Dear Kobe Bryant,
In the middle of a playoff chase that has you clinging tenaciously to the no. 8 seed and yapping about how you have to take more control of the team’s defensive strategy, why are you doing this?
In the 71st game of your 17th season, in the midst of a “heated” playoff “race,” why are you still watching your own errant jump shot while your mark, Klay Thompson, beats you back in transition for an open 3-pointer? Thompson doesn’t exactly take off like Corey Brewer, either, and he still beats you down the floor by several steps.
Why is this still happening? It’s almost April, and Bryant and the Lakers still can’t figure out transition defense, or defense in general.
The Lakers have marginally improved on defense. They’re up to 18th in points allowed per possession and have been a hair better than league average over their last 10 games. But a game-by-game look shows little big-picture progress and a bunch of recent stingy games against the league’s worst offensive teams. The Lakers still don’t get back on defense and there's still minimal coordination when it comes to weakside help. The Lakers may lead the league in the percentage of defensive possessions that end with teammates shrugging and/or pointing at each other, though the Kings would give them a run.
This isn’t all on Bryant, obviously. Howard is slowly rediscovering his form, but he’s not even close to his disruptive peak. Pau Gasol is recovering from several knee and foot issues that have compromised his already compromised mobility. Steve Nash and Steve Blake simply cannot stay in front of quick point guards:
Antawn Jamison can’t guard anyone, at any position. Mike D’Antoni has concluded that stashing Jamison on small forwards is safer than having him guard power forwards, but when the Lakers went that route last night, the Warriors happily responded by giving the ball to Harrison Barnes and watching him torch Jamison.
Bryant, as the whole Internet (including this corner of it) has noted repeatedly, has been an irresponsible off-ball defender all season. He gambles out of scheme whenever he feels like it, often turning his back completely to his man, and several of Washington’s 11 3s during the Lakers’ home loss to the Wiz on Friday were the direct result of Bryant deciding he didn’t want to play team defense any longer. The Warriors last night exploited the Lakers’ indecisive, nonexistent weakside defense by running pick-and-rolls, including on this smart out-of-timeout pick-and-roll, with Klay Thompson as the lone weakside shooter:
Which brings me to two thoughts:
1. If Bryant makes first or second-team All-Defense again this season, I’m officially ignoring this honor indefinitely when it comes to assessing a player’s status and career accomplishments. There will be no more “Player X has seven first-team All-Defense appearances” in this space as a way of justifying a man’s place in the NBA hierarchy. Bryant isn’t the first player coasting to undeserved All-Defense appearances based on reputation, but if he makes it again this season, it will be his most egregious appearance ever, and one of the most egregious in league history. It’s probably already time to start ignoring these honors, since Carlos Boozer received what I hope was an accidental vote last season, but Bryant’s selection would make it official.
Again, he’s a good defender when he wants to be, and he can still be a huge pain in the ass on the ball against top scorers. But playing top-notch on-ball defense on a few possessions per game does not qualify someone for an All-Defense honor, when all those other possessions of hideous off-ball defense exist.
Holding Bryant to his peak career standards on defense isn’t even fair. He’s aging, and the Lakers still rely on him to carry an enormous offensive burden — a responsibility Bryant himself chooses to augment by occasionally hogging the ball. And he’s had a fabulous offensive season. Repeat, L.A. fans popping those Kobe jerseys: fabulous. The Lakers need to buy him rest on defense, which is why World Peace has so often over the last three seasons defended the best opposing wing player, even if he’s at a quickness disadvantage in doing so. But there’s a difference between saving energy and behaving recklessly, and Bryant has crossed that line, stopping only to urinate on it this season.
.....this nikka got time on his hands, sittin at home on the couch, thinkin of maniacal shyt to say about the game. It just sounds so thought up.....foh Kobe. He probably tryin to impress with his brain for the venture capital folks...
.....he doesn't even need to do this, he'd get takers on his name alone
