Kobe Bryant: Superstar Will Lead Lakers to Better Record Than Clippers

When Chris Paul was brought over to the Los Angeles Clippers, the entire NBA universe believed that the city of Los Angeles was beginning to be a Clippers town.

Easy now—the Clippers are still the “JV” team when compared to the Lakers. Bryant and the Lakers are still the class of the city, and they will prove it this year when they win the Pacific Division.

Currently, the Lakers are 3-2 and the Clippers are 1-2, with both playing below expectations.

The Clippers are by far the sexier team to look at this year with Paul and Blake Griffin and their plethora of future alley-oop routines.

The Clippers also made the biggest splash in the offseason not only via trades, but in free agency with Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups.

It’s sexy, I get it. But just because you add stars doesn’t guarantee success. Look at the Washington Redskins in their recent history as well as the Philadelphia Eagles this season in the NFL.

Nothing is guaranteed, especially in the first year.

The Lakers are an experienced bunch that made it to back-to-back-to-back NBA Finals. They have the chemistry.

With the addition of Andrew Bynum to the lineup—who scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his season debut—the Lakers have the best team in the division.

Bryant had to listen to all the talk about the Clippers overtaking the Lakers in the city of Los Angeles just because of the talent they were acquiring. He’s tired of hearing about it, and he’s ready to prove he’s still one of the best players in the NBA.

Kobe is a true leader on the floor. He expects the absolute best out of himself, which trickles down to his teammates because it keeps them responsible for their play as well.

People believed that his divorce would slow him down. Not exactly.

Bryant, who is one of the most motivated individuals in sports, is scoring at a 25.6 points-per-game clip in just 34 minutes played per game this season.

He’s getting his teammates more involved this season, posting 6.4 assists per game. Bryant is also scoring at a slightly better field-goal percentage this season.

Bryant is playing solid basketball and the happenings in his personal life and in L.A. are only going to motivate the guy to play at another level.

If the game is on the line, I still want Bryant with the basketball. I could live with whatever result it would end with because I know exactly what he’s going to bring and that’s heart, determination and a will to succeed.

Another situation that benefits the Lakers is coaching. Mike Brown is a former coach of the year in the league. Say what you want about LeBron James being on the team, but Brown and his defensive mind had plenty to do with the success of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If things don’t go well for the Clippers, then Vinny Del Negro has to be held accountable. He’s an inexperienced coach who showed some struggles with the Chicago Bulls prior to Los Angeles.

This team is completely different now to when he was hired. It was once a team that was a bottom-dweller in the NBA, but now it’s a team expected to compete.

He’s going to have to prove he can coach in the league.

Give me the experienced coach in a season that will be more strategically demanding because of the lockout. 

Bryant will be more motivated this season to prove that he’s not over the hill. His personal life and now the Clippers will push him even further toward winning the Pacific Division.