Post Game Thoughts - Lakers

One man can not defeat a team in the NBA.

Apparently he can get damn close however.

Especially if he has 'diplomatic immunity' (thanks to Sean Tuohy for that classic comment about how the referees were protecting Kobe last night).

Kobe Bryant scored the first 12 points of the game for the Lakers. Kobe scored 23 of the Lakers 30 points in the 1st quarter. Kobe had 32 of the Lakers 53 points in the first half. No one else had more than 6 pts at halftime. To put that in perspective Rudy Gay, Mike Miller and Hakim Warrick had a combined 28 pts in the first half.

Then the Grizzlies got serious about defending him, 'holding' Kobe to 21 pts in the 2nd half. Yes Kobe scored 53 points in the game.

But the Grizzlies won the game.

The Grizzlies won a close game!

The Grizzlies won a close game on the road!!!

This game was huge for the Grizzlies draft position...both good and bad. The bad news is that the Grizzlies have now won more games than the Minnesota Timberwolves and are only 1 game ahead of the New York Knicks and two games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Grizzlies opponent tonight.

The good news is that the Lakers loss, remember we have their #1 pick too, moves them behind San Antonio and Houston in the Western Conference and drops the Lakers into 6th place in the league. If the season ends in that manner the Grizzlies will pick 25th in the first round. It also dropped the Lakers to only 1/2 game ahead of the surging Suns for the 24 th pick in the draft. The Lakers are only 1 win ahead of Orlando who is playing in the Eastern Conference.

So Memphis' first pick dropped one place with the win, but it is a lottery after all, and their 2nd pick moved up 2 spots in the draft and that number isn't subject to the lottery.

Of course for those that think the Lakers pick doesn't matter and would rather have a higher first pick then thank Michael Heisley for talking (or at least being rumored to be talking) to Larry Brown.

Darko doesn't want to play for Larry Brown again.

Darko was a fingertip away from a career high in scoring, grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked 4 shots (including one where he was isolated near the three point line against Kobe Bryant) and hit 6-7 free throws. I know that doesn't sound possible but Darko was 6-7 from the free throw line. Heck, he could have been 7-7 if Pete Pranica didn't hex him! (Sorry Pete but it had to be said and you knew it when you said it). Darko also had 3 assists in the game.

Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies in scoring with 28 pts. That includes a questionable no tip from Darko. Did he or didn't he? Only his manicurist knows for sure! That also included a fast break lob pass from Mike Conley where Hak and Rudy had a leaping contest to see who could get it (Rudy beat him by a hair for those keeping track of these things).

The game was won however by defense. For the 2nd night in a row Memphis held an opponent to below 40% from the floor for the game. They held the Lakers to 41-104 shots despite Kobe's 18-37 shooting. What was truly scary was the Lakers 45 three point attempts. Memphis only took 81 shots the whole game and the Lakers took 45 threes! They nearly quadrupled the Grizzlies 3 pt attempts (12). Memphis also blocked 7 shots in the game, had 4 steals and played great defense the entire game. That complete dedication to defense made the difference especially on the Laker starters not named Kobe.

Maybe the Grizzlies should release a rumor that Memphis is talking to Mike Fratello about returning to coach the team. That should motivate Hakim and Rudy!

The Black Mamba Strikes!

This post is part of Hardwood Paroxysm's Kobe Bryant Blog Day.

Would you like to know when I truly realized the greatness of Kobe Bean Bryant? About sixty seconds after this happened.



Now, you might ask why this particular moment made me realize just how special the Black Mamba is. My answer is simple: his presence is so great that not a single Grizzlies player even contemplates retaliating. That's right -- he wields his power like Darth Vader. Challenge him and get choked out by the Dark Side while he doesn't even break a sweat.

How else do you explain him scoring 60+ in only three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks, only to follow it up with his viruoso performance of dropping 81 on the Toronto Raptors? How does a guy who does that not get carried out on a stretcher at some point, if not for the ability to inspire absolute terror in the hearts of his opponents? Remember that clothesline that Raja Bell used to take him down? Only made him stronger. That was his version of getting mutilated by his mentor and left for dead, only to come back bigger and badder than ever as the rage within him grew. (Ok, enough with the geeky Star Wars references -- you're better than that. Actually, no you're not. Of course, I am......aren't I? Psst - your internal monologue is spilling over again. Crap! Where was I?)

Simply put, Kobe Bryant (formerly Employee #8) can do pretty much whatever he darn well pleases. If that isn't greatness, I don't know what is.

Go Ahead...Request a Trade

Let me take you back to January of this year. That was when Pau Gasol allegedly demanded a trade to a "better" team. Why would I bring this up, you ask? Well, given the recent spate of trade requests and other player demands, I thought we'd take a look back at how Gasol's request was received and also how it was made, in comparison to those made by others.

Pau was fresh off recovering from a broken foot -- an injury sustained during the World Championships -- and had come back to a team in complete dissarray. Head coach Mike Fratello was fired, head of the scouting department Tony Barone, Sr. was given the task of directing the team and the team was beset by multiple injuries. So when Gasol held a closed-door meeting with owner Michael Heisley to talk about his concerns regarding the direction of the team, especially in light of the fact that the team was in limbo due to a pending sale that fell apart, leaving Jerry West with little to do with his time other than dream about spending his days in a quiet cabin in West Virginia, it didn't appear to be a hasty decision. This is especially true given that the team had been remade twice in a short time period, first adding veterans following the first playoff sweep, then bringing in a lot of youth after the third straight first round playoff sweep. That included trading away the face of the franchise, Shane Battier, a glue guy whose leadership was greatly missed during the difficult start to the season. It seems to me that Gasol's questions didn't result in the answers he expected, leading him to request a trade to a more stable team with a better chance of winning. Then this request was leaked to the media -- by whom we do not know for sure, although it has been attributed to both Heisley and Gasol's agent -- leading to an uproar among the Grizzlies' fans and hopeful dreams by every other team's fans, especially fans of the Bulls. Gasol was labeled a quitter who couldn't hack it when the going got tough, a soft, pampered baby who whines too much and was accused of giving less than maximum effort on the court. In short, he was called the Spanish Vince Carter. But those labels weren't true, especially the last one, as Gasol averaged career highs in points, rebounds, blocked shots, FG% and FT%. Last time I checked, players don't average 20 and 10 (20.8 and 9.9 to be exact) by not trying -- but maybe that's just me. Gasol didn't pack it in for the season or become a detriment to the team in any fashion. He showed up, did his job and didn't say another word about the trade request, except in answering questions about it. That's what a team player does.

Let's contrast that with what other players have done in recent months.

After succeeding in getting Shaq traded to the Eastern Conference, Kobe Bryant was The Man for the Los Angeles Lakers. Finally, it was his show and he was going to be the brightest star. Now, a scant three seasons later, he comes out and tells owner Jerry Buss to go rehire Jerry West, to find a way to bring in more talent to surround him with and then to trade him to a team with a chance of winning. In other words, turn the clock back a decade to when Kobe was the "young fella" and Shaq was the "Big Fella" and they were on the verge of winning titles? Is that what you want Black Mamba? Kobe made his bed and now he has to lie down in it. Kobe made his trade demand in a most public way, while on ESPN Radio in NYC. He put the Lakers organization in an awkward position, especially in light of how little superstar players usually bring back in recent history (see: Shaq, Garnett, Iverson). He hasn't been traded yet, but he hasn't rescinded the request either.

Speaking of Allen Iverson, how about we cover his story? He spent 10 seasons in Philadelphia, going through coaches and teammates like Pacman Jones goes through second chances. In December 2006, he demanded a trade with Minnesota and Boston being his preferred destinations. Philadelphia immediately agreed to ship him out, placing him on the bench for the remainder of his time with the team and trading him to Denver 11 days later. This followed several conflicts between Iverson and team management, including him missing mandatory events that resulted in fines. Again, a superstar player put his organization in a position of weakness by making his displeasure a very public event. It is very interesting that the Sixers played much, much better after the trade than they had done with AI on the squad.

Following his MVP performance in the FIBA European Basketball Championship, Russian star Andrei Kirilenko conducted an interview where he expressed his extreme displeasure with Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, his method of motivating his players, his system and Kirilenko's status on the team, having been relegated to 3rd fiddle with the emergence of Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams last year. AK-47 made several comments that bordered on the outrageous, including saying that he would be willing to void out his max-level contract so that he could play for another team or even go back overseas to play in Russia. While I agree that Kirilenko's talents would be better utilized in a different system, he signed a massive contract to play for the Utah Jazz who employed Jerry Sloan at that time. What has changed in two years? Kirilenko made the headlines with his tirade, leading many to speculate that he would actually follow through with his threats. Not many guys walk away from $63 million guaranteed, no matter how unhappy they might be, so I doubt Andrei will either. Yet again, a very public demand that lessens the player's return value and hurts his current team.

Finally, we come to Shawn Marion, the athletic freak of nature who has decided that he'd rather play for someone else than to remain with the Phoenix Suns. He has complained that he doesn't receive the amount of respect he feels he deserves, sulked about his status as the 3rd man on the totem pole and most recently whined about his lack of a contract extension -- even though he has two years remaining on his current deal. In short, he has been a petulant baby who will no longer be considered underrated because he complains about being underrated. That gets you kicked off the list, dontchaknow. Marion made his request today in the most -- you guessed it! -- public way possible, by phone interview with an Arizona paper, as noted by Zack in his post earlier today. That's right Matrix, go ahead and put your team (Top 3 in the NBA, by the way) squarely behind the 8-ball before training camp even starts.

So, in review, I see plenty of guys going out and running their mouths about how mistreated they are, even when they either create the situation themselves (Kobe, Iverson) or are in great situations and don't feel properly loved (Kirilenko, Marion). Then I see Gasol, quietly plugging along, having a career year, despite the fact that fans booed him after the trade request was leaked and the team had a Season from Hell. This post will probably come across as the rantings of a Grizzlies homer, but given the way other players are treating their teams these days, I'll gladly toot the horn of my hometown team.