The game doesn't have to be high-scoring
and pretty for Kobe Bryant to make his mark. Playing against the Utah Jazz
last night, Bryant scored 12 points in the final quarter - and 31 for the
game - and helped the Lakers pull off a win. This game was not pretty.
If you missed it, you missed ugly basketball. Shaq racked up 24 points
and 17 rebounds and then, out of protest over how ugly it was, got ejected
for yelling at the refs. Bryant, the NBA Player of the Month for December,
refuses to settle for less than 30 points, even if it means taking tough
fadeaway jumpers with a defender nearby. Since he's Kobe, they often go
in, but he just as easily could fake that fadeaway, drive, dish off and
not necessarily get an assist but create a play where the ball is swung
and someone has a wide open shot. But, while waiting for him to do that
more consistently, none of us are going to complain when we see him put
up shots that to mere mortals are forced but for Kobe are decent shots
that go in half the time.
The Jazz have lost 4 straight games
now, and this losing streak came right around the time Karl Malone went
into a scoring slump. Tonight's 71 points is a season-low point total for
the Jazz.
The Lakers have now won three straight
games and are just about tied with the Blazers and Kings at the very top
of the Western conference.
Kobe recently spoke about why the
Lakers this season are not as dominate as last year's team. "Last year
we won on the defensive end," said Bryant. "We knew there would come a
point when we could just stop a team from scoring. This year we haven't
gotten there yet."
Well, Kobe's right. This year's Lakers
give up 5 more points per game than last year's team did. You'd think that
by losing Glen Rice but adding Isaiah Rider and Horace Grant the team's
defense would at least remain the same, if not improve. Do keep in mind,
however, that not having Derrick Fisher around to stop quick point guards
that Ron Harper can't contain certainly hurts.
Another thing that's clear is the
lack of fire Shaquille O'Neal has compared to last season. He's still easily
the most dominant inside force in the game, but some fire is missing. Phil
Jackson agrees, pointing out that Shaq's transition defense is lacking
this year. In discussing getting back quickly on defense as well as before,
Jackson stated, "This year, he's not been able to do that."
Shaq does have an Achilles' tendon
injury that he's kept pretty quiet about. So give the big guy a few extra
credit points, because when you're that big it can't feel too good.
There is still legitimate concern
about Shaq not being utilized enough on offense. When asked if he's been
a bit frustrated this year with what's done with the ball, O'Neal replied
with, "Darn right I am. Sometimes I feel like a token center out there."
If Kobe continues his level of play
but learns to create a bit more for his teammates as well as accept that
dumping the ball to Shaq and standing back (or cutting) is a very, very
good thing, these Lakers won't have a problem. If Shaq can heal that tendon,
gain back a bit of his lost fire, work harder to bust it back down the
floor on defense, and accept that for some plays he'll have to look for
the offensive rebound (or hustle back down the floor) while Kobe operates,
these Lakers won't have a problem.
And if all goes right with Shaq and
Kobe, and the role players are healthy and do their thing, look for another
championship in la-la land.
InsideHoops
e-mail accounts - fast, reliable, free! We know you were probably
unable to get your first name or favorite nickname at hotmail or yahoo
and had to settle for some lame username you didn't really want. Well,
get the name you really want HERE! Sign up today!
