Don’t get me wrong, Bryant should still be the one taking that last shot, of course.
But at this point, the Lakers are much more effective, and he, much more dangerous, when he becomes just another option in the offense, as opposed to the only option. He needs to let the offense run until that last shot is absolutely needed. Then, like the Black Mamba persona he has adopted, Bryant will find he is much more potent when hiding in the grass, and attacking just in time to deliver the final blow.
As Bryant nears the end of his career you have to wonder if he’s more concerned with chasing his legacy than with making the right play. Only time will tell if he ever gets that career-defining, Polaroid-perfect, last shot as Jordan did against the Jazz. More importantly, those moments can’t be scripted, they either happen, or they don’t.
In last year’s Game 7 against Boston, you could see Bryant pressing it in the first half. His shot had abandoned him, but he was determined to make it his moment. In the process, he had nearly cost his team the game.
But in the second half, Bryant let go and made it a point to contribute anyway he could. By doing so, he allowed the game to come to him. He fought and wrestled and pulled down 15 big rebounds (second only to Gasol’s 18) and he scraped and clawed and finished the game with ten big fourth quarter points.
In a nutshell, that game was a small sample of Bryant’s entire career.
We love him.
We love him not.
In a career defined by greatness, by falling from grace and by climbing to the top once more, the fact remains that Kobe Bryant remains one of the most loved and hated athletes ever. With each passing game, his performances add fuel to each side’s argument. But, with each passing ring, the topic becomes harder and harder to argue.
Which side you end up choosing is up to you, but I still have one petal left…..Love him.
