Kobe Bryant Trapped, Needs Help

Kobe Bryant: Help Wanted LA Times: DALLAS — Kobe Bryant has seen just about every possible defense, but the latest trend of double-teaming him far from the basket has caused the Lakers all kinds of problems.

Bryant has continued to make shots but his teammates have not, a primary reason the Lakers went empty-handed against Indiana, Charlotte and New Orleans.

Bryant averaged 32 points and shot 48.5% but the rest of the team shot only 34.1%. Not surprisingly, the Lakers have not had a lead in more than 127 minutes of play.

Teams have dared other Lakers to shoot by double-teaming and trapping Bryant just inside halfcourt or above the three-point line.

“A lot of teams in our league are copycats,” said forward Devean George, who had 21 points Saturday against the Hornets. “They’ll see something kind of working well for another team and how they’re double-teaming Kobe, so until we stop it, until we start capitalizing on making shots and cutting teams up, then they can continue to do that.”

Bryant has done a credible job of finding open teammates, although his turnover level has almost doubled over the last three games, which led to a question of whether he could figure out how to be more effective in breaking double teams single-handedly.

“To say ‘yeah’ would be to say I need to get 45 points to win a game,” Bryant said. “Is that what we need to win ball games?”

What do Kobe’s teammates need to do to make the opposition pay for these double-teams? Does Phil need to make any offensive adjustments? Sound off on the ClubLakers.com Forums!