Kobe's KBA-esque performance

We interrupt this regularly scheduled KBA blog for an update on LAL vs DEN 1/1/12:

So many things went well, at least as well can expected on the 2nd leg of a back-to-back in Denver, where the Lakers usually suck.  

-Bynum was again, HUGE.  A tough and physical presence inside.  Strong defense without too many stupid fouls.

-Pau, for a change, looked comfortable.  Aggressive even, at points, especially on several nifty inside pivots that resulted in a couple layups and [gasp] even a dunk.  He even threw in a no-hesitation, confident driving left-handed layup in the fourth quarter.  He seems to have settled into that mid-post range on offense, providing high screens and staying available for pick-and-pop jumpers or ball rotation.  His ability to stretch the defense gives Bynum room to operate down low while pulling his help defender away from the basket.  It gives the Lake Show a bit of the Duncan & Robinson twin towers look.  If I'm Mike Brown, I tell Pau: If you catch the ball facing up within 18 feet and the defender is more than an arm's length away, I want you to shoot it EVERY TIME.

-Blake threw in a few daggers from the corner.  He looks MUCH more comfortable shooting and taking the ball to the hoop.  

-Overall rugged defense on a team that is much younger and faster than the Lakers, and sneaky athletic

So on a night when the Lakers got 20 and 10 from both big men, solid bench contributions from Blake and MWP, how did it go wrong?  In a word: Kobe absolutely, unequivocally cost the Lakers the game.  

If you're wearing the purple and gold and walking off the floor, how do you walk into that locker room and not at least be thinking, WHAT THE F?!  I don't care if the name on the back of your jersey says Bryant, Jordan, Shuttlesworth or J.H. Christ...no one has the cache to excuse a game like that.  On what planet is taking 28 shots when you're shooting shit-bricks all night long acceptable?  ESPECIALLY when your center, who is fresh off a 30 point performance and kicking ass again, gets 12 shots total?!  Most shocking of all was the completely horrendous, inexcusable lapses of judgment: shot selection (of mostly long jumpers), constantly dribbling into corners and double-teams, wild cross-court passes, and worst of all...getting beat back on defense AT LEAST three times in the 4th quarter alone because he was bitching and waving his arms at the refs.   

Try this one on for size: Andrew Bynum is more important to Laker success than Kobe Bryant (more on that later).  There, I said it.  It's borderline blasphemy, but it's also true.  The Lakers need Bynum to dominate, and need Kobe to be Paul Pierce (ugh...that felt dirty saying that, but it's true).  Okay, maybe it's just two games and I need to step away from the ledge.  But these two games are further evidence that giving Bynum LO's shots and minutes was the first priority, regardless of what we got back in a trade.  While Bynum wasn't going up against Howard or Perkins, that Denver front-line is no pushover--and keep in mind, Bynum still isn't in top game shape.  Bynum is reaching the stage where he probably needs to touch (not necessarily shoot) the ball on most possessions.  His low-post game is becoming surprisingly refined, and he gets easy buckets in a way that Kobe just doesn't anymore.  He creates havoc that puts the opposing big men in foul trouble and opens the floor up for his teammates.  When Kobe gets the ball, it is, more often than not, the same old story: isolate, jab-step, stutter-step, spin or fade away as the shot clock runs down...all the while his teammates look on vapidly, usually from the other side of the court.  For God's sake, the two most effective players in the game (Pau and Bynum) barely got a sniff of the ball in the last three minutes, while Kobe puts his hand up and initiates the offense 25 feet from the basket.  For the love of RIcky F, how is that smart basketball for somebody who has the reputation as one of the (supposedly) smarter players in the game?

Yes, sometimes Kobe pulls his wizardry and the ball goes in and we oooh and aahh.  But that is winning a battle at the expense of losing the war.  How many empty possessions do we get for one basket?  More importantly, it completely takes the Lakers out of any offensive flow--I don't think it's coincidence that most of Kobe's misses are one-and-done.  Who wants to do the dirty work under the basket when your leader is having his personal "I'm Keith Hernandez" moment ( http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I'm%20Keith%20Hernandez) 20 times a game?  Ultimately, it will erode any sort of trust and teamwork that Mike Brown is clearly trying so hard to build.  Bad enough to undermine the team on the offensive side of the ball, but it carries over to the defensive side, where trust and teamwork are infinitely more important.  Andrew Bynum is the Lakers most integral defensive player and best rebounder--screw what he does on offense, THAT alone might make him the most important Laker.  

Only Kobe knows what was going on tonight.  Perhaps it was an old gunslinger just trying to shoot his way out of a slump.  Or maybe it was a proud veteran who sees the start of a changing of the guard and was trying too hard to, if for one night, stave off the inevitable.  Now, the Lakers obviously need Kobe, and Kobe can still be KOBE BRYANT in spurts.  But there's an increasing disconnect between what Kobe does and what Kobe THINKS he can do.  What's clear is what Kobe definitely can do: single-handedly take the Lakers out of the game when it matters most.  That's something that, even for all his maddening inconsistencies, even Lamar Odom never really did because he was never THE MAN on the floor.  We saw it happen in the Chicago game, we saw it tonight, and it's only a matter of time before we start seeing it even more unless somebody slaps his stubborn hand and gives him a reality check.  Who will it be...D-Fish?  Mike Brown?  More likely, it will Bynum himself.  For his youth, Bynum isn't afraid to boldly state his desire to dominate, and isn't above showing his frustration or speaking his mind when his teammates miss a defensive assignment or when he feels like he's being reined in...hmmm, sound familiar? 

Maybe it was just the tough defense of Afflalo, or maybe Kobe just had a few bad games.  I just can't help but see the delicious irony of it all, and worry that it won't eventually turn into something altogether too familiar.  Shaq famously said: "If you want the big dog to guard the house, you gotta feed the big dog."  Could this be Shaq-Kobe redux...only this time, the roles are reversed, and we'll see if Old Kobe remembers what it felt like to be Young Kobe.