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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

5 Things Kobe Bryant Needs to Do for the LA Lakers to Go to the NBA Finals - Bleacher Report

Kobe Bryant's excellence on and off the court is a major reason why he's played in seven NBA Finals and won five of them.

Nothing is different this year.

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to rely on Kobe Bryant once again to take them to the Finals. However, with Kobe, it's not always about what he needs to do to take his team to the championship, but it's about what he shouldn't do, too.

Sometimes, he tries too hard to take over games. Other times, his shot isn't there and he needs to utilize his teammates more efficiently. 

With that being said, Kobe is still the best player on this team, and here are five things he must do to take his team to the NBA Finals. 

Don't Try to Shoot out of Slumps

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Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

We all know that Kobe Bryant is a perfectionist. That's all great and everything, but sometimes it can work against him.

When Kobe gets off to slow starts, he always feels the need to try to shoot out of his slumps.

He'll keep taking shots and missing, rather than distributing and letting others score. Because of this, Bryant has had several terrible shooting nights this year. 

Against New Orleans in late March, Kobe had a 3-for-21 game and earlier that month against Utah, he shot 3-for-20. 

If Kobe has a rough shooting game, he needs to step up in different ways like he did in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. That night, he shot just 25 percent from the field, but he had 15 rebounds. 

Kobe can be effective in more ways than just scoring and if he does that, the Lakers should excel. 

Feed Bynum and Gasol

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Harry How/Getty Images

Andrew Bynum has emerged as one of the most dominant centers in the NBA. His inside presence is too much for opposing defenders. He's just way bigger than everyone else, and his size and strength exposes many teams' lack of physicality and aggressiveness.

Pau Gasol, on the other hand, is one of the league's best finesse bigs. He can pound it in like Bynum, but he also has an excellent mid-range game that has given other teams nightmares throughout the season.

Kobe needs to realize this throughout the playoffs and use his teammates. The Lakers aren't going to win a title with just one man. They never have and they never will. Sometimes, the Lakers will have to make Bynum the focal point of the offense, for example.

He has shown that he can lead his team to victory if he dominates the paint offensively. When he's on his game, Kobe will have to defer. 

This doesn't mean he shouldn't take any shots. It just means the Lakers will have to attack opponents in many different directions and become a multi-dimensional team. They did this in Game 1 against Denver and must continue to do it throughout the playoffs. 

Succeed in the Clutch

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Jeff Gross/Getty Images

There's no doubt that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to encounter some extremely tight games throughout the playoffs.

There will be more than one occasion where Kobe Bryant will be asked to come through in the clutch and if the Lakers are going to go deep, they're going to have to get some game-winning shots by Kobe.

He has a precedent of hitting big shots, but he really hasn't hit a buzzer beater in the playoffs for a while. With Derek Fisher gone, Kobe needs to take it to the next level and show that he is the best clutch player in the game. 

Lead and Coach

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Harry How/Getty Images

This year's Lakers are a younger team than past ones. 

When the going gets tough, some players might get down on themselves and lose focus on the ultimate task. Kobe's experience should come in handy in these situations. He's not only an amazing basketball player, but he's a teacher. 

His presence needs to make other players, especially the younger ones, stay calm in key moments and not to fall into bad habits.

Kobe's one of the smartest players in the game and by sharing his knowledge with guys like Ramon Sessions, Jordan Hill, Andrew Bynum and Devin Ebanks, the Lakers will be a more confident team as the playoffs commence. 

Know When to Take It to the Next Level

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Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

It's the fourth quarter. 

Three minutes to go and the Lakers are down by six on the road.

Obviously, it's Kobe Time. 

But in order for Kobe Time to happen, Mr. Bryant must have some energy left in the tank. This means that he needs to save his best stuff for late in games and know when to take it to the next level.

Part of this is Mike Brown's responsibility, to give Bryant an ample amount of time to rest so that he'll explode in the fourth. The rest is Kobe's job to not over-exert himself in the first three quarters.

This doesn't mean that he shouldn't try hard. It just means that he has to find other ways to be effective, as mentioned in previous slides. He'll have to become a facilitator, utilize Bynum and Gasol, be a vocal leader, and play defense. 

Can Kobe do all of these tasks?

Is that really a question? How else did the Lakers win five titles?

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