It was just one week ago today that Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, Kobe Bryant erupted for 81 pts against the hapless Toronto Raptors, the second highest total a single player has ever tallied in the history of the NBA.  Kobe's remarkable feat surprisingly, yet undeniably, generated almost as much negative criticism as it did praise in the days following the extremely rare accomplishment.  Critics accused Kobe of everything from being selfish, showing off, and taking too many shots, to single-handedly destroying the team concept.  However, you have to have a team around you in the first place to justify such criticism.  Kobe has had no choice but to carry the Lakers on his shoulders if the Lakers are going to be in any game, and definitely if they want any hope of winning it.  That harsh truth has never been more evident than today in Detroit.

Coming into tonight's game riding a short two game winning streak that began the night Kobe lit up Toronto, the Lakers had a game plan that sounded simple enough for winning.  Get Kobe going early in order to generate looks for other players, get those players to make solid contributions, limit turnovers, and try to prevent from Rasheed and Big Ben from beating you down low.  The task wasn't as simple as it sounded however, as the Lakers only managed to accomplish one of the three, while failing miserably with the other two, but you can't blame this one on Kobe.

In Friday night's overtime win against Golden State, Kobe scored 30 pts while dishing out 8 assists to his teammates in the process.  Not even Bryant's critics can complain Kobe isn't getting his teammates involved enough with numbers like that.  The Lakers won a very close game, but their second leading scorer was Smush Parker, followed by Chris Mihm and Brian Cook coming off the bench each with 13.  The win was more than a little disconcerting however, because the Lakers remained plagued by their most chronic and crippling problem, one that has stunted their growth and prevented the Lakers from raising their game to the next level.  No the problem isn't Kobe having to take the game into his hands, or trying to get others involved, because he has.  Rather that impeding disability has been the lack of quality, or even remotely solid, play on the part of Lamar Odom on a more consistent basis.  In the local pre-game coverage, former Laker great James Worthy said the key ingredient needed for the Lakers to turn the corner is for Odom to raise his level of play.  If the Lakers can get solid contributions from him, there is a chance they could beat the league leading Detroit Pistons.  If you watched this Sunday's game, you soon realized that L.A.'s problem was not going to be resolved any time soon, and it would be a long day for Kobe and the Lakers.

Things couldn't have started any worse for the Lakers.  When you come into the Palace you have to establish your presence and build a lead quickly if you have any hopes of winning the game.  The Lakers came out strong, but all the early bounces went Detroit's way.  Following an early stop by the Lakers, in which Center Chris Mihm blocked a shot, the rejection managed to find its way into the hands of a wide open Tayshaun Prince who quickly drained a three point shot.  Prince added another two on the Pistons next possession, and the Lakers quickly found themselves down five to nothing.  The Lakers played some solid defense early on, and managed to go on a 9-2 run thanks to Kobe, but the lead would only last one possession, and it would be the only time the Lakers would lead all day.

From the get go, Kobe tried to get his teammates involved.  He would pass to wide open players who would hesitate, pass it back to Kobe, Kobe would pass it back, and the player would toss up a horrible shot that would quickly result in a defensive rebound for Detroit, and another squandered opportunity for the Lakers.  Eventually Kobe was forced to take the game into his own hands per usual, and that development by itself is the only reason the Lakers were ever in the game.  Kobe was simply brilliant on several shots.  It seemed as that no matter who covered Kobe he was going to drill amazing shot after amazing shot.  Kobe managed to drop 25 pts on Detroit by the half, and the game was still relatively close at that point.  Detroit would eventually build a 22 point lead at one point during the third quarter, as Kobe was limited to converting on two baskets in the quarter and no other Laker stepped up.  The Lakers did mount a rally however, and managed to get the game back within 7 pts, but it was too little too late, as Detroit managed to score a few key baskets down inside, thus hammering the final nails into the Lakers coffin.

It would be easy for critics to once again blame Kobe for the Lakers failures, but if you look at a few quick facts, you will easily see why you can't honestly put the blame on Kobe for this one.  Lamar Odom, who was previously mentioned as a key ingridient needed for Laker victory, managed nearly as many turnovers (8) as points he contributed (9).  The Lakers committed 16 turnovers as a team, which in turn, lead to 18 points for the Pistons.  Take away ten of those turnovers, and the Lakers may have won this game.  It wasn't just the number of the turnovers, but the timing of many of them that were costly.  Seemingly every time the Lakers mounted a comeback, made a key stop, or came out of a time-out, they would give the ball away, securely handing the game right back to Detroit.

Perhaps the most foretelling sign the Lakers were headed for disaster at the Palace, was the one that Smush Parker presented when he missed the team's flight to Detroit because he overslept, and had to pay for an airline ticket out of his own pocket the night before the game, forcing him to fly coach in the process.  Parker then blamed a teammate for his blunder, reportedly this teammate was supposed to call him when it was time for him to wake up, and didn't do so until the plane was taking off.  Now if that is really what happened, the teammate did do wrong, but so did Parker by not being mature enough to set an alarm clock and by making it someone else's responsibility and not his own, to make sure he gets his butt where it needs to be on time.  I am sure that little episode worked some wonders for team chemistry.

At the end of the day, all of the Laker miscues and the strong team performance by Detroit, lead by Rasheed Wallace's 24 points, led to a game that Detroit controlled much more than dictated by the final score.  It became painfully obvious to the Lakers, and the fans watching, exactly who the better team was, even if L.A. does have the best player in the game wearing purple and gold.  The game clearly made it apparent that against the league's elite, one superstar, no matter how talented, is not ever going to cut it.  It also demonstrated that the Lakers are undeniably in desperate need of adding another quailty player to compliment Bryant before the franchise can even begin to think about making the playoffs again, let alone advance past the first round. 

Odom is clearly not that player, and the Lakers may have missed their opportunity by passing on Ron Artest.  It would be a shame if Kobe's enormous talent is wasted while he is in his prime, and if the Lakers wait too long to put the right pieces around Bryant, when the time is undeniably right now.  If anyone could single-handedly take a below average cast of players, and turn the team into a strong playoff contender it is Kobe Bryant.  But it is obvious that though Kobe can do it for few games here and there, he can't do it an entire season, or consistently against the league's best teams.  But you can't blame Kobe for that, its not his job to bring in the players necessary to win.