Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe’s debut overshadows 106-94 loss to Toronto Raptors

Kobe Bryant had nine points and eight turnovers in his first game back with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Eight months ago, Kobe Bryant went down with a potential career-ending achilles injury. He had just carried the Los Angeles Lakers through their last stretch of games and pushed them into the playoffs as the seventh seed. Without the Black Mamba, the Lakers were swept by eventual Western Conference champions, the San Antonio Spurs.

Since last season’s exit, the Lakers front-office put together a ragtag group of players who had failed to find their groove with other teams. The majority of the players on the Lakers roster are only signed throughout the end of this season, as GM Mitch Kupchak hopes to completely rebuild the team this coming offseason. However, this group of “rejects” has won over the Laker faithful with their resilient efforts so far this season. Be it Swaggy P’s trademark questionable shot selection, Jordan Hill’s hustle and energy, the long arms of Wesley Johnson, the return of Jordan Farmar, or the emergence of role players such as Shawne Williams and Xavier Henry, this Lakers group has been fun to watch and have shown themselves to be a tight-knit group that were over .500 coming into last night’s game.

The chemistry and effectiveness of this Lakers roster breathed life into fan’s hopes that the Los Angeles could make a deep run in the playoffs this year. What would happen when you add future hall of Famer Bryant to the mixture? Could his return be the push they need to separate themselves from the lottery-bound teams in the West? Or would he disrupt their chemistry with his well-known isolation plays and forced shots? Last night offered a few answers to these questions.

Kobe Bryant is no longer explosive. I understand that it was Kobe’s first game back since he tore his Achilles. It’ll take awhile for him to re-assimilate himself back into the offense and develop chemistry with his teammates. But watching him last night, it is clearly evident you aren’t going to see the explosives dunks and hard drives that we are all accustomed to seeing. Whether Kobe was being cautious, or just didn’t feel comfortable, he looked bad with the ball in his hands. At the end of the first half, Demar DeRozan assertively blocked a trademark fadeaway by the Mamba. I’m sure Kobe was lacking a little more lift that usual on his turnaround, but it wasn’t the smooth, quick fadeaway that we had all grown to love.

The Lakers’ chemistry was affected. This was to be expected, but you still had to grimace at some of the plays the Lakers ran. Kobe had eight turnovers last night. Eight. One less than the nine points he scored. He made passes to players who had already cut, and he overthrew Pau Gasol a couple of times. Like I said, the passes to players who had already cut was a simple issue of spending more time with them on the court and getting a feel for what they like to do. That stuff will come with time. You could tell that Kobe wanted to be more of a facilitator (he made some sweet passes to Robert Sacre and Gasol), but I felt he forced it too much. The time he spent with the ball in his hands clearly affected Steve Blake’s ability to create. Blake had been the Lakers best passer, and he loves pushing the tempo of the game, something the Lakers thrive on. However, the game was a lot slower last night, and that can only be bad for Blake and Los Angeles.

Some additional notes from the game:

Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas set the tone down low in the opening quarter. Johnson had a career high 32 points on 14-17 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds as well. Gasol is truly fading as a significant contributor to the Lakers. He played only 24 minutes and just didn’t play well. He missed easy floaters, hook shots, and turnarounds. He couldn’t catch a quick pass. Gasol shouldn’t be resigned this offseason and I don’t think Kupchak will.

Shawne Williams and Xavier Henry are solid players off the bench. The two were virtual nobodies coming into this season, but their effort and grittiness has really shown. Williams is lights out from either corner of the three-point arc. I love watching his rainbow threes hit nothing but net, and he does it often. Henry is a better player at home than on the road, but he has shown that he can take it to the rim effectively. His range is beginning to show has he made a couple of timely threes for the Purple and Gold.

Is there a better catch-and-shoot player than Jodie Meeks? Watching this guy play is truly a joy. He’s a pogo stick who can shoot. He is always shooting on the go, his trademark move is catching his defender off guard, taking one hard dribble towards the paint before releasing a long floater that always goes in. He’s been consistent for the Lakers all season and is truly a dependable shooter from beyond.

The loss puts the Lakers back at .500 (10-10). I think Kobe will get better as the games go on, but only time will tell whether his impact is positive or negative.