Two words for ya' Warriors fans, Koh-bee.
In his last game, Koh-bee dropped a mind-boggling 81 points on Toronto, and the talk is that he might be able to match Wilt Chamberlain's 100. Alas, he's had four days to rest up, and the War-meals are next in line to face the scoring machine tonight at the Staples Center in LA.
Despite his impressive feat against the Craptors, reaction to Koh-bee around the league is mixed.
Some people think Koh-bee pulled a Teen Wolf and was just ballhogging to get his 81. Some think it is the end of team play as we know it.
Others are in awe of the accomplishment and of Koh-bee. A few are calling it simply the best performance ever.
An ESPN online poll found that 59 percent of respondents felt that Koh-bee shoots as often as it takes for the Lakers to win.
Maybe Koh-bee takes so many shots because he doesn't trust his teammates, or maybe he just loves the spotlight.
Whatever his motives, you can't deny the skill that it takes to rack up 81 points, we don't care who you're playing or how you do it. And it wasn't necessarily like Toronto was rolling over (any more than do on a nightly basis). Craptors coach Sam Mitchell complained, "We played man-to-man, box-in-one, and zone. We tried to put smaller guys on him to deny him the ball." But nothing worked. He shot 61 percent from field and 90 percent from the line.
Phil and Koh-bee seem to be doing whatever it takes to win this season, and ultimately, that's what it's all about. If it's going to take an 81-point night from Koh-bee to get the W, then that's they'll do. Some would question how you could possibly know whether an 81-point night is needed if the primary ballho- er ballhandler takes 59 shots by himself . . .
But however much we want to bash Koh-bee, the facts indicate that his superhuman effort was needed to win the game. The Lakers trailed 63-49 at halftime, and the Craptors led by as many as 18 in the third quarter. Bryant scored 51 points after the Raptors took a 71-53 lead.
Let the game slip away or fight for it by taking the game over? It's hard to criticize the Lakers' record right now, especially when compared with the War-blechs.
Coach Phil Jackson was saying all the right things after the game, acknowledging that he specifically left Koh-bee in so he could get to 80, and marveling that his total was "something to behold--it was another level." A couple of days later though, Phil could be found trying to clarify his position, vis-à-vis maintaining some semblance of a team concept.
Whether you think Koh-bee is brilliant or a ballhog, the War-vittles look like sitting ducks. Losers of eight of their last ten games, they stumble into this game on a three-game losing streak and three games under .500 for the first time all season. Hopefully Koh-bee is too attached to his new nickname to go for triple digits.
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So, let me get this straight. A player well known for being selfish and a ball-hog is now praised for the ultimate form of selfish-ness and ball-hoggery by taking the ball on just about every play and doing it by himself? And what about all those sports columnists who bemoan the loss of team play and the selfishness of the modern ballplayer only to get with the butt kissing the moment somebody does something that's the antithesis of everything they supposedly say they want in sports? Won't somebody think about the children?
And I'm not just saying this because Kobe went to my rival High School.
With Richardson questionable for tonight's game, it will be interesting to see how Pietrus does against Mamba. Can Mickael step it up and make the case that he should be starting (or at least getting consistent minutes off the bench)? If he can't slow Kobe down, Pietrus has to make him play defense, try to tire him down a little bit so he doesn't have enough energy to go for 81 points. Last game, Jason was able to match Mamba almost point-for-point.
Davis and Murphy need to play better defense on Smush Parker and Kwame Brown. Hopefully, those two Lakers won't post season highs again and Dunleavy can continue to contain Odom.
The Kobe haters will forever be haters. The guy can't do anything right in the eyes of those who don't want to see how good the kid is. He's the hardest working basketball player around. Always was and will always be. Nah, that's not a positive thing for those "kids"? Hard work isn't warranted for Kobe because of his god-given talent. Kobe is surrounded by mediocre (at best) players and some are bitching that he's a ballhog. Let me see you make Kwame, I can't even catch a ball, Brown a "better player". Mihm, Cook, Smush, Sasha...damn that's an All Star team isn't it? NOT. Hogwash is what I say. His team was losing by 18 points to a Toronto team and the haters all yell "ballhog ballhog". Winning is what matters to Kobe and they needed all the points he made that night. Snaq (oops, Shaq) had the benefit of Kobe when they had their run of championships. Now he has a new boy wonder in Miami and hasn't won crap. I wonder why?