Before you come find me and chop my head off for making that statement, hear me out.
Bryant is one of the best players to ever grace the court, without question. However, he is 100 percent an alpha dog who needs the ball in his hands regularly. He's shown that he can be a good facilitator, but his best role is as a scorer.
The Lakers went out and got Steve Nash during the offseason to be a facilitator. The problem is, he's the kind of player who needs the ball in his hands all of the time to truly be effective. Playing off the ball, which he needs to do when Bryant is healthy, doesn't work.
The combination of Bryant, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard is effective to an extent (don't forget this team is just 43-37), but Bryant doesn't get the most out of Gasol and Howard.
Conversely, the trio of Nash, Gasol and Howard makes use of all three of their skillsets. Nash can get the most out of them.
Bench depth has been a major issue for the Lakers and that hasn't changed. They're relying heavily on Earl Clark, Jodie Meeks and Steve Blake, which isn't exactly a recipe for success.
Still, let's go back to Nash again. It's Nash's modus operandi to raise the level of players around him. How many players left Phoenix while Nash was there and got better? Joe Johnson, Amar'e Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Jason Richardson, Leandro Barbosa and many more didn't.
If there's a player that can get the most out of Clark, Meeks, Blake and the rest of the Lakers, it's Nash.
Do I have to remind you that he led the Suns to a 33-33 record with Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley as the top-two scorers in 2011-12?
The Lakers offense will change and they don't ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
