| Lakers Open Season With Familiar Operation Authored by Scott Essman - October 31, 2007 - 9:45 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The SuperstarsCarmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
 |
Maynor Using Utah’s Resources
Eric Maynor is an increasingly rare four-year, small college rookie. He sat down with RealGM to discuss how his first few weeks of NBA life has gone and what he has learned from Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan.
|
 |
Why LeBron To The Clippers Makes Sense
LeBron James already plays for a perennial underdog in Cleveland, but moving to the Clippers would allow him to do so in a huge market and with a core that will immediately compete for championships while also having an encouraging long term outlook.
|
 |
‘Home-Heavy Schedule’ Brings Question Marks
The Heat have been plagued by inconsistencies, making it difficult to determine how good they really are this season.
|
|
More from RealGM's Columnists
|
| |
Granted, forward Lamar Odom wasn't available, and the Rockets got 55 points from Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming alone. But this seems to be the modus operandi of the Shaq-less Lakers: give the ball to Kobe and hope for the best.
Even in the rebounding department, Kobe tied center Kwame Brown for the team lead with eight. Surely, for now, this is Kobe's team, and will remain that way until he is traded or the Lakers add offense. But the man can only do so much.
Yes, the Rockets had a miracle three-pointer late from Shane Battier to cement their last lead and prevent the game from going into overtime after Derek Fisher hit his long 3-pointer on a pass from Bryant.
And yes, Kobe was fouled on the last play of the game. But the Lakers were playing catch-up virtually the whole game since mid-second quarter. Bryant can't be and shouldn't be expected to carry the whole load.
Why the Lakers front office, knowing Kobe's displeasure (rightly so) at not having enough supporting help to win consistently, did nothing to bolster the team in the off-season is anyone's guess. The Lakers are essentially sealing their fate of losing Kobe by refusing to include Andrew Bynum in the Jermaine O'Neal trade.
Perhaps they should at last look up the definition of the Peter Principle and realize that it precisely describes Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak.
Until then, we can expect a host of games that were like last night's close-but-no-cigar contest. |
