Lakers vs Nuggets means more to Kobe, LA
Kobe is The Man, and he wants everybody to know it... always... forever
Kobe Bryant is a one-man scoring machine. (Photo from bigleaguescrew.com)
When the Denver Nuggets take the court tonight in Los Angeles (8:30MST), they will be decided underdogs. In fact, without top offensive threat Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets will almost surely lose. But for Kobe Bryant, the game is still a must-win.
Bryant is nursing a bum ankle, an injury sustained two nights ago. He is undergoing pain therapy to make sure he can play, determined to avenge a 79-105 thrashing in Denver early in the season. For Bryant, it’s personal. What’s more, he doesn’t trust the rest of his team to get the job done without him, and he will risk further wear & tear on his injured left ankle as a result.
Without Melo, the Nuggets have struggled to beat middle-of-the-road teams, and they got walloped Wednesday by the aggressive Suns in Denver. The Nuggets stands 4.5 games back from LA in the Western Conference standings, but they are nowhere close to rushing a so-so Carmelo back into action. Chauncey Billups has been playing through a nagging ankle injury, and will certainly cede time to Ty Lawson & Anthony Carter. In short, the Nuggets aren’t panicking over a solitary game on the long road to the Finals… even a game against the team that bounced them out of the playoffs a season ago.
The comparison is drastic; Kobe stubbornly refusing to rest, Carmelo cheering on his team in a suit & tie. Even with the ’09 Championship, even with the conference lead, even with Carmelo out and Chauncey at 75%, even with a painful, swollen ankle… Kobe Bryant will not shift a single pound of pressure off his All-Star shoulders and onto the ample shoulders of his talented teammates.
Some would call this preoccupation with carrying the load a trait shared by champions, and Kobe is certainly a champion of the highest degree. But there is another dimension to team sports that Bryant will never fully accept: depending on the guys rockin’ the same color jersey.
Carmelo may never be mentioned in the same conversation as Kobe, MJ, Wilt & Magic. But after years of selfish play, Carmelo returned from the ’08 Summer Olympics a more complete player. He understood the game on a level that Kobe never will. He has been a better teammate and, by many accounts, a better man. The part of him that always wanted to be The Man grew up, and in his aged wisdom Carmelo Anthony learned to be just as happy for his teammates’ successes as he was for his own big dunks & power drives.
For all of his personal success, you watch Kobe on the sidelines in a blowout win and you know he would just assume still be on the court. Blinded by his ultra-competitive nature, he doesn’t look happy when Pao Gasol converts a crucial score. Instead his reaction ranges from passive to jealous… and it always will.
Tonight’s game is about vengeance and winning now. The city of Los Angeles will follow Kobe’s lead. In LA, sports fans expect a championship every year, and they expect the Lakers to route the Nuggets every time they come to town. This is not a judgment on the fine folks in SoCal, but everybody knows you don’t move to LA for the weather.
With two more meetings to go after this one, and having won their first meeting in November, the Nuggets will continue to take the long view. And Denver fans won’t sweat another loss at Los Angeles. Thursday, April 8th the Lakers will come to town, both teams will be at full strength, and we’ll find out just who owns the West.
The Nuggets will surely almost lose? We won by 13 bud
Perfect storm, baby, perfect storm. Sometimes the sum is greater than the parts. That was the Nuggets tonight… plus Chauncey opened up some old-school whupass on Kobe & the Lakerettes.
And it was an almost-sure loss. If it was even close at the end, the refs were offering the game to LA on a silver platter. The Nuggets had to win running away to take this one, and they did just that.
Who owns the West? Hmmmm…