urunobili
10-31-2007, 03:44 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/10/31/kobe.duncan/index.html
The 2007-08 season tipped off Tuesday night, and so far, so good. Unlike the Heat a year ago, the Spurs didn't forget to play a basketball game after picking up their championship rings. And Kobe Bryant actually strapped it up and played like he cared in the Lakers' 95-93 loss to the Rockets.
So what did we learn from the night's festivities? Well, it's only one game, but a few things stand out:
Manu Ginobili looks fresher than ever (perhaps due to his decision not to play for his native Argentina during the summer).
LaMarcus Aldridge is going to have a breakout season.
The Rockets are not going to turn into Rick Adelman's old Kings overnight.
And the Lakers ... well, let's just say they showed why Kobe wants out of L.A. At least they did until the final 1:36 or so, when they suddenly turned into the 2001 Lakers and erased a 12-point deficit to tie the game.
But the big story Wednesday will be how Kobe shook off the trade rumors and scored 45 points (18 in the fourth) to help his undermanned team (no Lamar Odom) almost pull out a miracle comeback win over Houston.
For those who thought Bryant might stage a sit-down strike, or even just play without his usual gusto (as Phil Jackson said about his preseason efforts), they were disappointed. Kobe was on the attack all night. He even got to the free-throw line for a career-high 27 attempts.
It wasn't a perfect night for Bryant, however. He fell into his pattern of trying to do too much himself instead of trusting his teammates. Also, he missed nine of those 27 freebies. OK, so maybe the last one was intentional -- and almost worked to perfection, giving him a chance to sink a game-tying bucket before Rafer Alston poked the ball away from behind at the final horn -- but Kobe's uncharacteristic sloppiness from the stripe did seem to indicate a little bit of a lack of focus.
But while Bryant might have been the main focus Tuesday night, he wasn't the only superstar meriting the spotlight on the TNT doubleheader.
Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that the Spurs and Tim Duncan had agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract extension that would keep the two-time MVP in San Antonio through the 2011-12 season. He even took less money so that the Spurs would have the means to put players around him to keep winning. Duncan might have left as much as $11 million on the table, according to reports.
Contrast that with Bryant, who took every penny from the Lakers three years ago (which was his right and the American thing to do) but now can't understand why his supporting cast is not good enough to contend for a title.
Given the context of these two news stories, it was an interesting coincidence that Duncan and Bryant tipped off the season.
Two great players. Two fierce competitors. Two guys with championship rings.
But two guys who approach things in totally different ways.
Duncan stayed in college four years. Bryant jumped right out of high school.
Duncan embraced playing with David Robinson. Kobe couldn't get along with Shaquille O'Neal.
Duncan has played 10 years in the NBA without a sniff of scandal. Kobe is only now repairing his image after his incident in Colorado.
This isn't to bash Bryant. He wants to win. He's stuck on a subpar team, and it has to be frustrating.
But everybody wants to win. It's how you go about it that counts.
Kobe could have left the Lakers three years ago for greener pastures when he was a free agent. Instead, he chose to accept the Lakers' maximum contract offer and cast his lot with the purple-and-gold. He should have known at the time that the team's salary-cap situation would not allow it to go out and surround him with a bunch of other big-money free agents.
Keep in mind, too, that Kobe had a pretty good thing going with Shaq when they combined to win those three titles. Maybe Kobe had nothing to do with Shaq's departure, as he claims. Maybe the Lakers didn't want to make the financial commitment to their aging center anyway, and so they would have traded him to the Heat regardless.
But Kobe's fractured relationship with Shaq had to come into play in the Lakers' thinking. Faced with the choice of keeping a younger Kobe or an older Shaq, they wisely chose the former. Even Magic Johnson said during Tuesday night's halftime show that Kobe didn't want to keep Shaq around.
In other words, Kobe helped create the situation in which he now finds himself.
Meanwhile, Duncan agreed to sign for less money in an effort to prevent any such disaster.
Two great players. Two guys with rings. Two different approaches.
Come to think of it, maybe that's the most interesting thing we learned from Tuesday's opening night.
The 2007-08 season tipped off Tuesday night, and so far, so good. Unlike the Heat a year ago, the Spurs didn't forget to play a basketball game after picking up their championship rings. And Kobe Bryant actually strapped it up and played like he cared in the Lakers' 95-93 loss to the Rockets.
So what did we learn from the night's festivities? Well, it's only one game, but a few things stand out:
Manu Ginobili looks fresher than ever (perhaps due to his decision not to play for his native Argentina during the summer).
LaMarcus Aldridge is going to have a breakout season.
The Rockets are not going to turn into Rick Adelman's old Kings overnight.
And the Lakers ... well, let's just say they showed why Kobe wants out of L.A. At least they did until the final 1:36 or so, when they suddenly turned into the 2001 Lakers and erased a 12-point deficit to tie the game.
But the big story Wednesday will be how Kobe shook off the trade rumors and scored 45 points (18 in the fourth) to help his undermanned team (no Lamar Odom) almost pull out a miracle comeback win over Houston.
For those who thought Bryant might stage a sit-down strike, or even just play without his usual gusto (as Phil Jackson said about his preseason efforts), they were disappointed. Kobe was on the attack all night. He even got to the free-throw line for a career-high 27 attempts.
It wasn't a perfect night for Bryant, however. He fell into his pattern of trying to do too much himself instead of trusting his teammates. Also, he missed nine of those 27 freebies. OK, so maybe the last one was intentional -- and almost worked to perfection, giving him a chance to sink a game-tying bucket before Rafer Alston poked the ball away from behind at the final horn -- but Kobe's uncharacteristic sloppiness from the stripe did seem to indicate a little bit of a lack of focus.
But while Bryant might have been the main focus Tuesday night, he wasn't the only superstar meriting the spotlight on the TNT doubleheader.
Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that the Spurs and Tim Duncan had agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract extension that would keep the two-time MVP in San Antonio through the 2011-12 season. He even took less money so that the Spurs would have the means to put players around him to keep winning. Duncan might have left as much as $11 million on the table, according to reports.
Contrast that with Bryant, who took every penny from the Lakers three years ago (which was his right and the American thing to do) but now can't understand why his supporting cast is not good enough to contend for a title.
Given the context of these two news stories, it was an interesting coincidence that Duncan and Bryant tipped off the season.
Two great players. Two fierce competitors. Two guys with championship rings.
But two guys who approach things in totally different ways.
Duncan stayed in college four years. Bryant jumped right out of high school.
Duncan embraced playing with David Robinson. Kobe couldn't get along with Shaquille O'Neal.
Duncan has played 10 years in the NBA without a sniff of scandal. Kobe is only now repairing his image after his incident in Colorado.
This isn't to bash Bryant. He wants to win. He's stuck on a subpar team, and it has to be frustrating.
But everybody wants to win. It's how you go about it that counts.
Kobe could have left the Lakers three years ago for greener pastures when he was a free agent. Instead, he chose to accept the Lakers' maximum contract offer and cast his lot with the purple-and-gold. He should have known at the time that the team's salary-cap situation would not allow it to go out and surround him with a bunch of other big-money free agents.
Keep in mind, too, that Kobe had a pretty good thing going with Shaq when they combined to win those three titles. Maybe Kobe had nothing to do with Shaq's departure, as he claims. Maybe the Lakers didn't want to make the financial commitment to their aging center anyway, and so they would have traded him to the Heat regardless.
But Kobe's fractured relationship with Shaq had to come into play in the Lakers' thinking. Faced with the choice of keeping a younger Kobe or an older Shaq, they wisely chose the former. Even Magic Johnson said during Tuesday night's halftime show that Kobe didn't want to keep Shaq around.
In other words, Kobe helped create the situation in which he now finds himself.
Meanwhile, Duncan agreed to sign for less money in an effort to prevent any such disaster.
Two great players. Two guys with rings. Two different approaches.
Come to think of it, maybe that's the most interesting thing we learned from Tuesday's opening night.