Got the Better of?

Yes, I’m an unashamed Lakers apologist. Perhaps the worst kind of sports fan. So shoot me or stop reading (just kidding, please soldier on). Last night Lebron James defended his home floor and put the “defensive stop” on Mr. Bryant. He dropped 33 points, 5 assists, 10 boards and threw in a block and a steal to boot. Amazing numbers no doubt.

He also took it upon himself to stop Kobe at the end of the game. “I didn’t even ask, I just told Sasha (as in Pavlovic) to go somewhere else,” the King told reporters following the Cavs 94-90 win.

Of course, everyone had been hyping this match up (even this blogger) for the past couple of days, wondering who was better. Well, there’s no question Bron Bron had the better game, he put up better numbers, shot better and won. End of discussion. He even got less help from his teammates with only Daniel Gibson, a dude nicknamed “Boobie”, and Big Z (Zydrunas Ilgauskas)  scoring in double figures, with 15 and 12 respectively. Kobe had three. Fish 18, Odom 19, and Bynum, 17.

So hats off. Really.

If I was going to pick a player to carry my team for 47 minutes, I’d have to give the edge to Bron Bron. He passes more than Kobe getting teammates more involved (although, I believe this to be more of a standard response due to the higher number of assists he tallies than real factual evidence. I mean, if you watch him, he dominates the ball more than Kobe does), he rebounds better, he blocks shots better, and he can drop 30 plus in any and every game. So yeah, he gives you, on average, more than Kobe gives you. He’s a triple double threat each and every night.

But if we’re talking about winning games, putting people away, icing and cold blood and homicidal basketball instincts—there is no one like Black Mamba. He plays in his own league.

Yes, Lebron guarded Kobe in the last few seconds before the buzzer sounded, but Kobe still got off a great shot. A shot that, had the strained groin that has been the main culprit behind his shooting percentage dipping to 36 percent in the last three games since he injured it, had that groin been healthy, there’s no doubt that shot goes in and the game plays out with Lebron getting beat on his own floor.

Even the King admitted, “It looked good when I turned around.”

Now, rewind back to when AI was killing the Lakers not a week ago. That’s shutting somebody down. AI scored two points in the whole quarter.

Kobe can ice you offensively and defensively. So getting triple doubles is a great thing, a beautiful thing, a very awesome thing to accomplish. But look where that’s getting Jason Kidd.

Sure, Lebron has limitless talent, a ceiling that might reach God’s very sandals.

But here on earth, in the here and now, give me ice blood and the killing instincts of the most deadly snake on earth.