Kobe's Legacy...
Anybody who knows me should have been well-prepared for my hiatus. It always tends to happen around the time the Dallas Mavericks get bounced from the playoffs and I shrink into a dark depression from which I usually don't emerge until September when NBA Live comes out. Like clockwork. If they do win the title sometime in my lifetime, maybe I'll be so jubilant that I'll want to write every single day of the summer... maybe just one word a day. The posts would be something like "YES!" and "Who run it?" and "67 days until the Mavs defend their title". Unfortunately, this whole journalism/objectivity kick is making me come to the realization that that summer may never come.
But, don't get it twisted. Just because I've been away from the blog doesn't mean I haven't been keeping up. Peep my Facebook and Twitter accounts: they would indicate that I'm probably following basketball more than ever. They're a quick fix for a time-starved father/student/workaholic like me.
Which brings me to my next point: I just finished reading a very interesting Bill Simmons piece on Kobe Bryant in which Simmons makes the point that the "changes" Bryant has made to help the Lakers win their 15th title in franchise history have been overblown, and that the make-up of the team around him has more to do with the team's success.
As usual, my man B-Simms is on point.
It's not all a hatefest, though. He does acknowledge that Bryant has had a remarkably consistent and efficient two-plus years of basketball. Think about it: MVP, All-Star Game MVP, Finals MVP, Gold Medal, NBA Title (obviously not in that order but whatever). I don't care if LeBron James could take off from the outskirts of Cincinatti and dunk while drinking Vitamin Water and texting Jay-Z on a non-qwerty phone: he's going to be hard-pressed to top Bryant on that front.
But, back to the initial point. Yes, Bryant is amazing. 75% of the players in the NBA take ridiculously high-degree of difficulty shots for absolutely no reason at all. Bryant HAS to, because he gets every defender's best game. Hell, J.J. Redick will NEVER be known as a stopper in this league, or even a good defender... or even an adequate defender. But, given the circumstances, he performed fairly well when D'ing up Kobe, much better than anybody will ever give him credit for outside of this blog. Why? It's for the same reason why I would want to check... oh, I don't know... guard Josh Thornton from Towson in a pick-up game: I'm going to elevate my game. He may bust my ass... okay, let me stop: he WILL bust my ass (if Redick is inadequate, I'm an invalid) but he's going to have to work hard to bust my ass.
So yeah, Bryant gets every defender's "A" game, and still manages to shoot mid 40's from the field. In today's NBA where the athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter (on the court), that's amazing. So amazing.
It's amazing.
That being said...
...this group compliments him so well. Pau Gasol. Lamar Odom. Derek Fisher. Trevor Ariza. None of those guys need the ball to dominate. It takes big men to play the roles they've played throughout the past two years. They're not typical NBA players. Try replacing those guys with players of similar talent levels...
Amare Stoudemire (I'll give Pau the benefit of the doubt but STAT is really an upgrade). Shawn Marion. Rafer Alston (sorry, man). Quentin Richardson. Does that team win an NBA championship? In NBA Live, for sure. On the court? Four or five seed in their conference at best (go ahead, flood my Facebook, call me an idiot, but deep down you know I'm right).
It's too big. It's too wide. It's too strong. They don't fit. Those guys all have incredibly big egos. A fight over shots would breakout in the locker room by the third regular season game.
So yeah, I don't buy the whole "Kobe Bryant found Jesus" line, either. Not only were the guys around him well-equipped to succeed, but the Lakers managed to dodge Cleveland and not at 100% Magic and Celtics teams. I think those are the two main reasons why the Lakers won the title.
Given all of that, there's not a player in the world right now I'd rather have on my team than Kobe F. Bryant.
Congrats to all you Lakers' fans, diehard and bandwagon.
See you in September...
...just kidding. The draft's coming up, and you know I'll be all over that.
But, don't get it twisted. Just because I've been away from the blog doesn't mean I haven't been keeping up. Peep my Facebook and Twitter accounts: they would indicate that I'm probably following basketball more than ever. They're a quick fix for a time-starved father/student/workaholic like me.
Which brings me to my next point: I just finished reading a very interesting Bill Simmons piece on Kobe Bryant in which Simmons makes the point that the "changes" Bryant has made to help the Lakers win their 15th title in franchise history have been overblown, and that the make-up of the team around him has more to do with the team's success.
As usual, my man B-Simms is on point.
It's not all a hatefest, though. He does acknowledge that Bryant has had a remarkably consistent and efficient two-plus years of basketball. Think about it: MVP, All-Star Game MVP, Finals MVP, Gold Medal, NBA Title (obviously not in that order but whatever). I don't care if LeBron James could take off from the outskirts of Cincinatti and dunk while drinking Vitamin Water and texting Jay-Z on a non-qwerty phone: he's going to be hard-pressed to top Bryant on that front.
But, back to the initial point. Yes, Bryant is amazing. 75% of the players in the NBA take ridiculously high-degree of difficulty shots for absolutely no reason at all. Bryant HAS to, because he gets every defender's best game. Hell, J.J. Redick will NEVER be known as a stopper in this league, or even a good defender... or even an adequate defender. But, given the circumstances, he performed fairly well when D'ing up Kobe, much better than anybody will ever give him credit for outside of this blog. Why? It's for the same reason why I would want to check... oh, I don't know... guard Josh Thornton from Towson in a pick-up game: I'm going to elevate my game. He may bust my ass... okay, let me stop: he WILL bust my ass (if Redick is inadequate, I'm an invalid) but he's going to have to work hard to bust my ass.
So yeah, Bryant gets every defender's "A" game, and still manages to shoot mid 40's from the field. In today's NBA where the athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter (on the court), that's amazing. So amazing.
It's amazing.
That being said...
...this group compliments him so well. Pau Gasol. Lamar Odom. Derek Fisher. Trevor Ariza. None of those guys need the ball to dominate. It takes big men to play the roles they've played throughout the past two years. They're not typical NBA players. Try replacing those guys with players of similar talent levels...
Amare Stoudemire (I'll give Pau the benefit of the doubt but STAT is really an upgrade). Shawn Marion. Rafer Alston (sorry, man). Quentin Richardson. Does that team win an NBA championship? In NBA Live, for sure. On the court? Four or five seed in their conference at best (go ahead, flood my Facebook, call me an idiot, but deep down you know I'm right).
It's too big. It's too wide. It's too strong. They don't fit. Those guys all have incredibly big egos. A fight over shots would breakout in the locker room by the third regular season game.
So yeah, I don't buy the whole "Kobe Bryant found Jesus" line, either. Not only were the guys around him well-equipped to succeed, but the Lakers managed to dodge Cleveland and not at 100% Magic and Celtics teams. I think those are the two main reasons why the Lakers won the title.
Given all of that, there's not a player in the world right now I'd rather have on my team than Kobe F. Bryant.
Congrats to all you Lakers' fans, diehard and bandwagon.
See you in September...
...just kidding. The draft's coming up, and you know I'll be all over that.
posted by Justin Cherot @ 1:11 AM
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