Kobe: "I'll take 60 shots if I have to."

"When the game is on the line, they put the ball in my hands," Bryant said. "I've gotta do what I've gotta do, I don't care if it's 50 shots, 60 shots, five shots."

- Kobe Bryant, after the Lakers defeated a weak Boston team on Sunday.

They put the ball in your hands, Kobe, because you would throw a temper tantrum if they didn't. And, only Kobe would think that one needs 50 or 60 shots to win a game. Five shots? I don't think so. The only time Kobe came close to taking five shots is during a different type of temper tantrum - when he took only 2 shots in an entire half after hearing criticism that he was a ball hog.

Kobe played a decent against the Celtics, 18-for-39 (46%) from the field. But 39 shots? Is that really necessary? The only time you should take that many shots, two conditions have to be true: 1) You're shooting around 70%, and 2) The rest of your team is struggling. Neither was true in this game. Kobe shot well, but not amazingly. In fact, he missed all his 5 three point attempts. And the rest of the team shot well. Lamar was 6-f0r-10. Kwame was 5-for-7. Smush was 6-for-11. But, the rest of the team only took 51 shots, while Kobe took 39. Anyone see something wrong with that picture?

Sure the Lakers beat the Celtics, a team that has lost 4 of their last 5. But the more Kobe takes shots (and confidence) away from his teammates, the less chances the Lakers have of ever getting past the 1st round of the playoffs (if they're lucky enough to make it in).

And don't forget, this game wouldn't have been won without the Lakers' strong defense. The Lakers had 45 rebounds and kept Paul Pierce to 2 points in the 4th quarter.