Problem with Kobe is not his offense, it's his defense
First all to be fair to Kobe, I don't consider him to be chucking this season, because he has been shooting around 50%, and has been scoring very efficiently, so to call him out for chucking I think is unfair.
The problem with Kobe is entirely his defense, which is horrible. Last loss against the Magic he let a defensive specialist Aaron Afflalo score 30 points. And this game he let Toney Douglas shoot a open clutch 3 because of Kobe's horrible defense. There's a reason Kobe doesn't have a single block this season, because he's just not contesting shots and playing hard on defense.
So Kobe is pretty much a bitch for putting the blame on Gasol when his defense is the reason the Laker's lost the last 2 games.
Re: Problem with Kobe is not his offense, it's his defense
I agree.
Kobe has been lazy defensively.
Problem is, we're asking him to play 36-40 minutes a night; be our facilitator and our go-to-scorer, and then ask a guy in his 17th season to also spend a lot of his energy defensively?
That's one of the biggest reasons I love the Nash trade; Kobe can concentrate more defensively because he'll preserve more energy offensively with Nash being the primary ball handler.
Re: Problem with Kobe is not his offense, it's his defense
It's a combination of both in my opinion, he doesn't need to take so many shots, this team would be deadly if they shared the ball around and let everyone touch it and make plays. Expending so much energy on offense will inevitably deteriorate your defense, even mentally when your mind begins to focus towards one side of the court. I'll blame this on D'Antoni, I'm sure he just gave Kobe the green light, and Kobe is not one to refuse that situation (but he should know better by now). Maybe Nash will be able to spread this offense around, and keep the other team guessing defensively.
Re: Problem with Kobe is not his offense, it's his defense
Yes, his defense has been lacking a bit the past few games. I think the team relies on him to do too much on offense. Facilitator, main scorer, 37+ minutes a game in his 17th season is a little too much in my opinion. Kobe is Kobe so he won't back down from the challenge but his team will struggle in the long run if they don't take pressure off of him.
Re: Problem with Kobe is not his offense, it's his defense
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhythmic †hesis
I agree.
Kobe has been lazy defensively.
Problem is, we're asking him to play 36-40 minutes a night; be our facilitator and our go-to-scorer, and then ask a guy in his 17th season to also spend a lot of his energy defensively?
That's one of the biggest reasons I love the Nash trade; Kobe can concentrate more defensively because he'll preserve more energy offensively with Nash being the primary ball handler.
But yeah, his defense has been terrible all year.
Kobe's age hasn't mattered for awhile now. His last standout defensive seasons were 2003 and 2008. The rest he's been sub-par to average despite the gifting of undeserved All-D selections.
Re: Problem with Kobe is not his offense, it's his defense
Whether you talk about offense or defense, the problem with Kobe is the same: he is really stupid.
Look, he's actually a more than capable on-ball defender when he has to. It's just all the mistakes, forgetting his man, helping at the wrong time... he just looks completely lost at times.
Same thing with offense, obviously he has talent, but did no one really tell him that "3 pump fakes into a contested long fadeway 2 pointer" is a shot you shouldn't take?
I think other than Phil Jackson he's been surrounded by people that don't have the balls to tell him he's wrong, and now he thinks he knows better. Any knowledgeable fan will tell you this guy has horrible IQ, and has always had...
Problem with Kobe is not his offense, it's his defense
