CLEVELAND - Kobe Bryant was a basketball prodigy long before he joined the NBA, but his pro career, though outstanding can also be described in a not-so-endearing word.Incomplete.
Bryant leads the Los Angeles Lakers into the NBA Finals tonight against man-child Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. After a sterling career that has still somehow fallen short of expectations and potential, and a crushing defeat in last season's championship series to the Boston Celtics, Bryant looks more focused than ever to capture his long awaited 4th title and silence those who believe he needs to win one without Shaquille O'Neal as the leading man. Bottom line: Kobe's basketball legacy rests on this series.
I know I know. Bryant has won scoring titles, league MVP honors and been a perennial member of the All-NBA Defensive team. Heck, he was even a major player on the L.A. Lakers when they won 3 straight NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. The problem with Kobe is twofold; while it is true that Shaquille O'Neal needed guys like Bryant, Robert Horry, Brian Shaw and Derek Fisher to win those titles, it is also true that Bryant back then was more expendable than was O'Neal -- in spite of his [Kobe's] great talent. Shaq was the unique force of nature that no other team possessed while Bryant was a mega talented wing player and many teams had one of those. O'Neal by the way, captured another championship, albeit as a secondary player with the Miami Heat in 2006 with Dwyane Wade leading the way. Kobe hasn't won with any of the top players he's played with since O'Neal's departure following the Lakers' shocking loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.
Bryant's other problem is that most of his greatest moments on the court have come in the regular season. His signature game is clearly his astounding 81 points versus the Raptors in 2006, but it was a meaningless game against a far inferior opponent in the ho-hum NBA days of January. Though the feat was awesome, it hardly ranks with iconic playoff moments from legends like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
During that high-scoring 2005-06 season, Bryant averaged 35.4 points per game. In addition to the amazing 81 point game, he scored 62 points in just three quarters against the Mavericks and a season later had a 65- point explosion and another 60 point game. This season, Bryant set a Madison Square Garden record with a 61 point showcase. Each of these games won him major praise, but in the grand scheme of things, they are irrelevant flourishes of offensive excellence that amount to nothing but oohs and ahs.
Not championships.
Jordan, the player that Bryant has been compared to for his entire 13 NBA seasons, scored at will just like Kobe. MJ won 10 NBA scoring titles and owns the highest career scoring average in league history. But Jordan's most iconic moments came in the postseason, first in the early rounds (an NBA record 63 points versus Boston in 1986, a buzzer-beating series clinching jumper over the Cavs in 1989), then in both the conference Finals and NBA Finals. Regular season moments like MJ's 69 points in 1990 or his 64 points in a 1993 loss to Orlando register far down the scale on his brilliance chart because of his myriad playoff feats.
He also led the Chicago Bulls to six championships in one decade as the leading man.
Kobe was wondrously talented in his early years in the league. He was also a pretentious, arrogant and unpolished brat that seemed to believe he would be better off without O'Neal's low-post dominance. What evolved into a fierce juggernaut of a team deteriorated into a messy divorce and a lackluster Lakers team. From 2005 to 2007, they were largely an afterthought in the Western Conference while Bryant, finally the driver of the ship grew more and more frustrated and disenchanted with the organization.
It was the unreal trade of the super trash Kwame Brown for all-star Pau Gasol that turned the Lakers into a force. Young Andrew Bynum greatly improved and Bryant suddenly was happy and encouraged. When they ran into the Celtics' buzz saw in the 2008 NBA Finals, it could've been said that Gasol's mid-season arrival wasn't enough time for the team to find its true identity.
Whatever.
This season, Gasol has been around since training camp and erstwhile star Lamar Odom has exhibited flashes of excellence. The whole time, Kobe has been his usual transcendent self. Now, his powerhouse team faces an underrated but highly skilled Magic team that are riding a wave of exuberance after their unexpected dispatching of the favored Cleveland Cavaliers in the East Finals. It won't be easy for L.A. if they are to win this series and claim their 15th NBA title. They don't seem to feel the pressure, but it is there.
Especially on Kobe Bryant.
No comments:
Post a Comment