With Andrew Bynum sidelined by a knee injury, the Lakers returned to old form Monday night in Seattle.They won in overtime, but how they did it had to send Phil Jackson looking for the nearest equipment closet in which to meditate. Just like last year, it was all Kobe, all the time.
Bryant scored 48 points on 44 shots, and getting his teammates involved was hardly a consideration. Use Kobe's two assists or the rest of the box score -- the next highest-scoring Laker was Ronny Turiaf with 14 points -- as evidence that without Bynum, Los Angeles is a one-man show.
Bynum had emerged as a strong inside presence, perhaps more valuable for his rebounding (11th in the NBA at 10.2 per game) than for his scoring (13.1). But that was improving, too; over the past five games prior to the one in which he was injured, Bynum averaged 18.8 points.
All that to say that Kobe and the Lakers are back to square one. For the moment, they are tied for first in the Western Conference, and it would be absurd to pick them not to make the playoffs. But eight weeks is a long time, and there's no guarantee that Bynum will return at full strength even then.
So, once again, it's Kobe's team and everyone knows it. Can he shoulder the load for the next two-plus months, or will he crumple under the weight of carrying the team and start to look for a way out again? If the latter, he'd better start campaigning hard; the trade deadline (February 22) is just over a month away!
AP PHOTO
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