The Los Angeles Lakers Improving with the Evolution of Kobe Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers are developing a winning formula and superstar guard Kobe Bryant’s recent transformation has been a reason why.

There are few things more fragile than trust. Kobe Bryant’s faith is an especially delicate commodity that only a handful of people have earned and in terms of trust this season, Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers at times have been miles apart.

The beginning of the season has been a drawn out process for Bryant to figure out how much he could trust a team compromised of aging veterans, busted first-round picks, and unproven young talent; a veritable motley crew of the NBA’s unwanted players. On the court, Bryant trusted them as much as one would trust an email from a Nigerian prince.

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In the games prior to his forced break, Bryant was leading the league in field goal attempts at 22.4 per game while shooting a career-low 37.2 percent from the field and 27.4 percent from three-point range. He began piling up assist numbers when Lakers head coach Byron Scott appointed him the main ball handler of the offense, but it appeared that he was still hesitant to trust his teammates, earning nearly a 3:2 assist to turnover ratio from November 28, 2014 to December 21, 2014.

When he was on the bench for three games, his Laker teammates were forced to sink or swim without him. They proved that they could hold their own, beating the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors by depending on one another.

In that three-game stretch, the Lakers posted a 108.9 offensive, which was 2.9 points per 100 possessions better than the previous games with Bryant in the lineup. They also gave up 2.5 less points per game (106.7 as opposed to 109.2 with Bryant) and forced opponents into turnovers an estimated 13.8 percent per 100 possessions (12.5 percent per 100 possession with Bryant) in those three games without Bryant. The Los Angeles Lakers actually improved in certain areas without Bryant on the court.

After his three-game sabbatical and observing what his teammates could do without him taking a significant amount of shots, Bryant came back to the team with a new mindset, realizing that he could trust his team to make plays early in the game to keep them within striking distance so he could have energy at the end of the game to close it out.

Since he returned the lineup on December 28^th against the Phoenix Suns, Bryant has been efficient, scoring 17 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 53.3 percent shooting from beyond the three-point arc. He is also averaging 8.0 assists per game, showing a willingness to pass the ball to his teammates who work off the defense pressuring him.

At the end of games, Bryant looks fresher and his performances have reflected his newfound late game energy. In the past four games in the fourth quarter with five minutes left and scoring margin between five and minus five points, Bryant has a 57.1 percent effective field goal percentage. In his previous games this season, Bryant had an effective field goal percentage of 39.8 percent in the same situation. His change in philosophy and efficiency has helped him regain his all-star form and positively impacted the team.

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The Los Angeles Lakers have allowed an improved 103.8 points per game in their last four games, shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from three-point range. In the same stretch, the Lakers are shooting an effective field goal percentage of 55.3 percent and are assisting on an estimated 59.9 percent of their field goals. The ball is now flowing through the offense and Bryant has been a big factor in allowing that to happen.

When the season began, Bryant was lambasted for too often resorting to hero ball and throwing up hotly contested jumpers like it was 2005. By all appearances, Bryant thought that those jumpers had a better chance of going in than an open shot from one of his teammates.

However, with his legs beginning to fatigue more easily and his teammates starting to figure their way to impact the team, Bryant has heeded the advice of experts and fans alike and evolved to become more of a facilitator rather than the all-out scorer he was in the past. He may not be the same consistently dominating player that he once was, but with the Los Angeles Lakers starting to find a groove going 2-2 in their last four games, he might not need to be in order for the Lakers to win games anymore.

Trust was always a tough gift for Bryant to hand out. Even with the holiday season over, the season of giving that gift will hopefully continue for Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Next: A Rested Kobe Bryant the Difference in the 4th Quarter