Written by Graham Brunell
Kobe Bryant is associated with some of the league's greatest players, stars such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. People jumped on James because he failed to meet with the press or shake hands with any Orlando Magic players after a game 6 loss that sent the Cavs home. People couldn't talk about Carmelo Anthony without bringing up the fact that he hadn't gotten past the first round until this year.
And Kobe Bryant? Kobe has to take the crushing blow of a loss along with the constant blames from fans or media members. He's made the scapegoat not only by the loudmouths in the bleachers, but by the celebrities in the front row. It doesn't matter if he scores 31 points and dishes out eight assists (conveniently his statline from Tuesday night) -- what matters is that the Lakers lost.
More often than not have I heard Kobe's name mentioned when LA loses by four points than when LA loses by 24 points. Why? Because Kobe's supposed to be calm. Kobe's supposed to be collected. Kobe's supposed to be clutch. Kobe's supposed to be a leader. But all the time? I don't think so.
From Red's Army:
Exactly. How can you expect a guy who carries close to all the weight on his back (from a leadership perspective, as he certainly has some talent around him that didn't do too much either last night) to continue to step up on every occasion? Heck, that's like asking a baseball player to hit a walk-off every time he gets the chance to. Like asking a quarterback to throw a spot-on hail mary every time he gets the chance to.Maybe Kobe was a little gassed at the end of Game 3... but who isn't at that point? But the point of those pieces... and the countless others like them... is that Kobe is run down from two full finals runs and the Olympics. As much as I'd like to believe that... I just don't think it's true. If he was run down, he wouldn't have gone INTO Denver in Game 6 and shot 60%. He wouldn't have taken over games down the stretch like he did in Game 2.
But what these pieces don't seem to consider at all, is that sometimes even superstars miss shots. Sometimes, even superstars turn it over in the clutch. It happens. And it happened last night. The Magic played some good defense. Courtney Lee stepped up. And Kobe Bryant had a bad game.
It happens.
That's like asking Kobe Bryant to hit the three in clutch situations. Every time.
That's like asking Kobe Bryant to make the defensive stop. Every single time.
That's like telling Kobe Bryant that one turnover at any single stinkin' point of the game would cause the Lakers to lose.
No one can do it. Not even The Black Mamba.
So Bryant lost a step because he had been working his butt off for 40+ minutes. And not just last night. He goes through the same process every game he plays. This year, it resulted in the Lakers getting the number one seed and getting a second chance to win a Finals ring.
You know what's even more amazing to me? How Bryant continues to produce and come through for the Lake-show on a regular basis, despite all the put-downs, the "put-up or shut-up" remarks, and the insults.
The cries of "fraud" and "fake" are heard steadily by Bryant. By loyal Lakers fans, by hated Celtics fans. And maybe people (including me) need to start realizing that Kobe is the best "night in, night out" guy (although overall, I still think LeBron's better). Especially when it comes to that three-pointer. That defensive stop. Taking care of the ball.
But you know what just puts me over the edge? What makes me furious? Ungrateful LA fans such as the one who composed the excerpt below:
The Lakers endured swish after swish against what became the hottest-shooting team in NBA Finals history, yet still tied it up in the final three minutes.And to think I used to like Bill Plaschke. What awful taste I have in journalists. I used to like Adrian Wojnarowski too... That is, until this:
Then Bryant gasped.
The Lakers still had a chance in the final minute, trailing by a basket with their best player dribbling the ball.
Then Bryant coughed.
The ending was remarkable in that, this being the first Finals win in Magic franchise history, Amway Arena was filled with falling confetti and the incessant wail of a foghorn.
It was also remarkable in that the game's best closer was just too darn exhausted to do anything about it.
Kobe Bryant(notes) clenched a fist of self-loathe, reached back and pounded his forehead. He hit himself again, and again, and again in the Los Angeles Lakers huddle. Perhaps this wasn't so much about that missed free throw in the final seconds, but his own monumental miscalculation. Bryant had come out throwing haymakers at the Orlando Magic, trying his damndest for the TKO.Oh god. Give me a break. Are you seriously penalizing this guy for supposedly not prevailing in the final minutes? Deeming him a loser and a choker? Washed-up?
For his failures, Kobe Bryant paid a steep price. This had been impatient Kobe, the restless Kobe and make no mistake: He punched himself out in Game 3. Too much, too soon. Here it was late in the fourth quarter, late in a Lakers comeback and Bryant was fighting fatigue, fighting himself. Bryant's gone so hard, for so long, and maybe that's an immense part of the reason Bryant was so hellbent on taking the life out of these Magic, the belief.
Willing heart, wobbly legs.
Are you really flushing all of Kobe's achievements down the toilet? Ignoring all his game winners? His 15-20 point fourth quarters?
Sing a new song Bill Plaschke and Adrian Wojnarowski. Kobe will give you guys something to cheer about next time.
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