Kobe Bryant: Lakers Not Title Contenders Despite Superstar's Return

Kobe Bryant returned to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs, but all didn't go well in Laker Land—Kobe and company were routed by San Antonio, 121-97.

Just 10 days prior, the Lakers defeated the Spurs with Bryant in street clothes, but even though he shot a solid 7-of-12 from the floor for 18 points, something is clearly missing from this team when Bryant is on the floor.

Basically, this team isn't capable of winning a championship because they don't measure up to the better teams in the Western Conference. 

So far this season, the Lakers have posted a 3-6 mark against the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, with two of those wins coming against the Clippers.

Even though they may have the best starting five in the NBA, there are still plenty of holes on this team that get exposed against the better competition in the league.

Starting with point guard Ramon Sessions, maybe he isn't the savior that everyone thought he would be at the trade deadline. Athletic point guards such as Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook have owned him so far, as Sessions looks more like a defensive liability than anything else.

Sessions has a sore left shoulder, so who knows if that's the problem, but Parker's 20 points and 10 assists Friday night could be just a sign of things to come.

Andrew Bynum averaged 19.6 shots per game in Kobe's absence while the Lakers went 5-2—he took nine shots last night.

The same could be said for Paul Gasol, who went from being a major part of the offense for seven games to once again playing passively and shooting 4-of-10.

After Bynum's 30-rebound game against the Spurs a couple weeks ago, he's averaged only 4.5 rebounds against San Antonio in the Lakers' two most recent two losses.

The parts just don't seem to click when Kobe is playing with the other main pieces. Even with him being more passive and taking only 12 shots, the balance between scoring and distributing just isn't there.

Judging by how the Lakers have been manhandled by the better teams in the Western Conference, maybe it's just possible that this team is not a realistic threat to win a title. You just don't start beating good teams consistently once the playoffs begin.

With or without Kobe in uniform, maybe the Lakers just don't have what it takes.