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Friday, August 31, 2012

Which Superstar Is Most Important for LA Lakers' Success? - Bleacher Report

After General Manager Mitch Kupchak's busy summer, the Los Angeles Lakers now have four players who would each qualify as the best player for more than a few teams.

But who's the best player on the Lakers now? Which one is most important to the team's title hopes? 

Though much has changed in the last few months, the answer to that question hasn't. 

Kobe Bryant remains the Lakers' most valuable player, and will continue to be next season and likely another couple of years beyond that should he elect to keep playing. Sure, you can make at least somewhat compelling arguments for Los Angeles' other stars, but there's an easy test for determining the most vital component.

How good would the Lakers be without that component?

Los Angeles would struggle mightily on the defensive end without Howard, but a combination of Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill could capably man the painted area. Head coach Mike Brown would no doubt encourage a quicker tempo and utilize Antawn Jamison at the four position to spread the floor.

The Lakers' defense would hurt without Howard, but is he their most important player now?

Without Steve Nash, the Lakers wouldn't be a heck of a lot worse than they were last season. That's not to say he doesn't make them significantly better; it's just to say this team is used to playing without an All-Star point guard.

Taking away Pau Gasol wouldn't be all that different from taking away Howard, but the impact would be felt more on the offensive end than on defense.

Removing Kobe Bryant from the equation would be nothing short of catastrophic, though, especially against quality playoff teams.

The Lakers got stomped by the Spurs sans Bryant last season.

Los Angeles managed a decent 5-3 record without Bryant last season, but it also lost by 20 points to the Phoenix Suns and by 21 to the San Antonio Spurs during that stretch.

Bryant remains the team's undisputed first option, its leader and the guy on whom it will continue to rely in late-game situations. He's irreplaceable by virtually any metric. Forget about making up for his production with anyone on the Lakers' rosterâ€"there are only two or three other players in the entire league who can do the sort of things Kobe does.

Even if you could replace what Kobe does on the floor, it would be awfully hard to replace his leadership.

Another way of answering this question is comparing a world in which each star plays at his very best to one in which he struggles (at least by their own lofty standards).

For example, if Dwight Howard wasn't at his best, the Lakers might be looking at less scoring, but he'd remain a force on the defensive end and a beast on the glass.

There is, however, no substitute for Bryant's ability to score against even the stiffest defensive clubs. When he goes cold, the Lakers are in trouble, and that won't change just because Steve Nash is around and the team is moving toward the Princeton offense.

Bryant scored at least 40 points in four-straight games last season, starting with this 48-point masterpiece against the Suns.

His league-leading usage rate should decline a bit this season now that Nash will be handling the ball so much, but Bryant will still be the focal point of Los Angeles' offense.

And he should be.

He's the only Laker who can't be shut down by even the best defender (or multiple defenders).

With or without Bryant, the Lakers will be good enough to beat a number of teams in this league. On any given night, they could even beat the very best.

Yes, Kobe plays some nice D too.

But don't even think about this team being able to keep it up on a consistent basis. Besides his obvious status as one of the league's two or three best scorers, he's also a fine perimeter defender in his own right.

He might not be quite as frisky as he was in his 20s, but he's smart enough to make up for it.

It's easy to forget about Kobe given the attention justifiably heaped on the Lakers' newest acquisitions. 

However, he'll be the last person Los Angeles' opponents forget about, and that's why he's still the most important Laker.

Kobe Bryant, because he is very smart and very good, plays a lot like Michael ... - Yahoo! Sports (blog)

If you have chosen not to watch the Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant mashup that has been floating around the internet this week, we don't blame you. Kobe versus Michael (and, to a lesser extent, Kobe versus LeBron James) ennui can hit hard; and if you're an NBA fan you probably already know that the greatest shooting guard of one generation has modeled himself similarly after the greatest shooting guard of the generation before him. In related news, both Chris Paul and John Stockton play a lot of pick and roll basketball.

It's still a pretty inspiring watch, if even for its 100th viewing:

And to the detractors, those in the comment sections railing on Bryant for "copying" Michael Jordan … you would like Kobe to drop 25 a night on only lefty hook shots?

Michael Jordan has about an inch on Kobe Bryant, and Phil Jackson (to Kobe's chagrin) always liked to point out that Jordan's hands were much larger than Bryant's. Outside of that, these are two similarly-shaped off guards. Jordan was a trendsetter; even if he did model his game after various players that came before him â€" most notably David Thompson and Julius Erving. Bryant, no dummy and with plenty of time on his hands, VHS tapes to watch endlessly and competitive fire to spare, couldn't help but learn from the best.

Because, you'll recall, no shooting guard led a team to a championship before Jordan. There have been greats from the position on championship teams. Jerry West sure was somethin' else, but he didn't win a title at off guard and was Los Angeles' point man when he won his first title in 1972. Jordan was the first go-to guy at the position that carried a team on his shoulders. Efficiency and potency at position that plays off the ball and not in the low post: Jordan was on the vanguard. Of course Kobe's going to copy it, because Jordan set the standard for the way it is done. Bryant would be betraying his own talents if he didn't style his game after Jordan's.

This is where our longstanding criticism of Kobe comes in. A good chunk of this video is shots of the Kobester killing teams from the low or mid-post. Using his touch and footwork to clear space and get off a Jordan-styled turnaround jumper. There are a few inefficient long jumpers in there from both MJ and Kobe, but by and large these devastating makes are the smartest shot available. This is why it kills us when Kobe takes a bailout shot after killing ball movement by dribbling, pump-faking, or holding the ball too much. The smartest and potentially most-devastating offensive force of a generation curtails his own brilliance too often with poor decision-making.

Which Jordan was not averse to, of course. Trust me, I'm a Bulls fan. I yelled at Jordan more than anyone else on that team.

Sports Illustrated's Zach Lowe, in an attempt to discern whether or not Bryant could fit in with his team's newly-styled Princeton offense, went over endless Bryant possessions from last year's up-and-down Laker campaign. Here's his take on Kobe at his worst:

Watch the tape of Bryant's post-ups and isolations from last season (which I did on a loop via Synergy Sports), and you'll see hundreds of possessions that start with promising off-ball movement and end with Bryant launching a horrific 18-foot jumper with a hand in his face.

Correction: You have to be a careful about labeling all of those possessions "horrific," for lots of reasons. The most obvious is the shot clock, an NBA reality too often ignored in micro-analysis of what happens during a possession. If Bryant makes that initial catch with five seconds left on the shot clock, the Lakers are nearly out of time for him to pursue an easy alternative.

But there are plenty of possessions â€" literally hundreds â€" in which Kobe makes that catch on the wing with 11 or 12 seconds remaining on the clock, holds the ball long enough for you to roll pasta around your fork without missing anything, and then finally goes to work. And on those possessions, there is very little stylistic difference between the Lakers â€" the high-powered, superstar-laden Lakers â€" and the Kings, which have any number of dead possessions throughout a game. The movement stops, with the other four Los Angeles players bunching on the other side of the floor, moving their defenders out of help position and readying for offensive rebounds.

This is our criticism of Kobe. He knows better. He learned from Jordan, and he chooses too often to ignore the template. It nearly cost the Lakers a championship in the 2010 Finals, and I believe it cost them a shot at the conference finals or even Finals in the two years following. As an analyst, I have to point it out. As a fan of his game, someone that wants to watch him in June, it bums me out.

The proof is in the production. Both Jordan and Bryant shot about the same amount of free throws, per-minute (though Bryant's marks might dip as he moves deeper into his 30s), and both made right at 33 percent of their three-pointers. But Bryant takes nearly two and a half as many three-pointers as Jordan, per minute, despite only shooting above the league average from long range three times in his career; with one of those years coming during Kobe's lone (rookie) season with the shortened 22-foot line. All this in an era where you weren't forced to drive against a defender that was allowed to handcheck you on your way to the rim.

That's what you're allowed to get Kobe on. And that's it. Because beyond that, he's one bad dude. And someone to learn from, as Jordan was.

He took what is admittedly a genetic gift that is to be envied, and did just about all he could with it. Bryant studies, he tapes, he talks, he notes, he's kind to rewind and watch again, and he learns. And this is all before he goes to the gym to fire up those practice jumpers and knee treatments. Bryant's not alone in spending hours emulating the best, but when the best emulates the best? When game learns from game? After that, you're allowed to count the rings.

Jordan had no such luxury, stuck in a three-channel world with precious little NBA filtering into the home set and Jerry West and Oscar Robertson already having retired by the time MJ made it to middle school. Bryant may have been the son of a professional basketball player and ex-NBA forward, but he didn't have it all that easy himself relative to his generation while growing up away from CBS and TBS/TNT in Italy.

Today's kid? Tomorrow's superstar? They have unending input, even if they have to sneak YouTube clips in at the library or go to someone else's house when the cable's out. It's why the next generation is going to be even better, and why this game is so great.

I can't wait to post another video starring that kid â€" probably from my colony on Mars in 2037 as I stroke my spacebeard â€" featuring a screen split three ways. Roll over Michael Jordan, tell Kobe Bryant the news.

NBA Stars with Biggest Chip on Their Shoulder - Bleacher Report

While Durant can do no wrong in the eyes of many, Westbrook is the complete oppositeâ€"the easy scapegoat for most of the Oklahoma City Thunder's shortcomings. 

Here's the thing with Westbrookâ€"he's an aggressive offensive player who takes care of most of the Thunder's ball handling duties.

Because Westbrook does most of the ball handling and he's 6' 3", he's naturally listed as a point guard. Since point guards are supposed to distribute the ball and keep their teammates involved, we demonize Westbrook's aggressive play.

You probably don't want to hear this, but there's really no correct way to play any position.

Instead, there are sort-of guidelines.

Bryant plays shooting guard differently than someone like Doug Christie did. Kevin Love plays power forward differently than Dirk Nowitzki does. Shaquille O'Neal played center differently than Pau Gasol did before Andrew Bynum was in the starting lineup for the Lakers.

Westbrook essentially plays a style similar to Derrick Rose, except Rose doesn't have Durant on his team.

Westbrook plays the way he does because that's what makes him most effective. It must be working too, considering the Thunder just made the NBA Finals and made it to the Western Conference Finals the year before that. Durant didn't do it all by himself. 

As Westbrook matures as a player, he'll learn to be smarter with the ball and not take as many dumb jump shots. In terms of Westbrook shooting more than Durant in some games, it doesn't bother Durant or any other Thunder players, so why should it bother us? Here's what Durant had to say about it:

“Everybody thinks he should be a traditional point guard like a (John) Stockton or (Thunder assistant) Mo Cheeks. There’s a lot of people that can’t be like Russ, either. We need him to play the way he plays. … You guys don’t see how hard he works and how much he wants it.”

And Thunder's coach Scott Brooks:

“We need Russell to score,” Brooks said. “I know some of you don’t like that, but Russell is a very, very gifted, talented player, and we would not be in this position without Russell.”

Last point: Beside Westbrook, Durant and James Harden, who else can the Thunder rely on to score consistently? They really do need Westbrook to play the way he does unless they add more offensive firepower. 

The chip on Westbrook's shoulder this season won't just be built up on the unfair criticism he receives from the media, but from losing in the NBA Championship as well. Getting that far and losing must burn.

Along with Durant, the two have a lot to prove in the upcoming season. Maybe if the Thunder win an NBA championship, people will get off him for his style of play. 

The Dynamic Two-Guards: Kobe Bryant and the Top 4 Shooting Guards in the NBA - Bleacher Report

Some of the better players of all time, including Michael Jordan, have been shooting guards. This position can be very important since it calls for someone who can score or maybe even in some cases, play lock-down defense. Or perhaps both.

The NBA  has many stars capable of being in the top rankings among shooting guards. The list ranges from former MVPs to players in new jerseys, ready to show off their skill set.

These next five players will be the top shooting guards in the NBA for the 2012-2013 NBA season. 

5. Monta Ellis

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Chris Chambers/Getty Images

Getting traded from Golden State last season was something that Monta Ellis saw coming for a long time. It did, however, put him in a better situation. 

Ellis is one of the best scorers in the NBA despite his small frame for a shooting guard. He also has improved his playmaking skills, which will help him make Brandon Jennings more comfortable in the Bucks' offense.

The one man fast-break can also be a pretty decent defender when he actually puts effort on that end of the floor. 

Playing with a similar player like Jennings could be tough for Ellis. But with the heart he plays with, he can get through it and help the Bucks become a solid team while making a name for himself in the Eastern Conference.

4. Andre Iguodala

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Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Ande Iguodala has been under the radar for some time now. With a change of scenery, you better believe that the Denver Nuggets will be scary next season.

Denver was already surprising everyone without a legitimate star player to lead them and now they have Iggy. He can provide them with help on defense and his skill set, fits in with the up-tempo offense. Expect a rise in his production. 

Teaming up with the young Ty Lawson, Iguodala should have a great season and surpass a few teams in the West by leading the Nuggets.

3. James Harden

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Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

He might not have shown up in the NBA Finals, but James Harden will be ready to prove to people that he is one of the best two-guards in the league this season. 

Playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant helps Harden because defenses do not worry about him as much. Coming off the bench helps as well, giving OKC a spark. 

Don't let his Finals play fool you. Harden will be ready come October and emerge as a top three shooting guard. 

2. Dwyane Wade

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Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

If Dwyane Wade was a little younger or did not let the injuries get to him, he could have probably been the best shooting guard in the league today. 

The league can be harsh on players, especially when they get injured often. It wastes a players prime and has them go downhill quicker,

While Wade may struggle, he is still one of the better players in the league. He is a good post-up player for a guard and can handle the ball well. His defense is also up there at times. 

His athleticism might not be where it once was, but Wade can still ball with the best of them and will remain the best shooting guard in the league behind only one player. 

1. Kobe Bryant

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Brett Deering/Getty Images

16 years in the NBA, 34 years old, the fingers of an 80-year-old man and 5 NBA titles. Kobe Bryant has one hell of a resume. You normally would not expect a player this old to be the best at his position, but Bryant is just that.

Adding Steve Nash to the team with Dwight Howard could decrease his stats, but his play will be even better than last season. With Nash feeding him the rock and Howard asking for double teams in the post, this will be a a great situation for The Black Mamba as he showcases why he is still the best shooting guard in the NBA. 

Be honest, did you really expect anyone else here? 

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