Bryant faulted Gasol for not playing aggressive enough. It was also Gasol's turnover that led to Kevin Durant making the winning 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left.
"Pau's got to be more assertive," Bryant said. "He's the guy they'releaving [open]. When he's catching the ball, he's looking to pass. He's got to be aggressive. He's got to shoot the ball or drive the ball to the basket. He will be next game."
the nerve of this mother****er Kobe when he missed 8 of 10 shots in the 4th quarter. That is EXACTLY why I hate this dude and his nut riding minions!
Well it's true lol. The game was tied at 98-98. For all the Kobe hate (and believe me, he's at fault for his shot selection in the 4th) the game was still tied. Gasol didn't attempt a shot
the whole quarter. Not once. And don't act like Kobe came down and fired the ball up every possession, Gasol touches it as much as Kobe does, even more actually, because they use him as the main facilitator from the High Post almost every time down the floor. Every time Kobe or Bynum receives the ball, 7 times out of 10 it's coming from Pau, so he can directly control his game. And more often than not, he decides against being aggressive. It's been a problem with him forever, and with Bynum & Kobe on the floor, I kind of get it, all three can't be in the post at the same time. But when your in with the second unit, and your still acting the same way, it's inexcusable.
It's the reason Bryant shoots like that in the first place, I don't see why people don't understand this. Everybody loves trying to stat me to death about games the Lakers win and how much Kobe shoots in those, but the simple fact is he doesn't force the issue when everybody else is playing well,
most nights. And when he doesn't see maximum effort, he's definitely not passing. But last night in particular, he was rolling pretty good thru 3 qtrs, he just didn't have enough to finish it off, which is a common theme. Mentally, he thinks he's still Kobe from 04-07, and he's not anymore.
