Thoughts and Reflections on Mamba

But Kobe would not quit. It is against his DNA. Slowly, he brought the Lakers back into the game after an early 17 point deficit, against a Pistons squad renowned for their team defense. With six minutes left in the game, the Lakers were clinging onto a 1 point lead. Kobe had 32 points, many of them on a third quarter rampage that had the entire Pistons squad looking like puppets on strings. Kobe had also locked down Rip on defense, who finished with 7 field goals after hitting 6 the first 8 minutes of play.

How much energy, blood, sweat and tears, is this guy giving up? Kobe is in his 12^th season. Counting 130 playoff games, he has played 14 full seasons of basketball. Of the guys in the league today, only 9 have played more career minutes. And unlike some of the guys higher up on the list, this guy plays his heart out both ends of the floor. I'm thinking to myself, Kobe probably has more mileage on his legs than any active player. He has probably burned more calories on the NBA court than anyone currently lacing up sneakers on the hardwood today. Tonight, Kobe played more than 47 minutes.

Kobe doesn't physically dominate opponents anymore, not the way the rising stars of the next generation do. His shots tonight were on the perimeter. They required immense energy. They required impeccable reading of the defense and attacking at the slightest movement. It pains me to imagine the amount of strength required to create that much separation that late in the game against the wingspan of Tayshaun Prince, the level of concentration required for those 4^th quarter baseline fadeaways against Rip. How many 4:30AM workouts in the offseason? How many hours in the weight room? In the film room? How many two-a-days?

"Many young guys are coming into the league who want carry the label 'best all around player in the league' – but I feel that quest is behind me," Kobe Bryant wrote a few years ago, "I would love to be known as a talented overachiever." This is a guy who gets it. It is not about gloating over your God-given talents, but rather, about giving the best with what you have been given, about daring for greatness and playing for the pure love of the game. "When I run out to start the game, I still get goosebumps..the sound of the sneakers against the hardwood.. the smell of the leather, I just love everything about it."

He hit shot after shot tonight down the stretch in a hostile environment. The elevation was adequate, the separation borderline Jordanesque, the rotation true. Many of them, given the game situation, were of the caliber of momentum killer, crowd silencing, game changing. He executed the game plan to perfection, at least in the second half. He was ready to carry his team to victory, much like he did 2 weeks ago at Key Arena. But tonight, the shortcomings of his teammates would not allow that to happen. Kobe drew 3 Pistons and found Turiaf wide open under the basket with under 20 seconds to go, but Turiaf was unable to convert an open layup after being hit by Rip. An above average inside presence would have ensured 2 points, possibly 3. Turiaf would hit one of 2 free throws.

On the other end, Odom failed to correctly box out and secure a game-winning rebound, much like he did in the 2006 playoffs against Phoenix, when he failed to secure a Phoenix-eliminating rebound. How many near misses are defining Kobe's career? In 2002, Horry missed his trademark 3 by 0.5 inches, which would likely have propelled the Lakers to a championship and Kobe to a Finals MVP. Odom then compounded his mistake by helping on a Billups drive, opening up Tayshaun for a wide open, go-ahead three. Odom, with a mismatch offered by an offball double team on Kobe, would shoot an airball at the other end, but that was just a formality. End score: Lakers 89, Pistons 90. Kobe left his heart and soul on the floor and came out in defeat, again.

My mind drifted over to the rising star of the league, Lebron James, and what he did the night before in a similar situation. In a hostile environment, guarded by Brandon Roy who was considered an excellent defender and ice in the clutch, Lebron James drove to the basket while the opposition parted like the Red Sea, and, without much flair, casually flipped in the game winning layup. It was completely effortless. Now, mind you, Lebron had just single handed decimated one of the hottest teams in the league, on their home floor where they are especially tough. Now, why did that not inspire me? Why did Kobe's effort tonight in a loss inspire me to hit the gym, to get up early for work, to make breakfast for my family, to be the best person I can be?

Lebron is so talented that I cannot relate to him. Last night, he was barely breaking a sweat. He seemed more interested in shutting up the hecklers than in shutting up the Blazers. Mind you, that is absolutely amazing and awesome. How much more satisfying is it to do that? Lebron is on a whole other level. He is a superman.

Kobe isn't at Lebron's, or Jordan's level when it comes to God-given talent and genes. He isn't as explosive as Jordan, not nearly as physically imposing as Lebron, and his smallish hands are his glaring weakness. Jordan and Lebron can physically dominate in a way that Kobe cannot. But in watching Kobe play through the years, the message been translated to me – that humans are imperfect, that humans make mistakes, but that the human spirit, when it humbly acknowledges its place and vows to be the best it can be, is unconquerable. And it is this unconquerable drive that I see being poured out every single game – even down the stretch of Game 5 of the Finals in 2004, when the Lakers were being waxed by the Pistons, when the Palace was on the verge of celebration, when Shaq was on the sidelines emotionless, when Fisher was crying, there was Kobe, hustling his ass off on defense, scrambling, trying to create on offense, and bodying up Rip Hamilton all the way till the final buzzer.

It is those moments that I find communion with Kobe Bryant, with all his strengths and weaknesses, his human imperfections clashing against his drive to be perfect. In ten years, Lebron James will be glorified globally, crowned as the champion of the world, while Kobe Bryant will be largely forgotten, having finished his career without an MVP, without a Finals MVP, and with a rap sheet of negativity and controversy. But there is always a remnant, those who have truly followed his career from day one as a self-centered, cocky 17 year old to a 39 year old humbled veteran with the same undying love and passion of the game, who know that Kobe Bryant has transcended above it all, above even the whimsical nature of individual and team success, and given us a glimpse of the way basketball should be played. Kobe Bryant has inspired me to play basketball, not to impress others, but for the sheer pleasure and love for the game.

"It's a tough loss because I felt like we had the game, but we made mental errors down the stretch," Kobe said. "But I'm encouraged and if we keep playing hard like this on the trip, we'll be all right." Just another day at the office for Kobe, but he won't be here forever. One day, he will be gone like the rest before him. Let's appreciate him while we can still watch him play.

posted by Thoughts and Reflections on Mamba  # 10:53 PM