by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Because the 2-time defending champs proceed their season-long battle to regain their dominant kind, frustration has understandably begun to creep into their locker room. Most of it has to do with the irritating lack of motivation from the workforce on a nightly foundation.
Defensively, the Lakers can’t appear to cease anybody, and when issues don’t go nicely on the offensive finish (learn: the publish gamers are foolishly ignored), Kobe Bryant will are inclined to attempt to take over. This has not labored out nicely.
Final evening, in a blowout loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at residence, Bean lit up for 17 third quarter factors en path to a game-high 28 … and the Grizzlies’ lead elevated dramatically. Afterward, Phil Jackson let the media know that this was not within the recreation plan.
The LA Occasions has the quotes:
“I simply felt like we had no power,” Bryant stated. ” … So I attempted to generate a few of that and simply get us began, however we weren’t capable of carry it by.” The issue? Bryant took 12 of the workforce’s 22 photographs within the third.
“We get behind early on within the third quarter on some silly performs — poor passing, poor transition protection — after which Kobe has to screw up the sport and begin energizing the workforce by going one-on-one,” Jackson stated. “That takes the remainder of the blokes out and as a consequence, that didn’t carry us again in.”
The Lakers turned the ball over 20 instances, a part of why Memphis had 28 fast-break factors.
The few followers that remained contained in the Staples Middle late within the fourth quarter booed the workforce off the ground, and Kobe recommended that the media wants to start out ripping the workforce extra of their tales (an inevitability that didn’t want Bryant’s prodding.)
The Lakers’ points are all correctable, and it’s nonetheless early sufficient within the season for them to make the mandatory changes. One simply has to surprise how lengthy it’ll take for the workforce to lastly begin enjoying as much as their potential.
