Hit the Switch
Once the Lakers organization began to shift after the 2007 season, I was forced to endure terrible basketball analysts like Marc Jackson and Bill Walton tell me how Kobe has finally learned to trust his teammates and that’s why the Lakers had become so successful. Even though that may have been the case for stretches in the game, it certainly wasn’t he case when Kobe decided to hit the switch and shift into “Screw You Mode.” I would describe it as a forced heat check in which he felt like he deserved it because he had been completely passive for a long stretch in that game. It made me a feel like the whole trusting your teammates theory was a sham. If he trusted them so much why would he go into 3 minute stretches where he would refuse to kick out the ball to wide open teammates and try to dominate the game one on five. The forced passive stretches made matters even worse. It resulted in him passing up opportunities where he could get solid looks while in the flow of the offense. There would be a handful of possessions lost each game where teammates were clueless as to which Kobe they were going to get. Was he going to load up the stat sheet with assists or field goal attempts? It’s safe to say the switch led to a few sleepless nights.
Fast forward to this year. What is Kobe doing different? Well, for a guy who is considered one of the most intelligent players in the game he has finally developed a strong feel for how to get his baskets while in the flow of the offense and avoid these long forced spells which I described above. This has led to crisper movement off the ball throughout the course of the game for his teammates. The team appears to remain in rhythm offensively for longer portions in the game. We can credit this to Kobe holding back from hittin’ switches.
There you have it folks. Add up these four elements to Kobe’s game along with being the most clutch player in the game, the best scorer in the game, one of the best one on one defenders in the game and you’ve now reached the Jordan Plateau. It’s been bittersweet at times to witness Kobe’s game evolve throughout these past 13 years. Luckily, the best is yet to come. Gone are the chinks in the armor, gone are the critics who refused to throw praise his way, gone are my sleepless nights caused by my favorite player. For this 2009-2010 NBA Season Kobe Bryant gets his highest mark of all, A+. I guess a little math never hurt anyone.
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