It’s “Show” Time

Okay, here’s the deal. The Lakers have looked pretty bad in these finals. Sure, a great deal can be attributed to the “help.”  Odom was nonexistent in the first few games. The guards have had a couple great moments, but never all at the same time and for the most part they’ve been playing poorly. The SF position has been a complete disadvantage, Walton and Vlad Rad have been horrible and Paul Pierce has been brilliant. 

But the onus falls squarely on #24’s shoulders. He’s this year’s MVP. He’s the one who demanded more help, and he’s the one everyone is calling the best player in the game. In the first 3 rounds, Kobe lived up to the hype. He averaged nearly 32 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists on 51 percent shooting. Phenomenal. He led his team into a sweep of the 50-win Nugs, out of a dogfight with the Jazz and straight through the hearts of the defending champs.

But, Kobe’s struggled in the Finals. Named after the deadliest snake on hearth, the black mamba, and being labeled as the number one killer in the league, Kobe Bryant has been quite pedestrian. To be fair, 26, 6, and 5 is a great stat line in most people’s books. But that 42 percent shooting and those nearly 4 turnovers per game, not to mention being down 3-2, sure leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouths concerning KB. He’s supposed to be Jordanesque. He’s supposed to be the best closer. And yet he let a historic 24-point lead wither into a loss—at home. Then, he nearly let it happen again the very next game.

And yet, nobody should be surprised. Kobe, for whatever reason, has never been the most clutch finals performer. It pains me to say this, but the evidence doesn't lie. I always used to complain that Kobe never got any finals MVPs despite carrying the Lakers in the early rounds. But Kobe’s never really showed up for any Finals.

For his career, in the four finals appearances he’s had before this year, his numbers look eerily similar. What follows is his previous four finals appearance stats next to this year’s current stats.

41% FG, 85% FT, 22.1 ppg, 5.21 rpg, 5.10 apg, 1.42 spg, 1.05 bpg, 3.00 tpg
42% FG  77% FT, 26.4 ppg, 5.00 rpg, 5.80 apg, 3.00 spg, 0.20 bpg, 3.80 tpg

His scoring is up this year, but he’s shooting a worse freethrow percentage and he’s turning the ball over a lot more. Of course, those 3 steals look good on paper, but in the games, it looks like a lot of gambling. That gambling results in homeruns, for both squads (i.e. that steal on Pierce to seal the game).

What I’m getting at is those are not elite closer stats. Not by a long shot. An elite closer puts games away, and does whatever is necessary. So far in these finals, Kobe has not been allowed to close.

I have several theories, but the most prominent one is that the Celtics are a great defensive squad.

No freakin duh. Right?

The Lakers play well when Kobe’s in the flow of the offense, even if his shots aren’t falling. They play their best when Lamar Odom is getting that second pass for easy layups and dunks. The Lakers O slows to a grinding halt, however, in the fourth quarter when it’s “Kobe time.” He tries to ISO and get shots for himself, but the Celtics team defense is too good to give him even hard shots.

So Kobe has been settling for flat out bad shots and hasn’t been making them.

The passing stops. The movement stops. Everything stops and plays directly into the Cetlics hands. What Kobe needs to do, is forget Jordan. Forget the comparisons. Block out all the naysayers and doubters. He needs to just play basketball—play the team game. The Lakers can win if they do that. I know they can.

People talk about how the Lakers have blown a 24-point lead and a 19-point lead in back-to-back games. Nobody, however, talks about how the Lakes have taken 2 of the last 3 from the Celtics. Sure, they were at home, and those leads came due to some foul trouble (KG), but 24 and 19 points respectively is nothing to simply brush under the table. Those leads were real and the Lakers got them by playing great basketball.

Kobe, by the way, didn’t play well in either game.

Which, brings me, shockingly, to my final point of today’s blogs.

Kobe’s already made history by failing to close out a game after leading by 24-points. That had never happened before. He can still make history if he finds a way to win the next two games.

But, my point has to do with the very real possibility that the Lakers fail.

Kobe can opt out of his contract next year. The Lakers, namely, Mitch Kupchak knows this.

Mitch has set up a wonderfully deep and exciting, not to mention, young team. Two of his future pieces, missed half the season in Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza (this kid’s got crazy potential). So the full power of this squad has not yet been seen.

Of course, money, as overviewed in this blog some time ago, could become an issue. Vlad Rad and Walton are locked in and overpaid. 

Turiaf, Ariza and Vujacic need to be resigned next year. Bynum and Odom the year after.

If Kobe decides he wants more money, gets greedy, and opts out of his contract, the Lakers are in a position to get rid of him in a sign-and-trade. Or just let him walk and save that money for a Dwayne Wade or, gasp, Lebron James in 2010.

Get rid of Kobe? Let him walk? What? No way! Never!

Right?

Well, what good is the league’s top closer if he can’t close out in the finals? He could win all the playoff games and regular season games he wants to, but if he can’t close out the finals, what good is he?

Sure, it’s sacrilegious to even think thoughts such as those. But Kobe is going to be 30. His trade value will never be higher after his MVP season. He’s become a “team” player this season.

Those who would disagree with me might point out that Los Angeles needs a big name to keep the stars coming out. I would disagree. If the Lakers are winning, people will come. Besides, stars don’t get much bigger than those free agents in 2010.

Also, Andrew Bynum could be that next big star.

So, a trade, like, say, Kobe for Caron Butler and Deshawn Stevenson. Add those two guys to Odom, Gasol and Bynum, and the Lakers would have just as good a shot to win in it all.

The triangle is all about passing and spacing. Stevenson can pass and space the floor with his long ball. Tough Juice brings everything from defense, to 3 point shooting, to rebounding. 

Look, I’m not saying that trade is even available, but it’s all about thinking outside the box in the NBA. Things change drastically. Just ask the Suns. Hell, just ask the Lakers.

A year ago, Kobe wanted out because he had no help. At the beginning of this series, Kobe could blame the help too. Nobody was playing well. Odom was nowhere to be found. Vlad Rad sucked. Pau was get killed on the boards. Fisher, Farmar and Sahsa couldn't throw a stone in the ocean.

The last two games, the calvary has shown up. Last night, Odom scored 20 points on 8-10 shooting, pulled down 11 boards, blocked 4 shots and dished out 2. Pau, that same Pau who people say isn’t tough, had the tidy statline of 19, 13 and 6 assists with two blocks.

In fact, Kobe was the weak link last night. It was his performance that made the game so close. He didn’t box out. He didn’t crash the boards. He stood around and seemed to almost pout when his shots missed. He looks unsure of himself and that supreme confidence of his has been shaky...at best.

Of course, there is all kinds of pressure on #24. He has the pressure of an MVP. He has the pressure of wearing the mantle of “best player.” He has the pressure of being the one who broke up the dynasty (it takes two and in this case, three to tango). He has the pressure of everyone else's expectations.

Not only does he have to live with each and every mistake that he makes in terms of his team and his own legacy, but all of those mistakes are compared to Michael Jordan. And you can never win against an ideal (MJ was really good, perhaps the greatest, but people tend to think of him as god, when, in fact, he was just a man like you and me). 

Kobe also has the pressure of his own expectations.

Today, Kobe has, so far, failed to deliver a championship despite having, what many believe, to be one of the most talented teams in the NBA. If he can’t deliver on this promise, if he can't find the promised land, there are other options out there that might be able to get it done.

So, Kobe better show up in a big way, or he could find himself out of the Lakers equation.

All I’m saying is, you just never know…