Opening Credits 5/1/09

Kobe is at his best in a close game.

From the “Pau Gasol is hoping history doesn’t repeat itself.” link above:

“It’s just been constant,” Gasol said, breaking into a faint smile. "Right now, we’re at the playoff stage and we shouldn’t allow that to happen. We should control the runs, minimize them and do a better job of keeping leads.

“It’s mostly a mental thing. It’s a mind-set to play the right way and do the right things for 48 minutes. You don’t start doing your own thing, don’t start relaxing and being overconfident because you have a 20- or 15-point lead in the first quarter.

“You don’t do that. You’ve got to keep competing. It starts from all of us, starters and the guys on the bench, we all have got to do a better job.”

When the lead is double digits, if Kobe is in the game, he has a habit of valuing the possession less, and “doing his own thing” because what’s the worst that could happen if he misses, they still have a big lead, right?

Now, Kobe is my favorite player, and I hate to give Kobe haters food for thought, so don’t take this as blaming Kobe for the lead losses. Sometimes he’s not even in the game when the lead is blown. I just think Kobe with a big lead plays slightly differently than Kobe with a small lead.

Kobe has very very few weaknesses, but this is only one out a few I have noticed. One other is that he doesn’t often box out, instead opting to use his jumping ability to corral defensive rebounds.

Anyway, this is just an observation. The team wins together and loses together, so don’t take this out of context.

The headlines of the OC Register:
Kobe Drops 82 on Artest, Rockets

:)
That’ll be the day.

Whereas we all know what Kobe and the starters will bring, this is the perfect opportunity for the bench to reestablish themselves as the best second unit in the league. We need them to get the continuity and cohesiveness working in their favor again. I look to the Bench Mob, led by Lamar Odom, to really dominate in this series, providing the starters with ample time to rest and make sure that they are ready for any 4th quarter pushes to close out the game.