NBA Pivot Points: Kobe Is Still Capable of Shouldering the LA Lakers’ Burdens

Imagine, people were sure that this would be the year that Kobe Bryant would take a back seat to the young guns in the NBA. Most felt that due to the construction and dynamics of the Los Angeles Lakers, that Kobe's numbers would dip accordingly.

Boy were we wrong, and maybe MVP wrong, because Kobe is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down, in fact he is expanding his game.

He is shooting a career best 49 percent from the field and is averaging a league best 33.6 points per game, hardly the type of numbers for a player who is willing to take a back seat to anyone.

That's not the most impressive part. It's common knowledge that Kobe spent some time with Hakeem Olajuwon during the off season in an attempt to work on his footwork in the paint.

He understood ...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
Article is property of BleacherReport.com