Kobe Bryant: Rumors of his demise were, well, exaggerated
The playoffs have a way of bending time.
Not every shot in this series has been this efficient for Kobe Bryant. It just seems that way.
Only six weeks ago, the Lakers and Kobe Bryant were in a very different place.
The start of Bryant's postseason was, to say the least, rocky. Over the first three games of L.A.'s opening round series against Oklahoma City, Kobe shot an abysmal 28-of-76 from the floor (36.8 percent). He had been harassed first by Thabo Sefolosha, then the long arms of Kevin Durant. The lift on his jumper wasn't there. In their 21 point loss to the Thunder in Game 4, Kobe didn't have a field goal until three minutes into the second quarter, and finished with only 12 points.
The Lakers were tied 2-2, and after a season of endless injuries Kobe looked tired and slow. Charles Barkley famously declared Bryant had lost a step. Did he have the juice to make it through the second season grind? Was it the beginning of the end for Bryant?
Then a funny thing happened. The Lakers had two days off after Game 4, then blew out the Thunder in Game 5, allowing Kobe to play only 29 completely stress-free minutes. The bum knee hobbling him started to heal.
From there, the guy some thought was cooked has been cooking, scoring 30 points or more in nine of his last ten games, the outlier coming in Game 2 against the Suns, on a night Kobe had 13 assists. Against the Jazz, Kobe averaged 32 points on 52.3 percent shooting along with 3.8 rebounds as L.A. swept Utah. Against the Suns, he's been even better: 33 points a night on 53 percent from the floor (including 44 percent from beyond the arc). To that, he's added 9.6 assists, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks.
In each of the last three games, Kobe has only narrowly missed posting triple-doubles, falling short by a rebound in Game 3, three boards in Game 4, and a dime in Game 5.
In his 13 years, Kobe has played 38 playoff series, counting the current one. At least as a matter of statistics, his work through five games against the Suns is better than all of them. Make the comparison to the rest of his greatest hits and judge for yourself (thanks to ESPN Stats and Information for the stats and information):
* 2001 Western Conference finals vs San Antonio (Lakers in four)- 33.3 PPG, 51.4 pct FG, 7.0 RPG, 7.0 APG
* 2009 Western Conference finals vs. Denver (Lakers in six)- 34.0 PPG, 48.1 pct FG, 5.8 RPG, 5.8 APG
* 2009 NBA Finals vs Orlando (Lakers in five): 32.4, 43 pct FG, 5.6 RPG, 7.4 APG (LAL in 5)
* 2001 Conference Semifinals vs Kings (Lakers in four): 35.0 PPG, 47.3 pct FG, 9.0 RPG, 4.3 APG (Note: This was Kobe's career high in PPG for any single series)
* 2008 Conference Semifinals vs Utah (Lakers in six): 33.2 PPG, 49.1 pct FG, 7.0 RPG, 7.2 APG
As you can see, in three of four major statistical categories, Kobe's exceeded his career highs. In the fourth (scoring), he's just shy. And when 33 points a night constitutes shy, it's hard to complain.
The explosion also serves to reinforce two very important concepts. First, Kobe Bryant is still very, very good at basketball, capable of dominating for sustained periods in myriad ways.
Second, context matters.
Before the start of the playoffs, I noted it was a little early to stick a fork in Kobe's career. He was hurt for most of the season, he was hurt early in the playoffs. (He's still hurt, just not nearly as much and so is everyone he's playing against.) One season of nagging injuries for a guy who averaged 80.25 games over his previous four seasons doesn't constitute enough of a pattern to make sweeping judgments.
Then there was the opening round matchup. The Thunder were very possibly the best defensive team in the Western Conference over the final 40 games of the season. They had a long, athletic defender in Sefolosha to throw at Kobe, then made a great adjustment by sticking Durant on Bryant. As a team, they move well enough to make a lot of players look a few steps closer to their pension. No other team in the conference could do to the Lakers and Kobe what the Thunder could.
Certainly not the Jazz.
The playoffs have a way of bending time.
Not every shot in this series has been this efficient for Kobe Bryant. It just seems that way.
Only six weeks ago, the Lakers and Kobe Bryant were in a very different place.
The start of Bryant's postseason was, to say the least, rocky. Over the first three games of L.A.'s opening round series against Oklahoma City, Kobe shot an abysmal 28-of-76 from the floor (36.8 percent). He had been harassed first by Thabo Sefolosha, then the long arms of Kevin Durant. The lift on his jumper wasn't there. In their 21 point loss to the Thunder in Game 4, Kobe didn't have a field goal until three minutes into the second quarter, and finished with only 12 points.
The Lakers were tied 2-2, and after a season of endless injuries Kobe looked tired and slow. Charles Barkley famously declared Bryant had lost a step. Did he have the juice to make it through the second season grind? Was it the beginning of the end for Bryant?
Then a funny thing happened. The Lakers had two days off after Game 4, then blew out the Thunder in Game 5, allowing Kobe to play only 29 completely stress-free minutes. The bum knee hobbling him started to heal.
From there, the guy some thought was cooked has been cooking, scoring 30 points or more in nine of his last ten games, the outlier coming in Game 2 against the Suns, on a night Kobe had 13 assists. Against the Jazz, Kobe averaged 32 points on 52.3 percent shooting along with 3.8 rebounds as L.A. swept Utah. Against the Suns, he's been even better: 33 points a night on 53 percent from the floor (including 44 percent from beyond the arc). To that, he's added 9.6 assists, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks.
In each of the last three games, Kobe has only narrowly missed posting triple-doubles, falling short by a rebound in Game 3, three boards in Game 4, and a dime in Game 5.
In his 13 years, Kobe has played 38 playoff series, counting the current one. At least as a matter of statistics, his work through five games against the Suns is better than all of them. Make the comparison to the rest of his greatest hits and judge for yourself (thanks to ESPN Stats and Information for the stats and information):
* 2001 Western Conference finals vs San Antonio (Lakers in four)- 33.3 PPG, 51.4 pct FG, 7.0 RPG, 7.0 APG
* 2009 Western Conference finals vs. Denver (Lakers in six)- 34.0 PPG, 48.1 pct FG, 5.8 RPG, 5.8 APG
* 2009 NBA Finals vs Orlando (Lakers in five): 32.4, 43 pct FG, 5.6 RPG, 7.4 APG (LAL in 5)
* 2001 Conference Semifinals vs Kings (Lakers in four): 35.0 PPG, 47.3 pct FG, 9.0 RPG, 4.3 APG (Note: This was Kobe's career high in PPG for any single series)
* 2008 Conference Semifinals vs Utah (Lakers in six): 33.2 PPG, 49.1 pct FG, 7.0 RPG, 7.2 APG
As you can see, in three of four major statistical categories, Kobe's exceeded his career highs. In the fourth (scoring), he's just shy. And when 33 points a night constitutes shy, it's hard to complain.
The explosion also serves to reinforce two very important concepts. First, Kobe Bryant is still very, very good at basketball, capable of dominating for sustained periods in myriad ways.
Second, context matters.
Before the start of the playoffs, I noted it was a little early to stick a fork in Kobe's career. He was hurt for most of the season, he was hurt early in the playoffs. (He's still hurt, just not nearly as much and so is everyone he's playing against.) One season of nagging injuries for a guy who averaged 80.25 games over his previous four seasons doesn't constitute enough of a pattern to make sweeping judgments.
Then there was the opening round matchup. The Thunder were very possibly the best defensive team in the Western Conference over the final 40 games of the season. They had a long, athletic defender in Sefolosha to throw at Kobe, then made a great adjustment by sticking Durant on Bryant. As a team, they move well enough to make a lot of players look a few steps closer to their pension. No other team in the conference could do to the Lakers and Kobe what the Thunder could.
Certainly not the Jazz.
