Kobe making young stars wait their turn
DENVER -- One by one they have lined up to take what is rightfully his, and on this night, another one failed. This time, the victim was Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant's closest friend from the Olympic team and one of many teammates from Bejing who've taken direct aim at him.
When he is gone, whenever that is, the NBA will miss his cold-bloodedness. Be honest, so will you. There has to be a villain, and Bryant has played that role better than anyone since Michael Jordan. The way all the young stars are worshipped now -- and worship each other -- I can't imagine anyone ever matching Kobe's killer instinct, the sick way he enjoys dissecting and demoralizing an opponent this way.
"I know there are some great players," said Andrew Bynum, who will be one of them someday. "But I think everybody knows that he's still the best."
Bryant had just finished playing the role of cruel puppet master, toying with the Denver Nuggets to the tune of 35 points and 10 assists in the Lakers' 119-92 victory, which secured a 4-2 victory in the Western Conference finals and a return trip to the NBA Finals. It is not just last year's loss to the Celtics they are going there to avenge, but the one in 2004 to the Pistons, too.
"Last season was the first chance we had to do something about what happened in '04, and it didn't happen," Derek Fisher said. "I think our guys are excited about it, to have a chance to kind of right what we felt was wrong."
• Lakers 119, Nuggets 92 | Series: Lakers 4, Nuggets 2
It was exactly what we saw coming after Game 5, when Bryant played the facilitator with only 13 shot attempts in 45 minutes. The Nuggets fell right into the trap. When they doubled, he passed. When they backed off, he attacked. Nuggets coach George Karl could do nothing about it, so he invoked Larry Bird, who once said of the greatest player ever, "He is God disguised as Michael Jordan."
"Number 24 had a great five minutes at the end of the game that no one in basketball could have covered him," Karl said. "He made about four shots in that stretch that I think Jesus would've had trouble covering him."
Bryant was only 3-for-3 from the field in the fourth, but it seemed like more. I don't care who has puppets made for them on TV, nobody in the game senses and appreciates the moment Karl was talking about better than Bryant.
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| 'I think everybody knows that he's still the best.' Andrew Bynum says of teammate Kobe Bryant. (Getty Images) |
And?
"He showed me what Kobe Bryant stands for," Ariza said, "and what he means."
Bryant drew J.R. Smith's fifth foul 23 feet from the basket and then went to work. He worked the pick-and-roll with Pau Gasol for a dunk that gave Kobe 30 points and made it 96-77 with 8:01 left. He drove with a step-through move from the wing for an uncontested layup that gave him 32 points and made it 98-82. Then came the dagger, a 3-pointer over Smith that gave him 35 points and made it a 19-point game, 101-82, with 6:14 left. He didn't need to do any more. No mas.
"When they sort of stopped being so aggressive on the doubles, he was unstoppable and he put it on them," said Luke Walton, who had 10 points off the bench. "Then they had to come back and he started passing again. He had them at his mercy the whole game."
Bryant keeps saying these kids coming after him don't motivate him. I don't believe him. He is standing at the gate, and all of them have to pay admission. The way Bryant performed in the conference finals, he is still a bouncer who charges an exorbitant price.
The idea that LeBron, 'Melo or Dwight Howard could use Kobe to usher in a new era by stepping over him on the way to their first title ignores the fact that Bryant is still standing there. Dwyane Wade has one title, but it didn't come against Bryant. Wade's on vacation, anyway. 'Melo is on his way, and either LeBron or Dwight will be sent packing no later than Monday. And guess who's still standing?
"He knows that nothing lasts forever," Ariza said. "It's your mark that you leave on the game, and he's leaving a crazy mark on the game. I don't think there's anybody out there that's better than him still. I don't think he has anything to prove. He just has the killer instinct in him that nobody can take it from him, no matter what."
Last summer, when Bryant was teammates with 'Melo on their way to a gold medal in Beijing, Kobe let his guard down. Or so his gullible teammates thought. He's always been so distant, so unreachable, but in those private team moments, Anthony said he got to see Bryant in a light he's never seen.
"We made him feel young again," Anthony said. "We rejuvenated him. I'm pretty sure he didn't need it, but he felt comfortable with us, man. It's been a long time since he's been in an environment like we had last summer ... Being around us, us being around him, enjoying the guys, getting to know him better as a person, a lot of people were looking forward to that."
Keep your enemies close, they say. I wasn't there on those bus rides or in the team meetings or in the locker room. But if I had to guess, I'd say Bryant was only giving them so much. There is always a part of him he won't reveal, and that is what came out on the court Friday night. That is the fuel that will burn and propel him until the black hat no longer fits. Or until someone knocks it off his head.
"He's one of the greatest competitors I've ever seen," Walton said. "He's the most skilled player in the league, so he's going to compete and he's going to try to win every opportunity he can. And he's going to keep doing that until he physically can't do it anymore. And right now he can still do it, so he looks forward to those challenges. Most times, he rises to the occasion."
As Bryant was answering questions in the news conference room, Anthony was standing outside, waiting for his turn. Bryant is keeping all of them waiting. When No. 24 emerged, 'Melo shook his hand and they hugged.
"Keep your chin up," Bryant said.
"Absolutely," 'Melo replied.
It was just the way the puppet master had planned it.
