Kobe Bryant delivers for everybody

[reno]

By Henry Abbott

 

"First, the basics: Bryant finished with 42 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Watch the highlights and you'll see him not just hitting big shots, but also getting big assists. Heroic, to be sure.

 

But from the play-by-play, here's what he did with the game on the line Tuesday night. With just under five minutes to play in regulation, he hit a jumper to put the Lakers up by seven. (By no measure does a seven-point lead with five minutes to go even count as crunch time. The game's not close enough. But it was about to get close.) Here's what Bryant did next, with stars by the positive contributions:

 

Fourth quarter

 

* 4:30 missed 20 footer

* 3:44 assist to Lamar Odom*

* 3:00 bad pass turnover

* 2:26 missed seven-foot jumper

* 1:16 made 19-foot jumper*

* 0:10 missed nine-foot jumper

 

Overtime 1

 

* 4:33 missed 20-foot jumper

* 3:29 missed nine-foot jumper

* 3:20 missed 13-footer

* 2:04 assist to Odom*

* 1:27 assist to Artest*

* 1:17 rebound*

* 0:14 missed 3

 

Overtime 2

 

* 4:28 offensive rebound*

* 4:00 two made free throws*

* 3:42 defensive rebound*

* 3:42 turnover (Grant Hill steal)

* 3:18 defensive rebound*

* 3:08 20-foot jumper*

* 1:47 one of two free throws*

* 0:36 shot blocked by Marcin Gortat

 

Overtime 3

 

* 4:03 offensive rebound*

* 4:03 putback attempt, miss

* 3:26 missed 22-foot jumper

* 2:30 draws a foul on Hill*

* 2:18 draws a foul on Hill, who fouls out*

* 2:09 made 3*

* 0:44 18-foot miss

* 0:14 made 11-footer*

 

 

Everyone goes home remembering the 3 at the end of the third overtime, and most importantly the make to win the game with 14 seconds left in a classic.

 

The box score and the highlights confirm a tremendous performance. The analysis can end there, and Bryant is the best crunch time performer in the game.

 

But if we're crowning kings of crunch time, in some way we have to account for 11 missed shots in the the most important chunk of the game. Not to mention: four made shots, three of four free throws, five rebounds, three assists, two turnovers and fouling out Hill. How to weigh all that?

 

A great player, on a great team, who won yet another game with a big bucket. But also a player who was lucky enough to be able to fire away near the end of regulation and the first two overtimes and miss them all. A player who went about eight minutes, encapsulating the first overtime, without hitting a field goal. A player who had the ball in his hands most of the time as his heavily favored home team turned a seven-point lead into a cliffhanger.

 

And that brings us to the ultimate point of all this. It's not about Bryant. It's not about the Lakers. It's not even about basketball.

 

It's about assumptions. They're not good enough anymore. Not in a world of nearly limitless evidence.

 

Yes, Bryant is a hell of a player, and he blatantly brings something special to crunch time. But if you want to convince anyone that he's by far the best, you're going to have to explain all those teammates left open, and all those misses, and his shot selection, which are entirely in keeping with evidence gathered from his entire career."

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/26698/kobe-bryant-delivers-for-everybod

[AboveLegit]

He made some bad decisions by going iso when he could have played more unselfishly, yeah he made some amazing players (like the clutch 3 and the amazing pass to Gasol), but it wasn't close to a truly great Kobe Bryant performance if you ask me. 6-17 in the last 5 mins of the 4th and in the three OT periods is pretty bad. He also had some crucial turnovers.

 

At one point in the game he was 10-15 from the field and wasn't forcing anything. This is when I think he's at his best, being the playmaker of the offense and taking shots only when the team needs him to. Don't get me wrong, it was a good performance by him, he ended up shooting close to 50% which is terrific for a SG, but it could have been much better. The game against the Knicks a while ago is just what I'm talking about, 33 pts in 28 mins on 17 shots, probably his best game of the season.

 

He's averaging around 33mpg this year, so give him props, he cranked up the intensity and played 48 minutes on a bum ankle. He took and made some difficult shots, and that's exactly what we expect from him.

[The Regime]

So let me get this straight, Kobe goes for 42, 12, and 9, with the highest +/- of any player on the floor but because he missed 11 shots over the span of half a quarter plus 3 OT periods in one particular game he loses all credibilty of being arguably the best closer in the game? LOL.

 

And that brings us to the ultimate point of all this. It's not about Bryant. It's not about the Lakers. It's not even about basketball.

 

It is all about Kobe and the Lakers. Abbott rides the Blazers, and finds every possible way to bash Kobe. Where was this article when Kobe hit the dagger over Portland a couple days back?

[EastCoastNiner]

He also gets divorce papers handed to him after games.......

 

[alcstarheel]

That's bull. In those situations those guys are still looking to Kobe to take the shots. They don't want to potentially make dumb plays because that light will shine very brightly on them. Kobe doesn't give a flying eff. If he was worried about scrutiny on his mistakes he'd be passing in the 4th like many other players tend to do.

 

Did you like that slight shot at LeBron as much as I did?

[Erick Blasco]

So let me get this straight, Kobe goes for 42, 12, and 9, with the highest +/- of any player on the floor but because he missed 11 shots over the span of half a quarter plus 3 OT periods in one particular game he loses all credibilty of being arguably the best closer in the game? LOL.

 

 

 

It is all about Kobe and the Lakers. Abbott rides the Blazers, and finds every possible way to bash Kobe. Where was this article when Kobe hit the dagger over Portland a couple days back?

 

But he didn't play good basketball down the stretch and there's this assumption A) that Kobe is superman, B) that because Kobe is the best player in the game excuses him from playing bad basketball.

 

Abbott's point isn't made in isolation, it's been a bone he's been picking with Kobe for the past at least six months or so mostly about the assumption that Kobe is infallible in the clutch. He's not. He has failed his team at times by getting beat by good defense, and he's failed his team at times by ignoring the offense and dragging it down. Coach Nick just broke down the Suns-Lakers game and it showed Kobe make a whale of bad offensive plays.

 

And again with the assumption that Kobe is a god in the clutch, he did shoot 4-15 down the stretch and it's largely ignored and laughed off by fans like Confidence. Abbott's right. That isn't good enough. The free pass isn't good enough. Does that mean that I don't have Kobe on my supershort list of players I want with the ball in their hands down? Of course not. But I'm willing to look at the evidence and examine some factors, something too many people ignore.

 

Because I could just reply to Confidence with something like "Kobe just shot 4-15 during the clutch yet he's the game's best closer LOL" and nothing comes out of it. AboveLegit took a more critical approach and tried to negotiate Kobe down the stretch with what he did for the entire game, past Kobe games (vintage Kobe reference), some good plays Kobe made, and the expectation he has for Kobe. It's a much more mature post and you can take more out of that.

[Erick Blasco]

And by the way, Coach Nick destroys Vince Carter and talks about the key moments during Suns-Lakers. Check it out!

 

[Erick Blasco]

That's bull. In those situations those guys are still looking to Kobe to take the shots. They don't want to potentially make dumb plays because that light will shine very brightly on them. Kobe doesn't give a flying eff. If he was worried about scrutiny on his mistakes he'd be passing in the 4th like many other players tend to do.

 

Did you like that slight shot at LeBron as much as I did?

 

Didn't Kobe's teammates prove their worth by winning a title last year? I'd like you to tell Derek Fisher that he's scared to make dumb plays because the light will shine brightly on him. Artest's huge 4th quarter of Game Seven was as big a proponent to the Lakers winning a Championship last year as anything. Not passing the ball to open teammates is bad basketball, no excuses.

[Real Deal]

Not passing the ball to open teammates is bad basketball, no excuses.

Unfortunately, basketball isn't that simple. Ask Nick how well Ron and Fish are shooting their open jumpers this season. Throw Blake into the mix as well, and go look at Brown's decline since he started with a month or so of 50% - 40% - 90%.

 

I hope Nick watches every single Lakers game.

 

Want to know what all of the Lakers shot in the fourth quarter, sans Kobe? They were 4-12 (and they were 2-6 before Kobe came back in with seven to go). Why don't we talk about that? Gasol missed two layups in that 4th, one blocked by Dudley.

 

Third quarter, the Lakers (sans Kobe) shot 7-14 from the floor and built a 21-point lead, until Nash hit three consecutive threes and decided to bring Phoenix back into the game.

 

By the time Kobe came back in, it was 101-99.

 

If we're going to drown everything in numbers, we can talk about how poorly some of these guys shoot every single quarter, not just 6-8 minutes. Might as well dig into why Kobe has to turn the triangle into the Bryangle as well...it's pretty evident it's not his fault just by watching the way his teammates play.

 

Jackson demands it out of Bryant when the team is struggling. He did the same with MJ...shoot for the rest of the night, and try to drag the team through the muddy regular season game.

 

When the Lakers make their shots, like they were doing in the third, they are champs. When they don't, it's Kobe time...and there's no other option because Gasol is not a demanding post, Odom is not Scottie Pippen, and Fisher is not a true point guard. Kobe will shoulder the blame, win the game and take the 13-1 post-ASW record into the locker room, knowing he's leading the best team in the league right now and STILL hearing nitpicking from all angles.

[Erick Blasco]

Unfortunately, basketball isn't that simple. Ask Nick how well Ron and Fish are shooting their open jumpers this season. Throw Blake into the mix as well, and go look at Brown's decline since he started with a month or so of 50% - 40% - 90%.

 

I hope Nick watches every single Lakers game.

 

Want to know what all of the Lakers shot in the fourth quarter, sans Kobe? They were 4-12 (and they were 2-6 before Kobe came back in with seven to go). Why don't we talk about that? Gasol missed two layups in that 4th, one blocked by Dudley.

 

Third quarter, the Lakers (sans Kobe) shot 7-14 from the floor and built a 21-point lead, until Nash hit three consecutive threes and decided to bring Phoenix back into the game.

 

By the time Kobe came back in, it was 101-99.

 

If we're going to drown everything in numbers, we can talk about how poorly some of these guys shoot every single quarter, not just 6-8 minutes. Might as well dig into why Kobe has to turn the triangle into the Bryangle as well...it's pretty evident it's not his fault just by watching the way his teammates play.

 

Jackson demands it out of Bryant when the team is struggling. He did the same with MJ...shoot for the rest of the night, and try to drag the team through the muddy regular season game.

 

When the Lakers make their shots, like they were doing in the third, they are champs. When they don't, it's Kobe time...and there's no other option because Gasol is not a demanding post, Odom is not Scottie Pippen, and Fisher is not a true point guard. Kobe will shoulder the blame, win the game and take the 13-1 post-ASW record into the locker room, knowing he's leading the best team in the league right now and STILL hearing nitpicking from all angles.

 

 

From three, Fisher's shooting 39.9%. Artest is shooting 36%. Good and respectable. Kobe is shooting 33% from three.

 

With the 2-6 shooting, Kobe does have the ability to make his teammates better, and shots do even out. He constantly makesscoring harder than it needs to be.

[Real Deal]

From three, Fisher's shooting 39.9%. Artest is shooting 36%. Good and respectable. Kobe is shooting 33% from three.

That doesn't mean they need to take another 2-3 of them a game. I'd rather keep playing championship basketball, and not turn into the Orlando Magic.

 

Bryant putting pressure on the defense allows those two to get off those shots, no matter if Kobe is making or missing jumpers against elite defensive players (I've considered Hill an elite defender for a while now, as long as he has two ankles).

 

Kobe being "very predictable" to some teams means he's going to come down and draw a lot of defensive attention late in the game. Boston figured Kobe was going to take a big shot in Game 7 of the Finals, but it went to Ron Artest, who had a clean look at the basket...and that shot was huge.

 

At the end of the day, Kobe doesn't care about his numbers. He was one assist away from a triple-double in the Phoenix game, and 15-16 game-minutes later, he still didn't have it because he was so dead-set on fouling Grant Hill out of the game.

 

Plus, Kobe has been getting fouled over and over again on his jumpers, and the refs aren't calling it because he's not attacking the rim like LeBron does. He went ballistic in the Portland game, probably the angriest I've seen Kobe in a long time, after getting hit 2-3 consecutive times in the arm and getting bumped on a jumper before that. He was completely screwed over in the last LA/Miami game, three different instances of it late in the fourth.

 

Phil has jumped the guys for not moving around when Kobe has the ball in his hands. They are all afraid to take the big shot. How many LA game-winners can you name that have come from anyone other than Kobe and Fish? Odom just attempted one against Phoenix, and I would've put $50 that the shot wasn't going to go in. Gasol had a tip-in against the Thunder, but he's not going to create for himself and take that shot. Fisher needs Bryant to draw the double and kick it out to him. Ron should never, EVER, create for himself. Drew doesn't play late in the game.

 

I'm not sure what you guys expect. Two guys in the starting five are spot-up shooters, Drew is a black hole that never passes out of the post, and Gasol is afraid to play in the post unless it's against Bargnani, Jamison or Channing Frye.

 

When you're the primary option on the team, AND you're expected to create for everyone (Kobe has been this since the 2000-01 season, co-primary option at that time), you're going to have to take shots that people won't approve of, whether it's you trying to draw in the defense and get no movement from teammates, or you're getting the ball with three on the shot clock. Kobe does take ignorant shots at times, going for the jugular when he really doesn't need to, but so do a lot of players that, really, should never go that route because they don't have the resume to.

[The Regime]

And again with the assumption that Kobe is a god in the clutch, he did shoot 4-15 down the stretch and it's largely ignored and laughed off by fans like Confidence. Abbott's right. That isn't good enough. The free pass isn't good enough. Does that mean that I don't have Kobe on my supershort list of players I want with the ball in their hands down? Of course not. But I'm willing to look at the evidence and examine some factors, something too many people ignore.

 

I wasn't laughing off the fact that he went 4-15, I was laughing at Abbott knitpicked at one game to prove that Kobe wasn't clutch. I'm sure you could make a similar case for a few of Jordans games who by many is considered the most clutch player in the game EVER. When a player like Kobe is expected to carry the load and make everything happen for a team down the stretch (far more than any other player in the league) he is bound to come up short at times.

 

A clutch player doesn't hit ever shot, it just doesn't happen. But part of being a clutch player is to overcome struggles and make the the most important shot. Kobe may have missed a bunch of shots over the span of the 3 ot's but he hit the shot that put that game away and that's a componet of being clutch. There is a reason why this guy has the ball in hands even when he is having an off night.

 

And lastly I want to point out a stat using 82games.com that Abbott completely disregarded. Who has the highest scoring average per 48 min of clutch time? Kobe Bryant. But who cares about that right?

Edited March 25, 2011 by Confidence

[Real Deal]

And lastly I want to point out a stat using 82games.com that Abbott completely disregarded. Who has the highest scoring average per 48 min of clutch time? Kobe Bryant. But who cares about that right?

Another thing...over the last 3-4 years, Kobe is shooting 50% on his game-winning attempts (as of two weeks ago, actually), but when they look at Kobe over the course of his career (including the 1996-97 season), Bryant's game-winning FG% has been worse, and so it makes him look like he's less clutch NOW.