If the players don't unite, no matter how tactical the coach is, it won't work.
This exposed another issue with Kobe: as the team's leader, he's not that convincing.
After Ah Gan left, Kobe was promoted as the leader of the Trail Blazers. In terms of strength and performance, there's no problem.
But when it comes to age and leadership skills in the locker room, he's far from there.
Especially since he tries to imitate Ah Gan in every way, yet fails at it.
Because fundamentally, he's different from Ah Gan, both in character and philosophical approach.
Trying to force Ah Gan's style onto himself just makes him seem awkward.
In the first season after Ah Gan left the Trail Blazers, Kobe tried to lead the entire team.
The result was that not many people were keen on him, and only Little O would help put on a show.
Even Big Ben sometimes didn't give Kobe face, since they were both in the same class of '96, with three championships. Why should he respect Kobe?
