'it's not Kobe, it is the supporting cast'

[wdleehi]

I love it. 



isn't 'the great laker depth' all we heard going into the series. 



Now, they Kobe lovers (on espn for example) are putting blame on the rest of the players.



Way to flip flop.

[Roy Hobbs]

Wasn't it that supporting cast that built a huge lead?

And wasn't it only after the Lakers decided to play "get it to Kobe and get out of the way" that they got slaughtered?

Just checking.

====================

Lakers when Kobe was 0-for-2:  +21

Lakers when Kobe was 6-for-17: -30

[cordobes]

Good call, wdleehi. I also thought that this was the supporting cast that Kobe needed to win it all.

What exactly does he need? Gasol is a near max player, Gasol is a $10M player, Fisher is an experienced pg, Vlad is the shooter who fits perfectly in the triangle, their bench is the best in the league. Isn't that good enough for the second coming of Jordan to win? What does he need? Duncan, Lebron and Paul in his team?

[wdleehi]

Good call, wdleehi. I also thought that this was the supporting cast that Kobe needed to win it all.

What exactly does he need? Gasol is a near max player, Gasol is a $10M player, Fisher is an experienced pg, Vlad is the shooter who fits perfectly in the triangle, their bench is the best in the league. Isn't that good enough for the second coming of Jordan to win? What does he need? Duncan, Lebron and Paul in his team?

He needs Shaq of old to ride on. 

[Ersatz]

Yep, it's amazing how that's changed. ESPN.com is the only place that is saying this is on Kobe. Everyone else -- SI, Sporting News, Yahoo!, etc. -- is saying that it's his teammates. What a load of garbage.

[Goldstar88]

I do not think the teams the Problem at all for the lakers. The problem seems to be that Kobe has absolutely no faith in his team. Every time a Laker player makes a mistake Kobe is all over them. He lacks humility as Tommy Heinsohn said, and his team obviously does not react well to all of his negativity. He may be the leader of the team but an ineffective one. He does not know how to bring his team together when they need a leader on the floor the most.

Thank god he never came to boston.

[Chris]

The problem is that they are soft, both physically and mentally.  Even Kobe, who I happen to think is very physically tough, has no mental toughness whatsoever. 

This is why guys like Posey, House, PJ, and even Powe are so important to the Celtics.  They are able to surround the stars with Men who don't get rattled.  They are leaders on and off the court, and show incredible restraint and maturity, which rubs off on some of the other guys who might have been known for losing their composure in the past (Pierce and Garnett have both had trouble controlling themselves in the past, but have been incredibly under control ever since the Detroit series).

[BballTim]

  I was watching the last few minutes of the game wondering what the Lakers would blame this on. Not the refs, not the rims, not on dead spots on the parquet. There's gotta be some reason that doesn't involve their play!

[Cman]

Well, the game is really hard when you got "three, four guys coming at you"
when you "miss bunnies"
when "balls bounce their way"
and when the refs don't give you the superstar, kid glove treatment you expect.....

[Mr October]

Good call, wdleehi. I also thought that this was the supporting cast that Kobe needed to win it all.

What exactly does he need? Gasol is a near max player, Gasol is a $10M player, Fisher is an experienced pg, Vlad is the shooter who fits perfectly in the triangle, their bench is the best in the league. Isn't that good enough for the second coming of Jordan to win? What does he need? Duncan, Lebron and Paul in his team?

He needs Shaq of old to ride on. 

Heheheheh, yup. Perhaps we can start calling Kobe the greatest second fiddle of all time. And finally put to rest the MJ comparisons.

Pau is no Shaq. And Kobe is no Jordan.

[BballTim]

Good call, wdleehi. I also thought that this was the supporting cast that Kobe needed to win it all.

What exactly does he need? Gasol is a near max player, Gasol is a $10M player, Fisher is an experienced pg, Vlad is the shooter who fits perfectly in the triangle, their bench is the best in the league. Isn't that good enough for the second coming of Jordan to win? What does he need? Duncan, Lebron and Paul in his team?

He needs Shaq of old to ride on. 

Heheheheh, yup. Perhaps we can start calling Kobe the greatest second fiddle of all time. And finally put to rest the MJ comparisons.

Pau is no Shaq. And Kobe is no Jordan.

  Kevin McHale probably isn't alone ahead of Kobe for greatest second fiddle of all time.

  How about calling Kobe the Dominique Wilkins of his era?

[BringToughnessBack]

Good call, wdleehi. I also thought that this was the supporting cast that Kobe needed to win it all.

What exactly does he need? Gasol is a near max player, Gasol is a $10M player, Fisher is an experienced pg, Vlad is the shooter who fits perfectly in the triangle, their bench is the best in the league. Isn't that good enough for the second coming of Jordan to win? What does he need? Duncan, Lebron and Paul in his team?

He needs Shaq of old to ride on. 

Heheheheh, yup. Perhaps we can start calling Kobe the greatest second fiddle of all time. And finally put to rest the MJ comparisons.

Pau is no Shaq. And Kobe is no Jordan.

I agree..enough of the MJ comparisons....

Pau is not even a third of Shaq! He could always star in a kids movie...lets say Mr. Marshmallow

[beantownboy171]

I can hear the excuses alreadey "IF WE HAD BYNUM WE WOULD HAVE WON FOR SURE"

[wdleehi]

I can hear the excuses alreadey "IF WE HAD BYNUM WE WOULD HAVE WON FOR SURE"

I have already seen that.

[Barnabas]

Well, to some extent it was Kobe's supporting cast who did not deliver consistently.  But I attribute that to their youth and their lack of experience.  Guys like Farmar, Walton, Vujacic, Turiaf, and Ariza have quickness and athleticism but they lack experience to carry that heavy of a load.  You can say the same for Pau and Odom.  The Laker supporting cast were all overwhelmed by the moment.  They were not ready for this moment.  And yeah, Pau Gasol is soft as soft can be.

But there are guys on that bench that are well on their way to becoming good quality NBA players.  I think Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic will be much better players because of this playoff series.  Vujacic has a lot of potential.  Odom also has a potential to be better, but unfortunately, his high salary demands that his best basketball needs to be NOW!  There's potential there with those three guys.  I cannot say the same for guys like Luke Walton, Radmanovic, Turiaf, and Ariza, who are all likely to stay role players throughout their NBA careers.