Thoughts and Reflections on Mamba

When Tim Thomas swished a three off a pumpfake in the last minutes, all thoughts shifted back to game 6 of the Laker series when he saved the Suns season. Luckily for Dallas, they are a better team than Los Angeles.

Speaking of better team, Dallas showed their grit and determination tonight. Dirk Nowitski has transformed his game before our eyes. He is taking the ball to the rack more often, and simply does not settle anymore for the 18 foot fadeaway. In years past, he would simply shoot over the defense, resulting in fast-break buckets for the opponents, and a disjointed flow to the offense, but now, he driving it in, drawing fouls, slowing down the pace of the game, and scoring at a higher clip. His rebounding is also up. He is, as we all know, a matchup nightmare.

Major props to Josh Howard and Jason Terry as well. They stepped up their game, especially Josh Howard with 29 much needed points. The Suns were completely poised for an upset. Nash has simply incredible court vision and sense. He makes the game so easy for his teammates. Put Boris Diaw on another team, and I guarantee you he will still be a no-name.

Dallas would be nowhere without DeSagana Diop, he unsung hero of game 7. He is the only Dallas player to slow down Tim Duncan, and tonight he changed the complexity of the Dallas defense again, by bothering Diaw and Nash.

I believe this will be, like the Detroit Miami series, a 7 game seesaw affair.

Here's an example of media adoration for Nash / media bias against Kobe. Marc Stein wrote this in the ESPN Daily Dime:

This was not a surrender from Steve Nash. This was not Nash showing us his Kobe Bryant imitation. This was certainly no show of mercy to Mark Cuban's team.
So scrap any such suspicions.
The reason Nash attempted only one second-half shot for the Phoenix Suns on Friday night?
There were two reasons, actually.
Reason No. 1: Nash's determination to create shot opportunities for his teammates went too far in this Game 2 and gradually took him out of the crunch-time attack mode he is known to shift into whenever he comes back to Dallas . . . prompting Nash to bash himself afterward for losing his aggressiveness.
Reason No. 2: The Mavericks did what they didn't do in Game 1 by frequently sending two defenders at Nash after halftime and conceding open looks at the 3-point line. When Phoenix finally cooled off late, to go with the Suns' 1-for-13 freeze at the end of the first quarter, Dallas had the impetus to secure a must-have 105-98 triumph that finally gives it a Western Conference finals victory in its own building.

Marc Stein maintains that Nash did the right thing by creating shot opportunities for his teammates when Dallas aggressively double teamed him. However, Marc Stein maintains that Kobe quit the game when he created shot opportunities for his teammates when Phoenix aggressively double teamed him. Marc Stein lauds Nash's "determination" in getting his teammates involved, while criticizing Kobe's "selfishness and personal issues" in doing the exact same thing, creating shot opportunities for his teammates.

Now, I have already shown you guys that Kobe did the right thing by not trying to score 50 in game 7 (by the way, can you imagine the headlines if he did that? "Kobe Ballhog" "Kobe Lack of Trust in Team Game" "Kobe Goes it alone, #2"). Nash did the right thing tonight as well. Why bring up an unwarranted Kobe comparison and stir the fires of controversy?

So in conclusion, either Marc Stein has a personal agenda to make Kobe look bad at every opportunity, or he holds Kobe to a much higher standard than Nash, such that he expects Kobe to destroy double teams and beat a team by himself. But if he holds Kobe to a higher standard, thereby acknowledging his greatness, then why did he support Nash for MVP?

Just some food for thought. Media bias? Believe me, there's a lot more where that came from.

Here it is, my first opportunity to afford you guys a glimpse into my mind concerning all things basketball. Let's get right to it.

Yes, I know that we are entering the conference semifinals with a pair of intriguing matchups, but I will talk about that next time. Right now, I need to clear some air about all the flak that Kobe Bryant has been receiving from the media.

Here is it: Kobe Bryant is the best all-around player in the league. Many persons, including Barkley, Phil, Lebron, Steven A Smith, Dan Patrick, and many players in the NBA agree with that assessment. He is also the most hated player in the league, because of his off-court issues and his distant personality. Any guy who puts up his numbers, his highlights, and impacts his team in such a positive manner simply should not be left off any MVP ballot, but this player was left off the top 5 of 22 MVP ballots. Tell me that isn't personal.

Kobe is the best all-around player in the league because of two main reasons: skill and mentality. Simply put, he is the most versatile, skilled player in the league, and he is also one of the most competitive, never-give-up-even-under-impossible-odds warriors we have ever seen, right up there with Jordan and Bird. Allow me to further elaborate.

Versatility:

Kobe Bryant can be the 81 point gunner, the guy who outscores the entire Dallas team by himself, 62-61. In this aspect, he has surpassed Jordan in terms of talent and creativity

Kobe Bryant can be the three point specialist, the guy who can kill the double team. He can be Damon Jones if his coach wanted him to be. When Kobe gets hot, it's like a Hollywood script down in Staples. He tied the NBA record with 12 threes in a game.

Kobe Bryant can be a defensive stopper, a Bruce Bowen clone, if his role were entirely defensive. This year, he has shut down the likes of Vince Carter and Ray Allen. In the past, he has shut down Tracy Mcgrady. He has also shut down Allen Iverson and Reggie Miller in the NBA finals. He also played "series-changing defense," as Marv Alberts said, on Tony Parker, to reverse a 0-2 series deficit to a 4-2 series win in the 03-04 season conference semifinals. This year, he is once again 1st team all defense. He single-handedly played good enough defense to take the NBA finals MVP trophy away from Rip Hamilton (who was then the face of the Pistons, if you remember, and their MVP) and into Billups' hands, and had people guessing that Wallace might end up the MVP after switching to Billups the final game and a half, to alleviate GP's embarassment.

Kobe Bryant can be a Vince-Carter like show-stopper.

Kobe Bryant possesses one of the best crossovers in the league, something he doesn't use anymore due to double teaming and his maturation process.

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are the only two wing players ever to possess the fade-away jumper as a legitimate primary scoring option.

Kobe Bryant can execute the triangle offense flawlessly. According to Tex Winters, Kobe is far ahead of Jordan on the learning curve, although, of course, Jordan is still ahead overall.

Kobe Bryant can play point guard, so good is his passing ability and ball handling skills. Having watched the Lakers forever, I tell you he never misses an open teammate - he may shoot it nonetheless, but that is due to his judgement, not any limit of court vision.



Competitiveness / Desire:

Here's a scene that says it all. Game 5 of the NBA finals. The Lakers are down late in the Palace. The Pistons are already showboating. Fisher is crying. Shaq is listless. He hadn't grabbed a rebound in many minutes of play. The entire Lakers bench is down.
But Kobe is still out there, busting himself, chasing after loose balls, playing with incredible energy on both ends of the floor, bodying up Rip Hamilton while his team is down 15+ with a few minutes to play. Only when the buzzer sounds and the Pistons celebrate does he walk off.

How many big shots has he hit in his career? I cannot even begin to count. I might do a daily rewind of big Kobe shots.


Kobe Bryant took the Suns to the brink, and only an incredible three by Tim Thomas after three, count them, three missed rebounds by the Lakers, kept the Lakers from an improbable upset. Think about it this way: other than Kobe and Odom, who on the Lakers would even make the Phoenix squad? Smush Parker wouldn't beat out Nash or Barbosa. Kwame wouldn't even beat out Kurt Thomas. The other starter, Luke Walton? It's a wash between him and James Jones, the Suns' 6th wingman. Place Kobe with Mcgrady, Pierce, Wade, even Lebron, and were talking lottery. Remember, this is the western conference, and you cannot make the playoffs with a sub-500 record.

It's a shame that Kobe had to defend himself on national TV about, of all things, his competitiveness. That is what separates him from the rest. He never gives up, and he hates losing.

Kobe Bryant is all about following the gameplan. He is past the stage of padding his stats in a losing effort. Maybe a few years ago, he would have scored 50 in game 7 and lost by 20, to make himself look good and his teammates bad. Not this year. He is a 27 year old vet now, and he is out there to win the game as a team. Out there to re-live the game 4 situation where he took 14 shots and they won, with defense and a team effort.

No one player can fill Jordan's shoes.
No one player has received as much hate as Kobe.
Sports is sports. Athletes shouldn't be our off-court role models.
Let's learn to limit sports into its own sphere. Take everything else out of the discussion, so that only the pure game itself remains, and it becomes all the more clear: Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league today.