Did Del Harris hinder Kobe's career?

[laronprofit9]

to actually answer the OP's question .. I dont recall reading/hearing anything about Kobe having issues with his playing time.

Ya, for some reason I was thinking there was an issue, but that is probably the reason why I haven't been able to find an article on it.

Thanks.

[KoRn]

About time your curry addict eating ass said something funny

that's racists. but it's ok. is it a fact this dipshit is indian?

[KoRn]

Did OP not watch basketball back then? I mean I'm only 20 and I clearly remember Kobe's first two years, Eddie Jones was our second best player back then, he was amazing and Kobe was the biggest ballhog the league had ever seen, all those pretty shots he hits with ease now he was taking back then, the only difference was he hardly ever hit them.

eddie jones was better back then, but he was afraid to shot the ball in the clutch. i don't trust him in the playoffs, neither did shaq. i would give nick van exel the green light.

[taucesays]

General basketball knowledge: an airball is not a brick. You lost me after that , just saying,,,

Srsly. That's like pretending there's no difference between a 3 and an and-1

[ShaqAttack3234]

eddie jones was better back then, but he was afraid to shot the ball in the clutch. i don't trust him in the playoffs, neither did shaq. i would give nick van exel the green light.

You're right about Jones, butVan Exel was a case of style over substance. He was a fun player to watch, but he was horrible in the playoffs with the Lakers with the exception of '95. Nick shot under 30% in the Lakers first round loss to Houston in '96, 38% in the '97 playoffs and 33% in the '98 playoffs, even worse is that he shot 24% in the '98 WCF.

[code green]

Thats not neccessary for now,i don't want to be negged.. Like i said before i'm working on an article on kobe's Career. When i drop it, please support it.

yeah, wouldn't want to damage that sterling reputation you have here

[Glide2keva]

LeBron, Garnett and Amare say hi

Those guys didn't go to good teams with storied histories. Amare but that's it it of that list.

Kobe came to a good team with a good back court that was already established.

This is just another attempt to make another excuse for Kobe.

[Wukillabeez78]

Bricking shots and shooting air balls are all the same to me. He was forcing the shots and just air balling them. And yes, i happened to have followed kobe's overated career, and watched many of his games on tape from his rookie years to when they started winning rings.

The shots Kobe took and air balled weren't forced shots. They were shots taken with the clock running down under heavy duress because other players were scared to shoot. Shaq said himself that Kobe was the only player out there who wasn't scared to take those shots.

The 1st air ball was at the end of regulation and Kobe just short armed the ball. Wasn't a force at all, the play was drawn up for Kobe to do just what he did (go one on one and try to win the game), he just blew the shot. Says a lot about what the coach thought about Kobe because on a team with Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel the final play was called for a rookie.

On the 2nd air ball Van Exel executes a perfect shot fake and has an open shot after Stockton bites hard on it. Nick leaves his feet to take the open jumper but for some reason doesn't take it (maybe his nuts tightened up on him) and passes to Kobe who takes an open 3 pointer which he air balls.

On the 3rd air ball Van Exel is unable to get the ball to Eddie Jones (who couldn't seem to get open despite Jeff Hornacek guarding him). Van Exel then again passes to Kobe with less than 10 seconds left on the shot clock. Kobe executes a move to create a bit of space and misses another 3 pointer.

4th air ball Van Exel once again passes to Kobe with 7 seconds left in overtime trailing by three. Kobe take the 3 and misses again. On this play Kobe should made the extra pass to Eddie Jones who was open outside of the 3 point line after his defender left him to jump at Kobe as he shot.

After looking at the 4 shots only one (the 4th one) could be considered to be a forced shot. On the 1st the play was for Kobe to win or lose (obviously Del Harris felt Kobe was the best option to take the shot). The Jazz must have felt the same way because they put their best perimeter defender (Byron Russell) on Kobe while choosing to put Hornacek on Jones. I'm sure they did this because even at this point it was clear that Kobe was better than Jones at creating his own shot (something Jones always struggled to do). The 2nd shot was one Van Exel should have taken but didn't want for whatever reason even though he was wide open and had a higher percentage shot (being closer to the basket) than Kobe was. On the 3rd shot no one else could get open and Kobe ended up taking a shot with the shot clock running down after receiving the ball from Van Exel.

My take on this game would be similar to what Shaq said. Kobe was a rookie out there with a lot of veterans. Van Exel wasn't being aggressive and Jones wasn't either. Jones couldn't even touch the ball because he was being blanketed by a player (Hornacek) who was not noted for his defensive. Kobe took the shots that no one else was willing or available to take. No one else stepped up. Shaq saw this (he had a good view from the bench after fouling out like he often did). Kobe couldn't bail them out (not many rookies are able to bail out there teams in the playoffs not named Magic Johnson). Kobe would be able to bail his team out as a veteran against teams like the Blazers and Kings with Shaq again being a spectator after fouling out.

I never heard of Kobe complaining about playing time under Del Harris. He accepted his role and worked hard to improve. He clearly didn't shoot well as a rookie in the final game against a veteran playoff team but his teammates didn't play that well either. Shaq played good (9-17) for 23 points but his two biggest shortcomings (free throws and fouling out of games) cost his team as he missed 4 free throws and wasn't there for his team due to his inability to avoid foul trouble. Van Exel was having a very good game (also 9-17) for 26 points but for some inexplicable reason despite shooting well he passed up at least one open shot in the closing minutes. Eddie Jones and Kobe Bryant both had subpar games with each having identical numbers (4-14 for 11 points). Elden Campbell was an atrocious 1-13 for 6 points. The bottom line is the Lakers lost this particular game because their best player (Shaq) fouled out as he often did and the team at that point wasn't good enough to overcome his absence. Eventually the team would be able to win games with Shaq in foul trouble because Kobe was able to step up.

[Norcaliblunt]

Does anybody else think that if the lakers had kept Jones at the 3 and Kobe at the 2 for longer would've have been sick.

[G-Funk]

Did OP not watch basketball back then? I mean I'm only 20 and I clearly remember Kobe's first two years, Eddie Jones was our second best player back then, he was amazing and Kobe was the biggest ballhog the league had ever seen, all those pretty shots he hits with ease now he was taking back then, the only difference was he hardly ever hit them.

YOU WERE 7 YEARS OLD

[Andrei89]

Kobe was not a good player in his first 2 years.

It is his work ethic and tons of practice in the gym which made him a star player.

[praneel]

Does anybody else think that if the lakers had kept Jones at the 3 and Kobe at the 2 for longer would've have been sick.

I was thinking something of that sort.

Jackson came in a year and a half after Jones was dealt, and he could have used Kobe and Eddie as the starting backcourt. That would have been sick. But They got Ron Harper to play point so all worked out.

But LA needed a floor spacing shooter, enter Glen Rice, aka GMoney because he was money from 3.

And the finances wouldn't work. Jones got a fat deal from Charlotte soon after.

The one thing I didn't get was why was Elden Campbell dealt in that deal? Jones was better than Rice, and Campbell was better than Reid?

The only thing I can think of is Rice wanting to keep #41, which Elden wore in his Laker days.

Answer to the OP, no Dell Harris did not hinder Kobe. Kobe was a young gun out to prove his worth. Kobe played the 3 a little under Del. Its not like Kobe didn't try to get more time, and its not like Harris screwed Kobe.

[ashbelly]

yeah, wouldn't want to damage that sterling reputation you have here

ME >>>> Your existence. Crawl back in the hole you came from.

[KoRn]

You're right about Jones, butVan Exel was a case of style over substance. He was a fun player to watch, but he was horrible in the playoffs with the Lakers with the exception of '95. Nick shot under 30% in the Lakers first round loss to Houston in '96, 38% in the '97 playoffs and 33% in the '98 playoffs, even worse is that he shot 24% in the '98 WCF.

all true, but i rather have nick shoot the ball in the closing minutes.

[TryToBeUnbias]

Kobe was not a good player in his first 2 years.

It is his work ethic and tons of practice in the gym which made him a star player.

yeah, he kinda was