Kleeman's Last Word

Kobe Scores 53 in Losing Effort

I figured Kobe Bryant would offer his customary gigantic performance against the Houston Rockets Friday night at Staples Center, but sheesh - 53? Again?
In a far cry from the meeting these two clubs had in December, which the Rockets won 102-77, this one came down to the last overtime possession. And anybody who follows the Lakers' star guard knows that's one too many. One shot is all Bryant needs to make it HIS game, to put that odoriferous stamp on the game ball. Yeah, the one that says, "pullback three against a triple team at the buzzer? No problem."
In that December meeting, Dikembe Mutombo passed Kareem Abdul Jabar on the all-time shots blocked list. It may well have been the team's most complete performance without Yao Ming.
Deke didn't swat at any records this time, but his team managed to do something even more important; get ready for the playoffs.
In that final minute of overtime, that had come on the most improbable yet predictable of Bryant 3-pointers, the Rockets found that something that has ailed them most of the season. That hunger to win, to compete at a championship level, reared itself on more than just a dessert platter. It was the main entree and with less than three weeks left in the season there could not be more opportune news.
The Rockets shot an astonishing, season-high 41 free throws and nailed 36 of them. For a team that has been questioned for its lack of consistent post play and physicality, this is also good news.
If you watched the baskets on either side of the court, you noticed something even larger standing in the paint. Yao Ming, the tallest player in all of basketball at 7'6", finally looked like the undefendable Godzilla he was chalked up to be when he was drafted. Not a single Laker had an answer for Yao's dominance in the low block, except to foul him, where he generally went to the line to calmly drop in two free throws. Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, Ronny Turiaf, Andrew Bynum - almost all of them fouled out trying to guard the monstrous Ming.
Then again, no Rocket could stop Kobe Bryant, either.

SOME SIDE NOTES ON KOBE
The post above might carry a much more abrasive tone if the Rockets had let another one slip to the flailing Lakers at Staples Center. Thankfully, they dodged the wounding blow that was Kobe Bryant's 53-point performance and limped off the court as the stoic victors.
And even though it almost caused the Rockets to drop a game behind the Utah Jazz (who lost to the Spurs Friday 102-93) in the hunt for the fourth playoff spot and homecourt advantage in the first round, it was a hell of a 53 to watch.
Say what you want about Bryant. Call him the 'n' word, tell him he's a "dirty player," call him "cocky," question his integrity, call him a rapist.
Whatever Kobe's dissenters are screaming at him, it's working. You're seeing one of the greatest offensive forces in modern basketball light a fire under his ass, the same way he seems to do every time things get critical.
One thing you can never question about him is his work ethic. You don't score 53 points against the 2nd best defense in the entire NBA, three weeks from the playoffs, without some of the most ridiculous skills God ever put in a man.
Bryant may never be placed on that platform with Wilt, Kareem and Air Jordan, but that doesn't change the massive impact his career will have on how the game is played in future decades.
While you're sitting in your living room, drinking Bud Light, and stupidly calling Bryant a "cocky [n-----]," he's in the gym crafting ways to prove you're a dumbass.
For Kobe, being a formidable champion with multiple rings is not enough. Being called one of the best players in the current NBA isn't enough, either.
He's wonderful because he never quits inventing motivational tactics. The kind that make his pull back three pointer at the end of regulation against the Rockets on Friday look like ordinary business.
The MVP won't rest in the hands of a player whose team has lost more than 30 games, not this year.
Expect the trophy to fill the cupped hands of Steve Nash or Dirk Nowitzki when this remarkable season ends in mid-April. This probable reality, however, won't stop Bryant from continuing to believe he has a chance. And as long as he believes, God knows how far his Lakers can go.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 12:03 AM