Pacers Outbalance Lakers, 98-96
Pacers 98, Lakers 96
Thinking about Kobe and Jordan a lot lately. Jordan played college ball for three years. Today, a college junior entering the draft would be considered a minor talent, the notion being that if he was really good he’d have come out after his first or second year. How many juniors or seniors have been lottery picks in the last, oh, ten years?
We all know that, unlike Jordan, Kobe went directly to the NBA from high school. It wasn’t common then, but now there are probably more than a hundred NBA players who came straight outta high school. But because it’s common it has obscured the deep and complex difficulties that come with such precocity, and can’t be overstated as an influence. I would guess that most of them have problems similar to Kobe’s that stem from similar hiccups in the maturation process.
The problem with being precocious is that most young people aren’t. Those with special talents are separated from their peers. They play with, work with, hang out with and date older people.
That’s the difference between Kobe and Jordan. Jordan was able to play with his peers for three years at one of the elite basketball programs in the country and develop into a complete and mature (and successful) performer before taking on the NBA.
If I could get Kobe’s ear, I would say, “Kobe, you took 30 shots last night. Pau Gasol took 12 shots. Andrew Bynum took 12 shots. The Lakers lost.”
That’s all I would say to him. Those 19 words. And I would challenge him to show the world that his greatness includes the ability to change his game and adapt to the conditions around him. If he were able to do that, i.e., to see that Pau and Andrew take about the same amount of shots and score about the same amount of points as Kobe did–and win an NBA title with that formula—it would not only bring him alongside Jordan but add a practically unique aspect to his legacy.
Right now, Jordan is considered greater than Kobe because of the intangibles. But for Kobe to change—and succeed—would make him second to none.
The Pacers showed the Lakers how it’s done. They had six guys in double figures, ranging from 11 to 18 points. The three shooters/scorers were their three frontcourt guys—Roy Hibbert (18 points on 13 shots), Danny Granger (16 points, 14 shots) and David West (15 points, 15 shots). Like I said, the Lakers shot distribution was 30 for Kobe, 12 each for the All-Star 7-footers.
Both teams had exactly 22 assists on 36 field goals but the Pacers also had good distribution of assists. The point guard (Collison) had 7 but Hibbert had 4 assists, West had 4 and Granger had 3. Those wacky Lakers, on the other hand, got ten of their 26 assists from their power forward (Gasol), and two assists, from their two point guards—Fisher (30 minutes) and Morris (17 minutes). Two assists. Combined. Which is exactly what they combined for against the Heat last Thursday night, to which they added a total of two points. Two points, combined. Last night against the Pacers , they more than quadrupled that amount by scoring nine points. Total. Combined. Lost by two points. Ouch.
Or should I have just said at the jump that the Lakers lost the game on the foul line. They missed 11 foul shots. The Pacers missed three. Difference = 8 points. Number of points Lakers lost by = two. Over and out.