I don’t care how much this gets repeated or beaten to death, but Kobe Bryant is playing the best and most comprehensive basketball of his accomplished 14-year career. It’s frightening to wonder how he would be playing if he was as healthy as even last season.
For someone who many bystanders deemed to have “lost a step” just six weeks ago, Kobe completely shredded the Celtics’ vaunted defense, getting to the basket on take after take, going 9 for 10 from the charity stripe as well. He did however, come up hobbling on a couple of occasions so there is no question that he is pushing his body far beyond his physical limits.
For the game, the Mamba racked up 30 points (10-22 FG), seven rebounds and six assists. He even stone-walled Chris Rock and his surely annoying banter, blasting the comedian back to a time when perhaps no one was laughing at his jokes.
Don’t feel too bad Chris, you really shouldn’t have been talking to him anyways. This is Kobe’s town, especially right now. You speak when you are spoken to.
Bryant also got Ray Allen in foul trouble from the get-go, with the former UConn star amassing five personal fouls for the game, eliminating any chance at building a rhythm. Tony Allen did not fair any better, getting whistled for three of his own in the first quarter.
Why it’s such a significant factor to force an early switch of the Allens in subsequent games of this series is because the Celtics’ offensive spacing suffers mightily as a result, which also limits Rondo’s options off dribble penetration.
As was evidenced during the game, when Ray Allen is off the floor, the Lakers are able to collapse the paint without worrying too much about outside shooting because Tony Allen is a driver, not a shooter, which Jeff Van Gundy harped on as well. Pau Gasol had three big blocks in the lane, including a huge one on a KG turnaround fadeaway that ignited his swagger to heights that we’ve not seen since his arrival in L.A.
Pau devoured his matchup against the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, Garnett, scoring 23 points on 8 of 14 from the field and dominating the boards with 14 rebounds (eight offensive).
All of the criticism and questions regarding his toughness, which I myself am guilty of having engaged, undoubtedly lit a quiet inferno in the Spaniard’s belly.
KG in contrast, struggled to keep pace with a pedestrian 16 points on 7 of 16 shooting and the most glaring stat – four total rebounds, which fuels the claim that his best years are clearly behind him.
Garnett capped off his forgettable outing by failing miserably on one particular sequence where he fumbled the ball twice going up for a bunny on tired, withered legs. If you throw in Paul Pierce and Ray Allen’s lackluster performances, there is no question that our All-Star tandem outplayed Boston’s Big Three (+1 even in Rondo).
As difficult as this may be to digest, the Lakers have to play even better, stronger and harder on Sunday night if they want to head to TD Garden up 2-0.
NEXT: Keys to Game 2