Not even I saw this coming
I was told the Los Angeles Lakers had the best clutch player in the NBA on their team. I was told they have the one player that would never let his team die when the team’s back is against the wall. I was told this player can will his team to victories.
I was told a lot of things about Kobe Bryant. I chose to only listen to a few things. After 12 years I would think people would stop talking and allow his on-court play speak for itself.
What I saw was a guy who did, in fact, play decent in the 4th quarter. Decent, not amazing. The loss cannot be pinned on Bryant, but that was the one of the biggest tank-jobs I’ve ever seen.
And they tanked it with the alleged “Most Clutch Player in the NBA”.
I thought you guys would have grown smarter by now? Didn’t we watch the Lakers blow a 3-1 lead against the Phoenix Suns? Not even the “Most Clutch Player in the NBA” could get his team through round 1 until the arrival of Pau Gasol and the emergence of Andrew Bynum. So we know it takes a team to win games.
But we’ve also grown to expect one player to take over 4th quarters to secure must-win games. Last night was an obvious must-win for the Lakers and they had the game all but wrapped up. Chick Hearn called down from the heavens to say this game was over. Why not? I contemplated not watching the 2nd half. BUT, I knew I had to squeeze as much basketball viewing now since I won’t get to watch much in the summer (The Olympics is the exception). Thank god I did not go to bed.
If there was series you would think is over it would be this one. How can a team recover from this kind of meltdown? And if they do win Game 5, can they overcome that defeat and then win another 2 on enemy court? Doubt it. This series could go back to Boston but if the Celtics know better they will finish it in Los Angeles.
To finish out ragging on Kobe and his Lakers, I don’t want to make this entire post out as if the Black Mamba is responsible for this loss. He shares the blame with other players. All I am pointing out is for you to understand that when you throw out words like “clutch” you better understand what it means and who stands for it. For years at Foxsports (who is probably responsible for this particular post as I was bombarded with Laker hype and such), I kept telling everyone that Kobe Bryant was no more clutch than the next guy. It was true back then and it’s still true to this day. He’s probably the best player in the NBA, no, he IS the best player in the NBA. Best player does not translate into the best clutch player. He has been no better in the clutch than Tim Duncan, Steve Nash or even Allen Iverson. There is no disrespect in being lumped into the same company as those stars.
And I can say for certain that the best clutch player in the world would never let his team tank the biggest game of their season.
