Kobe's conundrum

As I was watching the NBA Finals, I tried to figure out why the Detroit Pistons were beginning their sets without any double teams. Then I decided that Detroit was treating Kobe Bryant as the Los Angeles Lakers' offensive weakness, not its strength.

First, Kobe demanded the ball much of the time. This, of course, meant Shaquille O'Neal couldn't score or be fouled on most plays. Second, once Kobe passed his first defender, Detroit collapsed on him but made sure Shaq was still guarded. Because Kobe refused to pass very often, this meant that he was subjected to turnovers and blocks. Avoiding these, Kobe shot a low percentage, which was much less productive than an attainable 30% three-point percentage by his teammates.

A friend has several of these games on tape, and he supports this view and adds that Kobe's team defense was also poor. Have you reviewed the tapes in sufficient detail to arrive at the same basic findings?

Craig Taylor

Via e-mail

Kobe, earlier in his career, had always seemed to be an "acceptably" selfish player. In other words, he always involved teammates enough ... and when he took over, like Michael Jordan, he almost always came through. The 2004 Finals series was much different, as you point out.

To be fair, Kobe's teammates weren't terribly reliable last season. But that still doesn't justify blowing them all off. 0r, alternately, being just as selfish by not shooting (as he did vs. the Sacramento Kings at the end of the regular season and in one Finals game vs. Detroit).

COPYRIGHT 2004 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group