Jordanesque?
Willingness to defer making Kobe more dangerous
He has been both revered and reviled, sometimes simultaneously. He has weathered a transcontinental feud and an assortment of injuries to remain, in the words of one scout, "hands-down the most dangerous scorer in the NBA." Yet this season, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is earning the one distinction that has eluded him throughout his 10-year career: he's leading a team into contention.
The Lakers impressive start (16-7, second in the Pacific Division and their best start since you-know-who left town) can be attributed in no small measure to Bryant's willingness to let his teammates carry some of the considerable load. In 2005-06, Bryant led the NBA in scoring with a 35.7 average while attempting 27.2 shots per game; this season, Bryant is averaging 27.4 points on just 19.4 shots, numbers that have not gone unnoticed throughout the league. "He is showing a lot more confidence in his teammates," says Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson. "You can see it; the longer he plays with guys, he trusts them a little more." Adds Mavericks forward Devean George, who played seven seasons with Bryant and has a Ph.D in Kobeology, "I don't think Kobe ever distrusted his teammates. I just think he has a tremendous amount of trust in himself."
Stability has been the primary key to the Lakers early success. The core of the team (Bryant, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Smush Parker) have been together for three years while Kwame Brown and 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum are in their second seasons playing in the Lakers' complex triangle offense. "When you are around guys for a while, you start having confidence and you start feeding off each other," says Bryant. "That's how we are. We understand how to execute with one another."
Bryant's willingness to defer has had tangible results. Walton is averaging a career-high 12.7 points and is the league's second-leading 3-point shooter (52.6 percent). Since regaining his spot in the starting lineup last month, Brown is averaging 9.9 points on 59.0 percent shooting. Odom -- the most important piece to the Laker puzzle outside of Bryant -- is averaging a career-high 17.5 points while surprising rookie Jordan Farmar is averaging 6.1 points. Bryant is still able to score in bunches (evidenced by two 50-plus point scoring nights this season, including a 53-point outburst against Houston on Saturday) but he has forged the kind of balance that has made him, dare we say, positively Jordanesque? "What Kobe is doing is what Michael [Jordan] finally learned to do," says Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter, who coached Jordan with the Bulls from 1985-98. "Michael at one time was worse than Kobe at trying to take over the game. Once he got the idea that it was a team concept, we got much more effective. That's sort of the evolution I see with Kobe right now."
The continuing of that evolution will likely determine just how far L.A. can go. Though they have spent more days in first place this season (29) than the last two seasons combined (12), the Lakers have benefited from a favorable schedule (16 of their first 23 games were at the Staples Center) and will have to survive the loss of Odom, who will miss the next three weeks with an ankle injury. By then we'll know if these first two months were an aberration -- or if Bryant truly is ready to be like Mike.
Willingness to defer making Kobe more dangerous
He has been both revered and reviled, sometimes simultaneously. He has weathered a transcontinental feud and an assortment of injuries to remain, in the words of one scout, "hands-down the most dangerous scorer in the NBA." Yet this season, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is earning the one distinction that has eluded him throughout his 10-year career: he's leading a team into contention.
The Lakers impressive start (16-7, second in the Pacific Division and their best start since you-know-who left town) can be attributed in no small measure to Bryant's willingness to let his teammates carry some of the considerable load. In 2005-06, Bryant led the NBA in scoring with a 35.7 average while attempting 27.2 shots per game; this season, Bryant is averaging 27.4 points on just 19.4 shots, numbers that have not gone unnoticed throughout the league. "He is showing a lot more confidence in his teammates," says Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson. "You can see it; the longer he plays with guys, he trusts them a little more." Adds Mavericks forward Devean George, who played seven seasons with Bryant and has a Ph.D in Kobeology, "I don't think Kobe ever distrusted his teammates. I just think he has a tremendous amount of trust in himself."
Stability has been the primary key to the Lakers early success. The core of the team (Bryant, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Smush Parker) have been together for three years while Kwame Brown and 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum are in their second seasons playing in the Lakers' complex triangle offense. "When you are around guys for a while, you start having confidence and you start feeding off each other," says Bryant. "That's how we are. We understand how to execute with one another."
Bryant's willingness to defer has had tangible results. Walton is averaging a career-high 12.7 points and is the league's second-leading 3-point shooter (52.6 percent). Since regaining his spot in the starting lineup last month, Brown is averaging 9.9 points on 59.0 percent shooting. Odom -- the most important piece to the Laker puzzle outside of Bryant -- is averaging a career-high 17.5 points while surprising rookie Jordan Farmar is averaging 6.1 points. Bryant is still able to score in bunches (evidenced by two 50-plus point scoring nights this season, including a 53-point outburst against Houston on Saturday) but he has forged the kind of balance that has made him, dare we say, positively Jordanesque? "What Kobe is doing is what Michael [Jordan] finally learned to do," says Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter, who coached Jordan with the Bulls from 1985-98. "Michael at one time was worse than Kobe at trying to take over the game. Once he got the idea that it was a team concept, we got much more effective. That's sort of the evolution I see with Kobe right now."
The continuing of that evolution will likely determine just how far L.A. can go. Though they have spent more days in first place this season (29) than the last two seasons combined (12), the Lakers have benefited from a favorable schedule (16 of their first 23 games were at the Staples Center) and will have to survive the loss of Odom, who will miss the next three weeks with an ankle injury. By then we'll know if these first two months were an aberration -- or if Bryant truly is ready to be like Mike.
