Starting the 3rd quarter, the Clippers led the Lakers by 12 points. But, with 31.8 left in the quarter, Kobe Bryant bombs and hits a 3-pointer with a man all in his face to bring the Staples crowd to it feet. That shot can be called nothing less than Kobe-listic; which much like a missile seeking out its target to destroy, it comes from any place on the court to do what it has to do. The Lakers cut the 12 point Clipper lead to 4 to end the quarter. Kobe, at the end of the quarter, had 32 points.
The Clippers, no longer to be taken lightly, opened the 4th quarter by outscoring the Lakers 8-6 in the first 3 minutes of play as Chris Paul made his league superstar status felt by the Lakers. He bombed and made like a 40 foot 3-pointer to hold a Lakers' run in check. That shot put the Clippers ahead 82-74. The Lakers tried to energize themselves as Gasol alley-ooped off a pass from the rookie Morris to cut the Clippers lead to 6, 82-76. But, Paul answered that with another jumper to get the Clippers back up by 8, 84-76. At that point of the game Paul had 28 points. But, over the next 6 1/2 minutes the Lakers would only be able to score 6 points, and the Clipper were able to pull away as time slipped away from the Lakers.
Kobe hit a fall away jumper with 3:19 left in the game to bring his point total to 38 for the night, but the Lakers trailed by 11 at that point.
Griffin hit a jumper over Bynum with 2:54 as the Clippers answered anything the Lakers tried to do, as they extended their lead to 13 points.
Kobe answered Griffin's jumper with a 17-foot running jumper to push his point total to 40 points for the night. But the game is out of reach for the Lakers as they trail the Clippers by 11.
With 1:54 left in the game, the Clippers sealed the win with a Randy Foye jumper to push their lead back to 11, 99-88.
The teams trade meaningless baskets to bring the game to an end with the Clippers winning 102-94.
Kobe finished with 42 points. That's 40 points or more for the 4th straight game for a man playing in his 16th season. Win or lose, that is amazing!
__________
POST GAME COMMENTS
Kobe couldn't will the Lakers over the Clippers starting line-up. There is something definetly wrong with this loss, because the Clippers' bench only had 10 points. And those points came from one player: Randy Foye.
The Lakers' bench scored 13 points spread among 4 players.
The obvious thing that stands out for the Lakers, in this loss, is that Kobe is doing all the work for the team. His teammates are just standing around. And when they do have the ball, they are eagerly looking for Bryant to pass him the ball. There's something wrong with that picture. Its as if they don't have the nerve to do something on their own.
Some of the shots Kobe made tonight were truly amazing because he had a man in his face, but his shot was falling, anyway, as he finished 14 for 28 from the field. Guards and small forwards, if they shoot anything near 50%, that is excellent.
__________
Like a lot of other teams in the league, right now, the Lakers are injured. They could have used Blake's outside shooting tonight. And Murphy only played 48 seconds in the game tonight. But, still, the Lakers need to come together as a team, because it's already been proven that Kobe can't win it all by himself. With all the coverage that teams are throwing at Bryant, his teammates need to step up and deliver when they get the opportunity. If not...Kobe is going to continue with his shooting to keep the Lakers in the game. And who can blame him? If his teammates don't come through when they get the ball, what is Bryant supposed to do?
I mean, again, tonight, both Bynum and Gasol delivered double/doubles, but the team still came up short. The 1 and the 3 spots for the Lakers need to step up! Well, Barns, the 3 spot, has been doing well over the past couple of games, but, without Blake...the Lakers' 1 spot needs an answer.
I hear the Warriors just cut Ishmael Smith. He's not a bad player to fill in for Blake while he's down. The Lakers need to do something at the 1 spot.
__________
Round one goes to "Lob City."
mike t.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Jordan-esque or Kobe-listic?
It's Kobe-listic, man! It's authentic and original. And it's based on the idea that at some point in time, we're going to have to stop comparing would-be great basketball players to Michael Jordan. That might seem a pretty easy thing to do, because who can compare to the great Jordan, anyway?
So far, since Michael has left the game as a player, no one has come close to him as an on-court performer, other than Kobe Bryant. And what Kobe Bryant is doing this season, he might be obliterating the legend that is Michael Jordan, and introducing us to something greater than the term: Jordan-esque.
The use of the term Jordan-esque; it's used when one is trying to describe a modern day player that has an aspect of his game that resembles an aspect of the great Michael Jordan's game. Needless to say, the term isn't used that often. But, again, the only player that comes close to being Jordan-esque is Kobe Bryant.
But, Kobe Bryant, right now, is treading in a place that Jordan never went to. Jordan, in his career decline, in Washington, averaged 22.9 and 20.0 points to close out his playing days. That playing career totaled 15 years. Kobe Bryant, in his 16th season, is averaging 30 points, and is dropping in 40 points per night as if he was still in his prime. Since Jordan only played 15 seasons, Kobe's 16th season's accomplishments cannot be compared to Jordan, because Kobe is playing in a season Jordan never had, a 16th season. No, this is not Jordan-esque. This is something new all together.
This is Kobe-listic! Kobelistic operates in its own orbit. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone are two players who were still doing well in their 16th season, but what they did doesn't seem to compare to what Kobe Bryant is doing right now. I mean, in their 16th season, they weren't averaging 30 points per contest, and they weren't dropping 40 point games on opponents for three consecutive games. As it is said on the streets: 'nuff said on that subject.
In the future, when new dynamic players come into the league, and are compared to the all-time greats, the question will have to be this: is this player or that player, Jordanesque or Kobelistic?
It doesn't matter because both are great players, but Kobe is in a category all by himself, just as Jordan is. No more comparing Kobe to Michael.
Kobe Bryant has his own basketball identity. And for Kobe to be able to do that, in a era not too far removed from the Jordan era, well, that is a remarkable achievement in and of itself.
To bring my point of view to a close, and for the sake of comparison, let me say this: to use the term Jordan-esque, well, it's to conjure up images of basketball dominance by graceful means. To use the term Kobe-listic, well, it's to conjure up images of basketball dominance by forceful means.
In short: the grace that is Michael Jordan is Jordan-esque, and the power that is Kobe Bryant is Kobe-listic. Each unique, in their own dominate way.
mike t.
So far, since Michael has left the game as a player, no one has come close to him as an on-court performer, other than Kobe Bryant. And what Kobe Bryant is doing this season, he might be obliterating the legend that is Michael Jordan, and introducing us to something greater than the term: Jordan-esque.
The use of the term Jordan-esque; it's used when one is trying to describe a modern day player that has an aspect of his game that resembles an aspect of the great Michael Jordan's game. Needless to say, the term isn't used that often. But, again, the only player that comes close to being Jordan-esque is Kobe Bryant.
But, Kobe Bryant, right now, is treading in a place that Jordan never went to. Jordan, in his career decline, in Washington, averaged 22.9 and 20.0 points to close out his playing days. That playing career totaled 15 years. Kobe Bryant, in his 16th season, is averaging 30 points, and is dropping in 40 points per night as if he was still in his prime. Since Jordan only played 15 seasons, Kobe's 16th season's accomplishments cannot be compared to Jordan, because Kobe is playing in a season Jordan never had, a 16th season. No, this is not Jordan-esque. This is something new all together.
This is Kobe-listic! Kobelistic operates in its own orbit. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone are two players who were still doing well in their 16th season, but what they did doesn't seem to compare to what Kobe Bryant is doing right now. I mean, in their 16th season, they weren't averaging 30 points per contest, and they weren't dropping 40 point games on opponents for three consecutive games. As it is said on the streets: 'nuff said on that subject.
In the future, when new dynamic players come into the league, and are compared to the all-time greats, the question will have to be this: is this player or that player, Jordanesque or Kobelistic?
It doesn't matter because both are great players, but Kobe is in a category all by himself, just as Jordan is. No more comparing Kobe to Michael.
Kobe Bryant has his own basketball identity. And for Kobe to be able to do that, in a era not too far removed from the Jordan era, well, that is a remarkable achievement in and of itself.
To bring my point of view to a close, and for the sake of comparison, let me say this: to use the term Jordan-esque, well, it's to conjure up images of basketball dominance by graceful means. To use the term Kobe-listic, well, it's to conjure up images of basketball dominance by forceful means.
In short: the grace that is Michael Jordan is Jordan-esque, and the power that is Kobe Bryant is Kobe-listic. Each unique, in their own dominate way.
mike t.
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