- The Lakers without Kobe, the barely walking Knicks, and the continued genius of Marc Gasol, by
@zachlowe_NBA http://es.pn/WKmk2bFollowed by ImagiBrandStray Shots: Examining the Lakers in a Post-Kobe World, the Knicks'...
But now we might get to see the opposite challenge: Can the Lakers’ offense survive without its own crutch in Kobe Bryant, dealing with a severe ankle sprain suffered when Dahntay Jones stepped underneath him in defending a potential game-tying shot? (Note: Can you imagine if the Lakers rallied to win that game, with the Hawks missing a couple of late free throws and Kobe nailing a instant killer 3 on an out-of-bounds play to keep L.A. alive with about 20 seconds left? The Lakers were due for a close loss after semi-miraculous wins over the Hornets and Raptors in the last week, but they damn near pulled off another one.)
Bryant has been the alpha and omega of L.A.’s offense all season. When the Lakers run Mike D’Antoni’s pet spread pick-and-roll system, it's mostly Bryant, and not Steve Nash, running high pick-and-rolls with Howard. And when they abandon that system, or tweak it, to work through Kobe in the post or run side pick-and-rolls below the foul line, it’s Kobe holding the ball, reading the layers of help defense, and making a play. - The NBA has announced that a foul should have been called on Dahntay Jones last night when Kobe was hurt. DB http://bit.ly/152D1UO
- Explanation of missed Foul Call at end of Lakers-Hawks Game can be found here http://nba.com/official
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