Kobe Bryant used up 32 shot attempts in the L.A. Lakers' Sunday loss to the Boston Celtics, well more than twice as many as any teammate. In fact, the other four Lakers starters combined for 39 shot attempts. Kobe, as he often does, dominated the ball and the L.A. offense for the entire game.
Kobe Bryant’s Solo Act In Lakers’ Loss To Celtics Defended By Phil Jackson
The Lakers lost, and Kobe took some heat. L.A's offense actually performed up to its standard, with 1.1 points per possession, a great feat considering the efficacy of the Celtics' excellent defense. As such, and because Kobe's teammates weren't hitting shots, Lakers coach Phil Jackson defended Bryant's solo act in post-game comments. From Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:
“I didn’t think anybody else wanted the ball,” Jackson said. “We did run a couple other things to get people in position but I thought those times he had the best opportunities. A lot of times, it didn’t look like we were running anything out there offensively.
“I think sometimes we fold into ourselves and let him have too much space out there at times.”
Defense was certainly the bigger issue for the Lakers -- L.A. stopper Ron Artest gave up 32 points on 11-18 shooting to Paul Pierce, and All-Defense staple Bryant watched his man, Ray Allen, hit eight of 12 shots in scoring 21. But Jackson has never been shy about sending fire Kobe's way, even when it's clear that teammates like Pau Gasol are shrinking to Bryant's overwhelming will on the court. Jackson knows how to manipulate Kobe via the press ... and he completely passed up that opportunity following Sunday's loss, with all the spotlights on L.A. and this newest slide.
That either says that Jackson really is concerned about Gasol and the others, or that he realizes based on Bryant’s last response to that sort of media sniping that it’s not going to work this season. We’ll see.
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