hey, I'm not certain that I don't prefer the Knicks' roster to our own. other things going for the Knicks . . .

-- cablevision's willingness to spend untold sums of money;
-- larry brown, the kind of disciplinarian a young team needs -- (and who would not have tolerated Kobe's b.s.)
-- a g.m. who makes stupid trades but absolutely aces the draft every time (both in toronto and n.y.)

bottom line, the Knicks have a much brighter future than we do

Wow, I loved the article linked to above in the Washington Times. Be sure to read it. Best article written in some time concerning Kobe's "game" or lack thereof. Let's face it, Kobe's become a sad wreck of a player -- no longer pleasing to watch, as the writer of the article points out.

The writer of the Washington Times article points out that Richard Hamilton, Kobe's exact contemporary and another product of the Philadelphia area, gets better every year, whereas Kobe gets worse every year.

For all the complaining about Kobe's horrible play that goes on here and the rest of the country - here's something to think about: according to a site that keeps tracks of this stuff, the Lakers point differential is plus 0.9 when Kobe is in the game and MINUS 11 when he is OUT. That's a net difference of +11.9 points. For comparison, Brian Cook is second on the list - his net difference is +5.8. (Slava's is the highest (+109.5), but that number is ridiculously distorted because of his limited minutes ). Tim Duncan's +/- is 15.7, , Tracy Mcgrady +9.0, and Allen Iverson +5.0.

I'm not supporting that Kobe is playing the "right way", but what I am saying is that even with this style of play that some call horrible, he still makes a positive impact on the game (comparable to other superstars in the league), and for those who would like to see the Lakers without him, the stats seem to indicate that they would be much worse off with him off the court. There are other things to consider of course, that the starters may not be playing when Kobe is not playing as well, how deep the team's bench is, but for the most part the +/- is a pretty good indicator of an individual player's value to a team.

What this suggests to me is that Kobe is not hurting the team as much as a lot of people think, even with the way he is playing right now. And we all agree that there is definitely room for improvement, so that is a pretty amazing upside. Kobe's worst play is still as good as some of the best in the leauge. So if he can play smarter, his impact will be felt even more.

My main point is that Kobe at his worst is still better than most of the league. Relative to himself, he may be "garbage" as I've read here, but not relative to the rest of the league. And I'm talking about how he is playing right now.

As far as watching the games - I have no problem watching these games. They are interesting to me, because I am a FAN. I'm tired of hearing the people who USED to watch, and now they can't BEAR to watch, and oh, "I LOVED showtime and magic, but I don't watch anymore, no one plays TEAM basketball anymore". Great, then you're not a fan of basketball, you're just a hater. Go watch soccer. Better yet, go to your nearest junior high school game, you can probably see team basketball there. Tell me how exciting team basketball is without the athleticism that these NBA players have.

In some defense of Kobe, he seems to operate better with a cast of veteran players around him, i.e. Horry, Fisher, etc. Now he is left to his own devices and tries to do too much. Back in the 'good old days', he could freelance with less pressure from double and triple teams on him. Other guys knew their spots and could hit big shots when the pressure was on. This current cast lacks confidence and doesn't look like they will be able to compete anytime soon, so we are in for very hard times, unless Mitch can pull a miracle trade and get some help asap. Kwame has been a bust, Odom and Smush are inconsistent, Mihm up and down. Hard to believe that last year's team may turn out to be better than this year's. Oh, how the mighty have fallen and they can't get up.

I can't wait to see how many of you supposed Laker fans jump off the "Kobe: Worst player in the NBA " bandwagon and jump back on to the "He's god in a Laker uniform" wagon when he gets out of this shooting slump and figures out his rhythm in this offense. You know it's going to happen with you guys...

In response to KB8Fan,

You make some good points. Kobe is held to a higher standard, as he should be since he is one of the elite players in the league. His recent play has not been of that caliber.

Saying he has not "hurt the team as much as people think" still implies that he has at times hurt the team. This in unacceptable.

I will always watch the Lakers, but it is often difficult to watch their lack of execution. I am a fan of basketball, but given a choice, I'd rather watch the game played at a high level. The Lakers have shown the ability to play at this level, but they continue to lack consistency. I find this also unacceptable. It's like Stu Lantz says, "If you show it to me once, I'm going to expect it".

I expect this team to compete every night. I expect them to play lock down D. I expect them to dominate the defensive glass, and aggressivey pursue offensive boards and loose balls. None of those things requires an intimate understanding of the triangle, so there is no excuse for failure. They may lose games, but as long as the losses are not the result of a lack of effort, I'm fine with it.

J-

I have to agree with Vince. A couple of weeks ago I watched Game 4 of the 2002 Finals when they played Jersey, and just like Vince said, it was a different Kobe because of the veteran players he had around them. Horry, Shaw, Fox, Fisher, Lindsey Hunter, George, and even Samaki Walker all knew where to be, where to cut to, knowing where to set up to receive a pass from Kobe (when Kobe's role was facilitator in the offense and not on the wing as he is now). When Kobe got doubled, he passed it to them and they knew what to do with the ball (shoot, penetrate, pass to Shaq, etc). Like one blogger said on another post, Jordan's trust in teammates was earned, not given. You think Jordan would have trusted Paxson if he didn't make the open shots given to him? Would YOU?
Once Sasha and Bynum develop consistency, and LO, Mihm, and Kwame get the memo, then Kobe will trust more.

I don't think anybody is jumping ship by criticizing Kobe. The fact is, nobody in the game of basketball has ever shot 30 times in a game in one season more than Kobe has EVER. Kobe should be held on a different standard because most of you people think he's the best basketball player in the world. My problem with Kobe right now is that after 10-12 games he still hasn't changed his game. When your doubled teamed or tripled team there's always someone open. Why shoot it when you can take a better shot? Not only that but when he takes those shots it really demoralizes the team.

I know it can be ridiculously frustrating at times watching this Laker team, but is it just me or do you see improvement? Granted, beating Charlotte by a point at home isn’t anything to get excited about, but I see players like Sasha, Mihm, and Brian Cook gaining confidence and looking like they feel they deserve to be on the court. Bynum still looks pretty lost out there but I have to say, for an 18 year old he’s incredible. Hell, I couldn’t even remember to turn in my homework when I was 18. I even think LO is looking more and more confident each game. I’m starting to realize he’s not the 20 points a game scorer I hoped he would be, but he might end up averaging near a triple double this year, and what team wouldn’t want a small forward who could do that? Kobe either makes my jaw drop to the floor with something amazing that only he can do or spend 40 minutes each night pulling my hair out. I hope he decides to cut back on the shot attempts a bit and play more like he did against the Wolves more often, but I guess that’s all part of the process this season is going to be. I like the future of this team, I really do. I think in a year or two they can be a top team in the West, but for now we have to take the good with the bad. I would like to ask people to not bring up trade “insert Laker who had a bad game last night here” scenarios (as much fun as they are) and just realize that this team is going to frustrate the hell out of us but give us just enough each night to come back for more. Let’s see if Phil can earn his $10 million a year and tap into some of the potential of this team.

Please, don't enable Kobe. Don't make excuses for his poor play. Don't let him think we support him while he plays selfishly, taking thirty or more (mostly bad) shots on a nightly basis. I have one message for Kobe: PLAY THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY, as Larry Brown would say, or get out of town.

I love the Lakers. But they would be funner to watch and more successful if Kobe started playing the kind of great all-around game that he's capable of playing. This team would be alot better if Kobe took 15-20 shots, averaged around 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, and played stellar defense. Instead, the only categories that he's leading the league in are shot attempts and missed shots. Ugh.

From the day Kobe showed up in L.A., there has been discontent on the team. The reason for the discontent? Kobe's SELFISHNESS. Shaq and company hated Kobe and no doubt this squad hates him, too. All for one reason: Kobe's SELFISHNESS.

Do you think maybe Kobe wished he had signed w/ the Clippers? I bet they are glad he didn't. He isn't washed up, he tries too hard and is going to wear himself out, if he keeps going at this pace. The team is weak and inexperienced so he over compensates, which makes him look bad. Maybe trading him would benefit the team and him, if the Lakers could get 2-3 good players. Gee, I never thought I'd say that. By the way, Kupchak blew it by getting jobbed in the Shaq trade. Who's left? Odom, wow, that was worth it.

You know what guys; A good job is never done.. The Lakers has done a good job and will continue to do a good job with this Franchise. Perhaps the most important thing about this franchise is the Pride that we have on our style of basketball. And if you are wearing purple and gold you become something that other jerseys can't give. This "new" job with KOBE and PJ is a work in progress and even at this early stage we can already see the improvements. Zen teaches us to be patient. Lets be patient with KOBE and PJ. PJ will make KOBE the player that he, PJ(presumably) and we want KOBE to be.