The man doesn’t practice all week, has a “significant amount of fluid” drained from his ailing right knee and he does what? Oh, you know, go off for 40 on 13 of 23 from the field (3 of 6 from deep) while also collecting 5 boards and 5 assists – just another day’s work. Despite the fact that Kobe has been defying the limitations of human physiology by which the rest of us peons are prohibited for well over 12 years, the pleasure of watching him eviscerate the will of his opponent is something that I will always beseech and never grow tired of.
The Black Mamba’s swagger was in full bloom last night at the Staples Center, jutting his jaw and giving us his rendition of Usher’s “Yeah” while vivaciously nodding his head to the sell-out crowd. To all the doubters and haters of Kobe Bryant, I say…nothing. They should all be sitting quietly anyhow.
Whatever the Lakers did during the six days they had off since dismantling the Utah Jazz, it really could not have spelled a more ideal outcome. If Lamar Odom is scoring 19 points on 9 of 15 shooting and snatching 19 rebounds (7 offensive), his best game of the playoffs thus far, we are simply unbeatable. Pau Gasol joined in the destruction with an incredibly efficient 21 points, connecting on 10 of 13 attempts. And how beautiful was that back door pass to Kobe that resulted in a three-point play? Only third team All-NBA? Unreal.
There’s really not many negative things of note to be discussed when appraising Game 1. If I really wanted to nitpick, I’d say it would have been nice if our defense could have tempered the Suns point total to under 100, but the fact that the margin of victory was 21 is more than enough to assure Laker fans around the world that the champs are playing their best ball of the entire season, with their absolute peak yet to come.
The only thing that would have made last night’s game even sweeter is if Shannon Brown would have been able to finish his incomprehensible dunk attempt over Jason Richardson, taking off from just past the free throw line. But hey, with 44 points from our bench, no one’s complaining one bit.
NEXT: Taking control
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It seems that the Lakers have learned the value of extended rest in the postseason, especially considering the multitude of nagging injuries that Gary Vitti has been masterfully treating all season long.
While the starting unit did exhibit minor signs of rust by opening the game with a sluggish tempo, by the latter end of the first quarter, Kobe and Lamar’s aggression laid the groundwork for what would be one of the most explosive third quarters we’ve seen from the Lakers possibly all season – definitely from Mr. Bryant.
The Mamba’s 21 points on 7 of 10 from the floor in the third stanza set a torrid pace for the rest of the team to which they beautifully followed suit, and by the fourth, Phoenix had already turned their attention to Game 2 as Steve Nash did not play a single minute in the final 12. To think that Bynum only played an incognito 19 minutes, barely impacting the game, makes this victory that much more impressive.
There are going to be at least a couple of nights still to come however, when the shots that fell for our Lakers last night will haplessly clank off the rim because that’s just how basketball works. The Suns missed on a lot of their open looks last night, but there will be a game where the majority of those shots will drop and it will be up to us to stay sharp on our rotations and close out to their bevy of shooters.
Before we all jump the gun and expect Kobe to drop 35 or 40 per game, which he basically has been over the last six games averaging 33.3 ppg on a 52% efficiency rate, we must all keep in mind that team defense will be the main constituent to attaining the franchise’s 16th NBA title. Defending hard and playing hard have to be absolute constants for a true championship team.
While I fully expect the Lakers to advance to the NBA Finals, I highly doubt that Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and the rest of the Suns will just lay down and hand us three more victories on a golden platter. However, I’m more excited to see the mental focus that our team comes out with in Game 2 because the brand of basketball that they are playing is just so enticingly beautiful to watch.
Seven more wins to go, one more ring to win.
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