Kobe doesn’t know it.

This game was a very big deal for Kobe. Here he … [visit site to read more]

76ers Out-Team Lakers, 95-90 - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

Utah Beats Big Three & Spearbearers, 96-87 - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

An Agent of Change: The Case for Goudelock - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

With their two most productive players (Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson) out of action, and significantly undersized, the Milwaukee Bucks ran the Lakers ragged and beat them with consistency, a balanced … [visit site to read more]

Lakers Split in Midwest - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

Now I realize that Kobe, Pau and Andrew (or maybe just Kobe) have been reading my blog. I’ve been saying it often enough: The scoring and shot distribution should be close to the same for the Big Three. … [visit site to read more]

Lakers Learn Lesson, Beat Clippers - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

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Pacers Outbalance Lakers, 98-96 - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

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Lakers Stumble on Florida Two-Step - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

The final two possessions didn’t lack for irony. Tie game, the Mavs go to Dirk just the way the Lakers normally go to Kobe in that spot. But Dirk is guarded tightly and doesn’t really have a good shot.  So what does he do? He takes a bad shot and misses. Lakers ball. Going to Kobe, right? Well, sure, why not. As it turns out, Kobe doesn’t have a good shot either, but, unlike the Mavs, the Lakers have a Plan B. When they doubled Kobe on top of the key, Kobe found the open man, Derek Fisher, who nailed the game-winner with 3.1 seconds left. They might want to use that play more often. … [visit site to read more]

Fisher’s 3 Lifts Lakers Over Mavs in Stinker, 73-70 - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

Thus ends a stretch of five straight games in which the Lakers have played non-playoff-bound teams—and struggled–though they finally did put away the Suns. The trouble with struggling against non-playoff-bound teams is that you can’t rest your starters as much as you’d like.

The Cavs got into a hole in the second quarter, losing it 27-13. The Lakers took a commanding 59-41 lead at halftime. Instead of keeping up the pressure so that the Big Three could rest, the Lakers lost the 3^rd quarter to the Cavs, 29-23, and then lost the 4^th quarter, 22-15, hang on to their five-point win.

Kobe played 40 minutes, which is ridiculous.

Kobe shooting twice as many shots as Pau and Bynum will win a lot of battles (especially against weak teams) but it will not win the war. Pau and Bynum have to have big nights, even bigger than their already having. Put it this way. Kobe’s excessive number of shots prevents Pau and Bynum from exploiting their advantage over nearly every opposing player in the league. No one can stop either one of them down low. That’s a big advantage. Instead, Kobe is taking too many difficult, low-percentage shots. Yes, he’s hitting about half of them, an outstanding percentage, but Pau and Bynum shooting the ball will convert even better than 50%, for starters, and it will add the inside-out game to the team’s repertoire, not to mention take some of the burden off Kobe’s shoulders.  During the Lakers’ now-five-game winning streak, Kobe has averaged 40 points a game. He has also averaged 40 minutes a game. And that’s the rub, baby.

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Lakers Beat Cavs, Lose to Clips - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site

I’ve been noting lately that Kobe has been taking more than twice as many shots as Andrew and Pau combined. I also mentioned that it wasn’t a winning formula. It still isn’t. At least against a good team, defined as a team that will probably make the playoffs—unlike the Lakers’ last three opponents: Golden State, who the Lakers beat last Friday, Memphis on Sunday and Phoenix on Wednesday. Any cockamamie strategy will work if your team is clearly better than the team you’re playing. Kobe hit for 48 points. The Lakers won. Ergo, Kobe should keep throwing up 31 shots (while Andrew Bynum takes eight shots)? I don’t think so. Unless you think that the Lakers would have lost to the Suns if Kobe had taken ten fewer shots and Gasol and Bynum had taken them instead. … [visit site to read more]

Lakers beat Suns & Jazz As Kobe Drops a Combined 88 points - The 110 Report - The 110 Report - A Los Angeles Sports Site