Kobe Bryant has said he wants to test the free-agent market this summer, try life as a big Michael Jordan in a small pond. Well, for the last five games, he has.
With Shaquille O’Neal on the bench, Bryant has been the man for the Los Angeles Lakers, throwing up dozens of shots off hundreds of dribbles, jacking, jabbing, juking.
And, oh yeah, losing.
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Which, in the last seven years, is what happens nearly half the time when Bryant plays and O’Neal doesn’t.
The debate is officially over. There is nobody more important to this team than O’Neal. If Bryant thinks he can win without him, he’s as loopy as some of those jump shots. Bryant needs O’Neal more than O’Neal needs Bryant.
Statistics collected since the 1996-97 season prove it. In games featuring O’Neal but not Bryant, the Lakers are 36-8, an .818 winning percentage. In games featuring Bryant but not O’Neal, the Lakers are 53-45 (.541).