This night is about the Celtics. It will be a long time before I get over the 131 points they dropped on the Lakers. Still I'd like to touch on a few Kobe Bryant related points. Like it or not he's a massive figure in the NBA.
- I found this post comparing Kobe Bryant to Dirk Nowitzki interesting. I actually see the Lakers bouncing back from this because their personnel is far superior than Dallas'. Still interesting stuff.
- Hypothetically speaking what happens if Team USA plays team Spain in Beijing when the Olmpics roll around? Of course I'm talking about Men's Basketball. Is there a chance that Kobe tries to destroy his Lakers teammate (Pau Gasol) in a way that is eerily reminiscent of the way MJ and Pippen went after Toni Kukoc and his Croatian squad?
- I liked Kelly Dwyer's take on Kobe following Game 5:
"You see, that Laker offense still hasn't risen from the depths. Sure, they put up 103 points overall (and 39 in the first quarter) against the best defense in basketball, but the Triangle as we knew it still hasn't returned. Kobe Bryant "set the tone early on" (come on) with 15 first quarter points including 12 off of three-pointers (4-5 mark), but those were crummy shots.Kobe can nail long range bombs with the best of them, but pulling up off the dribble for fallaway 25-footers? Hardly setting a foundation to work off of. And people act surprised when he misses all four of his three-point attempts to finish the game. And his 3-13 shooting mark over the final three quarters, yeah, that was a result of having to work through an offense that Bryant (the game's most knowledgeable on-court Triangle offense practitioner) failed to set up in the opening minutes." - Kelly Dwyer
I definitely thought of that tonight. By the way I also thought the following during games 4 and 5: Kobe's trying to have his MJ versus the Blazers three pointers game.
- Remember during the All Star Break when J.A. Adande asked NBA players who they wanted to see win a championship besides themselves? Well Kevin Garnett and Steve Nash came up a lot. Only one guy refused to answer:
"There was one notable abstention in the voting: the ultra-competitive Kobe Bryant 'If it ain't us, I don't care,' Kobe said." - J.A. Adande
Well KG got his. And so did Allen, Allen, Pierce, Posey, Rondo, Perkins, Powe, and everyone else. Enough Kobe talk. Great job Celtics.