Yerevan

When the Los Angeles Lakers boarded the plane to tip off the season, they were expected to reach astronomical heights and rightfully so considering they assembled the deepest roster in the league and were fresh off wining an NBA title.

Eleven games and an 8-3 record later, the Lakers have two nail-biting overtime victories, two home defeats and have been largely disappointing as they have trounced teams they should’ve, but failed to show up against the notables, especially in the last week.

Call it early season rust, a championship hangover or simply missing Mr. Euro Pau Gasol, but as we look into their overall play, we can clearly see their flaws, whether it is Phil Jackson’s rotation, Derek Fisher aging by the minute or the team expecting opponents to roll over.

Tops on the list is Kobe Bryant resorting back to his ball hogging days and playing with reckless disband for on-court chemistry, case in point being his paltry performance in Sunday’s loss to the Houston Rockets as he went five of 20 from the field. Andrew Bynum taking an extra shot or two against an undersized Rockets team anyone?

Bryant has no business leading the league in scoring at this stage of the season, his 30 point average already up more than three points than last seasons. But as usual, his starving cohorts fiending for a shot won’t voice displeasure. After all, they never know when they’ll get reduced to the Samaki Walker treatment.

With Bynum coming into his own and dominating like the beast everyone has envisioned and patiently waited for him to be, it is downright pitiful the way Kobe has ignored him in the previous four games.

After returning from a brief two-game layoff because of an elbow injury, Bynum’s numbers of 20.7 points, 13 rebounds and 2.5 blocks are reminiscent of a certain other big fella that dominated the bright yellow paint from 1996-2004.

With Staples Center resembling that of a matchbox as it caters to Bryant’s ego, Bynum’s game will suffer and his ceiling will never be tapped if the season continues to play out this way. Why can’t Bryant live with himself if someone other than him becomes a focal point of the team?

I’m not the soccer mom here calling for harmonious play and everyone getting to take turns so we can all drink a pouch of Capri Sun after the game, but selfishness has its limits.

With Gasol’s return around the corner, Bryant’s offensive output will drop and so will Bynum’s – but the problem is bigger than that.

Is it just me, or does Bryant hate feeding his centers – or anyone else for that matter?