It is lazy and easy to say “Kobe shoots too much”. At times that is true, but you have to look deeper than that. There are times when the Lakers simply do not run a very fluid offense and Kobe is forced to make something happen with the shot clock winding down.
One of the interesting things in the game last night against the Heat was that Dwight Howard had a huge advantage over the Heat’s frontcourt, but he couldn’t take advantage because they would just hack him (he went 5-13 from the free throw line). In the box score it looks like Howard only got 7 shot attempts, but in reality it was double that, he just can’t make his free throws.
So, it isn’t just about Kobe gunning, they have to figure out a way to get everyone involved and Dwight has to figure out a way to score and make his free throws or teams will employ the same strategy as the Heat.
Here is what Bean had to say.
“I need some help offensively to save energy and not have to isolate and do things like that,” Bryant said. “I’m going to need some picks. I’m going to need to catch-and-shoot like I did in the fourth quarter a little bit to make my job a little easier. I think the first three quarters of me just standing around the perimeter, the defense is praying for that. We have to do some things to free me up and get me in open spaces, this way I can be more active on the defensive end of the floor.”