Last night, the Suns missed their shots, the Lakers didn't. I'm fine with that. The only thing that makes me mad is that play where Kobe dunked on (and charged) Nash after a broken play and a steal by Odom. The Daily Quickie guy at ESPN.com is acting like it was the best dunk ever and shows how AWESOME Kobe is. Quote:
link to article
Quote:
Two Words For You:
THE. DUNK.
Credit Steve Nash with two MVP awards this year. There's the traditional "Most Valuable Player." And then there's this:
"Most Viciously Posterized."
Oh my goodness: Kobe dunked on Nash so nasty last night with 3 minutes to go to put the Lakers up 9, you could feel Bryant's fury:
• At having lost MVP to Nash (you just know that was in the back of his mind).
• At shooting 7-for-21 in a personally humiliating Game 1 loss to the Suns.
• At inspiring his teammates to realize that they would win this game, shocking the Suns in Phoenix and tying their series 1-1.
The Dunk was a symbol for LA's surprisingly aggressive win, holding Phoenix to 34 pct 1st-half FG shooting that the Suns never really recovered from.
The only thing The Dunk didn't do was capture Kobe's restraint during the rest of the game:
Contrary to pregame theory that his shot count would explode, he shot only 24 times (making 12) and didn't carry the team as much as lead it.
Whether you love or loathe Kobe (or perhaps have an allergy to Nash winning that 2nd MVP), the move symbolized all that can be great about Kobe: Athleticism, will and, yes, I'll concede: leadership.
ESPN Motion Click here to see the video of the dunk, which will surely go down among the all-time great facials even if the Lakers lose the series.
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Okay, first off, the replay CLEARLY shows that Nash was set and outside the restricted area when Kobe plows over him. Even the TV announcers said it was clearly a charge, and when that happens, you KNOW it was a bad call.
Secondly, even if Nash wasn't set, he's a 6-foot-nothing white guy. How is dunking on a small Canadian point guard impressive?
I have to give Kobe props for staying within Phil's gameplan... I only saw him take a couple questionable shots. He was definitely more of a help to his team than he has been in the past.
That said, it's not like he dunked on Mutombo or Mourning or Ben Wallace, here. We need to keep things in perspective.
Sorry, Daily Quickie guy, this will not end up going down as "one of the all-time greatest facials." Wow.