L.A. Lakers: Greatest Strength, Biggest Weakness

No one ever doubted (and I would guess still doubts) that LA is very much Kobe Bryant's team. There's nothing really to it, when the show gets on the road, it's Kobe's show to run, everyone else is just along for the ride. So if you tell me that the team is still dependent on Kobe Bryant, I'd believe it. Sure you wouldn't necessarily be gutting the Lakers as badly if you removed Kobe as you would the Cavs if you removed LeBron, but you'd be coming pretty close. Despite the anchor that is Pau Gasol, I think that the Lakers are still too Kobe reliant. Sure, they don't need him to score his 40 points a game as much anymore, he can confidently distribute the ball, certain that Odom, Vujacic, Radmonovic, Fisher, etc... can put in the open look.

So what am I saying when I say that the Lakers are still too Kobe reliant? They don't need him to carry the team scoring wise as I mentioned, right? They got rid of Kwame Brown and Smush Parker, brought back good friend and vet Derek Fisher, and stole Pau Gasol (only the best Spanish player on the planet). However, Pau Gasol has shown that he's not a team leader, he's better suited in a backup role, a second scoring option, likewise Lamar Odom has shown that he's camera shy, he doesn't like the spotlight, taking over games is not something he can do. He's a role player, a very good one, but a role player nontheless.

This epiphany sort of came to me watching a rather embarassing performance by the Lakers (or I should say an impressive defensive showing by the Celtics) in Game 1. The Celtics defense has been constantly frustrating the Lakers, especially Kobe, and the rest of the Lakers (except maybe Fisher) look to him for their own confidence. Under pressure, they crack. They make bad decisions, sloppy plays, force shots, it happens when their offense doesn't flow according to plan, and then, they look to Kobe to take over games. Maybe it's just youth, hopefully they get over it as they progress. We'll see.