Life Without Kobe

The moment has arrived for the Kobe-haters who are Lakers fans. With Kobe out with a severely sprained ankle, the Lakers have beaten Cleveland and Golden State, and appear to be playing some semblance of team ball.

So are the Lakers better without Kobe? No way. But Kobe's five-day absence will probably help the team.

LAist refuses to call a 2-point victory over the Warriors anything to get excited over. But the win did awaken Lamar Odom, who the Lakers absolutely need to accomplish anything. Odom has become far too passive, sitting back and watching Kobe shoot, hesitating before getting down-low, and not handling the ball enough. Even Kobe has said that he'd like Odom to handle the ball more and facilitate the offense.

But five games is about all LAist wants to stomach without Kobe. Very soon, defenses will figure out how to stop the Lakers without a superstar or a decent point guard. Let Odom work his way back into a groove, and then pair him up with Kobe next week, and just maybe we'll have a poor man's Showtime.