"No disrespect to Kyra Sedgwick, but that damn boy Kobe Bryant is The Closer."
-- Analyst Charles Barkley, using the name of TNT's popular television drama to describe Bryant's ability to make critical plays
So last night my beloved Lakers closed out the Spurs for 4-1 series win, to advance to the NBA Finals. This Lakers team has just been so impressive to me, they keep surprising. The 3-peat teams of Shaq and Kobe, the old Showtime Lakers, those teams were almost expected to be there, to win a championship. And it was an upset for them to not at least make it to the Finals. Well this team doesn't have the same personality. They are not some team of superstars that underachieved when they lost, they are a much harder working, tough team with just the 1 super star in Kobe. And they are starting to look more and more like the Michael Jordan Bulls teams (except for the 70 win juggernaut year). When they are close it is still not surprising to look out on the court and see 2-3 bench players, or like last night when they got a surge from their entire bench squad.
And Kobe... what more can be said that hasn't already be said? I liken his role to a Superstar NFL running back, he wears teams out, and in the 4th quarter, when the game is tight he just says, put it on my shoulders, and grinds out the win. Last nights game, the close out games against the Nuggets and Jazz, in all 3 it was like one of those 80 yard drives that uses 8-10 minutes off the clock with 1 back getting all the yards. It just saps the will of the opponent, not only is Kobe not tired when that happens, he's seems fresher than everyone else. And this year, unlike the previous ones, he has the complimentary players who can get the defensive stops, or rebounds, or score a big basket off an assist. Michael Jordan will always be the apex of NBA greatness, but Kobe this year has pushed himself to the same level, if only for 1 season.
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