Introducing: Silver Screen and Roll

For those of you who follow and comment regularly on my work here at Respect Kobe, you’ve come to expect to hear from me every now and then, at best. My last article came about a month and a half ago, a discussion of the Lakers without Andrew Bynum.

That’s about to change.

Effective immediately, I’ve signed on as the Lakers blogger for SB Nation. You can find my brand new Lakers blog, called Silver Screen and Roll (hat tip to Matt at Hardwood Paroxysm for the name idea), at SilverScreenAndRoll.com.

If you’ve arrived here via Silver Screen and Roll, and are new to Respect Kobe, click below to read more, and then check out the About page, where I’ve expanded a bit more on the purpose and goal of this website. Continue reading

The Lakers With(out) Bynum

Over at TrueHoop, Henry Abbott quotes Nuggets Coach George Karl, who suggests that the Lakers have been even better without Bynum than they were with him. As Abbott points out, it is “a question to be pondered, and one many worried about before the season: Do Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol stifle each other?”

While Gasol has joined Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom in upping his production since Bynum’s absence, I think the difference has little to do with The Spaniard. So what has been the difference? Lakers fans would be quick to point to Kobe, who has a well established history of stepping up his game to carry his team when they suffer from injuries.

But if you thought that Kobe Bryant has been the biggest difference for this team in Bynum’s absence, you’d be wrong. Continue reading

Best Versus Boston?

In the aftermath of the Lakers’s second regular season victory over the Celtics, Kobe Bryant’s poor shooting night in Boston led Henry Abbott of TrueHoop to question the efficacy of Bryant’s style of play against the Celtics. Comparing him to LeBron James and glancing at shot charts, Abbott concluded that James’ ability to get to the hoop enables him to be more successful against Boston’s impressive defense.

His theory makes a lot of sense. In the NBA, getting into the paint is considered a Good Thing™, and no one does this better than LeBron James. But does it hold true in practice? Does LeBron’s ability to get closer to the basket more frequently make him more efficient and effective against the Celtics?

By expanding the sample size to a minimum of eight games and digging into each player’s performances against Boston since last May, I’ve answered the question — and the result may surprise you! Continue reading

Kobe Bryant Puts Boston On Notice

In the 10th straight Christmas day game of his career, and the first matchup between the Lakers and Celtics since Game 6 of the 2008 Finals, Kobe Bryant quietly orchestrated the biggest Lakers win in over six months.

While Pau Gasol has gotten all of the recognition for the late game push that propelled the Lakers to their most promising victory in nine games against the “Big Three” Celtics, it was Bryant who kept the Lakers in the game early. When the Celtics tied the game at 81, it was Bryant who engineered all of the Lakers’ final 13 points, setting up the Lakers’ nine point victory. Continue reading

Clutch When It Mattered Most

The last in a series of three posts inspired by a single TrueHoop bullet, I’m back to weigh in on the question of who is “more clutch” — Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?

The overall “clutch” numbers, as defined by 82games.com, seem to indicate that LeBron edges Kobe out in this area. But here is the all-important question: Do the numbers tell the full story?

Here’s a hint: They don’t. But I know what does. Continue reading