If Rudy Gay was on the Lakers early in the season instead of Kobe, they would have a better record. At leasr top 4 in the West. Kobe was obviously killing the team by freezing his teammates out and being a chucker. Dude was zapping team chemistry. Now Earl Clark is out there beasting. Nash is turning into a glorified Steve Kerr with better handles. Meeks out their looking like Bobby Jackson. Dwight getting easy buckets like he is Tyson Chandler. The talent was there all along, Kobe just wanted to hold onto his 30 ppg glory.
I believe that the embarrassment of not making the playoffs with this star-studded squad is what caused Kobe to change his ways. He realizes that people will always bring up him playing with 3 other HOFs and not making the playoffs...it would be his biggest failure. The fear of this is his biggest motivation. This is a good thing for Lakers fans and for Kobe. Hopefully, the winning continues.
I still want to see the Lakers vs Heat NBA Finals and I don't want any excuses from LA fans either