2 of them have been discussed by the media fairly well:

1) Andrew Bynum changes the dynamic of the Lakers. They are really missing his effectiveness around the basket both offensively and defensively.

2) The Lakers simply aren't playing championship-caliber defense. Not enough intensity and focus on that end of the floor.

The third reason is one that nobody is mentioning but to me it's very obvious. Kobe Bryant is KILLING the Laker's offense. Absolutely killing it by taking too many shots in his egotistical desire and need to be the hero. He is not a team player, he is not a leader, and he doesn't make his teammates better. He is not Jordan and he never will be. This series is the latest proof of that.

The only way the Lakers win the championship is if he checks his ego at the door and runs the triangle inside out and allows everyone to get involved. If he can't check his ego the Celtics will be champions and they know it. The Celtics' entire strategy is built around knowing that Kobe's ego forces him to try to be the hero.

Kobe was the only reason they stayed in striking distance in Game 5. Did you not watch the 3rd quarter? If he got even some semblance of production from "the best supporting cast in the NBA," they might have won that game.

I agree about the lack of defense, though. It just isn't there.

1. yes.

2. yes.

3. absolutely idiotic. gasol was man handled and odom was been daydreaming about khloe in game 5. gasol got his shots...you do realize this. TONY ALLEN was blocking him.

I don't think Kobe goes hero mode because of his ego. From watching these playoffs he seems to try and get people involved early.

When it's clear that nobody is going to contribute, he takes over.

Basically just confirms common sense that one guy can't do it all. Somebody on the Lakers besides Kobe is going to have to bring it.

OP, you have to be crazy to think Kobe is ruining the laker offense. he is the offense.

who the eff is gonna score??? gasol has proven he is no dirk and cant get his own shot off.

artest is not even touching rim on his threes.

odom, well, he is thinking about his fat wife.
kobe, should keep passing the ball to these clowns?

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gasol was man handled

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gasol has proven he is no dirk and cant get his own shot off.

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The stats show this is false. Gasol is shooting 52% in this series. The Celtics aren't stopping him. Kobe is stopping him, Gasol is only averaging 12 shots/game.

Kobe is shooting twice as many shots at a much lower efficiency (42.5%). The Lakers should be running their triangle offense through Gasol. With Gasol getting more shots not only would the Lakers offense be more efficient but he would get Garnett/Perkins into more foul trouble thus forcing double teams, allowing the rest of the supporting cast to get involved. It's tough to shoot a high percentage when you can't get into rhythm because you're standing around watching Kobe.

Kobe wants to win, but he wants to win his way, and can't stomach not being the hero who leads his team to the title. If Kobe doesn't subjugate his ego for team success, he will play right into the Celtics' hands and they will hoist their 18th championship trophy.

OP is dead on

keep shooting kobe, you egomaniacal POS rapist

I only partially agree with your #3. Kobe is trying to walk a fine line between "knowing when to take over" and "getting his teammates involved". Not a very easy thing to do.

He pretty much had to hog the ball in the 3rd quarter of game 5. Nobody else was getting anything done. Problem is that pretty much killed any potential for offensive chemistry later in the game because everybody started standing around watching Kobe work. Thus, in my opinion your reasoning puts the cart before the horse. If anyone else had been playing worth a damn for the lakers, Kobe probably wouldn't have gone into ball hog mode. Kind of a catch-22.

In my opinion they really need to limit Artest's minutes. He isn't contributing much offensively at all, and his defense on Pierce was ineffective in the last game.

cdh -- Kobe almost averaged a triple-double against Phoenix in the last series. Quit bringing back tired ass arguments from 4-5 years ago because you can't stand the guy (not as much as The Sports Guy obviously -- related to the wh*re?). Want proof? Look at Game 3. Kobe hit one shot in the 4th. Why? Because he and Fisher exposed a pick-and-roll mistake the Celtics were making. Result: Lakers win and they didn't need Kobe hitting shots to do it.

One of the previous posters makes an excellent point about him trying to get his teammates involved then when they fall apart he tries to take over. The guy is doing the best he can but if his teammates aren't going to be aggressive or efficient what is he supposed to do? If you think he's not a leader, you're not watching what's going on when the ball isn't in play very much.

Bottom line is the Lakers' offensive chemistry has flat out sucked since the first half of Game 3 (outside of the last 6 mins of the 4th Q of that game). They are playing reactively, not proactively. That is not what champions do. If they don't quit thinking and start playing tonight, this thing is over.

[This message has been edited by Look Out Below (edited 6/15/2010 4:31p).]

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He pretty much had to hog the ball in the 3rd quarter of game 5. Nobody else was getting anything done.

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I disagree. There was no need to go into ball hog mode. When he started his 23 point streak the Lakers were only down by 1. Then Kobe abandons the offense, scores 23 straight and they were down 13.

The Lakers actually outscored the Celtics 63-57 in the 34 minutes where Kobe only scored 15 of those 63 and wasn't trying to be superman. There was no logical reason for Kobe to go into superman mode other than for his own egotism and desire to be the hero.

in 11 laker road games, kobe has taken 24.9 shots per game and they are 5-6 in those games (for some perspective, durant led the league this year in attempts per game at only 20.3).

in home games kobe takes an average of 20.9 shots per game and the lakers are 9-1

so if the C's can jump on them fairly early and make kobe go into hero mode, they win tonight.

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I disagree. There was no need to go into ball hog mode. When he started his 23 point streak the Lakers were only down by 1. Then Kobe abandons the offense, scores 23 straight and they were down 13.

The Lakers actually outscored the Celtics 63-57 in the 34 minutes where Kobe only scored 15 of those 63 and wasn't trying to be superman. There was no logical reason for Kobe to go into superman mode other than for his own egotism and desire to be the hero.

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You're confusing egotism with riding the hot hand. Was Ray Allen egotistical in game 2?

It would be one thing if Kobe was horribly inefficient and still jacking up threes. In that 8 minute span in the 3rd quarter he was like 7 for 8 shooting.

Did it ever occur to you that they went from a 1 point deficit to a 13 point deficit because nobody else was making any shots? It's not like they weren't taking any.

I am the farthest thing from Kobe's biggest fan, but he kept them alive in that game. They lost because their terrible defense let the C's shoot 50% from the field, not anything to do with Kobe.

4) The NBA is rigged to go to 7 games.

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4) The NBA is rigged to go to 7 games.

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http://deadspin.com/5392067/excerpts-from-the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read