And Mike D'Antoni has helped show us why.
We all remember the massacre that became the New York Knicks last season. Talented roster in tow, the Knicks stood at 19-24 without a semblance of direction. And as it went, then Knicks head coach D'Antoni resigned—because of Anthony.
Whether or not you buy into the notion that 'Melo purposely ousted D'Antoni is irrelevant. The fact is that the marriage wasn't working. D'Antoni lost control of Anthony—and subsequently, the team.
New York's star didn't support D'Antoni's uptempo offense. Doing so would have dictated he put his needs for iso-oriented sets aside, which would have changed the makeup of his entire game.
Now, I fully believe that Anthony is one of the best—if not the best—scorers in the NBA. Just like Kobe. But where the two differ is in their ability to evolve.
Far be it from me to call 'Melo a stagnant talent or detrimental leader. He has proven just the opposite this season. Yet it has taken him nearly a decade to find his niche within a multifaceted system, one that often deviates from his once preferred isolation blueprints. More importantly, it took him almost two years to embrace a fast-paced offense, a similar offense to the one that D'Antoni walked out the door fighting for.
Can the same be said of Bryant?
Absolutely not.
Kobe has been anything and everything the Lakers need him to be. Yes, his weak-side defensive rotations make Dwight Howard cringe, but he's been both a playmaker and a scorer on the other side of the ball.
Bryant leads the league in scoring, but he's also second on the Lakers with five assists per contests. He accounts for 35 percent of Los Angeles' points when on the floor, a near carbon copy to 'Melo's 36 percent in New York. That said, he is also accounti...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
