A Good Day for Kobe Hating

What happened? According to the familiar narrative, in a close game, Kobe was supposed to take over the game - being the best player and all. Instead, he took overcompensating, ill advised, shots in the 4th quarter when he was tripled teamed or just really well covered. And then, Garnett-like, he started passing up decent shots to try to get his "teammates involved" down 6 or 8 points with two minutes left. MJ wouldn't have done that.

Oh, and then, Garnett (despite missing seemingly all his fourth quarter shots), slams home the monster dunk and makes two clutch possession saving hustle plays in the 4th quarter. I thought he was supposed to choke?

My point is: many of these sports narratives are stupid. Particularly the one's that emphasize individual greatness. Sure, sometimes the best player can take over a game. But a great team always beats a great player, save a few rare exceptions. We got misled because of Jordan and we think of instances like LaBron leading a shitty team past mediocre teams counts. We forget a great team can always figure out how to handle a great player.

Now, the Celtics might not be a great team...and the Laker's might be more than a great player. It still remains to be seen. Celtics look very strong at times, but they are just weird on the offensive end.

The way in which the Celtics won and make me realize Kobe's weakness: you can get into his head. Because he's a weird dude, he does weird stuff, and if you counter him with good old fashioned tough team defense and playing all around solid bball. He might go off, but he won't go off for four games.

Which brings up another issue - did the Lakers have an especially easy road to the Finals? To me, they didn't play the two most challenging teams in the West (actually 3 - they missed the Warriors in round 1): the Suns and the Hornets. They beat the Spurs - but were the Spurs done after their two series? Think about it - every game against the Suns and Hornets was mentally and physically challenging. The Lakers could dial it in against the Nuggest and Jazz at home. Then, they wipe the floor with a worn out Spurs team.

In theory, the same should apply to the Celtics, but if anything, the early playoff series seemed to toughen the Celts up. Stamina is not their problem. It's the crunch time experience playing with one another. So they seem to be hitting their stride.

Seeming like a good series.