LeBron v. Kobe – Who’s the Best Player in the NBA
I honestly can’t believe I’m about to to say this, but during the Cavs-Lakers game on Thursday night, I found myself rooting for the Lakers and Kobe Bryant.
Whew, deep breath.
I love the NBA, but there’s always those teams and players that seem to irk you. Kind of like Tom Brady and the Patriots seems to create that love ‘em or hate ‘em attitude. I didn’t realize it until earlier tonight, but LeBron James is my new Tom Brady.
Yes, I realize he’s great, etc, but something about him I don’t like. Like he wants us to like him. So, when the Cavs pulled out the 93-87 win (actually much closer than this. LeBron cruised past the Lakers’ transition defense for a go-ahead layup, 89-87, with 40.5 seconds left in the game, and the Lakers didn’t score the rest of the way.), I was a little disappointed.
Yes, they earned the win, forcing tough shots and making free throws down the stretch, but my brain just doesn’t want to accept that LeBron might now be the best player in the league, passing Kobe Bryant. Bryant looked pedestrian late, missing badly on some shots and failing to create anything for teammates. James scored 37 points, on 13-of-25 shooting (8 of his misses were 3-pointers on 1-of-9 shooting… His one make was in the fourth quarter to give the Cavs an 83-80 lead). At one points in the fourth quarter, LeBron scored 12 straight. Kobe, meanwhile, scored 31, but on 31 shots, and he was just 4-of-15 in the second half. James also had nine assists, versus Kobe’s three.
Maybe Bryant’s injuries have something to do with this, but I guess after years of seeing him pull off the improbable, I expected to see something great. And I did, just from the one guy I didn’t want to see it from.
