot more SF and non-initiator in the triangle this year
than in years past, and he simply doesn't have talent around him lately,
especially with Mihm and Odom both out.

Sorry for turning this into a rant, but I welcome any thoughts/comments.

Gotta lean on my Laker brethren at the moment cuz this slump is just
straight-up painful.

Soda

[Braaten]

sad part is that it seems kobe is the only one working hard enough in the offseason to improve his shot (even though he is the one that needs it the least on this team).

kobe should lead a shooting practice over all of next summer. everyone should make a thousand jumpers every day like kobe does. this wide open bricking is getting sickening

[Vlade]

Christ I didn't know the numbers were that skewed! I don't have any answers...
_________________
-
"All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie."

[sodapoppenski]

[bambam]

Kobe Bryant

35.7 PPG
5.6 RPG
4.3 AST
5.0 Would Be AST
1.4 STL

[samsl]

I just hate how in each of the last few games...the recaps say that Team X "stopped" or "slowed" Kobe, when he's scoring 35ppg at about 50% from the field. ESPECIALLY when his shooting percentage is far above: (1) the rest of the team as a whole, AND (2) all but 1 or 2 other players on the roster individually.

With all the injuries, we might have to get used to it for the near future too.
If we had problems with talent before, we have 7th and 8th men that we need 5th starter and 6th man production from now.

Every team suffers from the injury bug, but with a squad like ours, we really need production out of every role player. It just makes me think about how different things might be if we had Laron, Lamar and Mihm healthy all season. Laron was really helping the rotation and give Kobe and Smush some rest time before he went down.

Well, Kobe's been carrying us for this long - lets see how far this backpack will go.....

(Kobe's tech count is at 10 now, right?)
_________________
"Everyone wants to be Mamba-licious." - me

If Sun Yue is the Chinese Magic Johnson...I'm the Chinese Brad Pitt...

[tgf5]

5 would be assists bambam? I'd honestly kick it up to 10.

Thompson: Here's Kobe feeding the open Walton... off the mark there, failed to draw iron that time.
Thompson: Kobe to Vujacic straightaway from the top of the arc. He's got to hit that shot Spero.
Thompson: Cook from the corner. Flat looking shot there, Kobe upset with his teammates.
Thompson: Here's Kobe for 3, buries it!
Spero: Kobe keeping the Lakers in this game.
Thompson: Wafer just checking in. Gets the pass from Bryant, decides to shoot the wide open 3... no good from 26 feet.

[OshadowO]

[Socks]

[angel]

It's a team game. Kobe needs help. Nobody can do it alone.
_________________
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~

[osj]

wonder how long it'll take before the media spins this into kobe's fault...then again, 81 points appears to have finally got them to give him respect.

[angel]

That was as close as I have ever seen any one individual totally dominate a game. I think Jordan once had a 69 point OT game. Kobe's scoring in the second half was an entire team's output. He needed the team to play defense, but it was total offensive domination. He scored roughly two thirds of all the points the Lakers scored.
_________________
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~

[Lakers 71-72]

[PiPisKobesByatch]

34% on WIDE OPEN SHOTS.

why are they in the nb-freakin-a?

[wolfpaclaker]

Well who's really a shooter on this team?

I am bashed for liking shooters to much - well there it is - what happens when you don't have a shooter on the team.

Most teams have atleast 2 good shooters. One from mid-range and one from outside.

The Lakers traded their shooters away. Caron was a solid mid-range shooter. Chucky was a good 3 point shooter and JJ was a dangerous outside shooter too.

We must hope that the defensive impact of Kwame Brown and Devean George outweights what those guys would've brought offensively.

[hoopschick29]

[Scherm]

[
From the LA Times today: "Bryant has continued to make shots but his teammates have not, a primary reason the Lakers went empty-handed against Indiana, Charlotte and New Orleans.

Bryant averaged 32 points and shot 48.5% but the rest of the team shot only 34.1%. Not surprisingly, the Lakers have not had a lead in more than 127 minutes of play.

Teams have dared other Lakers to shoot by double-teaming and trapping Bryant just inside halfcourt or above the three-point line.

Bryant has done a credible job of finding open teammates, although his turnover level has almost doubled over the last three games, which led to a question of whether he could figure out how to be more effective in breaking double teams single-handedly.

"To say 'yeah' would be to say I need to get 45 points to win a game," Bryant said. "Is that what we need to win ball games?"[/b]


Unfortunately Kobe, with this roster, the answer is yes. You need to score 45+ per game because it's unfair to expect that your teammates can hit more than 34% of their wide open shots.

[Exick]

It's actually even more skewed than that. I, like everyone else, have noticed the dismal shooting percentage the last 3 games and I also knew that Kobe was shooting much better than the rest. In Indiana, Kobe was right there with the rest of them shooting 33%, which is why his overall percentage for the last 3 games is "only" 48.5%. He's shot better than 56% over the last two games.

Honestly, I'm not as panicked as some others seem to be. There's a mixed bag of problems right now both on offense and defense, but I think the bad shooting is something that will eventually work itself out. The things that really need work are team defense especially against the smaller lineups, reliance on the long jumpers/3s instead of getting open looks with penetration, free throws, and cheap turnovers.

[tgf5]

[PiPisKobesByatch]

[Tarzan008]

25 for 43 in the past two games...... Besides his great FT % in the past months.......He scores 44+ for some 16 games or so leading into the incredible 81.......Than suddenly he turns off the total "Strike mode",and goes into semi strike mode,mostly due to attempting to get teamates involved and build there confidence along with seeing traps and triples even more so............

The strange thing is why have the other guys lost 10% off of there shooting % suddenly when they are even more open?.............I can only think and hope it is a slump,and soon they will pick it up to a normal clip,this than will give Kobe that slight bit of extra light to get back into total strike mode.....Because to win more games than we lose he has to be extra aggressive...........They way it is going now,the facts all point to Kobe must totally take over for us to even win one game......

Until Bynum grows up and we get this "Dream" 07' hot top end FA Kobe must be ultra aggressive.......But to be in this attack mode,the others must hit at least some shots.......They must take it to the hoop....Can they?

But I think the real problem has been "D"....the offense has been getting about as many points as usual,it's the "D" that has gone bad......

Funny thing is......It is a fact that Kobe has to score 45 a game to win......he has to break the other teams back......when he gets going the lakers go with him,when he plays "Team ball" with extra passes,it's always quite clear they are always trailing and get themselves into early deficets......

Until he gets help from growth within or a FA comes along he must be in strike mode....break those triples Kobe............

[angel]

It's hard when you are used to having Odom to set up your shots. We know nearly all the team cannot create their own shot. Kobe is the exception. Mihm who shoots over 50% was also out of the lineup in the last game. That leaves perimeter shooters to take the heat. When you have to shoot outside, it's easier to pressure those shooters.
_________________
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~

[Drifts]

[Drifts]