Lakers beat Warriors without Kobe, and then throw him under the bus

[hpantazo]

They looked like a different team, with much more passing and well distributed scoring. These are some quotes from Kobe's teammates following the game:

Nick Young: "Some guys just played like 'Django Unchained' — they were free tonight," Young said.

And what would Young tell Bryant?

"Pretty much going to have to tell Kobe to pass me the ball, pass us the ball," Young said. "Tell him to take the backseat for a little bit. He can be 'Driving Miss Daisy' and I can be Miss Daisy and drive."

Jeremy Lin: ""We learned a lot about ourselves," said Lin, who finished with 11 points and five assists off the bench.

Such as?

"I think we learned —"

Pause.

"I would say it's just another stepping stone."

http://deadspin.com/the-lakers-had-fun-with-kobe-bryant-sitting-out-1674837682

[Rondo9]

This has to be damaging Kobe's ego. 

[hpantazo]

This has to be damaging Kobe's ego. 

Well, this, plus the fact that they turned down a Rondo trade for a rookie who is out for the season has to be killing Kobe and making him wonder if management is just waiting for him to leave.

[TheFlex]

This has to be damaging Kobe's ego. 

Well, this, plus the fact that they turned down a Rondo trade for a rookie who is out for the season has to be killing Kobe and making him wonder if management is just waiting for him to leave.

That is Kobe's own fault. From where I can see (miles and miles away... so I'm qualified to talk about this, right?) Kobe's refusal to change his style of play has made the team worse and devalued their trade assets. He's a detriment to management until they surround him with stars.

This is where I think Rondo deserves some credit. Whether it worked or not Rondo clearly made a point of dominating the ball less and trying to accommodate his game to Stevens' system.

[BballTim]

  Is anyone even slightly surprised that Nick Young would lobby to get more shots?

[blink]

This has to be damaging Kobe's ego. 

Well, this, plus the fact that they turned down a Rondo trade for a rookie who is out for the season has to be killing Kobe and making him wonder if management is just waiting for him to leave.

That is Kobe's own fault. From where I can see (miles and miles away... so I'm qualified to talk about this, right?) Kobe's refusal to change his style of play has made the team worse and devalued their trade assets. He's a detriment to management until they surround him with stars.

This is where I think Rondo deserves some credit. Whether it worked or not Rondo clearly made a point of dominating the ball less and trying to accommodate his game to Stevens' system.

I agree with everything you said. It was Kobe's choice to take a contract that would cripple the lakers chances short term to add any talent with him.  He also really bombed the team chemistry this season.  Instead of taking on a true leadership role, a la Paul Pierce, he devolved back into the me first player just chucking for scoring records. 

Now I wouldn't want to be taking smack talk from Nick Young either, but...

I also don't really think the one win over GS is going to be a trend for the rest of the season.  Yeah maybe they overachieved for one night, but that won't happen a lot the rest of the year.  Their roster just isn't that good no matter how inflated Nick Young's ego is.

[hpantazo]

This has to be damaging Kobe's ego. 

Well, this, plus the fact that they turned down a Rondo trade for a rookie who is out for the season has to be killing Kobe and making him wonder if management is just waiting for him to leave.

That is Kobe's own fault. From where I can see (miles and miles away... so I'm qualified to talk about this, right?) Kobe's refusal to change his style of play has made the team worse and devalued their trade assets. He's a detriment to management until they surround him with stars.

This is where I think Rondo deserves some credit. Whether it worked or not Rondo clearly made a point of dominating the ball less and trying to accommodate his game to Stevens' system.

I agree with everything you said. It was Kobe's choice to not only take a contract that would cripple the lakers chances short term to add any talent with him.  He also really bombed the team chemistry this season.  Instead of taking on a true leadership role, a la Paul Pierce, he devolved back into the me first player just chucking for scoring records. 

Now I wouldn't want to be taking smack talk from Nick Young either, but...

I also don't really think the one win over GS is going to be a trend for the rest of the season.  Yeah maybe they overachieved for one night, but that won't happen a lot the rest of the year.  Their roster just isn't that good no matter how inflated Nick Young's ego is.

Yep, this is great!! I was laughing when the Lakers gave Kobe that contract, as I knew it would cripple their rebuild. On top of that though, Kobe reverts to being a self centered jerk even though he lost a few steps instead of being a mentor to whatever younger talent they have. Now the rest of the team is losing any fear and respect they may have had for him. This is awesome.

[Birdman]

Nick Young will be traded now b/c Kobe wont like him talking like that 

[hpantazo]

We should just call him Miss Daisy from now on. Somewhere out there Charles Barkley is nodding and saying "father time is undefeated"

[gift]

"Opponents have outscored the Lakers by 13.3 points per 100 possessions with Bryant on the floor, per NBA.com. The Lakers have flipped that figure almost on its head when Kobe sits, destroying teams by about 11 points per 100 possessions. The sample size is small, and Bryant is going up against top opposing units as a starter for a terrible team; Jordan Hill and Wesley Johnson, the Lakers? other full-time starters, also have ugly splits by this metric.

But they?re not as ugly as Kobe?s, and the Lakers? positive scoring margin without him is massive ? about equivalent to Golden State?s league-best mark."

from Zach Lowe's article ranking Western conference teams: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nbas-western-conference-power-rankings/

[rondohondo]

wonder if a playoff team would trade for him , They have to have big expiring contracts though .
 
Maybe NO would be interested ?

NO Sends: Rivers, Salmons, Gordon
LAL Sends: Kobe

[HomerSapien]

Anyone besides me wish they could watch the next practice Kobe goes head to head with Nick Young in? Nick will definitely need some treatment from a trainer thanks to a "stray" elbow.

[hwangjini_1]

ho, ho, ho and tps to everyone for an early christmas present. thanks to all of you for posting here.

oh, and kobe not only gets NO tps, he can bite me. i am glad to see his team turn on him.

merry christmas!!!