Kobe Bryant's 81 Point Night: The Mamba Strikes Again

I’m going to play a little game of lemmings here, follow everyone else’s lead and dive into a pool filled with a Kobe Bryant flavored Kool-Aid (If he had a Kool Aid flavor it would probably be called Black Mamba). Kobe’s performance on Sunday was simply the greatest scoring performance in my life time. And for a few days I have been kicking myself for missing the game. You see this weekend was my birthday, and despite the fact that I wasn’t really into my birthday and all I decided to have a little bit of a gathering on Sunday night. If you know me, you know that I usually don’t schedule events (including my own birthday parties) on the day of a Laker game. In fact, this season I’m usually trying to find away to be at the games. I’ve seen the aforementioned Mamba strike the likes of LeBron James, Allen Iverson, and Dwyane Wade with venomous forty point scoring barrages. This year Kobe came out wearing compression tights under his shorts. Most of us would think that he was wearing them to prevent some sort of injury. But don’t superheros wear tights? Not to say that number eight is my superhero or anything, but maybe he looks at himself in that way. Maybe he sees himself as some sort of unstoppable basketball superpower. I mean, what else would drive him to shoot the ball forty six times? And what else would drive him to wear those ridiculous Peter Pan tights?

Side Note: Check out photos from LeBron James last couple of games. Look at his legs. He’s officially wearing tights now too. I’m sure he’s worried about preventing injuries as well. Yeah right! Pretty soon the NBA is going to put on an off Broadway performance called, “The NBA: Black Millionaires in Tights”. Check out the photo evidence (as provided by YAY Sports)Despite the fact that I missed the game live on Sunday, I caught a replay of the game last night on FSN west. The reason Kobe is not getting hounded for shooting so many times is that one, he was absolutely on fire. The man shot 61 percent from the floor while shooting 46 (yes 46) shots. That is unbelievable accuracy. Especially when you consider that Kobe does most of his work from the outside, and that he was seeing double and triple teams consistently throughout the night.

But although this was the greatest scoring performance in league history, I can’t say that it was the greatest performance that I have ever seen. In my view the greatest basketball performances have all come in the playoffs. In the playoffs everyone is playing at their highest most intense level. In my opinion a 40 or 50 point game in the later round of the playoffs is much more impressive than Kobe’s 81. How about Magic Johnson playing Center in the 6th game of the 1980 NBA finals against a great Philadelphia Seventy-Sixer team? Johnson scored 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 7 assists as the Lakers stunned the 76ers 123-107 to clinch the first of his five NBA championships. What about Michael Jordan? How many clutch shots did he hit in the playoffs. How many times did he guide his team to a victory late in the playoffs? It was in Game 2 of Chicago's first round matchup against the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics that Jordan put on perhaps the greatest playoff performance ever. In the hallowed halls of the Boston Garden, he set a playoff record by scoring an amazing 63 points against what many considered to be one of the greatest NBA teams ever. The Celtics won the game, 135-131 in double-overtime, and went on to sweep the Bulls, but Jordan's playoff record still stands. All I am saying is that Kobe wasn’t playing against any of the top players in the history of the game. He wasn’t playing in a game that had any significance, and at the end of the game he wasn’t scoring to win the game but to capture a record.

Yet as a fan of the game, I’m happy to see everyone give the kid a break. Kobe has taken a beating in the press and with NBA fans over the last couple of years. Even this season, with him carrying a youthful under-manned Laker squad, people are still highly critical of number 8. This performance has seemed to make a lot of the haters jump on the bandwagon and start to forgive Kobe for all of his previous transgressions. Oh, how convenient.

81 wasn’t just great for Kobe, it was great for the NBA. This is the type of performance that the NBA needed to get people talking about the sport again. Football is number one in the hearts of many around the country, yet Kobe’s 81 helped the NBA trump the NFL during the second biggest weekend of the NFL season. If the NBA marketing experts had any smarts they would make sure to hit the public with a barrage of Kobe. Although, purists like myself prefer team basketball, the fans (and even a purist like me) are entertained by the Mamba. I know the NBA wants to market Wade and LeBron James, but they are making a mistake if they don’t quickly transition to Kobe. Kobe should be on National TV every night. Yes the Lakers of the 80s and the Bulls of the 90s were great teams, but remember those teams were popular amongst most fans (beyond the purists) because of the play of their best players (Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan). Kobe is must see TV, not because the Lakers are a good team, but because on any given night you could be watching Kobe Bryant re-write the NBA record books. If the NBA were smart they would have a Kobe package for the League pass. Instead of getting all the games for $200 get all of Kobe’s games for $75.

But beyond everything that I mentioned above, I have to say that I am in awe of the evolution of Kobe’s offensive game. His jump shot is flawless right now. My favorite time to watch Kobe is when he gets his shots in the flow of the triangle offense. Against the Heat a couple of weeks back Kobe must have “L'd out” and caught the ball freethrow line extended 10 times. Each time he would catch the ball at the "elbow" reverse pivot and score on a jumpshot. Despite having a defenders hand in his face each time, he just made it look so easy. He had a similar game last week against Sacramento. That is until Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom blew the game in the final few seconds causing Kobe to go into complete gunner mode in OT. Kobe in gunner mode at the end of a game is not a pretty thing, because after playing 40 minutes, Kobe, even as great as he is, is most likely going to miss most, if not all of those shots. But still there is no doubt in my mind who the greatest player in the game currently is. He is head and shoulders above the rest.

Although some may disagree, and there might be arbitrary arguments about the right way to play the game (from people such as myself), let’s just sit back, shut up, and enjoy history unfold before our eyes. Because this guys going to be the one we are all telling our grandchildren about.

JONESONTHENBA@YAHOO.COM