Kobe Bryant is frustrated, Dwight Howard wants him to chill

Kobe Bryant was angry. Frustrated and pissed off that the Lakers fell to 1-4 in Utah, he was showing everyone. He argued with referee Ed Malloy, he gave Mike Brown a death stare, he stormed off the court after the game, and when asked about it by reporters Kobe basically said he didn’t want to talk about it.

Dwight Howard thinks he needs to chill out. Or at least bottle up that frustration.

It’s a clash of styles that is going to surface if the Lakers continue to lose more than they win. Kobe internalizes, Howard is gregarious. Here is what Howard said about Kobe’s frustrations in Utah, as reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPNLA.com.

“I think sometimes as a team we got to be able to not really show our frustrations that much,” Howard said after L.A. fell to 1-12 with their preseason record included. “A lot of the guys look at me and Kobe and they feed off us, so we have to do a better job of keeping our frustrations on the inside and just playing through it so our teammates won’t get down on themselves. So, we just got to do a better job at that.

“I know [Kobe] was a little frustrated tonight. He wants to win just as bad as all of us do, but we just got to stay together, remember it’s a process, and stay focused.”

Note to Dwight: That was poorly played.

It’s not that Howard doesn’t want to win — you don’t become the best center in the game, a defensive force and lead your team to the finals without that passion.

But to fans, it doesn’t feel that way if you are playing around in the face of losses. If, as Howard did in Utah, hanging on the court to give someone a hug and throw your armband into the crowd. Lakers fans relate to Kobe’s outward shows of frustration — Lakers fans are impatient and pissed and they want their players to reflect that. They want to see you are frustrated. They don’t want another lecture on patience.

What would really solve all this is some wins. Some games where you see signs that they are getting the offense to the point that the turnovers stop. That the Lakers defense is getting set and is a wall. That’s the only thing that will quiet this storm. For now, anyway. Play poorly in the playoffs and this storm will seem like a gentle summer rain.