There he goes now... taking the ball from a teammate's hands to make the winning shot.

The Lakers are my Team.  But I hated when they traded Shaq.  They should have traded Kobe.  You are right.  This is not baseball or Golf.  There are 5 players on the court. and hogging the ball does nothing for helping the team.

The Lakers are my Team.

I won't hold that against you. My two favorite teams are the Phoenix Suns and whoever's playing the Lakers.

I don't follow basketball, but I think Kobe's a doofus.

My two favorite teams are the Phoenix Suns

You would like my Son!

I think Kobe is not getting a fair shake here. When Kobe scored 62 points in 3 quarters against the Mavericks last month
and sat out the 4th in a Lakers victory, everyone called him a wimp for not trying to break Wilt's scoring record.

In this game, the Lakers were down 49 to 63 at half time. At the end of the 3rd, the Lakers were up by only 6 points, 91 to 85.
Now, there was still 12 minutes to play and the Lakers were up by only 3 2pt baskets or 2 3pt baskets. I'ld say that there was still a lot of basketball to be played and if I was a Laker, I would give the ball to Kobe because he was hot. Kobe made 61% of his shots. The Lakers as a team shot for 48%.

So was Kobe a ball hog that night because he played a gutsy game with a passion to win? I think everyone that paid for a ticket that night got their money's worth and more. Those folks got to see history that night.

And yes, basketball is not golf. You don't pass in golf and you don't try to block someone's shot.
And yes, basketball is also not baseball where you stand alone in the batters box with an option to let someone swing for you, or
you are out of the game.

Kobe is now in the position that no matter what he does, great or not so great he will be disrespected.

Nothing like being accused of a crime to ruin your life.

I would give the ball to Kobe because he was hot. Kobe made 61% of his shots... So was Kobe a ball hog that night because he played a gutsy game with a passion to win?

I certainly don't diss Kobe's passion for winning. And he is a very talented player, from the day he left Lower Merion HS for the big time. I question his team ethic, which prevents his teammates from touching that orange rubber ball for 48 minutes a game.

Kobe is now in the position that no matter what he does, great or not so great he will be disrespected. Nothing like being accused of a crime to ruin your life.

I disliked Kobe Bryant long before his court appearances in Eagle, Colorado.

Kobe is now in the position that no matter what he does, great or not so great he will be disrespected. Nothing like being accused of a crime to ruin your life.

Actually, that has nothing to do with my disrespect (and quite Frankly I thought, think and stated he was innocent).  No, he lost my respect when he feuded with Shaq and made them trade Shaq.  The Lakers were great when they were team mates.  They are ok now.

I question his team ethic, which prevents his teammates from touching that orange rubber ball for 48 minutes a game.


The rest of the Lakers were 14 of 42, that's 33%. If they were making shots, the burden to score would not weigh so heavily on Kobe's shoulders.

The rest of the Lakers were 14 of 42, that's 33%. If they were making shots, the burden to score would not weigh so heavily on Kobe's shoulders.

If he was not so egotistical, Shaq would still be there.  And they would rule the court instead of fighting for a scrap of it.

I'm afraid that even if Jerry Bus did put Shaq on the payroll, there would be even less money for supporting players.
So he chose Kobe=27years old, 40.5 min/game, 36 pts/game over
Shaq=33 years old, 28.5 min/game, 18 pts/game.

Good article presenting the opposite viewpoint, in today's Washington Post:

Bryant is still perceived in many quarters as a selfish ball hog, which is why his grand accomplishment is not celebrated today like it would be if you-know-who seized a game the way Bryant did at the Staples Center. The revisionist historians argue Michael Jordan would not have taken 46 shots and 13 three-pointers -- even though Bryant made more than half of his attempts from both short- and long-range.

They won't remember the rest of Bryant's supporting cast, which shot a combined 14 of 42 in a game they were about to give away, or how lackadaisical Lamar Odom looked (0 for 4, one rebound in the first half).

All they'll say is, "Michael would have passed more."

Whether you enjoy his levitation and competitiveness or you think he is part of what's wrong with the modern game, Kobe Bryant is going to score 100 points in an NBA contest. He's that good and that indefensible.

He's playing on an average NBA team that needs him to put up huge numbers every game. Which is why his one-time harshest critic, Phil Jackson, has not said boo about Bryant averaging 45.5 points the last 10 games.

Jackson knows: If Bryant doesn't detonate for more than 30, the Lakers probably lose.

Yes, Bryant's point-to-assist ratio (40.5 to 1) on Sunday will not excite either Shaquille O'Neal or John Wooden. But West is right: The NBA is not an equal-opportunity league. Kevin Garnett's team was up by 19 points on Philadelphia on Sunday and lost. You know how many shots Garnett took in the final quarter? One. Would the purists be happier if Bryant, Chris Mihm and Smush Parker all took 20 shots?

Bryant scored more in two quarters than Allen Iverson totaled in four on his way to a season high of 53 points in a game last month. Eighty-eight times this season NBA teams failed to score more than 80. Think about that: Bryant outscored 88 entire rosters.

That is exactly the point I was trying to make. The Lakers NEED Kobe to score as much as possible because no else on the Lakers
is capable of taking them as far as the play-offs. Also, Jordan was notorious for putting up a lot of shots, but he has 6 championship rings to Kobe's 3.

The Lakers are a not a balanced scoring team like The Pistons, Spurs, Suns, or Heat.


Thanks for putting in this article, Singerdave. That's fair and balanced blogging.

That is exactly the point I was trying to make. The Lakers NEED Kobe to score as much as possible because no else on the Lakers is capable of taking them as far as the play-offs.

They won with Shaq and Kobe.  They have not been a factor since then.  Kobe may be able to get them to the playoffs, but he will not win any rings.  Jourdan never was a one man show and knew it was his supporting cast that got the rings.