LA-Denver Game 5: It's about more than Kobe and Drew

Posted by: SPQR on May 09, 2012 - 02:53 AM
lakers-blog

It is funny how this always turns into Kobe vs Drew with every loss.

Reading throught the game day thread, that enevitable fight broke out yet gain. Kobe lost the game. Drew lost the game. Big surprise there. And both so wrong.

For all the Kobe fans who blame Drew tonight, yet take his word for gospel law, here is the law layed down by Kobe after tonights loss: "The Nuggets are sitting in Drew and Pau's laps. WE have to start hitting all the open shots this is giving us."

Coach Brown said the exact same thing.

And you know what, both Brown AND Kobe are right.

Anyone who watched this game should not blame Drew or Kobe on the offensive end. All of them can be blamed on D, including Kobe and Drew. When your team gives up 46 percent shooting, that speaks for itself and all the players on the team.

On offense the problem tonight was the same problem we have had all year. We have two very good low post players, but when the defense collapses on them, WE, the team, AS KOBE SAID, don't consistantly take advantage of it. IE, they miss too many open shots.

The Lakers shot 38 percent tonight, at home. And that number was inflated in the last few minutes when Kobe and Blake and Sessions hit some shots or it would have been lower.

Also, notice how quickly we came back when the shots started dropping in the last four minutes? When the team did take advantage of the defense.

But doing that for a lousy four minute stretch in a full game is not enough. They have to do that for more often. And its not surprise when they do, we usually win very easily.

When you look at some of the stats from the game, you would think we won. We outrebounded them and had more second chance points. But then you look at our shooting percentage, and bench scoring, 50 for them and 19 for us, a 31 point swing and loss becomes apparent.

This loss was caused by the Nuggets daring LA to shoot from outside, to take advantage of that defense stacked up inside. And it couldn't. This aint the first time nor the last time it will happen. It has happend many, many times this year. The Nuggets, like every other team in the league knows where we are strong and more importantly, where we are weak.

This team is what it has been all year. A team with certain stars, with certain talents, certain great parts, but not team with all the ancillary pieces to be as good as they should. It lacks some parts that are essential to open up the low post game and take advantage of the way the defense tries to stop our low post game.

This loss doesn't fall on Drews shoulders nor Kobes. I swear some of you guys just keep coming back to this all the time, like two bitter, old, senile men in an old folks home who argue about something out of rote because you have nothing at all better to do to pass your time and frustrations away.

I have no doubt that we will go on to win this series. Denver just doesn't have to horses to take three straight from us.

But when you look down the road, at better teams that will have home court, when you couple that with the flaws that have been there all year, up to and including the Denver series, it doesn't take a psychic to predict the eventual end.

I have no doubt about that either. Get used to the idea, because it's going to happen. And start to look at this team as whole, not some silly Kobe vs Drew debate after every loss, to understand this teams real problems go team deep, and not run just as shallow as its two best players.