81

Jeff,
Everyone today is saying that Kobe's 81 points yesterday is upstaging
the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl matchup. Am I the only one who
heard that Kobe scored 81 points and yawned? I just don't care.
Should I? I don't think it's anything new that Kobe would take 46
shots in a game, so I'll give him one thing, at least he shot the ball
well, 61%. But honestly, when a guy shoots as much as Kobe does, and
is convinced (and rightfully so) that he's the only option on his
team, isn't he bound to have an obscene scoring night like this?
The arguement, of course, and as always, is that Kobe has to score in
bunches because he's the only option on the team, but let's not forget
that the reason he's the only option on the Lakers is because he
forced Jerry Buss to move Shaq out of town. He WANTED to be the only
option. He WANTED to have times where his team "needed" him to score
60+ points. He got what he wanted. He's the first option on the
Lakers. A team that may or may not make the playoffs. I'll tell you
what, if Kobe and the Lakers DO make the playoffs, then I'll care
about Kobe's 81. And oh yeah, that 81 came against the Raptors, who
just happen to be (in my opinion) one of the 10 worst teams in the
NBA.
Okay, I'll be honest, I do care. It's an incredible stat, it's an
incredible game. It's pretty unreal and who knows if anyone will come
close to breaking Wilt's record ever again. But in this day of all
that matters is scoring, and the teams that are actually winning
championships are the ones that do everything well, not just scoring,
I'm hesitant to care too much. Yeah, Kobe can score... but he's not a
winner (without Shaq). He doesn't do anything to make the players
around him better, so he's not doing anything to make his team better.
Yes, 81 points in a single, non-OT game, is unreal, but all Kobe is
building is his stat sheet, not a winner, and shouldn't that be what
matters?
Your thoughts?
The Jer

Jer,
Kobe could have scored 181 points last night, and it still wouldn't have upstaged the NFL playoffs. It was a huge accomplishment, but in the mind of the average sports fan, the NFL is still more important than anything that happens in the NBA.
As for the 81 pts, I don't care if it took him 81 shots, 81 pts is incredible. The fact he did it, like you mentioned, shooting 61%, I mean, that's Jordan-esque. Here's where you abandon me as a friend, but I'll admit it: I've enjoyed watching Kobe this year. I still don't like Kobe, but for the first time in his career, he's actually playing like Jordan. It kills me to say it, but he is. The man is averaging 36 a game on 45% shooting (3rd among shooting guards), 83% on free throws (5th), 5.6 boards (2nd), and 4.3 assists (numero uno among SG's). Now, we both agree that he HAS to do this, because there's nobody else to do it other than Odom (who only averages about 12 shots a game), and you're absolutely right in saying that it's his own fault there's noone else to help. Yes, he forced out Shaq, and yes, I think they'd be the best team in the league IF they still had Shaq. For that reason alone I don't think the guy should win MVP because he single-handedly destroyed a championship team, and that doesn't seem very "valuable" to me.
However, if Kobe's goal was to win a championship "his way" he still may get his wish. The crop of free agents for 2006 is poor at best, but next summer, for 2007, it's downright scary. IF, and that's a big if, Laker GM Mitch Kupchak (spelling?) plays his cards right, he'll have Kobe and Odom, and plenty of room for at least one big-name free agent. Right now that's all the Lakers need to get right back to the Championship level.
And remember: Kobe's only 27.
Jeff