No one questions Kobe Bryant’s greatness.
No one questions Kobe Bryant’s drive and dedication.
It appears it makes him physically ill to lose at times, but what makes him great is also his biggest weakness. He wants to win so badly that at times he can be his own worst enemy.
That is the reason you have a head coach, and Mike Brown did the right thing in sitting him down in the 4th quarter against the Grizzlies.
Kobe helped bring the Lakers back into the game, but his emotions were getting the best of him and it was affecting the entire team in a negative way.
It was a brief benching, but the point was made, if you are hurting the team, Kobe Bryant or not, you will be put in timeout.
Here is what Kobe and Mike Brown had to say about the situation.
I just decided to make a sub.”
When prodded, and asked for more clarification Brown would not elaborate much:
At the time I just felt I needed to make a sub, so I did. It wasn’t one particular thing.”
Kobe Bryant was asked postgame if he was upset with the benching (via Mark Medina):
Of course I was…If you guys are looking for a story, I’m not going to give you one. I can’t sit here and criticize his decisions.”
Kobe Bryant can’t be the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike Brown has to be. If he doesn’t have the respect of the entire team the Lakers will fail.
Everyone knows that superstars are treated differently but there is a fine line and Brown should know that better than most. When the Cavs gave total control of the Cavaliers to Lebron, Mike Brown just became a figurehead. If you are going to get fired or replaced would you rather do it on your terms or being puppet?
The fact that Metta World Peace was hesitant to go in the game lets you know that Brown still has a problem and one he needs to correct if he ever expects to be the real head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.