Kobe Bryant is one of the great scorers in the history of the game. It's not to say that he shouldn't shoot or be a prominent part of the offense, but he has to let the offense run through Nash.
This really isn't a shot at Kobe Bryant. The Lakers were two points better per 100 possessions while Bryant was on the court last year. In spite of Bryant's high usage rate and low field-goal percentage, they had a better field-goal percentage while he was on the court than while he was off it.
Pau Gasol shot 55 percent while Bryant was on the court compared to 48 percent while he was off. Andrew Bynum shot 57 percent while Bryant was on compared to 58 percent while he was off. However he grabbed nearly two more boards (Kobe misses?) while Bryant was on the court.
So Kobe, by virtue of drawing away attention from Bynum and Gasol, made them more efficient as a tandem.
Yet in terms of points, Bynum averaged 3.7 more points per 36 minutes, while Bryant was on the bench 22.5 to 17.8 and Gasol averaged about the same, 18.3 to 18.2.
Combined, Gasol and Bynum averaged only 36.0 points per 36 minutes while Bryant was on the court.
So while the duo was more efficient while Bryant was on the court, it was only marginally more effective because of Bryant's tendency to monopolize the ball.
In fact, Bryant averaged 23.0 field-goal attempts per game compared to 27.4 for Gasol and Bynum combined.
Even when we account for Bryant's knack for getting to the line, he's less efficient than Bynum or Gasol. His true shooting percentage of .527 trailed Gasol's (.547) and Bynum's (.597) considerably. The ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
