The Archives: Kobe's Well-Honed Killer Instinct

It’s probably impossible to accurately create a new way to define Kobe Bryant. He’s been the subject of countless sit-downs, millions of published articles and too many great covers to even remember them all. But at his essence, he’s a murderously effective basketball player and no one captured that more memorably than Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard did during the Lakers run to the Finals in 2008.

With the Lakers reeling (sort of) as they come into their hyped Christmas day matchup with the Miami Heat, the spotlight will once again – as it always is – be on Kobe Bryant and his between-the-lines battle with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Going strictly off this beautifully-written piece, I think he enjoys that.

——————–

A great moment in humility it was not.

After scoring 25 of his 27 points in the second half of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals last week against the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant said of his strong finishing kick, “I can get off” — that is, score at will — “at any time. In the second half I did that.”

Granted, Bryant was just being honest, but tact would dictate that he let others say such things about him. As you may have noticed, though, Bryant isn’t big on tact. Time and again over the last decade he has announced the particulars of his awesomeness. As teammate Luke Walton dryly puts it, “Kobe does not lack for confidence.”

Read the full story here…

20 Second Timeout

12/02

…the Top 5 Plays from last night…

:20…A Guy Named LeBron

12/02

…the Top 5 Plays from last night…

20 Second Timeout

11/24

CP versus D-Will happened. So did 30/20 for Kevin Love. Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki happened. So did another Miami Heat collapse…

…and the Top 10 Plays…

:20…Miami Falls Down

11/24

CP versus D-Will happened. So did 30/20 for Kevin Love. Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki happened. So did another Miami Heat collapse…

…and the Top 10 Plays…

20 Second Timeout

11/17

Miami annihilated the Suns, the Hornets survived Dallas and Eva dropped Tony. And oh yeah, Greg Oden is done for the year, again, after learning he will have microfracture surgery, again…

…the Top 10 Plays…

…and Bosh’s big night…

:20…Get Boshed

11/17

Miami annihilated the Suns, the Hornets survived Dallas and Eva dropped Tony. And oh yeah, Greg Oden is done for the year, again, after learning he will have microfracture surgery, again…

…the Top 10 Plays…

…and Bosh’s big night…

Playoff Teams Preview, cont.

Miami Heat

43-39

28 game improvement over last year

KEYS: Wade- league’s leading scorer

O’Neal- aquired for inside presence

 

While they sport possibly the game’s best player, this Miami Heat squad is severly limited. They are missing a low post scorer, Jermaine O’Neal used to be that but his knees don’t allow it anymore. They lack consistent point guard play and outside shooters. Most of all, they lack a second option. The Heat rely solely on Wade to play defense, set up the offense, and hit every big shot.

 

 

Still, he has had such an unbelievable season that it makes up for the fact that Beasley has been a disappointment, O’Neal looks like he will never regain his former form, and the rest of the team is undersized. Look at these numbers: 30.2, 5, 7.5, 2.2, 1.3. That is just ridiculous, across the board work by Wade.

 

 

Even though I don’t have a lot of faith in Atlanta either, I think Miami’s season will end in the first round because of 2 reasons: a) home-court for the Hawks will hurt Miami’s supporting cast, and b) Atlanta has done a better job than anyone of checking Wade this year.

Dallas Mavericks

49-33

finished the season strong

lost the last 2 years in 1st rd.

KEYS- Josh Howard- how healthy is the ankle?

Terry- 19.6 ppg, 6th man of the year

Normally, I would have absolutely no faith in this squad to advance, given their recent struggles ever since Wade stole their rings. This team is just straight up soft, no other way to put it. The only player I’ve ever feared is the JET. The rest of this team will more than likely self-destruct before they do anything to kill someone else.

Still, they avoided what would’ve been an easy sweep for LA and instead got the matchup they wanted all along- the Spurs. As I said before, they were built for this team. In order to win this matchup, Josh Howard will have to help negate what numbers Tony Parker is going to put on Kidd. And Germany’s finest will ABSOLUTELY have to outplay Duncan. Even all that might not even do it because the rest of the Dallas squad will fold once the series goes deep.

I think they can push the Spurs unlike any other team they would’ve faced, but ultimately, a game 7 will bring about another SA series win.

Philly 6ers

41-41

five players average at least 12.8 ppg

KEYS- Iguodala- averaged 19, 5, 5

is there any depth?

A team that has been up-and-down as much as anyone this year, the Sixers find themselves in a familiar position: a 7 seed, with no one giving them a chance to do much of anything. Remember last year? This team went up 2-1 on Detroit, blowing them out in game 3 and putting a real scare into the Motor City until finally succombing.

The same scenerio could happen this year with a very young Orlando team. They can’t match up with Dwight, but everywhere else is pretty even. Making jump shots will determine the series. Similar to Atlanta, the 6ers rely on their athleticism and fast break to score points. Fortunately for them, Orlando likes to play that way too. So once again, I see them pressing their first round opponents before falling.

Playoff Teams Preview, cont.

Miami Heat

43-39

28 game improvement over last year

KEYS: Wade- league’s leading scorer

O’Neal- aquired for inside presence

 

While they sport possibly the game’s best player, this Miami Heat squad is severly limited. They are missing a low post scorer, Jermaine O’Neal used to be that but his knees don’t allow it anymore. They lack consistent point guard play and outside shooters. Most of all, they lack a second option. The Heat rely solely on Wade to play defense, set up the offense, and hit every big shot.

 

 

Still, he has had such an unbelievable season that it makes up for the fact that Beasley has been a disappointment, O’Neal looks like he will never regain his former form, and the rest of the team is undersized. Look at these numbers: 30.2, 5, 7.5, 2.2, 1.3. That is just ridiculous, across the board work by Wade.

 

 

Even though I don’t have a lot of faith in Atlanta either, I think Miami’s season will end in the first round because of 2 reasons: a) home-court for the Hawks will hurt Miami’s supporting cast, and b) Atlanta has done a better job than anyone of checking Wade this year.

Dallas Mavericks

49-33

finished the season strong

lost the last 2 years in 1st rd.

KEYS- Josh Howard- how healthy is the ankle?

Terry- 19.6 ppg, 6th man of the year

Normally, I would have absolutely no faith in this squad to advance, given their recent struggles ever since Wade stole their rings. This team is just straight up soft, no other way to put it. The only player I’ve ever feared is the JET. The rest of this team will more than likely self-destruct before they do anything to kill someone else.

Still, they avoided what would’ve been an easy sweep for LA and instead got the matchup they wanted all along- the Spurs. As I said before, they were built for this team. In order to win this matchup, Josh Howard will have to help negate what numbers Tony Parker is going to put on Kidd. And Germany’s finest will ABSOLUTELY have to outplay Duncan. Even all that might not even do it because the rest of the Dallas squad will fold once the series goes deep.

I think they can push the Spurs unlike any other team they would’ve faced, but ultimately, a game 7 will bring about another SA series win.

Philly 6ers

41-41

five players average at least 12.8 ppg

KEYS- Iguodala- averaged 19, 5, 5

is there any depth?

A team that has been up-and-down as much as anyone this year, the Sixers find themselves in a familiar position: a 7 seed, with no one giving them a chance to do much of anything. Remember last year? This team went up 2-1 on Detroit, blowing them out in game 3 and putting a real scare into the Motor City until finally succombing.

The same scenerio could happen this year with a very young Orlando team. They can’t match up with Dwight, but everywhere else is pretty even. Making jump shots will determine the series. Similar to Atlanta, the 6ers rely on their athleticism and fast break to score points. Fortunately for them, Orlando likes to play that way too. So once again, I see them pressing their first round opponents before falling.