Regardless of what changes the Lakers make, the losses continue. Friday was another example of this as the team battled the Grizzlies for 48 minutes and nearly pushed the game to overtime, only to fall short due to some late game clock management issues and a last second shot that did not fall. The team is now 1-2 since Kobe returned from missing three games which is pretty much the level of results the team achieved before he took the time off.
This is not to say the team does not look better, however. Since Kobe’s returned he’s taken a more balanced approach to his game, moving the ball much more freely after taking a more lead guard role as the primary offensive initiator. Taking this tack has created a more inclusive offense that has allowed the rest of the team to find a better rhythm when playing with Kobe and lessened the burden Kobe had been shouldering earlier in the year. After the game, Kobe spoke about this shift and elaborated on what necessitated it. Via the Kamenetzky brothers’ Facebook page:
“I don’t know if my body can take it. I don’t know if it can. I think in this situation, where teams just just double me all over the floor, it’s not like I’m passing up shots, I don’t have them. Because you stack up, you trap. Back in my younger days, I could go through that stuff and still have 30 or 40 points. Now, my body can’t take it. So I dominate the game in a different way.”
Kobe acknowledging that he may no longer be physically capable of simply overwhelming defenses is a level of self-awareness he’s typically not credited with. It will be interesting to see how he continues to adjust, however, when defenses start to play him more for the pass by playing him in single coverage and not converging on him with multiple defenders the way that defenses have been over the past 3 games.
Which is exactly what could happen in this game. The Pacers play a disciplined brand of defense where Roy Hibbert hangs back in the paint in order to try and keep the offense in the mid-range area. David West is another big body who would prefer to not defend too far from the painted area while muscling players as they get closer to the rim. This style should present an interesting challenge to Kobe and the rest of the Lakers as they likely shouldn’t see too many traps while also leaving open the type of mid-range shots the team has taken far too many of this season. If the Lakers fall into the trap of settling for too many of these 18 foot jumpers they may find themselves struggling to put up points in an ugly slugfest of a game.
Defensively, the Lakers will be facing a team down some firepower.
Injury update: C.J. Watson (sore left foot) and George Hill (left groin strain) are both out for tonight’s game against the Lakers.
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 4, 2015
With Hill and Watson both out, the Pacers’ offense will become even more reliant on their big men to generate points and to draw enough defensive attention to open up shots for others. Look for the Pacers to play even more inside out offensively than normal with West and Hibbert looking to get deep post position where they can either score or kick the ball out to open shooters should the Lakers need to help. The onus, then, will be on Jordan Hill and Ed Davis to do their work early defensively, battling their counterparts for position and keeping both Hibbert and West from getting two feet in the paint before making a catch. This will require them fighting through cross-screens and not letting up physically when working off the ball.
This game represents one of the rare occasions when the Lakers enter the game favored. The Pacers are short handed, on the road, and are coming off a road game in Milwaukee on Friday. That said, Indy has won two straight games and are one of the better coached teams in the league and always seem to play the Lakers’ tough regardless of personnel or circumstance. If the Lakers think this game will be a win simply by showing up, they will lose. We’ll see early on how they approach this game.
Where you can watch: 6:30pm start time on TWC Sportsnet. Also listen on ESPN Radio 710AM Los Angeles.
Robert says
Kobe Alert: Kobe moved up on three all time lists against the Griz. He moved to 21st in games (by T Porter); Moved to 12th in three pointers (by Steve Nash), and to 53rd in Defensive Rebounding (by Dale Davis). Many items upcoming however: Needs 34 FGs to catch Shaq for 5th; needs 31 dimes to catch Hondo for 29th, and needs 2 blocks to catch Andrew Bynum for 5th on the Laker list. Kobe is also getting within hailing distance of the Logo for dimes. When he catches the Jerry, Kobe will only trail Magic and Magic will be the only guard ahead of Kobe on any cumulative all time Laker list (Kobe is #1 in 13 of 18 categories). With some of Kobe’s younger GOAT rivals having some health and team difficulties, it looks more like perhaps there will be only one true rival to Kobe’s GOAT status during or so far after his generation. And yea – yea – I know that rival “plays the right way”. Some Laker fans said the same about Larry Bird. Celtics/Bird and Spurs/Duncan are both perfect combinations for nausea. Kobe is pulling away for a starting nod in the all star voting. He has more votes, more starts, more times named to the team, and more points than anyone else in All Star history. He is only 4515 behind Karl and so at nights end should be within the 4500 mark ; )
dxmanners says
Clarkson and Black played with D Fenders last night, didn’t work on defense much…final score 174-169! That’s in four quarters, no OT…
rr says
I know that there a few Dallas Cowboys fans here, including DS. So, people complaining about fixes and conspiracies will be familiar territory for those folks.
rr says
Baxter Holmes ? @BaxterHolmes
Byron plans to sit Kobe on Monday at Portland, the second of a back to back for the Lakers.
—
Holmes never should have been given the ESPNLA gig, incidentally. He is amusingly and blatantly biased against both KB and the team. That has nothing to do with this Tweet, though.
Ko says
Getting a bit tired of Hill, his poor shooting and effort. Also why does he jump at start instead of Davis. Can’t remember last time he won jump.
KenOak says
“I know that there a few Dallas Cowboys fans here, including DS. So, people complaining about fixes and conspiracies will be familiar territory for those folks.”
Been a Cowboys fan all my life and yeah, it’s old hat by now. That play was a good no-call in my opinion. If you watch the video you can see that Pettigrew actually grabs Hitchens’ face mask and pulls him towards him during the play. Good win and great game….hopefully the Cowboys play better against the Packers or it will be over quick.
Ko says
Kobe looking strong on offense. Also seems word is out on his D or lack of going out on 3-pointers.
Ko says
Another embarrassing quarter aganist Pacers. How does any coach allow a 15 to 0 run?
btoy says
To Coach Byron Scott….stop experimenting your play…they can shoot now ok… they cannot shoot the next time ok…this is my starting line up… Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Nick Young, Jordan Hill and Jeremy Lin let these starting line up play for 8 to 10 minutes and let them acquaint to each other…..and start moving forward…go go Lakers..
Ko says
If you look at Hill and Youngs shooting the last month (2 for 13 tonight) theie decrease is startling, funny as they are best buds. So to speak.
Ko says
Hill is just worthless. Look at his face can it be any more obvious?
Lil pau says
My new Kareem shirt is killing it here at staples.
Tim says
The mustard came off the hot dog and is all over the court on the Ronnie Price breakaway dunk attempt.
Chris J says
As bad as things appear, imagine people’s angst right now had the site’s self-appointed expert been correct and the Lakers actually had signed LBJ and Melo this past summer. Both look on the clear (and more rapid than most would have expected) downsides of their physical peaks, and to have mega money tied up in either of them, plus Kobe… Yikes.
Tim says
Lakers win a close one 88-87 as Kobe hits the game winner with 12.4 seconds left.
Ko says
Talk about due. Going into this game Kobe was 0 for 13 in last shots. he should make his next 5 to get things back to real.
Nice win!
Shaun says
I hate it when people only look at the last shot as being clutch …. What about kobe scoring the last 9 points of the game …. They are all clutch
Or the hundreds of times he has killed a run by another team or put us on a mini run on his own to get us back in the game …. clutch needs a better definition
Oldtimer says
Well, Lakers won because of what Showtime Byron used to say at the start of the season, go for the post on high percentage shots, get fouls. At the mid game mix offense with three point shooting. However, defense always win games.
On the Portland game, no Kobe, no Wes but we’ll finally see Tarik and Jordan gets some minutes.
rubenowski says
Wow what a 4th quarter by Kobe! It was great to see that smile on his face. That 3 pointer right after he fumbled the ball, the crowd went wild. He looked very happy. That must’ve felt vindicating. Lil Pau, how was that moment at staples? Im jealous.
A comeback is a process. He’s getting there. He looked very fresh. He had his legs. I hope he can keep it up.
KenOak says
Dude. If the Lakers are really “stealth-tanking” they aren’t doing a very good job of it. Both my teams won today! Yay! I think…
rr says
Lil pau January 4, 2015 at 8:06 pm
My new Kareem shirt is killing it here at staples.
Photos, please.
Kobe4life says
So when Kobe has a great game, efficient play, and a win–where are the Kobe haters? It’s so quiet.
J C says
Absolutely loved this game.
Kobe’s legs were fresh enough – 32 min – to close out the game like a champ.
9 points by KB in the final 2:30.
Get used to it dept: wins over teams like the short-handed Pacers this year are all we have. So what?
Still a super entertaining game.
Kobe’s 20-6-6 on 14 FGA is like a fine wine.
Swag’s jumper to close the half and his 12-12 from the line: divine.
I especially enjoyed watching Hibbert lose his mind pushing Boozer and then throwing a brick over the backboard as time expired.
Bring on the Blazers!
Calvin Chang says
Point Kobe! Notice what Kobe has reduced from his game since coming back from rest – less contested long 2’s. He’s being more patient in backing down his defender, getting deeper position in the lane for short jumpers or drawing double-teams and finding open teammates.
tankyou says
Kobe with a 10 footer to win baby! Love that rather than the 20 foot contested fade-away stuff from earlier this season.
Kobe, Swaggy, and Lin really cemented this come-back victory. The post rest Kobe continues to impress me, he isn’t forcing up bad shots anymore which was his major problem until recently. Swaggy was just hitting 3’s and went 12-for-12 from the line! Lin got us some energy in the 3rd and helped pick the team up and get us back into the game. Our bench really played well overall, can’t say much good about the 1st unit besides Kobe really. Not sure why Lin didn’t get more playing time coming off a 20pt game and Ronnie Price playing very mediocre this game. Jordan Hill, would like month 1 you back please–even if its just so we can trade you.
Hope Kobe plays tonight, loving post-rest Kobe! Lakers bench can do some serious damage out there, Boozer & Lin may not be great starters–but they are great 2nd unit guys for sure.
BigCitySid says
-Nice team win. Lakers are now 2-2 since Kobe returned. It’s a small sample, but this “evolved” and more realistic version of a more efficient and thus more effective Kobe appears to be better for team’s on court success.
-Black & Clarkson have an opportunity for minutes tonight due to Kobe & Wes scheduled to be out.
-Lakers are 11-23 and quickly approaching the halfway mark of the season. Looking forward to mid-season grades from Darius on players, coach, GM, & owners.
-Looks like Kobe will indeed be voted in as an all-star starter. No question Kobe has earned an all-star spot, but Curry & Harden s/b the starting guards for the West.
-Amazing how Pau is playing so well, and on the verge of being selected as an all-star starter, yet MDA couldn’t find a way to effectively use him on the Lakers last season.
-Hoping the Lakers make a move towards the future as opposed to the present during this trading period.
chris y says
perfectly stated about kobe’s self awareness, I’ve felt for a few years now kobe needed to settle into the 22 6 5 range and he’s right there and it’s clear the team is playing better. Over the past few games he’s averaging almost a triple double. It’s very impressive because the lakers have a decent record over the past 15 games and are competing most nights. It just feels better around the team and as a fan I enjoy watching this team because they do compete and they are guys you can root for.
I’m also convinced that Kobe is willing to take a pay cut after this contract severely. Down to like 2 million a year or something haha maybe even the veteran’s minimum. Kevin Durant is going to come to Los Angeles unless the Thunder win this year which looks unlikely. Randle will have developed more. The team will have enough cap space to sign another all star. Randle, Kobe, Durant, and the lakers would still be able to sign another star. Ed Davis is developing into a stud, between Young, Boozer, Lin, Johnson, the Lakers have a very solid bench. The future looks bright. Not only do we have actual assets now and young players but they’re all good enough to keep and build around, they all bring something to the table and they’re also going to end up with a healthy draft pick this year as well.
bigcitysid Harden is having a great year 27 6 6, but he’ll never be Kobe haha. this was awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWp7T6E8ug8
Calvin Chang says
@Tankyou – Yes, this post-rest Kobe is playing very efficient basketball. Kobe himself pointed out the key during his post-game interview. He said that when opponents play him as a passer and stay home on the shooters, he gets a wide open lane and can get any shot he wants. Hopefully we see point-Kobe for the rest of the season. It generates higher percentage shots, gets guys more involved, and is more fun to watch. Hopefully he plays again tonight.
Robert says
Great game. Amazed at how we hung in even though we started out very cold from the floor. Schedule gets a little tough here.
Robert says
And everyone must please refrain from any remarks about how Kobe should be showing his support by being on the bench tonight. Kobe will be resting at home which is a good move by Byron and him. Airplanes and NBA benches are not good therapy for injuries.
bryan S. says
Robert: Please savor the basketball savant Kobe, using craft and wiles to win. He’s still a damn good player playing this way.
Chris Y: Very good comments. This is basketball worth watching win or lose, and the Lakers will be in a much better situation to attract talent with a viable culture in place.
That was a lineup at the end that should get some run: Kobe, Lin, Swag, R Kelley and Easy Ed. Nick’s defense on CJ Miles forced the ball out to Hibbert who then flailed.
Chearn says
When the Lakers find consistency offensively and defensively they’ll identify the players worth retaining for the rebuild.
Lakers winning…great game!
Robert says
bryan S.: I savor all versions of KB : ) I just have a special liking to the full out #8 version : )
BigCitySid says
-@ chris y: “bigcitysid Harden is having a great year 27 6 6, but he’ll never be Kobe haha. this was awesome.” Completely agree. Career wise, Harden doesn’t touch Kobe. However this season he’s more deserving of the starting All-Star spot than Kobe. I know it’s only an exhibition game, one which has no overall meaning (except for players who have never been and/or may have bonuses attached to their contracts for making the squad). I just prefer players who are having the better season get the starting nod over those being voted in based on name or career.
-Agree completely w/ Kobe’s statements pertaining to European players being more skilled than American players in large part because of AAU b-ball.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12114523/kobe-bryant-says-european-players-more-skilled-americans-blames-aau
Makes me wonder how that bit of information is utilized when comparing today’s players with less athletic but more skillful players of earlier eras.
tankyou says
Wes Johnson out “likely for 2 weeks or more” apparently. We were already weak at SF as it is. With Kobe resting (smart to rest on all back-to-backs for sure) the trailblazers seem like a bridge too far. Their defense is still suspect so who knows, but LIn and Swaggy would have to go off big time and Jordan Hill would have to get his head out of the clouds.
In regards to James Harden, don’t like his game much, he’s over-reliant on collecting free throws which hasn’t worked out so well in the playoffs for him. Refs don’t seem to call it as much when he Euro-steps into somebody initiating contacting and getting the free throws. Beyond that Harden certainly looks like the best version of himself, I hear he even plays defense occasionally now. Rockets are certainly an X-factor contender team this year just based on pure talent/athleticism. Josh Smith is still a defensive factor, he’s a pretty great player when he doesn’t shoot jump shots and just scores near the rim or drives to the hole. But he has spent 3 years in a row being a crappy outside shooter. This years playoffs is looking less secure, now that the Spurs are stuttering with Leonard MIA. Hawks are looking like the team to beat in the East at this point anyway.
Brandon Zagoric says
I don’t know if you can make such speedy judgements on Kobe’s return if it’s only been three games. Also, the Grizzlies are one of the best teams in the league and the Lakers almost beat them. You have to dig deeper into the context of it all before saying that Kobe isn’t helping the team out.
Robert says
tankyou/BCS: With regard to Harden and the Rockets: Unfortunately I am now officially rooting for them. I know it is early, but I think the Spurs are still a solid favorite to win it all, and I just can’t take another SA championship.. Very few teams have a real chance to beat them. The Rockets are about the only name I can come up with (unless GS surprises me and adapts their game for the playoffs).
rr says
and the Lakers will be in a much better situation to attract talent with a viable culture in place.
—
I have seen several people pick up on this since I first mentioned it. I see it as a long reach. Kobe will still be 37 years old and making 25M next year, and big-time FAs will want to be on a team where they can win immediately. The most prominent UFAs next year will be Love, Marc Gasol, Aldridge, Monroe, Millsap, and Rondo. The most prominent RFAs will be Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard. Dragic has a player option for 7.5M which he will probably not exercise so he will likely be on the market as well.
So, while you never know what any given FA will do, I am having a hard time seeing any of those guys looking at the Lakers as a better situation than where they are now, or than other options that they will have just because Kobe is passing the ball a lot more. The release of Josh Smith has dramatically changed things for Monroe, and I suspect that SVG will offer him close to the max now.
—
The future looks bright.
Sorry, but no, it doesn’t. There is no specific reason to believe that Durant will come here other than because Lakers. Buss himself seems to be counting on it, but I think that is a mistake.
Kobe certainly deserves credit for what he has been doing the last few games. But as is generally the case when it comes to the Mamba, people are making more out of it big-picture than they should. Indiana is a bad team without Paul George and was also playing without George Hill last night; the Lakers beat them 88-87 at home. That is where the Lakers are.
Chearn says
@rr-“The most prominent UFAs next year will be Love, Marc Gasol, Aldridge, Monroe, Millsap, and Rondo. The most prominent RFAs will be Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard. Dragic has a player option for 7.5M which he will probably not exercise so he will likely be on the market as well.”
You’re right; not one of these players are worth throwing money at as they are most likely candidates that a team chooses based on their current roster. In other words, they are players to add to a contending team not rebuilding or transitioning organizations. In its present condition, the allure of the Lakers as a destination is not attractive. As the players likely to sign with the team are marginal rotation players and draft picks chosen by the wrong team or under-performed on their selection team. For near-term initiatives, the Lakers may have conceived an ingenious plan to field a competitive team (not a playoff team), by picking up high draft picks cut by other teams. These players serve dual purposes if they gain confidence through maturity and playing time to become steady role players the Lakers can package these players together for draft picks or remuneration. Secondly, if the players fill a role that the Lakers are recruiting then the team gets first dibs on retaining said player. For example, Hill was a tissue player in the league for several years until he gained traction with the Lakers.
Chris J says
I’m also convinced that Kobe is willing to take a pay cut after this contract severely. Down to like 2 million a year or something haha maybe even the veteran’s minimum. Kevin Durant is going to come to Los Angeles unless the Thunder win this year which looks unlikely.
——–
Were these jokes?
To assume Kobe will play beyond his current deal is a big assumption, let alone thinking one can deduce what his mindset would be about what money he may want, should he still want to play/be able to play.
Likewise, what is there to suggest Durant would leave OKC, let alone come to the Lakers?
Short of being a fortune teller, those are all highly speculative statements, akin to “I really believe the Lakers will win 10 in a row.” In theory, it’s possible… but nothing in reality suggests any rationale reason one should really believe such things.