Kobe Bryant is the Los Angeles Lakers.
That's the problem.
Or, at least that's the problem forwhatever percentage of Purple and Gold loyalists want a sustainable, functionaloperation—one with the impersonal approach necessary to keep up in an increasinglyanalytical NBA.
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科比就等於湖人队。
这是问题所在。
或者，至少那是一些想要一种可以永续、正常运作的经营…一种要在愈来愈侧重分析的NBA坚持下去的必要客观方法…的紫金球队支持者们会面临的问题。

There's a whole other faction of Lakersfans for whom Bryant is most definitely not a problem. They're the ones whojust want to see No. 24 keep playing and keep wowing them with his willpowerand shot-making. They want the familiar ride to continue because they're afraidof the dark, uncertain future ahead.
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还有完全不同派的湖人球迷，对他们而言，科比绝对不可能是个问题。他们是一群只想看著24号球员继续打球、继续用他的意志力和进球让他们惊欢的人。他们想要这熟悉的旅程持续下去，因为他们害怕黑暗、不确定的未来。

They're drinking in Bryant's play, hispractice rants and his alpha personality thirstily, even if it might be poison.They just want as much Kobe as they can get, while they can get it.
Are the Lakers better off without theiricon?
That all depends on what you'd like theteam to be.
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他们饥渴的陶醉於科比的表现、他练习时的咆哮，以及他的领导人格，即使那可能是毒药。他们只想要尽可能多的享受科比的一切，在他们还能得到的时候。
湖人队少了他们的代表人物会变得比较好吗？
那全取决於你想要的是什麼样的球队。

Stats Don't Lie
The Lakers are worse—substantially andirrefutably—when Kobe Bryant is on the court.

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<数据不会骗人>
当科比在场上时，湖人队的表现…大幅的而且无可辩驳的…更糟。
科比2014-2015球季上场/不上场的差异：
1. 科比上场时：
时间957分钟
湖人队进攻效率值(每百回合得分)101.5分
湖人队防守效率值(每百回合失分)114.8分
湖人队效率净值：-13.3分
2. 科比不上场时：
时间354分钟
湖人队进攻效率值(每百回合得分)109.4分
湖人队防守效率值(每百回合失分)98.3分
湖人队效率净值：+11.1分

It's true that Bryant's bench minutes oftencome when the game is already decided, which allows his replacements to facereserves who are merely going through the motions. Maybe that partially helpsexplain the massive discrepancy in his on/off splits.
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的确，科比坐板凳的时间通常是在比赛已成定局的时候，而那使得他的替补球员们面对的会是仅仅走个过场的((对手))替补球员。而也许那可以帮忙解释一部分他上场/不上场时产生的巨大差异性。

He plays alongside Carlos Boozer for morethan 21 minutes per game, per NBA.com, and C-Booze's on- and off-court splitsare nearly as bad as Kobe's. Maybe this is all Boozer's fault.
It's not, of course. There are just a fewlogically flimsy ways for Bryant apologists to explain away the statisticalugliness.
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依据NBA.com的资料，他每场比赛与布泽尔一同上场打球超过21分钟，而布泽尔上场/不上场的差异几乎与科比的一样糟。也许这全都是布泽尔的错。
当然了，并非如此。为科比辩驳的人只有一些少少的逻辑上站不住脚的方式能够拿来为丑陋的数据辩解。

Just watching the Lakers, it's obvious whyBryant has hurt the team's production: He eats up possessions withlow-percentage shots, stops the ball on offense and doesn't set the tone ondefense. He gets away with all of this because neither his coach nor histeammates can stop him.
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只要看看湖人队，之所以说科比已经伤害了球队的效益的原因是显而易见的：他用低命中率的投篮耗光了球权、使进攻上的球停住了而且也没为防守定下基调。他逃脱了这一切((而未受责难))是因为他的教练和他的队友们都没人能够阻止他。

Bryant has willed just about everyonearound him into submission, as Grantland's Zach Lowe noted on Twitter:

科比已经让几乎他身边的所有人全部屈服，如同Grantland的Zach Lowe在推特上所指出的。
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Nate Duncan：
如果湖人真的试著让科比无球跑动并且让他得到空位的话，他也许还会是有效率的。但却总是一对一单打。
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Zach Lowe：
没人会被允许去做科比所做的事。不用负责、不受指导等等。太荒唐了。

Nick Young would seem to be the exception,but that's hardly surprising because he has successfully commodifiedself-confidence. The Swaggy P brand is built on unflinching self-assurance.
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尼克杨似乎是个例外，但那不足为奇，因为他已经成功的将自信心商品化。”跩哥”的品牌就是建立在毫不退缩的自信上。

Jeremy Lin is more emblematic of how Bryantmakes his teammates feel. Though neither Lin nor anyone else has spoken outdirectly against Kobe, it's getting easier to read between the lines:

林书豪则更像是科比带给他队友们感受的一种象徵。虽然林或其它人都没人直接发言反对科比，但言语之间却愈来愈容易解读出来了：
林谈到科比的最后一球：”我也喜欢致胜球。我很乐意来投一些。但我理解的。”

Unfortunately for the Lakers, Kobe's support system isn't doing much for him.
But he might be why there's no decent helpon the roster.
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对於湖人队来说不幸的是，科比的队友们(support system)没能给他太多帮助。
但他也许就是阵容当中缺乏像样帮手的原因。
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(不确定support system是不是指队友们，或是指"涵义更大"的什麼)

What Could Have Been
The Lakers lack talent for a number ofreasons.
The NBA intervened three years ago andvetoed a trade that would have brought Chris Paul into the fold. Steve Nash'sbody betrayed him the second he got off the plane at LAX in 2012. Dwight Howardwasn't healthy and couldn't get comfortable with the Lakers (partly because ofBryant, but you get the idea).
<原本可能会有的局面>
湖人队缺乏人才有很多的原因。
NBA三年前干预并且否决了将克里斯保罗引入湖人队的交易案。纳什的身体在2012年於LAX机场步下飞机的那一刻就背弃了他。魔兽不健康而且在湖人队打球也自在不起来(部份是因为科比，但你懂的…)

If we ignore those twists of fate, which isadmittedly tough when analyzing the state of the Lakers, we see that Bryant isstill partially responsible for the weakness of this roster. He makes too muchmoney. And in a league where teams have to operate with finite finances,there's no way to ignore the fact that he's soaking up cash that could havebeen used to strengthen the roster.
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如果我们忽略那些曲折的命运…在分析湖人状态的时候得要承认那些是很难以忽略的…我们会见到科比仍然得为阵容的薄弱负上部分的责任。他赚太多钱了。而在球队必须用有限的资金来运作的联盟当中，不可能去忽略他耗掉了原本可以拿来加强阵容的现金这个事实。

Bryant is entitled to as much compensationas he can get, and it's not his fault ownership shoveled $48.5 million into hislap over the next two years. But we've seen plenty of other stars take less.And if we're trying to logically determine whether the Lakers would be betteroff without Kobe, the cash he's collecting is absolutely a factor.
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科比有权享有他能够得到的最高报酬，而且金主在未来二年把4850万美元扔到他腿上也不是他的错。但我们已经看到有很多其它球星拿了更少的报酬。而如果我们试图从逻辑上判断湖人队没有科比是否会更好？他所拿的钱绝对是个因素。