Say what you will about his personality and personal life off the court, but when it comes to what goes down on the hardwood no one is harder than Kobe. No one. When dude told Steven A. that he wouldn't be ready to pass the torch until he retires, some people laughed it off. It was viewed as just another egoistical delusion by a guy who has problems admitting his shortcomings. In a lot of people's minds, it wasn't up to Kobe to pass it because LBJ had already snatched that title, and with the way LeBron has played so far this season, who could blame them. But the problem was, Kobe wasn't kidding. No matter how lighthearted of a chuckle Mamba gave in the interview, you better believe he was dead serious. You watched the game, right?I'm not going to do a full game recap because I'm assuming the real basketball fans that read this blog saw the game, barring a family emergency. So in case you had a death or birth in the fam, just know that although LeBron outscored Kobe by three points the tweleve assists Kobe had and the ridiculously clutch shots that he hit while LeBron was playing his vastly improved defense on him where pretty much the turning points in the game. The game started out with the usual dap given between the two superstars and LeBron was all smiles and jokes during the first few minutes but after Kobe getting to check LeBron for more than half the game like he requested, getting jumper after jumper knocked down in his face, and a couple of hard fouls by the Lakers on King James, dude was much less chatty during the fourth quarter. They held the camera on the two superstars for about thirty straight seconds before an inbound play in the fourth and there was no jokes, no words, no smiles. China seemed like ages ago.
The part of the game that really showed the difference between the two stars of the night actually wasn't a part of the game at all. After the final buzzer the two embraced at half court as is custom for most guys to show respect to their opponents after a hard fought battle when it looked like LeBron asked "What were those fouls about?" probably referring to the hard foul that was given by Bynum in the third quarter. Kobe looked him in the eyes, patted him on the chest and walked away. Cold blooded. Basicly, not only did Kobe outplay the supposedly already newly crowned MVP of 2009(CP3 is the frontrunner right now, IMO), but the Lakers showed the bitch in him on arguably the biggest non-playoff stage LeBron will play on all season.
Make no mistake about it, Kobe and the Lakers were making a statement. The Lakers as a franchise are tired of wearing that "soft" label that they've had hanging over their head since the Finals last year and beating a great defensive team like the Cavs at their own game was just another step for them on their way to redemption. Kobe's message was even more evident. King James can have the title for being the most likeable, marketable, and for having the most rappers in his top five, but Kobe ain't giving up the big chair yet. Not without a fight. So unless LeBron can lead his team to a ring this year, or until Kobe retires, the King will still be without a crown.
18 comments:
I know it's the Clippers, but it sure is amazing what happens when the guy who has been dropping 10 pts. in every first quarter for about four games in a row keeps getting touches. Get'em Young Drew.
That was my own comment I had to delete. Almost let a secret out! Oops. Anyways, Thanks for the love Mr. Walsh. I know you've been hella busy but we need more BIL Blog updates, homie.
Well seeing as I have an interview with Kadour Ziani coming up, as well as one with an 80's streetball legend from NY...both for BIL, don't worry, I'll come through!
I'd say you guys are a bit biased, no?
Moose, what about what I just wrote down isn't true?
Not most of it; the first part was great. Just, the ending part . . . you implied that LeBron won't be the best player in the league until Kobe retires and/or Bron wins a chip this year . . . that is definitely debatable.
You see Moose it's like this. Once upon a time there was a guy named Grant Hill who was straight killing cats back around 96-97. He was carrying his team to the playoffs, dropping crazy numbers, and basicly playing at an MVP level on a nightly basis. MJ was still setting on his throne but there were people who were ready to crown a new king. Even SLAM had the balls to put Hill on the cover with the title "Just Like Mike, Only Better" and the sad part is that if he had stayed healthy he probably could've been. But what happened during this period is that every time Grant and Mike matched up, when the game or playoff series was over Mike was always on top. Right now, Grant Hill is LeBron, Kobe is Mike.
B. Long, I know about all of the Grant Hill-Jordan stuff. I may be young, but I'm a junkie. But Kobe won't be stealing the MVP's and such, LeBron will get what he deserves. Bron is not Grant Hill, Kobe is not MJ. CHECK HIBACHI 2.0!!!
B, when did Grant Hill lead a team to the playoffs..? Those Pistons teams of the 90's went to the playoffs w/o Grant-he was always hurt. The one year Mr. Hill played any significant playoff minutes, 2000, the Heat swept Detroit 3-0. So I had to correct you on that. Great story on Kobe and 'Bron...
@Moose: yeah 'Bron is definitely not Grant Hill-Bron plays through pain. lol
So anyways, the Lakers suck :D :D
jks good stuff B. You need spell check though.
Uh, Jamey, Grant Hill had a few minor injuries during his time in Detroit but he didn't fall apart until he took the money in Orlando. Russ didn't put that shit on the cover of Slam for nothing.
Fell apart is right-Glass Grant missed just under 300 games between 2000-2009. Just not accurate to compare him to Lebron...
Glad that this is such powerful unbiased reporting at it's finest.
B......give it up, bro. The only people screaming so hard that Kobe is still the man are...........Laker fans.....and media members that are still looking for stories.
Your boy is on the most talented team he has played on in 6 years, so he looks good doing it surrounded by strong players.
Kobe sits 4th among the best players in the game (night to night) not just in one game (moron)and Lebron, CP3 (in your own words) and D-Wade (yeah....how did Kobe's head to heads with him go this season?)all are above Kob in the grand scheme of things.
Why, old man Eboy, would you make such an idiotic statement?
Simple..........they need to be, and are more important to their teams success than your boy is.....and that's why they are more valuable, dum dum.
BTW......nice how you skirted the issue of Paul Pierce having your boys number in head to head encounters (when it matters most)
Oh.....and let's see just how fantastic Bean is when he goes to Cleveland and Boston for the rematches this season. I'm sure Lebron will be terrified to take the court that night and the Celtics may stay at home and not play the game.
Here's a bit of advice......if you're worried that you're losing your place in the game and all you can do is scream about it to try and keep it......it's already game.
Alot of us don't believe everything we read......and yeah, you can learn alot by not being so biased towards a cause that has no hope of keeping up a facade that is less than the best.
Sorry, kid, I know you'll have some dopey response filled with silly puns and insults to the Heat and D-Wade.....which is cool with me.....but the fact remains......your boy is no longer "that" guy. And it's apparent to everyone else that isn''t blinded by purple and yellow loyalty.
Is he still one of the top 5 players in the lig?
Yeah, of course.
Is he still more dangerous on the offensive end on a given night? Yup.
Can he still be game changing? Sure.
The problem is.....he doesn't have to do it every night.....and the other guys do.....that's why they've raised up and Lebron leads that group.
I'd direct you to last nights win over the Warriors for a lesson.....but you'd make it out to be farsical...so fuck it.
it's already game.
*gone*
And since i love you.....here's some rebuttal points that I'm sure you will bring up.
1) Saying that you read lips and came up with some gay analogy of what Lebron said to Kobe after the game is the epitome of reaching.
2) Bringing up Michael's name in any capacity is the ultimate form of stupidity. Just to let you know....since you were a preteen at the time......once Michael won his first title and retired for the second time in 1998.....there was NEVER this type of debate as to who the greatest player in the game was. Only Hakeem got the recognition when Michael was with the Barons and the Scorpions.....and lost it upon Mike's return.
3)As you point out so often that Kobe is the dominat player still today.....explain to me how the Cavs and their second rate star have the same loss total (and one less win) than the King of Machismo? I'll wait.
Damn, E must've been writing his response to this since I posted it. lol. Anyways, You can make an argument for any of the guys that you mentioned as the top player in the League. They're all great players and everyone of them is having an amazing season. The point of the article is that if your gonna hand the title of the best in the game over to someone, that someone better show up and prove it against the guy he's taking the crown from or else the claim loses legitimacy. Look, LeBron is having a MVP caliber season and is definitely having a better individual season than Kobe so far. The same could be said for Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade. All three have legitimate claims to the MVP this year. But there is a big difference between being the MVP for a season and being the best player in the game. IMO, the best player in the game is the player who if you had one game you had to win today and you could pick any player in the world to be on your squad,he's the one you would pick first. Not to build a franchise around for the future, but to win one game today, I'm taking Kobe. LeBron is an incredible player who has the potential to go down as the g.o.a.t. But you have to beat the best to be the best and he hasn't shown he can do that yet. He does make great commercials though.
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