Burdened
The phone call came from my soon-to-be former editor. "Knicks-Lakers Tuesday night?" Absolutely... hell, Knicks-ITT Tech would prove to be just enough to pick up a press pass for me. The first game I covered since my return to New York City had more juice than a Florida orange grove and for once, it had little to do with the city's monomania of itself. Knicks-Lakers has long been known as NY versus LA, East meets West, Showtime against Broadway (even though, the Garden is a couple of blocks away from Broadway). Yet, absolutely no one cared about how bad the Knicks have played... in fact, media and fans counted on another beatdown just as the previous night in Atlanta. Yes, Atlanta. The story of the two highest-paid coaches in professional sports history meeting again for the second time this season with the two highest-profile mediocre rosters in the league. So what? Why was this the biggest game at the Garden in recent memory?
Hometown products Lamar Odom and Smush Parker.
Okay, seriously, KB81. Not the KB8 of the past eight seasons. Not the KB8 phenomenon that chose the hands-on education of the pros over the building blocks foundation called Duke University. Not the KB8-post Shaq, post-Colorado. From when KB81 walked into the Quite Frankly studio Monday night, people pondered the possibility of another 100 point game against the Knicks.
Knicks Fans Know... Kobe's F'n Krazy
Kobe Bryant has scored at an astonding clip. 43.4 points over thirteen games in January (only Wilt's done it better). This isn't news to anyone who knew that he would shoulder much of the proposed burdens the Lakers would face this season: the return of Phil Jackson and his exercises in freedom of Zen-like banter on his players, the youth of the team not yet being served, defensive liabilities that could slow them in a weaker Western Conference, Year 2 Post-Shaq, Post-Colorado. Yet, did anyone expect this?
In his Quite Frankly interview, he talked about the respect he has gained from his peers throughout the trials (literally) and tribulations of the past three years. Allen Iverson, the anti-Kobe until Kobe, called him a straight assassin with the manner that Bryant is attacking the rim this season. Maybe A.I. meant a little more than that. Last season, KB81 seemed irrelevant without Shaq in the post, without veterans such as Rick Fox, Gary Payton and Karl Malone to rein him in at practice. A lost season in his mind and in his game, depsite averaging under 28 PPG. What made him come back like this? He says he doesn't really know. So we speculate and find that it could be that he sees much of the same situation that he inherited last season. Or maybe he figured that he could score enough to push LeBron James out of the Nike lexicon for a few months. Maybe his scope has changed since putting his hand into Katrina relief efforts as many of the other NBA players who responded like they were EMTs themselves. Maybe we could entertain the thought that when he "accepted" the return of Jackson that he would find his own best-served revenge, playing as a rebel within the heralded Triangle offense.
Or he can still hear all of the boos, even if they sound like "M-V-P! M-V-P!"
He is without a doubt the best player in basketball today (even contradicting 'Ticket" from earlier in the season). He is also the most hated athlete in sports today. Think about it: all of Barry Bonds' detractors point to his surly presense towards the media in addition to his on-field exploits, yet, baseball does not have the global reach as the NBA does. Soccer players whose personalities cross some of these global planes don't cross over here much, where our own national arrogance wouldn't allow for these players to be loved or hated or even cared about. The same can go for most other sports from the NFL to alpine skiing to cricket: scope doesn't allow for them to be noticed in most countries. Yet, for those who love this expanding global entity called the NBA, there's a conflict on whether to love or hate Bryant, as baseball fans wrestle over Bonds or NFLers over Ray Lewis. For the proverbial majority that despises the National Basketball Association, he reflects much that is wrong with the league. Criminals, thugs, hoods... rapists. He was once as clean-cut as they come; the anti-A.I. He was acceptable, non-threatening and most of all, quiet.
The energy he once used to craft his image is spent crafting another scoring masterpiece. The need to be vindicated resides on the hardwood now, even if most of the crowds around it won't do so. Kobe Bryant isn't acceptable as he once was and many opposing guards think he's pretty damn threatening. Yet, he's still quiet.
Just like a straight assassin is supposed to be.
Say What?!?!: So as previously mentioned, life has moved me back home to NYC. And what was the first sports story outside of Bryant's 81 points that made me take notice?
None.
The media overall is indebted to Bryant's game as of late without actually saying so. With the Super Bowl Media Week being as eventful and meaningful as a Colin Ferrell flick, many writers have been drawn to this must-see-kobe-tv. The "how much will he score tonight" factor to each game and each off-day practice has continued to be a forefront in places before the upcoming NFL championship since he humiliated the Toronto Raptors franchise. Until then, training for the World Baseball Classic begins in less than two weeks.
By the way, there's nothing wrong with ITT Tech, but they probably would beat the Knicks, Raptors, Sonics and Hawks this season.
Hometown products Lamar Odom and Smush Parker.
Okay, seriously, KB81. Not the KB8 of the past eight seasons. Not the KB8 phenomenon that chose the hands-on education of the pros over the building blocks foundation called Duke University. Not the KB8-post Shaq, post-Colorado. From when KB81 walked into the Quite Frankly studio Monday night, people pondered the possibility of another 100 point game against the Knicks.
Knicks Fans Know... Kobe's F'n Krazy
Kobe Bryant has scored at an astonding clip. 43.4 points over thirteen games in January (only Wilt's done it better). This isn't news to anyone who knew that he would shoulder much of the proposed burdens the Lakers would face this season: the return of Phil Jackson and his exercises in freedom of Zen-like banter on his players, the youth of the team not yet being served, defensive liabilities that could slow them in a weaker Western Conference, Year 2 Post-Shaq, Post-Colorado. Yet, did anyone expect this?
In his Quite Frankly interview, he talked about the respect he has gained from his peers throughout the trials (literally) and tribulations of the past three years. Allen Iverson, the anti-Kobe until Kobe, called him a straight assassin with the manner that Bryant is attacking the rim this season. Maybe A.I. meant a little more than that. Last season, KB81 seemed irrelevant without Shaq in the post, without veterans such as Rick Fox, Gary Payton and Karl Malone to rein him in at practice. A lost season in his mind and in his game, depsite averaging under 28 PPG. What made him come back like this? He says he doesn't really know. So we speculate and find that it could be that he sees much of the same situation that he inherited last season. Or maybe he figured that he could score enough to push LeBron James out of the Nike lexicon for a few months. Maybe his scope has changed since putting his hand into Katrina relief efforts as many of the other NBA players who responded like they were EMTs themselves. Maybe we could entertain the thought that when he "accepted" the return of Jackson that he would find his own best-served revenge, playing as a rebel within the heralded Triangle offense.
Or he can still hear all of the boos, even if they sound like "M-V-P! M-V-P!"
He is without a doubt the best player in basketball today (even contradicting 'Ticket" from earlier in the season). He is also the most hated athlete in sports today. Think about it: all of Barry Bonds' detractors point to his surly presense towards the media in addition to his on-field exploits, yet, baseball does not have the global reach as the NBA does. Soccer players whose personalities cross some of these global planes don't cross over here much, where our own national arrogance wouldn't allow for these players to be loved or hated or even cared about. The same can go for most other sports from the NFL to alpine skiing to cricket: scope doesn't allow for them to be noticed in most countries. Yet, for those who love this expanding global entity called the NBA, there's a conflict on whether to love or hate Bryant, as baseball fans wrestle over Bonds or NFLers over Ray Lewis. For the proverbial majority that despises the National Basketball Association, he reflects much that is wrong with the league. Criminals, thugs, hoods... rapists. He was once as clean-cut as they come; the anti-A.I. He was acceptable, non-threatening and most of all, quiet.
The energy he once used to craft his image is spent crafting another scoring masterpiece. The need to be vindicated resides on the hardwood now, even if most of the crowds around it won't do so. Kobe Bryant isn't acceptable as he once was and many opposing guards think he's pretty damn threatening. Yet, he's still quiet.
Just like a straight assassin is supposed to be.
Say What?!?!: So as previously mentioned, life has moved me back home to NYC. And what was the first sports story outside of Bryant's 81 points that made me take notice?
None.
The media overall is indebted to Bryant's game as of late without actually saying so. With the Super Bowl Media Week being as eventful and meaningful as a Colin Ferrell flick, many writers have been drawn to this must-see-kobe-tv. The "how much will he score tonight" factor to each game and each off-day practice has continued to be a forefront in places before the upcoming NFL championship since he humiliated the Toronto Raptors franchise. Until then, training for the World Baseball Classic begins in less than two weeks.
By the way, there's nothing wrong with ITT Tech, but they probably would beat the Knicks, Raptors, Sonics and Hawks this season.
posted by Jason Clinkscales @ 5:14 PM
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