Kobe
One of the things I like about sports is the way you can delude yourself into believing that somehow your life is connected to what is going on in a game. There's direct ways like fantasy sports and gambling and more subtle ways like refering to your team as "we", but there is also the glory of the sports opinion. Everyone has an opinion about sports and why not, it is just a bunch of games played by grown men. It's not life and death (unless you're talking about the crazy fans of World Cup soccer) and there are rarely important moral principles involved, so why not spout off about it.
Even better, by making bold and brash predictions you can actually begin to believe the lie that the outcome of a game or success of a player is somehow connected to you. If you said this team will win and they do, you get to strut around as if their victory was somehow influenced by your prediction. And no matter how much you know deep down that this is all silliness, there's nothing quite like the feeling of being right and everyone knowing. Then again, I also yell at my TV during games, so take all this with a large grain of salt. Perhaps a whole bag of salt.
Anyway, all of that is just preamble to say how nice it was that Kobe Bryant did me the service of proving me right during tonight's game 6 against Phoenix. I've said for years that Kobe is not a great player (even though he could be), but rather a great scorer because great players make their teamates better and therefore more readily accomplish the primary goal...to win. Kobe scores a lot which means he wins sometimes, but that doesn't make him great. Then something strange happened when the playoffs started. Kobe turned himself into the Jordan clone everyone so ludicrously lables him. He actually started making those around him better. He shot (gasp) less!!! Guys like Walton and Odom started actually being allowed to play to their potential. And surprise, surprise, the Lakers actually got better. Shocking.
But I knew Kobe couldn't keep it going. It is just too contrary to his nature. When things got tight he would panic, forget his coach's 500 rings and try to take over the game himself. And that's exactly what he did tonight. And, of course, the Lakers lost. People who don't know basketball will look at his 50 points and call him spectacular and lament his bad supporting cast. But the ones who know will see that this was nothing more than a selfish player playing the wrong way and making his team pay the price.
Now maybe Kobe will go back to playing team ball on Saturday and lead the Lakers to victory. I am certain the Suns are hoping he comes out to prove once and for all that he should have been MVP this season and tries to score 85. If he does, he might get his 85 and the Suns will win by 20. And that's why when you talk about MVP candidates, Kobe didn't even belong in the discussion. Certainly not with the likes of Nash, Lebron, Wade, Dirk, Billups and the other stars who realize the game is 5 on 5.
Even better, by making bold and brash predictions you can actually begin to believe the lie that the outcome of a game or success of a player is somehow connected to you. If you said this team will win and they do, you get to strut around as if their victory was somehow influenced by your prediction. And no matter how much you know deep down that this is all silliness, there's nothing quite like the feeling of being right and everyone knowing. Then again, I also yell at my TV during games, so take all this with a large grain of salt. Perhaps a whole bag of salt.
Anyway, all of that is just preamble to say how nice it was that Kobe Bryant did me the service of proving me right during tonight's game 6 against Phoenix. I've said for years that Kobe is not a great player (even though he could be), but rather a great scorer because great players make their teamates better and therefore more readily accomplish the primary goal...to win. Kobe scores a lot which means he wins sometimes, but that doesn't make him great. Then something strange happened when the playoffs started. Kobe turned himself into the Jordan clone everyone so ludicrously lables him. He actually started making those around him better. He shot (gasp) less!!! Guys like Walton and Odom started actually being allowed to play to their potential. And surprise, surprise, the Lakers actually got better. Shocking.
But I knew Kobe couldn't keep it going. It is just too contrary to his nature. When things got tight he would panic, forget his coach's 500 rings and try to take over the game himself. And that's exactly what he did tonight. And, of course, the Lakers lost. People who don't know basketball will look at his 50 points and call him spectacular and lament his bad supporting cast. But the ones who know will see that this was nothing more than a selfish player playing the wrong way and making his team pay the price.
Now maybe Kobe will go back to playing team ball on Saturday and lead the Lakers to victory. I am certain the Suns are hoping he comes out to prove once and for all that he should have been MVP this season and tries to score 85. If he does, he might get his 85 and the Suns will win by 20. And that's why when you talk about MVP candidates, Kobe didn't even belong in the discussion. Certainly not with the likes of Nash, Lebron, Wade, Dirk, Billups and the other stars who realize the game is 5 on 5.
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