Kobe Doin' Work: A few observations

• Kobe is a very intelligent basketball player. His greatness isn't just in his physical abilities, it's in his mental approach to the game as well.
• Kobe and LeBron are interesting icons of the culture they live in. In one scene, Kobe commented on how he and Bruce Bowen are such great competitors. It's interesting for me to hear guys speak of their greatness WHILE they are still in the midst of their prime (LeBron spoke of his greatness at the post game press conference when he went off for 47 in Game 3 of their series against the Hawks). I don't think I recall Magic or Bird or Isiah speak about their greatness while their careers were in progress.
• I love the way Kobe communicates on the floor, especially on the defensive end. He's literally another coach on the floor. Even if you can't get with Kobe the man, one must at least give him kudos that he understands what the other team is trying to accomplish offensively and how best to make it difficult on them to score. 
• Kobe is only great when he plays with talent. He needs other players with high basketball IQs around him to flourish. He's not that great of a teacher. I get the sense that he is able to provide information to his teammates. However, there is a wide gap between providing information and being able to teach. Teaching requires a level of subtly and nuance that I don't sense Kobe has in his personality. 
• It was interesting hearing him speak on how much he loves L.A. I'm curious then about how serious he was about leaving L.A. to go to Chicago when he was a free agent and if he loved L.A. so much, then why the trade demands two summers ago?
• He admitted to throwing elbows. I wonder if anybody else heard when he said that or was surprised by that admission? I don't think he even realized what he was copping to, but he admitted it plain as day.
• I like the Triangle Offense. It's suited to the free-flowing, unpredictable nature of basketball. In basketball I prefer concepts over plays. Plays breakdown, concepts have options. Don't give me fish, give me a fishing pole...
• I didn't know teams could watch replays of the TV broadcast at halftime. It seemed to me that they were watching a DVR recording of the 1st half of the game when they were in the locker room at halftime. Instant video feedback. Is this legal in the NFL? Do they do this in college basketball too?
• I really couldn't see Kobe playing well for any other coach than Phil. The only evidence we have thus far is the whole Rudy T. experiment, which didn't last long or go well. It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do if Phil retires this year (which I think he will. Remember Tex Winters is already gone). How will Kobe react to somebody new at the helm? Kobe is very vocal and even expressed himself how a coach needs to be able to keep his ego in check to be able to deal with all of Kobe's input. Phil and Kobe are on the same page, but Phil's page is the only one Kobe has had to be on. Can he get on another coach's page? Or better yet, will another coach have the humility to deal with all that is Kobe Bryant?
• I think Kobe's teammates respect him for what he has accomplished, the supremely gifted player that he is, as well as his knowledge of the game, but I don't know how much they enjoy following him. He does lead them, but I get the sense his team's followship lacks the intimacy that Magic's teammates or Isiah's teammates or most recently LeBron's teammates have for their leader. Kobe's followers are similar to Jordan's followers, except I think Jordan's teammates had a level of fear of him and a sense of not wanting to let him down. After seeing the clip of Kobe hitting the 3rd quarter ending 3 point shot, he commented that when he makes that type of shot it gives the 2nd teammers who are going to start off the 4th quarter energy - it gets them enthused and they get up off the bench and give high fives to their teammates coming back to the bench. All of this is true and good stuff. However, I contrast this with how the Cavaliers relate to each other and how they don't require a high-degree-of-difficulty, quarter ending 3 point shot to respond to their teammates in an enthusiastic fashion. They are hype for each other from the initial jump ball. Similar to the Jordan's teammates, but maybe from different motivations, LeBron's teammates have his back and don't want to let him down. Kobe's teammates don't seem to have that feeling at all. They are enthusiastic about each other when things are going well, but don't seem to have each other's backs when they encounter adversity. I think we don't see this side as much with the Lakers because they are typically so good that they rarely face adversity. But their track record with adversity has not been good sense Shaq's last season in L.A. when they lost to the Pistons in the Finals. On the positive side, they are so good this flaw in their team rarely shows up. On the flip side, they typically find such adverse situations deep in the playoffs and haven't responded well when they faced with it (practically swept by less talented Pistons team, blown out in closeout Game 6 in Boston, blew HUGE lead in Game 4 at home vs Boston).
• To the previous point, it seemed to me a little forced in how Kobe spoke of how he looks out for his teammates with the officials. He says he really only talks to the refs to stick up for his teammates. In all the games I've watched him in, he seems to get the most animated when he's arguing his own case about how HE is being fouled. I think he understands what a good leader should do, but it didn't seem authentic when describing his role as protector for his guys. 
• Kobe's not a spring chicken anymore. When you start getting ice on your knees while the game is still in progress, it shows there are a lot of miles on his tires.
• He threw a not-so-subtle jab at both Shaq and at Smush Parker. He told Pau Gasol that he never had a big man who could make that kind of pass to him. I agree that Pau is a great passer in the high post of the Triangle, but he could have complimented Gasol purely on his passing skills and not in reference to the big men he played with in the past. He also said he trusts kicking the ball out to Derek Fisher for 3s and said he wouldn't have made those types of passes the previous year (when Fisher was not with the team). 
• Kobe desires the adulation of the crowd. He was soaking up the fact the Staples Center crowd was chanting M-V-P. He really wants to be liked. I'm not sure I've seen that trait in other NBA superstars as high as it is in Kobe. (of course we all want to be liked, but what I'm questioning is the degree to which we desire it. I'm sure Barkley wants to be liked, but I don't think it bothers him if he isn't. I would put Barkley and Kobe on extreme opposite ends of this spectrum.)