Kobe, the Lakers So Far… And Existence (Secunda Pars)

Figuring Out Kobe

I've seen myself in the early part of the decade hating the Lakers because they've been too much, or too great for everyone else. Especially Kobe Bryant.

Yes, that ball-hogging freak who wants to make a name for himself. The one who has don jersey number eight and acted as if everything depended on him. As if Shaq wasn't there. As if Brian Shaw wasn't there. As if Phil wasn't the coach. Shot after shot after shot (save few lob passes to Shaq), all is Kobe. And we're all saying like, "this kid is too much."


But come the three-peat championship, 2004, and the alleged cases against Kobe, and here we face a problem for the Lakers. With most of the championship and near-championship Lakers gone, Kobe Bryant was then left as a leader of a young team that offers less of a promise and more of a problem. The only one out there who could provide some support is the sub-par inconsistent forward Lamar Odom, who, in a way, knows how to score alongside Bryant. The heartbreaker came early in the season when Rudy Tomjanovich had to resign his post, alongside with Bryant's injury. And what was the result? Nada. No playoff appearance. And in their underdog state, I started becoming a fan of Kobe Bryant, because I want to witness a possible change that could come to him, a kind of conversion from selfish star to excellent teammate. And the next few years became a witness to this grand change, I should say.

The next years seemed to be more promising. Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson were back in the Laker business, in keeping Kobe Bryant happy in the big city. Also, new men came in for the Lakers squad in replace of old ones. But then, 2006 and 2007 were just big disappointments. Probably the closest ones to being success were Kobe's 81 points against the Raptors, setting a new 2nd highest NBA individual score in a game, and the 3-1 advantage of the Lakers over the Phoenix Suns (which, unfortunately, was followed by three straight defeats from Steve Nash and the Suns and deprived of the chance to advance in the playoff tree). After all this, perhaps Bryant's disappointment reached its maximum, with a clear statement before the start of the '07-'08 season: he wants to be traded.


But in what was supposed to be his last year as a Laker, he got perhaps the best gift shipped to him: Pau Gasol. Others judge this as a trade bust for the Memphis Grizzlies, but for L.A., it was a win-win situation: Memphis has been given cap space to develop young talents, and Los Angeles got something to keep Kobe intact: a reliable teammate. From struggling between the fourth and fifth position in the West, the Lakers managed to climb slowly to the top spot and ended with a 57-25 record. However, the upgrade wasn't enough as the Lakers, short of strength in the post and of the presence of Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza, lost to the Celtics in six games.


Nobody expected that 2010 will be for them, but most critics speculated that they are the team to beat. They had a complete roster, and, despite a few setbacks, they again landed the top spot in the West. They went through a rough road in the postseason, in search for consistency and team chemistry, and they eventually reached the Finals, beating the Orlando Magic in five games for their fifteenth franchise championship.

Perhaps we could divide the Lakers metanarrative into two phases, setting the Mamba as a focal point. From '02-'05, we have what we call a "Kobe Bryant v1," the ball-hogging scoring machine that everyone loathes, and from '05 to the present age, we have the "Kobe Bryant v2," the Black Mamba that everyone came to look up to and idolize. This is the Kobe Bryant that strived to form a team, to make everyone better by being selfish both in and out of the court. He is the Kobe Bryant who is more than 81 points, more than the three-peat and the fourth, more than the individualistic player that everyone knows.

Then what? He is the epitome of disciplined basketball, of achieving the impossible, and, most importantly, of team leadership. He is the chief now, and with the way he runs the team, the Lakers could reach great heights that was never expected back in 2005.


And this is the Kobe Bryant that I look up to, and he bears a significant mark that transcends all the stats, the awards, and the highlight reels. What I look up to him is his work ethic, the way he carries himself as someone who knows how to treat business as business, with no bull whatsoever. He is not an Allen Iverson or Shaquille O'Neal that grabs the attention of the cameras and the videophones and creates controversy and shallow creativity. Rather, he is the poker face of the NBA, more than determined to enjoy while being very serious, while toppling the different records set in the Association, while constantly sweating his way out, and, most importantly, while establishing himself as a true basketball player worthy of being imitated. Behind it all is a burning bush that speaks "Winning is living."

Sure, we can compare Kobe with MJ, and unquestionably, almost everyone would go for the latter. I myself would, but we now live in different times, where performance comes in a constant flux, and everything has been more competitive than before. And with many different superstars of Kobe's time coming and going, it is he who uniquely stands among the rest. Sure, we can say that LeBron James could soar greater heights, and he could actually lead a championship team. But, unlike LeBron who is the NBA's spoiled kid since '03, Kobe was able to walk his way up the ladder of skill and fame. He underwent a rigorous phase of asserting oneself as a player capable of playing in all kinds of teams, and I believe that the winning Lakers is not the only witness to this. In fact, his '08 Olympic Stint became a witness to the level of immaturity LeBron has and the team performance that Kobe possesses. In fact, LeBron could use a good tip or two from Kobe in order to improve the way he plays with his team.


Of course, other comparisons could be made, and with what I have shown here, there are still a lot to contest. But what I want to stress here is that the superstar that Kobe Bryant has been is not just a product of sheer genetics and multiple scoring feats. More than that, he is the result of hardwork, rigor, discipline, and a continuous rupture of self brought about by the different phases of flux that dawned upon his team. He stood up and proved to the world that to assert oneself, to show success personified, takes real hard work and the ability to adjust to certain circumstances in order to conquer the weaknesses coming from within and without.

To the fool who says Kobe hasn't gone this far, look at the Ubermensch of our time. I do not absolutize Kobe Bryant, but he is one of those who learned to stand up and make a difference in ways possible. He made a player out of Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown, he scored and passed well in spite of four injuries that hounded him in every game. He knew unselfish play which led to the trophy. He allowed himself to be transformed under the guidance of Phil Jackson. He learned post-up moves at the rather old age (in professional basketball terms) of 31. He was the youngest in his era to grab four rings. All out of sheer determination that carries with it a vision. Now, who wouldn't want to emulate the way this guy works? Who wouldn't want to trudge the great and noble path to greatness?



And we return to the situation at hand, the problem with the Purple and Gold.

Kobe, The Lakers So Far… And Existence (Prima Pars)

Some contend that the problems have already been there, masked behind the speculations that the team of tinseltown has a great chance of getting that trophy back. The signs are there: Kobe, in spite of learning new moves in the post, gets older. Pau Gasol is out with a hamstring injury, and it could follow. And Ron Artest, while being a defensive upgrade for the Lakers, needs to work on speed and field goal efficiency rating to ride the bus to the championships by participating in fastbreak offense.

I do not concur. From the start, the Lakers have still shown themselves as a team still hungry for a championship. As of now, they share the best record (due to a recent loss to Toronto) with the Cleveland Cavaliers, another title contender who is as hungry as they were back in '09. So far, the Lakers, I should say, have been doing their best; however, not the best that they are supposed to be.

Perhaps, the woes have started in early December, when their main gunner Kobe Bryant broke his index finger. Yes, it might just be one injury that could take too long to heal, and one might think that since Kobe broke his pinky and was still able to grab the championship, everything could be alright. Right? Wrong. I think that this has become a turning point in the Lakers' regular season run, and I say this on the following reasons:


1.Those who play basketball, or at the least, who do shooting practices regularly would say that the pinky would be no big problem in shooting. Simply tape it to the ring finger, and you're 80% good to go. On the other hand, injuring the index and middle fingers would also mean injuring your whole shooting hand. Much of the force in shooting would involve the strength of the index finger, as it carries much of the force from the palms to the ball.

2.A hurting hand affects not only shooting, but also gameplay. During games, Bryant's finger was frequently hit, and therefore affects his disposition towards the game. If not for his thirst for the win, Kobe could have opted to sit out and let his teammates do the dirty job of losing. In fact, it was pure determination that saved him and his team. I would not like to go further, but what is important here is the emphasis on how the injury affects the game with Kobe around.

3.Kobe is not just the prime scorer and go-to guy of the Lakers both on and off the floor. He is also the head, that which facilitates gameplay, empowers teammates, and leads all the moves leading to the win (of course, with the direction of coach Phil Jackson). Thus, to have this injury is to be stabbed two times both in the head and in the chest. Not only are the crucial treys and jump shots affected, but also the way how each member would respond to those situations. Before, nobody would doubt that Kobe would make it. But now, each one has to step up and make crucial shots. I see this as a significant development that the Lakers should look upon, as there has to be someone who has to make the final say, to get the W for that game in case it got into a crucial, make-or-break situation, someone has to get the ball and put it down the hoop. In short, the Lakers HAVE TO heavily rely on the others, not just Kobe. And with this injury, I say that this is a serious note to be taken.

I'm not saying all negative. With Kobe partially disabled and "sidelined" in his role, the other Lakers, in one way or another, learned to step up and face the pressure the way Kobe does. So far, the eleven losses that the Lakers had as of now were from +.500 teams (save for a significant few), and by induction and speculation, we could sense that it has serious implications in the next months, most especially in June, where, as I speculate, all plays will be centered on the Mamba as the superstar of the team.


But looking at the other games considered as Lakers "easy-wins," a lot has been made when Kobe sits out and lets his teammates finish the game. Remember the best game of the season, against Dallas, as well as the other bouts with teams that are below .500. Besides the starting squad, I would like to commend three key players from the bench, the first being Shannon Brown for taking up the responsibility of scoring in crucial situations(remember 22 points?), Jordan Farmar for his improving style at the number one spot, and, of course, Lamar Odom, who, after shedding off much pressure as part of the L.A. Big Men Trifecta, began to make big treys and tip-ins that saved the Lakers from losing face. In fact, in the last games of the Lakers, the bench and the bigs hog up the most pluses in team performance. If there was anything significant about Bryant, it would be his key assists and a few thirty-plus points. Andrew Bynum had been very significant, despite some lapses mostly in the D. Gasol tries to bring back his figure after two consecutive hammys, and Odom, though inconsistent, fares up so well that he becomes a threat to the opponent. Indeed, we see here a deep Lakers squad that know how to work on their problems.


In the middle of this big problem comes another wound that the Lakers need to get over with. Double that and you have the current situation. Last Christmas was the greatest heartbreak for all the Lakers fans, as the hopeful repeaters succumbed to a huge 15-point loss against their top competitor, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and to lose to LeBron's squad is nearly tantamount to losing every ounce of hope to come up with number two (though I am not saying that we totally lost hope). Everyone thought that the Lakers were just in pretty bad shape during that game, and everyone expects a home bust at Quicken Loans after two months. But come February, after a game of tit-for-tats and breaking single digit leads, the Lakers again lost to the Cavaliers, leaving an angry Kobe and an anxious team who faces the pressure of securing the trophy for another year.

Face it, there is in fact empirical evidence that the Lakers have faced their formidable foe since the seventies or 2008 (of which I could judge that there are no mismatches without consideration on health or individual game momentum). Number one problem would be LeBron James, who practically owned his defenders, most especially the injured Bryant and Artest. I have to admit that this year, he just plays so well that he was able to carry his team single-handedly, and he poses a threat, a road block to the Lakers.

And from this, everything would follow. The Lakers' bigs were mauled and forced into foul trouble by Anderson Varejao, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and, most importantly, Shaquille O'Neal. In primary school terms, they were totally bullied, not just on the inside, but also on the outside, as shots came one after the other, without any Laker attempt to deflect a shot or raise a hand. Lastly, there are the troublesome shooting trio of Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, and Anthony Parker. The second game left all Laker fans shocked. There were many instances where the side wings were so much open for threes. Of course, we recognize that as a pertinent weakness of the Strong Side Zone employed by Jackson to avoid passing between LeBron and Shaq, but these call for readjustments in the D. If the Lakers continue to let the Cavs exploit their Achilles' heel, then we have a problem in gunning for the second straight title.

And perhaps, the question of significance would still rise above those problems in gameplay. What is one, two regular season games, anyway? The Finals is what really counts, and the Lakers are still up there in terms of experience and crucial game situations. And what if we lose to the Cavs in the Finals? Kobe is still up and running, Pau will be there, and a stronger L.O. and Ronron emerges. Considering no one leaves or badly gets hurt, then we're still up for '11. Why is this a big deal for Laker fans, and for the team in general?

In answering this question, the big picture comes up and presents itself to us, and these are things which no stat (or some diachronic ones, actually) could ever describe or explain. I think that the hype and tension that everyone, including the fans, are feeling today all revolve around the pressures of holding on with the Lakers and with Kobe Bryant in particular. For what is at stake are things even more than pure basketball, than the raw fun of playing it. Hell, even more than that.

Rather, immortality is on the line, the very fact that the Lakers were already expected to make another record, another big exit to end the decade. Since '02, no one has gotten back-to-back and grandslam championships, and with the most versatile, talented, and highly potential players on the line, the Lakers are set to do what they have done almost eight years ago. The battle is not just about delivering the enemy down to the ground. It's about rising with glory. It's about embodying hubris that doesn't end in tragedy, but rather, in flawless victory, in a victory where the Lakers will be forever sealed in history.

That, I think, is why the world watches Kobe Bryant and his team with eyes that blaze with seriousness and fury as his during the '09 Finals. It seems that everyone put the pressure on L.A. as the top team. Forget Cleveland, forget LeBron. The Purple and Gold is the monolith of basketball that has not yet reached its peak, and in order to really prove this, they have to get their second straight trophy.

That is why every regular season game seems like a Game 7 playoff game. That is why every shot Kobe takes is either that of glory or despair, that the big men post like no other game exists, that injuries have to be seriously taken and remedied. Boys and girls, for this time, it's not just the game that is on the line. It's life, not just of the whole Laker team, but of the world that watches them. That is why the two losses to Cleveland wounded them, as something that mattered most to them, and I can't blame Kobe Bryant from going too furious with what happened. Focus should be returned. Passion should be reignited. Hunger should be recognized once again, a kind of hunger that says "09 isn't enough. There has to be some more." And for a growing team that hasn't realized the destruction it could do, there really has to be some more.

And we could deduce. Each and every game against a potential playoff rival matters most. If not a preview, then it is an ordeal, something that the Purple and Gold have to overcome. They have to rule out, intimidate, and own each and every team. They have to make a statement, to induce fear and trembling. On the other hand, wins and losses come in the way, but they should be seen as moments for growth, of being able to be wounded and shrugged off, in order to let themselves wake up and realize that they are still on the way, that they have to be stronger and drop the adjective "soft" associated with each and every one of them. They have to attack and get it. They have to improve. They have to be the Lakers, the best that they should be.


And perhaps, nothing, or no one, experiences having one's life in the game on the line for the best player of the decade, the master himself, Kobe Bryant.