To define “Valuable,” I often ask, “What would this team amount to in the absence of said player?” It’s why I expect LeBron James to run away with his second consecutive Most Valuable Player (of the Regular Season) award in the coming months. The truth of the matter is, the Cavaliers would probably be a lottery team without the services of LeBron James.
For the sake of debate, we were thankfully given fairly recent examples (due to injury) of what the Heat and Lakers are capable of without their stars.
The Lakers bookended the All-Star Break with games that didn’t involve Bryant, who was sidelined with various, nagging injuries. They responded by felling play-off bound Portland (snapping a losing streak in Portland that stretched back to 491 B.C.), San Antonio, Utah, and losing a nail-biter to Boston. Overall, they went 4-1 without their commander.
This year, the Lakers have averaged 102 points a game (5th best in the league) while holding their opponents to 96 points (7th best in the league). In their five games without Bryant, they averaged 97 points a game. The drop is to be expected when such a prolific scorer as Kobe Bryant is sitting the bench. The defense, though, was elevated to an unexpected level. During the five game stretch, opponents averaged 86 points against the Lakers. 86!
Coincidentally, it wasn’t until the final game without Kobe (against Boston), where Kobe’s absence was truly felt: in crunch-time generalship and scoring. With the play-offs looming, and crucial games that can turn on a single possession, it is critical to have a proven assassin like Kobe. Because the same defense that faltered Derek Fisher on the last possession of the Celtics game, wouldn’t have phased Kobe. He’s proven, time and time again, that nothing short of a Howitzer gun can stop him in the closing moments of a game.
The Lakers would be a play-off bound team without Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, and Ron Artest would be the core of a formidable team that nobody would want to see in the play-offs. The question becomes: Could they beat the Denver Nuggets? Or the new and improved Dallas Mavericks? Or the Cleveland Cavaliers? Who would trade baskets with the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, or LeBron James in the closing moments of a close game? It seems like such a foreign concept, because, well, Kobe has held that title since the days of the Shaqobe era (but don’t tell Shaq that). Kobe is simply the icing on an already delicious cake.
Next: Dwayne’s Value to the Heat
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