Kobe's Empty Season

The Lakers picked up just their second win of the early season tonight, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 114-109. Kobe Bryant scored 28 points to lead Los Angeles, maintaining his league leading average of 27.4 points per game. Bryant has been scoring plenty, but has been taking his fair share of shots. With his field goal percentage sitting at a mere 38.9%, Bryant has not been as efficient as one might hope. Being the only offensive threat has something to do with that, and so does the direction of the franchise.

At this point the Lakers are simply coasting through this season knowing they will not win many games, and Kobe is the only attraction. Bryant will fill seats so that fans can watch one of the greatest players of all-time try to put up 60 every night. However, even as he approaches more records in terms of scoring, and climbing the all-time scoring list, something is missing.

Watching the Lakers perform so terribly night in and night out is leaving myself and many others with a sick feeling. The second best shooting guard of all-time should not be going out like this. A man who has always been so driven and so competitive, should not be finishing his career scoring such meaningless baskets.

Kobe scored 44 points the other night in just three quarters. He took 34 shots. Not one of those shots felt at all significant. Bryant for the first time in his career had a completely empty 40 point game. It left me feeling nothing. As a fan of Kobe, and a fan of great basketball, it is truly a shame to have to watch one of the best player of the past 15 plus years fade away into an eventual retirement.

Who knows? Maybe Julius Randle comes back from injury and becomes the next great power forward in this game, and the Lakers draft the next Magic Johnson this summer. But for now I'm afraid the competitive Kobe Bryant teams are behind us, and these empty seasons are whats left for his final years.