On the LA-Houston game last night...

[Eugene]

There's 82 games a season for the Lakers. So, why am I writing about this one?

Fractal geometry (this is relevant, so bear with me) is based on the idea if you get down small enough, the smaller shape is going to reflect the greater shape. Like when you look at a mountain from a distance, and a rock from that mountain, and a piece of that rock, then a small granule of that piece, then, the general curve of the granule is going to reflect the general curve of the mountain. Those of you who've read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton will know what I'm talking about. Fractals can be applied to almost anything -- a day in the stock market (all the rise and falls) is going to reflect the activities of the stock market over the course of a year. Then, I believe, the same can be held true of a basketball game, and the whole season.

(See, I told you it'd relevant)

Kobe's inhuman, Jordanesque performance aside, the game reflected the much of the regular season, Kobe's performance during the season, and the performance of the other Lakers.

Kobe can't win by himself. When the other Lakers contribute, however, Kobe has the capability to carry them, bad knee and all, to the playoffs.

Kobe came out blazing, hitting 5 of 5 and getting 10 of 12 Laker points before the first time-out. Then Kobe went "cold."

During that stretch, Kobe forced some tough shots. He was often double teamed, but failed to find the open man.

Second half, Kobe turned it around. Charlie Rosen always said that Kobe has the tendency to move away from the team game, and while I agree with him to some extent, it was pretty hard to find any fault with Kobe's game in the second half. He made a consciencious effort to distribute the ball. Did he make bad decisions? Yes. Not a lot of them, and I don't recall them.

The other Lakers did a great job stepping up. They turned again to the pick and roll on the left side of the court for Kobe and Samaki. Kobe was able to find Samaki, or Robert Horry. There was no hesitation in Kobe's looking to the open man. The result? Fox gets 15, Fish gets 13, Mad Dog, 9, and all the Lakers score except for Brian Shaw.

And you can see where the correlation is to the regular season. Kobe's going to continue to put up big numbers. Shaq, when comes back, is good for another 20. It's whether or not the supporting cast can step up, and whether or not Kobe can allow them to step up. And mind you, Kobe is really turning into a mature team player. The 50 point outburst and the string of 35 games is immaterial. Kobe is buying into the team concept. He still slips every now then, but as he's shown in this game, he can still get others involved.

And it's not just assists. It's the outlet pass off the rebound. It's moving without the ball, not only to get the ball, but shift the defense and create space for the other's to get the ball. It's about setting back picks. And, it's about not giving up.

What makes the 52 points and the win most remarkable is that Kobe did this on a bad leg. Now, I don't know just how much he's hurting, but he was literally dragging his right leg on defense. Now, some may say that's foolishness, risking serious injury for one game.

Phil Jackson, however, reminded Kobe that this was the most important game of the regular season. And it was, in more ways than one. It tied them for the 8 spot. The game showed that the Lakers can beat a good team without Shaq. Everyone played hard. It was one of the defining moments for the defending champs. Kobe did everything that was required of him and more. The result was a great win in double OT. So, was Kobe's decision to stay on the court foolish? Probably. But remember, courage often stems from foolishness.

And for all of Kobe's passes, turnaround fadeways, spot up 3's and the tomahawk on Yao (Kobe now has 3 of the top 10 dunks of the season, Knicks reverse, Denver 360, and this one) it was this unwillingness to quit that lead to the win. An athlete can never be described as heroic, but Kobe was inspiring as hell.

Special Kudos to Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen. He comes in and immediately gives them a boost of energy. He was hustling, getting his hands on almost every rebound, drawing fouls, and, gasp, scoring 9 points. Mad Dog may very well have been the difference maker. This guy's performance last night was akin to the performance of Strap in Hoosiers. Even wierder, The Sports Guy kinda called in his column on Hoosiers: "'God wants you on the floor, Strap.' Savvy. Strap proceeds to light it up. Phil Jackson should try this move with Mark Madsen next season."

Solid performance by Yao. Not so solid performance by Franchise. bigstud12585 pointed out that the last 10 games were against weakened teams. Well, maybe. But they were (exception of Denver and NY) all over .500. And these were games that Lakers would've lost earlier in the season. That's the difference. They're winning. It doesn't matter who they're doing it against.

On the Rockets side of things. They should run high post plays for Yao with Francis and Mobley playing screen and roll off him and Posey and Griffin running splits off Yao. Yao's got a good enough touch from out there, he can put in on the floor, but the best part of Yao is his passing. They need to exploit that more.

That's all from me.

All the best,

Eugene

[em]

weak teams AND i did say 7 out of those 10 games there were key injuries like webber, mcdyess, bobby jackson, scot pollard, penny, googs, and matt harping. ur telling me they would be the kings on their homecourt with those 3 key players? i dont think their chances were that great if those 3 were in there competing.

[Rens]

I don't think you can call McDyess and Googs key injuries... the others have quite an impact on their teams though.

[scubilete]

What makes the 52 points and the win most remarkable is that Kobe did this on a bad leg.

The guy played good but took 39 shots to get to that mark, plus 53 mins.

Well, maybe. But they were (exception of Denver and NY) all over .500. And these were games that Lakers would've lost earlier in the season. That's the difference. They're winning. It doesn't matter who they're doing it against.

I don't know about Denver, but they did lose the last one against the Knicks with a performance from A. Houston, maybe similar as kobe, just that he did it in 41 mins and just used 28 shots.

I don't think you can call McDyess and Googs key injuries... the others have quite an impact on their teams though.

Dan, You have to call those injuries "key", because their teams were expecting a lot from them. I don't know about Googs, but the Knicks only hope was McDyess and I bet if he was playing, the Knicks would have been in a better position than Phily & Milwaukee that hasn't shown consistency and are in a good position. That would have put them in a 4th or 5th spot for the playoffs, not bad but that's just a comment, he hasn't been able to play a single season game after having a terrific preseason.

[Eugene]

That's almost a valid argument, Scubilete. He actually took 38 shots, and made half of them. You agree that Kobe could have just as easily gone 13 of 38 and got 35 points? But he didn't. The fact that he hit such a consistent average over such a long time (that's almost a whole hour for ya), bad leg and all, makes it a very special performance.

And this is where it gets a little shaky, because I'm talking about the abstract here...

I never got the sense that when he was struggling up and down the court, he was doing it to hit 50. I didn't think he did it for attention. He didn't do it out of selfishness (he could've also taken many many more shots). He did it out of competitiveness. The pure desire and thirst to win.

The advantage of basketball is that you can see the players up close. Their facial expressions, body language, even their sweat, is right there, in your home. It's easy to develop a sense of empathy with them. Now, was my sense of empathy (I've also stupidly played hurt before) false? Did Kobe managed to put on a facade for the camera? To try to look like a hero? Please.

And you can understand why I said this argument is flimsy. All this emotional stuff; it's all very intangible. Well, consider this.

Kobe actually hopped back and forth, fighting through picks, on one leg, chasing Cuttino Mobley (why they didn't isolate Cat against Kobe still baffles me), grimacing in pain. He hobbled up the court, bothered by the knee, unable to explode to the hole, relegated to taking three pointers -- two of which he hit, inexplicably.

When finally going to the bench, he collapses on the seat, straightening his stiff right leg out with some effort, immediately peeling off the knee strap to relieve the pressure. Minutes later, he's back on the court.

He finally gathers his second wind, his knee feeling better -- I imagine he's running purely on adrenaline at this point -- grabs the rebound, outlets to Fox, who throws to Horry, who dishes to Mad Dog for the dunk.

Isolated in the post, Kobe spins away from the double team and dunks with two hands. He later hits a step back -- losing Cat with a twitch-quick jab step.

All in 53 minutes. In 39 shots. On a bad leg.

Yes, Allan Houston had a tremendous shooting night. A shooting night. Kobe's been on this trip for 10 games. Now could Houston have pulled off a performance like Kobe? Probably not. Could Vince? No. T-Mac? Maybe. Whether other players could have put up a performance like this one, or put up a better one (I hesitate to say "better") or not, does it take away in anyway the tremendous Kobe put in?

Kobe's scoring trip. Is it any less spectacular because it came against weakened teams? No. 99% of the NBA players couldn't dream of pulling it off, against Denver or Knicks.

Kobe is the most special player in the league, and he moved ahead of T-Mac to be the vanguard of this new league. And I dare contend, no one in the league right now can do what he did so far in the season.

All the best,

Eugene

[ningtong88]

What makes the 52 points and the win most remarkable is that Kobe did this on a bad leg.

The guy played good but took 39 shots to get to that mark, plus 53 mins.

Well, maybe. But they were (exception of Denver and NY) all over .500. And these were games that Lakers would've lost earlier in the season. That's the difference. They're winning. It doesn't matter who they're doing it against.

I don't know about Denver, but they did lose the last one against the Knicks with a performance from A. Houston, maybe similar as kobe, just that he did it in 41 mins and just used 28 shots.

I don't think you can call McDyess and Googs key injuries... the others have quite an impact on their teams though.

Dan, You have to call those injuries "key", because their teams were expecting a lot from them. I don't know about Googs, but the Knicks only hope was McDyess and I bet if he was playing, the Knicks would have been in a better position than Phily & Milwaukee that hasn't shown consistency and are in a good position. That would have put them in a 4th or 5th spot for the playoffs, not bad but that's just a comment, he hasn't been able to play a single season game after having a terrific preseason.

Hey, why are you being so picky? That guy wrote a terrific article, plus everything he said about Kobe is truly right.

[scubilete]

Hey, why are you being so picky? That guy wrote a terrific article, plus everything he said about Kobe is truly right.

When you come here to say something, you post with respect to others, I don't know you and never seen you around to come to talk to me like that, I'm not being picky or anything, so you can carry on and next time you tell me what you disagree with and we can have a discussion, just like I did there with him, not just hey me.

Back with you Eugene.

Well, yes, he was like he's hurt. His shooting was still good because was 50% and he carried the Lakers. I do think he's having a tremendous season and maybe he's the MVP for all that.

You are right, A. Houston wouldn't do it in consecutive nights, but you need to know, A. Houston shooting is always good, if he would take all the shots Kobe takes, he would be a 40 + guy in every single game. That would be the point here.

I'm not complaining, I believe that was awesome, I was just comparing it with Houston and realized how big was Houston performance, nothing else. I do give credit to Kobe for carrying the Lakers, and for all this he's doing scoring 40 + every game, that's awesome, I mean, I didn't see Chamberlain playing but if the season was the last 10 games long, he would have been that close to Chamberlain than anyone else could have ever imagined.

I do critize Kobe for not trusting his teammates, that's all, last nite he did trust his teammates, I guess he realized is much better that way than playing alone.

[ningtong88]

You are right, A. Houston wouldn't do it in consecutive nights, but you need to know, A. Houston shooting is always good, if he would take all the shots Kobe takes, he would be a 40 + guy in every single game. That would be the point here.

Why in the world Houston would not take that many shots if he is a good SHOOTER? How can you compare a 30+ years old guy with no determination on his shooting to a young man who scored 35+ ppg in last 10 games????? Do you think he's too scared to miss a shot? Maybe you would say: "oh, probabaly after Houston missed a couple shots, he didn't feel like to shoot anymore, but he could actually find the rhythm if he just attempt a few more shots. " Then how come Kobe didn't give up after he missed 3 straight shots when the second quarter was almost over in last game?

[scubilete]

How can you compare a 32+ years old guy with no determination on his shooting

That's the most idiotic comment I've ever seen, you don't seem pretty mature to come and have a real argument when you come and post something like that.

He just scored 53 against the same 24 young one you are talking about. The "old" guy did it shooting just 28 shots and did it in just 41 mins. I'm just going to ignore you, an argument with you it's not worthy.

[ningtong88]

If it's like what you said about how good he is, then why he only average 23pt. ppg?????????????

[scubilete]

If it's like what you said about how good he is, then why he only average 23pt. ppg?

a good example of some ignorants who don't know what the discussion is all about.

[ningtong88]

If it's like what you said about how good he is, then why he only average 23pt. ppg?

a good example of some ignorants who don't know what the discussion is all about.

ahh, if you are too scared to argue with me, just say so. oh....I heard you.....

[scubilete]

I'm scared of making your brain to work, that's right. I don't think you know well what is the way you can follow post here in the NBA section. You need to come with facts showing why you think A. Houston is a bad shooter, not just bla bla like you've been doing it. That's the truth, I would continue arguing with you, but I don't like to lose my time with someone who doesn't have a base or facts to prove whatever he's saying.

[ningtong88]

Explain to me this first, why doesn't Houston take more shots, if he is ALWAYS a good shooter?

[Socer38913]

NOONE IS EVEN SAID A WORD ABOUT THE KOBE DUNK ON YAO

[Wall St. Peon]

NOONE IS EVEN SAID A WORD ABOUT THE KOBE DUNK ON YAO

Because it's irrelevant to the topic...

Explain to me this first, why doesn't Houston take more shots, if he is ALWAYS a good shooter?

The Knicks also have Latrell Sprewell taking a lot of shots, Kurt Thomas taking a lot of shots, and quite a few guys taking a lot of shots. And they miss them, but they continue to take them. Houston's percentage isn't the greatest, but he's still averaging over 20 ppg, which is good in the NBA...he's on the top 25 scorer's list, I believe, towards the bottom...but he can still score. When he gets hot, he gets HOT and makes everything because he's a pure shooter. Besides, if Houston started shooting 30 times a game he'd be blasted for being a ball hog and not a team player and he'd be blamed for the Knicks losing...here's a flip on things, if Kobe was scoring all these points and the Lakers were losing, what would you guys be saying about Kobe?

I got away from the point; why don't all great players take more shots per game? Because their coach and sports critics would blast them for being selfish and not having any sort of at team game...

[ningtong88]

if Kobe was scoring all these points and the Lakers were losing, what would you guys be saying about Kobe?

I'd say: " Good job, Kobe, you did what you had to do to lift the team although we lost, and you made the effort. "

[scubilete]

Thanks Shane. There are few who still don't know what they are talking about and come here to bla bla like this one. That's why I stopped, cause it seems useless, everyday I consider EG much more understanding than these coming here lately, lol.

NOONE IS EVEN SAID A WORD ABOUT THE KOBE DUNK ON YAO

That was terrific, I guess Yao can have his own poster now,