Launching as many shots as Kobe does a night is like feeding a slot machine nonstop for weeks. Sooner or later it is going to pay out. Less though, probably, than what you dumped into it.

So what's the point?

Kobe scores 50 just about every game these days, but there isn't going to be jackpot at the end of all those 3-point rainbows. The chances of the Lakers making an extended playoff run are about as good as Al Roker winning a triathlon.

Speaking of big men, Shaquille O'Neal has done just fine since his messy divorce from Kobe, winning another championship last season. Kobe meanwhile, disappeared in Game 7 of last year's playoff series against the Suns, taking just three shots -- three shots! -- in the second half of the Lakers' loss.

During the regular season, Kobe, in effect, tells his teammates they can't win unless he carries the offense. During the crucible of the playoffs, Kobe tells them it's time they did the heavy lifting.

Ramblin' Mike never has been accused of looking as though he just stepped out of a GQ magazine. He's more Brooks & Dunn than he is Brooks Brothers. Strange, then, that Ramblin' is over there telling you to choose style over substance.

No NBA player, with the exception of Bill Russell, is more of a winner than Jordan. He won championships with a stiff named Luc Longley at center and by deferring title-clinching shots to lunch pail players such as John Paxson and Steve Kerr.

For Kobe, deferring to a teammate means telling Kwame Brown to wax his Bentley.

Kobe couldn't lead a pack of Boy Scouts to a Baskin-Robbins. Kobe is all about Kobe. Winning? Yeah, that's cool, too.

In today's NBA, there are plenty of players better suited to carry teams to championships. Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, an aging Shaq and maturing LeBron James all come to mind.

Kobe is talented, but let's see him score 80 -- or at the very least 63 as Jordan did in the playoffs against the 1986 Boston Celtics -- in a game that matters.

Until then, Kobe's game is merely cherry's jubilee to Jordan's medium-well Porterhouse steak.

Sweet to watch, but in the end not very satisfying.

Contact sports editor Loren Nelson at (760) 740-3551 or lnelson@nctimes.com.