The man doesn’t practice all week, has a “significant amount of fluid” drained from his ailing right knee and he does what? Oh, you know, go off for 40 on 13 of 23 from the field (3 of 6 from deep) while also collecting 5 boards and 5 assists – just another day’s work. Despite the fact that Kobe has been defying the limitations of human physiology by which the rest of us peons are prohibited for well over 12 years, the pleasure of watching him eviscerate the will of his opponent is something that I will always beseech and never grow tired of.
The Black Mamba’s swagger was in full bloom last night at the Staples Center, jutting his jaw and giving us his rendition of Usher’s “Yeah” while vivaciously nodding his head to the sell-out crowd. To all the doubters and haters of Kobe Bryant, I say…nothing. They should all be sitting quietly anyhow.
Whatever the Lakers did during the six days they had off since dismantling the Utah Jazz, it really could not have spelled a more ideal outcome. If Lamar Odom is scoring 19 points on 9 of 15 shooting and snatching 19 rebounds (7 offensive), his best game of the playoffs thus far, we are simply unbeatable. Pau Gasol joined in the destruction with an incredibly efficient 21 points, connecting on 10 of 13 attempts. And how beautiful was that back door pass to Kobe that resulted in a three-point play? Only third team All-NBA? Unreal.
There’s really not many negative things of note to be discussed when appraising Game 1. If I really wanted to nitpick, I’d say it would have been nice if our defense could have tempered the Suns point total to under 100, but the fact that the margin of victory was 21 is more than enough to assure Laker fans around the world that the champs are playing their best ball of the entire season, with their absolute peak yet to come.
The only thing that would have made last night’s game even sweeter is if Shannon Brown would have been able to finish his incomprehensible dunk attempt over Jason Richardson, taking off from just past the free throw line. But hey, with 44 points from our bench, no one’s complaining one bit.
NEXT: Taking control
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