The Biggest Game of His Career?
Kobe Bryant (photo. Mannion)Going into tonight’s Game 5, all eyes are going to be on Kobe. How is he going to react with his back up against the wall? How is he going to perform in what is arguably the biggest game of his career? Although it was made clear in the first half of Game 4 that the Lakers are at their best when Kobe is distributing and creating looks for others — “facilitating” as he likes to put it — will he forget about that and have the Secretariat blinders on, only having eyes for the basket? Or after Phil Jackson pumped up KG’s comments that implied the Lakers suffered when they stopped playing “team ball,” will Kobe pull one of his stunts where he becomes passive on purpose? Don’t act like Kobe’s not above doing something like that in the playoffs. Remember Game 7 of the Suns/Lakers series in ‘06, when he scored 1 point in the second half and took only three shots … On the Celtics side, they’ve got Paul Pierce knee and ankle injuries, Rajon Rondo’s ankle is still an issue, and Doc Rivers said the other day that Kendrick Perkins is 50-50 to play with his shoulder injury. There’s no doubt Pierce will push through whatever is bothering him and get his 20 points. If Rondo and Perkins are benched or limited, guys like Eddie House, Leon Powe and P.J. Brown need to step up … Who would you pick for the U.S. national team roster in this year’s Olympics? We do know Carmelo Anthony is a lock for Team USA, as Jerry Colangelo confirmed it with the Rocky Mountain News. However, he admitted ‘Melo has a lot to prove. “In the last year, I thought he took a half step back,” Colangelo said. “I have no idea why, but obviously I’ve read the reports about how he might be traded and about some of the little things that have gone on. But there’s a lot of stuff I’m not a party to. But we need to establish Carmelo as the same guy that we had the last two summers. I want to put his last NBA season behind him.” Carmelo’s response: “I don’t feel like I took a half-step back on the court. Maybe off the court. I’m excited about representing my country, my team, my family, and my fans in this year’s Olympics. I’ve been waiting on this opportunity for four years. Mr. Colangelo, you have nothing to be worried about because I’m ready.” While Colangelo was talking to the Denver paper, did they ask him why he’s still snubbing Allen Iverson? We still haven’t heard a good reason for why he’s not involved in this whole process, especially considering he originally said he wants to play … And what about Dwyane Wade’s status? “He’s come back a long way,” said Colangelo, who recently watched Wade work out in Chicago. “I saw explosiveness. Tim Grover (MJ’s former trainer who’s working with Flash) said he’s about 8 or 9 now on a scale of 1 to 10 and should be much further along by July 20.” Wade has got to be in, unless he suffers a major setback in his rehab or he ultimately decides he’d rather sit this one out and be ready for the ‘08-09 NBA season … And over in Utah, Carlos Boozer said he’s pretty sure he and Deron Williams are gonna make the U.S. squad. We wouldn’t be so confident. There’s a very good chance D-Will gets left behind in favor of Jason Kidd (undefeated in international play and one of Colangelo’s favorites), Chris Paul (a no-brainer) and Chauncey Billups (might get veteran consideration over the younger Williams). Boozer, meanwhile, has that stench of a pretty awful postseason still on him, he already has bigs like Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh and Amare standing in the way (and ‘Melo is basically a PF on the international level). And it doesn’t help Boozer’s case that the last time we saw him on Team USA was during the disastrous ‘04 Olympics … We’re out like Booz in Beijing …
June 15th, 2008 at 12:24 am
Smush Parker says:
FIRST!
U can hate me now…
June 15th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Smush Parker says:
2ND
June 15th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Smush Parker says:
3RD
U can’t slow me down, I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, ’cause you know, I’m Smush Parker
June 15th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Smush Parker says:
Come on, wait…I wanna rep Team USA and go to Beijing too. If CP3 is a no-brainer, there is definitely no reason I’m not in.
June 15th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Smush Parker says:
5TH
And here you have your starting five…
June 15th, 2008 at 1:15 am
the real marcus says:
smush,
get urself back in the L b4 u have team USA thoughts…
…and well, we’re out like smush in the NBA, HAHA!
June 15th, 2008 at 1:23 am
s says:
So thats what Smush Parker is up to these days. Hang on – he dont have the brains to use the interweb. IMPOSTOR !!!
June 15th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Remy says:
No Becky Hammon news?
WNBA player will suit up for Russia in the Olympics. Hammon is labeled as a “Traitor” and I concur.
What would happen if someone from the NBA does the same thing?
Not Smush Parker, some like Kobe playing for Italy.
What do you think?
June 15th, 2008 at 2:04 am
D.I. Dollar says:
My predictions for tonight Kobe goes for 64 ala Michael in the Garden, but it’s still not enough for the Lakers I I collect my money.
June 15th, 2008 at 2:38 am
fallinup says:
~~~~~~~ DO or DIE ~~~~~~~
June 15th, 2008 at 2:49 am
sirak says:
all this “Iverson should be in the olympic squad” has to stop from dime.
there is a reason why the nuggets on paper are amazing but in reality are losers. not all iverson’s fault but why bother taking an undersized guard into international hoop? he can’t break his man one-on-one as there will be a zone defense ready and waiting.
what position would you play him? point? – no, i’d rather have kidd, paul, d.williams running that. sg? no, i’d rather have that in kobe, redd and maybe joe johnson.
he has a ton of heart and skillz but i think if team USA is serious in winning and not just taking an all-star team leaving AI out is not such a big deal.
June 15th, 2008 at 3:09 am
flyp says:
Dime doesn’t expect AI to MAKE the team, just to be in the discussion. It’s insulting to Iverson that Luke F’ing Ridnour is getting more consideration for “Team” USA than he is.
June 15th, 2008 at 3:22 am
daquest?on says:
it is insulting for allen iverson and did u also know that the greatest power forward to ever play the game a.k.a tim duncan wasnt invited either.
June 15th, 2008 at 3:37 am
Austin Burton says:
When Jerry Colangelo initially met with a handful of players when he was handed the Team USA project, Duncan turned him down. Shaq didn’t commit one way or the other. Iverson said he’d want to play, which is why A.I.’s lack of an official invite has been such an issue.
June 15th, 2008 at 4:49 am
sirak says:
if AI is not going to MAKE the team then who cares, what they might hurt his feeling? please…
June 15th, 2008 at 6:16 am
kb24! says:
Lakers in 7. hehe
June 15th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Willis says:
Its weird that if that were actually Smush Parker, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit.
June 15th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Cammy Z says:
It’s pretty obvious why guys like Luke Ridnour and Nick Collison get consideration. (Also, remember an injured John Stockton getting the call over Isiah Thomas? Or how about Christian Laettner… seriously) It’s like some guys don’t get that “American” doesn’t mean White and they’re afraid that if the whole team is Black, other countries will say we have a bunch of non-Americans out there. Unfortunately, this ignorance has to be dealt with and even if some still hold this misconception, we shouldn’t cater to them.
June 15th, 2008 at 7:18 am
JOB33 says:
@sirak
i think i’d take A.I. over Redd anyday…even if he is undersized at the 2. Redd is notorious for not gunnin, but gettin blazed on D. At least A.I. will D up. Not to mention A.I. has shown he can distribute the ball and run the offense when he plays global ball, for lack of a better phrase. As for the whole zone, with A.I. quickness, ball handling skills, and slashing style, he’d shred opposing D’s zones like a dog home alone with a roll of toilet paper. I think it’s crazy when a superstar can come forward and say he wants to play, just to get passed over.
June 15th, 2008 at 7:29 am
JOB33 says:
sorry half way through the comment i failed to mention that i’d take him at the PG over D-Will (if only b/c he’s a vet who has had more time to prove himself) and definitely over Ridnour.
June 15th, 2008 at 9:02 am
don juan says:
Remember when iverson was in team usa, and no1 in that team stepped up or wanted 2 pass. Guess who was the only dude to step and play point and make da extra pass n broke down the zones but because team usa had no shooters, his drive n dishin had no effect, or how about he was the only dude that wanted 2 take the big shots in close games…iverson was the only dude in that team that took pride in bein part of team usa
June 15th, 2008 at 9:12 am
don juan says:
I got a question. which damaged larry browns reputation as a great coach more, the knicks or team usa? and do you think the bobcats are his last chance to make up for those fiascos?
June 15th, 2008 at 9:25 am
garbageman33 says:
There should be one question for anyone under consideration to play for Team USA: Does he make his teammates better? Because that’s what International competition comes down to. Making the extra pass and finding the open man. Does that sound like Iverson to you? Or Carmelo, for that matter?
June 15th, 2008 at 10:06 am
don juan says:
Iverson was the only person making the extra pass durin those olympics, austin do you have the links 2 smack durin team usas run pre olympics and durin olympics? Iverson was balling specially since he was named captain of that squad
June 15th, 2008 at 10:25 am
for real says:
@don juan
I was living in New York during the larry brown “era”, and I gotta say, he pulled more bitch moves than a pissed off ex-girlfriend. Every day he would throw someone under the bus and he didn’t care who it was. It was pathetic.
I wouldn’t hire that kind of guy for anything.
June 15th, 2008 at 11:07 am
DaPro says:
Happy Father’s Day to all the father’s in the Dime family.
Quick note and I’m out
AI played his azz off on the olympic squad. He was solid as a point guard and got everyone involved. Teammates loved him enough to vote him as Captain
He deserves some consideration
June 15th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Big Freeze says:
Team USA already tried the AI and Duncun experiment, and it was a huge disappointment. Keep the squad that destroyed the world in the qualifiers last year.
Back to the subject, Kobe and the Lakers need to play team ball, meaning Kobe needs to penetrate and dish. When Doc put Pierce on Kobe, Kobe played like they were just going one-on-one like they did last Summer.
@ Cammy post 18
You can’t blame team USA for wanting to have at least one white guy on the team to represent America. Unfortunately there isn’t one white American that is talented enough to play for team USA. Maybe Matt Bonner will try out this year…
June 15th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Big Sneezy says:
@ Remy
If she qualifies to play for Russia, it’s her choice. The US Olympic team has been accepting foreign-born athletes for years in all kinds of sports, so long as they have a shot at medaling. Remember Hakeem Olajuwon? Is he some sort of traitor because he didn’t suit up for Nigeria?
June 15th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Bone says:
Listen, everyone knows the story about the 92 Olympics – essentially that MJ refused to play if Isaiah was on the team. It had nothing to do with Stockton being white and Zeke being black. Chris Mullin was already on the team.
Laettner made the team as a 12th man because he was the best college player of the prior twenty years – played in four Final Fours, three National Championship Game appearances, back to back titles – again, nothing to do with him being white or black.
As for why Ridenour and Collison were on the team – maybe they wanted some scrubs for the big guys to practice against since they will be playing teams with that lack of quality in the competition.
June 15th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Austin Burton says:
@don juan — I don’t think we have links to Smack from ‘04 because all the old stuff was lost when we switched the format of the site.
@Bone — I really don’t wanna buy Laettner as the best college player from ‘72-92, but since the basis of many of my pro-Duncan arguments starts with his championship rings and win-loss record, I might have to accept that. I still don’t think he should have been on Team USA over a more deserving pro like Isiah or Dominique.
June 15th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Amar says:
Isiah was a great player, Stock didn’t suck either — Jordan pretty much made the decision for USA basketball, not race.
June 15th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Big Mike says:
Dime fam,
Kobe is a lightning rod for criticism. No matter what he does, he’ll get blamed for something. I’ve heard since game 4 that Jordan would have never let that happen. If Kobe had Pippen in his prime, it wouldn’t have happen either. The C’s are playing harder and more physical than LA, that’s the difference. They load up on KB24 and make others hit shots. If they hit those in game 4, everyone would be talking about KB24 making teammates better( Nash’s rule for MVP). Three stars is better than one superstar.
Sound off
June 15th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Bone says:
@ Austin – I am not saying that Laettner SHOULD have been on the team, but you can logically see the rationale for putting him on the team – the Duke pedigree (which meant something at the time), the rings, the clutch factor in college. Plus since it was the first team not to feature college players, I can see the USOC wanting to keep one last tie to the college game.
June 15th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
eyeused2b says:
I think the game is bigger for Pierce and KG. Regardless of the outcome, Kobe is still going to have three rings. Kobe is playing for a G.O.A.T. status that he may never attain because of all the Jordan lust. Pierce and KG are playing not to end up in the illustrious company of Barkley, Ewing, and Stockton-to-Malone. I think this will hurt their legacies even worse, because they have each other and Jesus. He won’t, but if he wanted to, Kobe could take solace in knowing that he lost out to a team that boasted one sure-fire and two potential HOFers. Flip that around, and the Big Three have to live with losing to Kobe, Tissue Pau-per, and Lamar the Inconsistent. The pressure is on them.
June 15th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
K Dizzle says:
Totally agree with post 32, but y’all knew that lol
Laettner was only on the original DT to make minutes easier for Chuck Daly. Havin 12 dudes who all expected minutes woulda been impossible to manage. Shaq and Zo woulda expected playin time but Laettner got picked and hardly ever played
June 15th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Austin Burton says:
@eyeused2b — Your argument applies to the series as a whole, but this game today is more important to Kobe. If the Lakers lose, they’re done. If the Celtics lose, Pierce and KG still have Game 6 and maybe Game 7 to get that ring.
June 15th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
2 Easy says:
I kno a lot of people will say PP is the finals MVP thus far but its clearly been Ray. I kno Pierce has had all of the inspirational moments that will likely get him into the Hall but Ray has been guardin Kobe this whole time (with help from Posey) and his offense hasnt suffered seeing as he’s been Bostons most consistent player on both ends. A strong closeout game 5 and that trophy should be his…it wont be but it should be
June 15th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
AB_40 says:
2 easy have you even watched the seccond half of game 4? PP was on kobe’s a$$. ray and pose in the first half and PP all of the seccond half? seen that lil block on kobe? Ok paul pierce did play 48 minutes but KG was consistent from game one 18 11 4 and 2. ah well let’s hope kobe go’s for elgin baylors finals record tonight. that would be fun:D
June 15th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
YOUNGFED says:
@Eyeuse2b and A.B.
Kobe is playing for a lil more than G.O.A.T. status. He’s playing for the ability to seperate himself from Shaq’s shadow. If he wins this year, it will be his first post Shaq era ring.
K-HOVA 4 Life
“If I was president, I’d get elected on Monday, assassinated on Friday. If I was president.” Wyclef
KOBE and OBAMA 08′
June 15th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Big Sia says:
DERON OVER CHAUNCEY ANYYYY FUCKING DAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1kxZpyREdE
June 15th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Celts Fan says:
@ Austin and everyone else bashing Christian Laettner, I probably woulda taken Grant Hill, but they needed a big and they definitely wanted to keep the best player from college thing to keep the tie there (if only in spirit.) After the Kentucky shot and back to backs, I can understand it, even if it was a joke even back then (and the Isaih thing has been covered a million times, though he definitely did deserve to be on the team if it’s between Isaih and MJ, sorry Zeke!)
as fans of the Sox know, we won our 2 rings by coming back from 0-3 to the Yankees and 1-3 to the Indians, so we know that this isn’t over even though it’s looking damn good… Let’s close the door on the Lake Show tonight!
June 15th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
doc says:
job33 yeah AI would D up just like he been doing this season.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:58 am
tealish says:
What a showing by the undisputed best player in the League. I’m not saying he’s not, anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. But I hope that those who thought Kobe was on equal footing with the Greatest of All Time starts to retract such ridiculous suggestions. Kobe is great. The best today. But for being the unquestioned number 1 player of the world, you got to show up on the grandest stage.
At least the Lakers caught a couple breaks today, and Kob will have 1 more game to show us SOMETHING at least. Please, anything at all to make your legions of followers a little less embarrassed. Thanks.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Rico says:
I’ll be f’n pissed if Chancy gets the nod and D-Will get’s left home….D-Will owns Chancy, plus he and CP3 will be the future PGs for Team USA for a long time, why not get them runnin’ behind J Kidd now?