I have said this several times.

If Kobe has to score 35-40 points just to keep Lakers in games, they are going to lose.  It has been proven time and time again— no matter how great a player is, to ask him to consistently to carry a team is a recipe for failure.

Even the great Michael Jordan was more effective when all of the Bulls were involved and active in the offense—don’t believe the Urban Legend that Jordan scored 100 points a game and won them all by themselves.

Pau Gasol is the #2 guy on the Lakers. If he plays awful, the Lakers are going to struggle.

“He’s not naturally aggressive,” Kobe Bryant said. “Even if I’m tired, I’m naturally aggressive. You just have to rev him up a little bit, get him going.”

Losing Game 1 to the Hornets isn’t a big deal, all that matters is advancing to the next round, the Lakers as a whole can slack and beat the Hornets, but as the competition gets better they are going to need Gasol, Lamar Kardashian, Bynum’s knee and the rest of the squad to bring that “dog” out as Deion Sanders says.

The question begs do they have that pit bull in them or are they more comfortable with the Kardashian poodle now?