Kobe’s back and the Lakers went 0-3 with him on the lineup. Fortunately, the Lakers won against the Bobcats today. Barely. The game was close. If the Lakers had not won that, the depression would have continued and fans will blame whoever they want to blame. (Usually Pau gets them all lately)
People thought that Kobe can just magically insert himself into the lineup, play, and enchantingly make the Lakers the best team in the league.
Sorry to burst your bubble but Kobe can’t majestically do that. Not even with the help of the German doctors. Not with an 81-point game. At least not within a blink of an eye. The Lakers got some chemistry issues to fix, not to mention, they are playing without a natural point guard right now. Pau calling out D’Antoni did not help either. And to make matters worse, MDA returned the favor by calling out Pau’s lack of effort. Way to be the “leaders” of this team, guys. That’s very mature of you.
Personally, I believe that the Lakers were almost there before Kobe returned. They were rolling like a runaway train! They were moving the ball so well and shooting their threes very good. For the first time in my life, I was able to say that the MDA system was indeed working. The team had been flirting with a .500 record but they finally got over it as if they were rolling out the red carpet for Kobe Bryant’s return.
Wait for Kobe, they said. It will be fun, they said. So what exactly happened when Kobe returned?
The ultimate Ice Cube-narrated intro was unveiled. Kobe played a little more than what was planned. The team chemistry got disrupted. The offense slowed down and the Lakers lost 3 in a row. They barely won against the Bobcats. There aren’t many positive things that can be said after Kobe returned apart from the fact that the Laker that we’re all dying to see back on the floor was indeed back.
Fans should understand that Kobe, god-like as he may seem, is still just a human being. He isn’t someone sent from above who can automagically fix the Lakers’ issues. It’s like the Lakers were almost rolling but then someone needed to hop in the bus so they had to stop and shift back to gear one. All they need is time and patience to get back to that GTA mode. Another thing to consider here is that Bryant just got off an Achilles injury. He’s not 100% yet and he can’t go back to his afro-athletic self or that Kobe-doing-it-all form. He needs help. Everyone needs to contribute to make this team work. Not wanting the MDA system does not work as well because whether you like it or not, the team’s definitely stuck with it. The roster was tailored for this system. They have to stop the blaming and complaining. There’s no other way to make this work but to embrace the system and make the most out of it.