Kobe in the Post - Why Its our Championship Solution

AVH · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1890

Before I begin this long diatribe of sorts, I would first like to point out that currently speaking, Kobe Bryant has played 26% of his minutes at the SF position this season and is performing at a mesmerizingly high 33.1 PER as opposed to a more pedestrian 23.3 PER at the SG position, for 47% of his minutes.

Some may say that that doenst mean much. But it does. It does because the higher your PER the more efficient you are playing. Thats why someone like Wade has a high PER, because he generates so many free throw attempts.

Having said that, playing Kobe at the SF position focuses on one very simple and important premise. That Kobe Bryant play more in post position.

Its like Kobe Bryant once said on TNT regarding his comparison to Michael Jordan: "Our games are not that similar. Jordan played mostly free throw line down, while I play a lot more above the 3 point line".

In this "essay" of sorts, Im going to describe:

1) What I see as the main problem in Kobe's offense. Granted, there aren't many. But, by making these changes, Kobe will truly elevate himself to a tier amonst the legends.

2) How to get Kobe the ball in post position and defeating many of the arguments against having him there.

3) The number of benefits Kobe and his team will get from this simple move.

The Problem:

In doing the above as set out, I'll begin by asking the board one very simple question:

What is Kobe Bryant's go to move? Is it the post up? Is it the high screen and roll from wing position? Is it the high screen and roll from top of the circle? Is it isolated on the wing?

When its "Kobe time" where is Kobe most likely to initiate his offensive move from?

You see, the answer to those questions is: all of them. And to me, therein lies the problem. Other star players and their teams simplify where their best players will generate their offense from. The teams choose to run their offense through their superstars. Its great. The old adage: KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) applies. Lets take some simple examples and it will become clear what I am saying.

Spurs/Tim D's main move: Low block, face up or back his man down
Lakers in 3 peat days: Shaq down low
MJ: Post position at either the 4 or 5 spot within the triangle
Miami Heat: Wade at top of circle, either ISO or pick and roll
Phoenix: Nash pick and roll

And on and on and on it goes with each team and their superstar players.

Many have said that the great part about Kobe is that he can score from anywhere. Indeed, that may be true. But, there is a difference between being able to score from anywhere, and knowing where to score to be most efficient for your team and yourself.

The key is that every great team. Every great champion, has their go to move. The place they dump the ball when they need a basket to stem the opposing team's tied. The place they go to in crunchtime. The place they go to, to set the tone for the game. Every great superstar generates the majority of their offense from the same spot, as shown above. They don't do all kinds of differnet things that overcomplicate and make their life difficult on the offensive end.

Unfortunately, for our lakers, we have not yet figured out yet, that that is indeed the same for Kobe and the Lakers. How many times have you seen Kobe Bryant whether during the middle of a game, or when we need a basket OR crunchtime, get the ball 30 feet from the basket and have to deek out one defender with another one waiting off the ball, due to the allowance of zone defenses? Too many times, thats the answer.

It makes Kobe take difficult shots, and often times, you are sitting, watching the screen, wondering why it is that Kobe Bryant is making the game so difficult on himself, instead of taking the simple shot? The reason is because he has not been given the proper direction yet.

The Solution:

The issue is, how do we fix it? The problem starts with Phil Jackson and his star player. To date, they have not come to the realization that Kobe Bryant needs to be used the same way Michael Jordan was within the triangle.

Its starts at the top:

1) Phil and Kobe recognize this as the key to better efficiency and the offensive philosophy changes
2) Phil addresses the team and makes it a point of emphasis that they will get Kobe Bryant the ball in post position as the team's #1 offensive move
3) As a team, they practice getting the ball to Kobe in that position more often, knowing when and how to look for kobe.

Many in other places have argued against this. They come with one of the following arguments:

a) The zone defense doesnt allow it, which I have an answer to below
b) No one on our team can make a post entry pass
c What about Bynum and Kwame and LO?
d) Kobe isn't effective down there and can't post up big guys.

Ill take each one of these point by point.

First ill address (a) and (b) together:

a) The zone defense. It is true that the zone defense has indeed made life a bit more difficult for Kobe Bryant vs. MJ. However, ONLY when Kobe decides to get the ball 30 feet from the basket and tries to deek out 2-3 defenders. Because in that scenario, Kobe is forced NOT only to deek out 1 defender, but a Big man waiting just outside the lane to help out. And that is NOT a recipe for success.

By posting Kobe up, it actually makes the zone defense EVEN more difficult in its effectiveness.

b) HOWEVER, the key to breaking the zone defense is the entry pass. Therein lies the issue.

How many times have you seen one of the following things happen:

1) Kobe posts up, only to have the bull swung around to the other side of the floor/triangle
2) Kobe cuts across the lane and enters post position and THEN the bull gets swung around to the other side.
3) Kobe posts up, but the entry pass takes too long to get to him and his defender roots him out of position, instead, moving Kobe out towards the 3 point line before he receives the ball.

All of these problems, are a result of poor coaching, poor practice and poor execution.

The answer to getting the ball to Kobe in post position, is to more often than not, deliver the pass as he ENTERS the low block. The team should learn, through its coach, that when Kobe is on the strongside baseline, and cuts across the lane, BAM, the post entry pass should be on his fingertips AS the defender trails him. Just the same as Jordan used to get the ball in that position just as he entered the post after making a cut.

The lakers, as a team, fail to do this even 3 ot 4 times a game.

(c) Kobe should be receiving the ball in post position at least 30-35 times a game. People say the triangle is an equal opportunity offense. Perhaps so. But NOT in the NBA. That just cannot work when you have the caliber of teams, caliber of defenses and caliber of players in this league. If you have a superstar in this league and you do not use him properly, you only do your opponent a favor.

There are plenty of opportunities for others EVEN with Kboe getting 30-35 touches per game down there. But, at the start of the game, when the other team makes a run AND in crunchtime, Kobe down low is the ONLY alternative. Let him draw the defense and get someone an open look OR take the shot himself if single covered.

But, at the very least, running the offense through him down there in those instances is key. No different than when we used to dump the ball down low to Shaq in those same instances.

(d) Which brings me do the last point of what are we actually trying to accomplish by doing this. What is the point of Kobe posting up? Many have said that Kobe cannot post up guys like Battier, AK47 and Artest. Guys who are his primary defenders and great defenders at that.

You see, that’s just it. Kobe isn’t going to back down larger players like Artest, AK47 or Battier. The key in the post up, is to get Kobe the ball closer to the basket, without having committed his dribble.

How often has Kobe initiated his offensive move from above or close to the 3 point line with Battier or Artest or someone else guarding him, only to have Kobe try some herky, jerky, helter skelter move to dry and deek out those gusy, that doenst work, only to have Kobe launch a 20 foot contested jumpshot.

Well, in this position, Kobe receives the ball in the post, and then turns and faces up Artest, AK47, Battier, or whomever and proceeds to do his thing. At 16 feet, faced up WITH AN UNCOMMITTED DRIBBLE, the defender is at his mercy.

It doesn’t matter who the defender is. Battier, AK, Artest, Bowen, or the worst this league has to offer. You cannot expect to stop Kobe from 16 feet when he hasn’t even committed his dribble yet. He is ALREADY in prime scoring position.

Benefits of This Strategy:

Which brings us to the last of this essay (hope everyone is still with me).

Kobe at 16 feet, faced up, with an uncommitted dribble. How glorious does that sound to all of our laker fans ears.

Kobe is most effective at the 4 spot within the triangle. The position on the weakside where there are only two players. It gives him more real estate to work with. So, what are the benefits of doing this. Well, first and foremost, we run our offense through Kobe and allow him to make plays closer to the basket. Whether it be scoring or passing.

Here are the numerous possibilities, and these are only some:

1) Kobe can face up his man if he is bigger OR smaller and shoot the fadeaway
2) Kobe can face up his man and pump fake and draw the foul
3) Kobe can pump fake and draw the defender off his feet and then drive baseline or into the lane
4) Kobe can dribble drive and pull up for a 12 foot jumper that may or may not be contested, but is still better than a 20 foot contested jumper
5) Kobe can simply drive into the lane and either
(a)force the foul
(b) find the open man off collapsing defense
(c) or make a layup
6) Kobe can drive, draw the defense and find a cutter IF our players are moving without the ball and towards the basket
7) By doing this, the other team is forced to double team Kobe and Kobe can then send the ball out to wide open shooters who can either take an uncontested outside shot, or pumpfake and drive to the whole drawing the defense themselves and finding the open man, or get fouled

The other thing about posting Kobe up to 16 feet is that the big man CANNOT cheat and zone’s become less useful. By having Kobe closer to the basket, the big man must make a decision. Either he hard doubles Kobe, or commits a 3 second violation.

Picture this for a moment. Kobe is posted at the 4 spot Iso weakside position of the triangle at 16 feet. Bynum leaves the lane and moves completely to the strongside of the triangle and gives Kobe the entire lane to drive into.

The big man defending Bynum has a choice. Either the big man follows Bynum out of the lane OR he stays in the lane and commits a 3 second violation. If the Big man decides to leave Bynum alone and moves the weakside in order to commit a soft double on Kobe, it becomes very easy for Kobe to drive in, draw both defenders completely and find Bynum wide open. And if Bynum is then guarded with the guy rotating over, that leaves someone else wide open. It’s a chain reaction, because you cannot leave Kobe one on one from 16 feet with an uncommitted dribble over and over and over. It will result in a high percentage shot for him almost every time. We already know how high he shoots from 16 feet and in.

You see, when Kobe starts his offense from 23-24 feet out, he allows the big man to completely cheat over. And even if Kobe wants to find the big man, its impossible as by the time he drives, the big man can intercept the pass and there is simply too much real estate for Kobe to cover in order to get Bynum an easy look.

That’s one simple example of how Kobe then becomes the playmaker of the offense as well. Similar to what Shaq and Jordan used to do. WAIT for the double to come and then make your move to find the open man.

Conclusion:

In finality, all of the above is simply a way of delivering a simple message to Kobe, Phil and his team. When our star player gets aggressive or rather, wants to get aggressive, it is best if he does so in the spots MOST likely and most effective/efficient to generate both himself AND his team a basket, not unlike any great star players of both today and yesteryear.

To RUN our offense through our superstar as we ran it through Shaq and Jordan. Even last year, we did not run our offense through Kobe enough. It seems odd to say that, but its true. Although the man shot the ball over 27 times per game last year, we actually never ran the offense through him. He just happened to create a shot for himself from some very unwielding places and made quite few of them and missed quite a few of them. The offense has actually YET to run through Kobe, where Kobe can decide whether to shoot, or distribute by controlling the tempo of the game and making the defense choose whether to give someone a wide open look or let kobe kill them from 16 feet and in.

But the key is for the coaching staff to first understand this and change their offensive philosophy and acknowledge that Kobe’s #1 position should be in the post, when the team needs to get a basket.

From there, embrace this idea with the team. Make them understand it and look for kobe to be posting up in certain situations in the game and doing subtle things, like keeping the ball on the weakside and waiting for Kobe to cut across from strongside to weakside and delivering the ball as he enters post position.

From there, work on it. Practice it. And the fruitful results will follow. And “execution” as Kobe likes to call it, will be impeccably efficient for both himself AND his teammates.

jason_homan · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 793

GREAT ARTICLE!!! jam2

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AVH · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1890

Interestingly enough, tonights game against the Jazz is a perfect indicator for what I was talking about.

Too many difficult shots initiated at too many difficult spots far away from the basket against a guy like AK, with another guy waiting off the ball.

Its seemed the later the game got, the further away Kobe would start his move. Very frustrating.

Jordan-esque · Joined: 28 May 2004 Posts: 4683 Location: So Cal in Sept

^ I agree.

I also think right now, Dwayne Wade's game is a lot more similar to Jordan's than Kobe's (when you take into account Wade's and Jordan's game are on the freethrow line down). Kobe can play the whole floor a lot better, but that doesn't mean he has to. He's more efficient when he drives and penetrates and gets the close shots.

If, like you say, Kobe focuses 47% of his minutes at the post position and 26% on the wing instead, he'd be a lot more efficient, I don't see why he probably couldn't even average close to 35 ppg and close to around 49% from the field.
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bumrusherer · Joined: 03 Dec 2004 Posts: 8744 Location: Neverland

So, all in all, you are saying that we need to have Kobe getting the ball in ''attack'' positions.

Which is all well and good..but there is a big need for him to initiate the offense. Until someone else can do that, putting Kobe is attack positions for a full game will make our offense predictable because our guys always look to Kobe.

Get a good initiator, then you can see Kobe from free throw line extended.
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Makaveli Tha Don · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Posts: 847

Jajwa · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 2160

I honestly prefer it when Kobe initiates the offense because it just eases the process of finding a complement. Initiators are ridiculously hard to find who can also guard.

AVH · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1890

scheven · Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 6855 Location: century tuna

our championship solution is keeping teams below their scoring average, just like we did the last 3 games

AVH · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1890

OCHO · Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:11 pm Post subject:

yes, it would be ideal to have kobe play mj's role in the triangle - i.e. post up..

however, the glaring difference between the two, is where and how they post up.. when mj posted up, he was camped on, or just beyond the box.. he began going to work there and sometimes even closer...

when kobe posts up, he always ends up on the wing, then proceeds to face up and starts to go work - essentially from 18 ft (and sometimes beyond - where he'll shoot the 3 ball).. it's a rare occasion that he actually backs down his opponent..
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leftymo · Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:13 pm Post subject:

anyone got cliff notes. I'm not reading that novel.

I had to just say the road to the championship or solution has to do with upgrading the talent on this roster.

Nothing else.

They simply aren't talented enough to beat the Mavericks/Suns/Spurs of the world.

All of those teams are filled with at least 2 allstars, two have 3!

Their bench guys are former allstars or guys that averaged 20 ppg/season. (guys like Finley or Stackhouse).

Look at the other NBA contenders or finals teams.

Detroit - Wallace (allstar), Billups (allstar), Hamilton (allstar), Webber (allstar)

Miami - Wade (allstar), Payton (allstar), Shaq (allstar) Zo (allstar) EJ (allstar)

You gotta have the talent.

AVH · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1890

UpsandDowns · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 2374 Location: So Cal

Force · Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 772

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jason_homan · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 793

man, there's a lot of senseless members here...AVH, it was a great article and you are exactly reading my mind.

This is an analytical essay/article and you got to the point. It's like as I was reading it, I was reading my own mind.

Hope you send this idea to the Lakers organization to give it to phil.
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Mr. Chicken · Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 1899 Location: College

Great point man. Kobe is definitely more efficient on the post--the 16 feet away from the basket. The only reason we don't see that often, like others above said, is that we don't have someone that can feed the ball to him like Pippen/Harper did for Jordan. Odom has not been impressive as a facilitator/initiator. As of now, Odom should focus on being more aggressive on scoring, EVEN THOUGH Kobe is basically initiating the O for him. Odom's a great talent, really, but I don't know why he's not reaching his full potential. Tonight he did a great job but needs to be more consistent.
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AVH · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1890

jason_homan · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 793

^^^love your KFC avy,

anyways AVH....you got Post of the Week Honors
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OCHO · Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:53 pm Post subject:

karacha · Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 15721

Good article, nice analysis, Kobe plays great at SF. I agree. man9

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AVH · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1890

crucifido · Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:13 pm Post subject:

Great points AVH.
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Juronimo · Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:14 pm Post subject:

UncLaker · Joined: 13 Jan 2006 Posts: 1034 Location: Las Vegas, NC, LA

didnt wanna read the whole thing coz
we dicussed this last year.
If PJax and his 9 rings hasnt already put him in the garden spot then why beat a dead horse.
Kobe in the post would be awesome but it would be a boring 50point game as he shoot turn around jumpers all day over the other SG's in the League. man1

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girlsfavtoy · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 2006

In theory what you say would work. But to do it most of the time??? One thing MJ never dealt with was being doubled off the ball or guys roaming near him when he is in the post position (kobe-zone).

Also it's not just about kobe getting into the post postition, you need someone to feed him the ball when he gets there. It's a split second decision in today's game. Simply put, we don't have the guys right now ready to feed the ball into the post position in a split second. Ever since Kwame and Mihm has been out, passing into the post regularly went out the window. Maybe when Kwame comes back we'll see an improvement in that department and use kobe more on the wing.
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Mr. Chicken · Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 1899 Location: College

Dude congrats with the POTW.

One thing that we're uncertain of though, is, who's the better post player? Kobe or Jordan?

This should be interesting man1

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Everyting negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."--Kobe Bryant

wolfpaclaker · Joined: 23 Aug 2005 Posts: 1733

Kobe should move around. I like what they are doing right now.

Lamar is playing more guard, Kobe is playing more wing. When you play at the wing it allows you to get closer inside and cut into the post. That is what we saw virtually most of last season.

At the same time, Kobe is a very talented guard. Naturally he is a SF/Wing player, but he has the talents of an elite guard even if he lacks the instincts. So what they have to do is balance the two. I think it's best if starting games off we have Kobe play the wing and then move into a guard role. This is what I've seen the last few games.