Who Says Laker Stars Can’t Get Along?

Bill Plaschke, once again you seem to have an unbelievable knack for getting the story wrong. You state in your article of Nov. 15 that the Lakers can’t win with an MVP Kobe and that “Laker fans have to live through this again.”

Live through what? Watching a superstar cut through the lane, cross-over his opponent into the first row of Staples and walk on air to thunder dunk? You writers seem to have very short memories: Game 2 Phoenix, Game 7 Portland, Game 4 Pacers. In the big game, Kobe is the man! He was last year and he is again this year.

Kobe spent the summer shooting jump shots; Shaq clearly didn’t spend the summer shooting free throws. Shaq will always dominate weak teams, but when the game is on the line Kobe takes the shot. We all better pray this kid doesn’t get tired of all the sniping in L.A. and gets out of town! Clearly, the Lakers need him more than he needs them!

ANDY BALSZ, Foothill Ranch

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“Five months ago, they were the hands that held a city,” Bill Plaschke writes of sore-thumbed Shaquille O’Neal. I thought that historical-hysterical style retired with Granny Rice.

Plaschke and beat writer Tim Brown seemingly watched different Laker games Tuesday. Of course Brown wasn’t squinting through a pre-written viewpoint. The Lakers cruised and Shaq and Kobe didn’t fistfight at center court, which is where I thought Plaschke’s story was leading.

Relax, Bill. It’s the eighth game. Stop stirring the pot. Back off on the moral judgments. Only New York sportswriters get that shrill this early in the season.

LOU MATHEWS, Los Angeles

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Fresh off the glow of a championship, the Kobe-Shaq soap opera has taken center stage once again. How long can we expect Kobe to take a back seat along with constant criticism from his center and coach, who clearly has had too much of a good thing in his storied career?

Kobe Bryant is a once-in-a-lifetime talent and should be the focus of any team, including this one. That doesn’t mean that Shaq’s role should diminish, only that this movie has two stars who deserve equal billing and support.

JOHN CLARKE, Orange