Celtics Bringing Perception Of High-Flying Bryant Down To Earth

[duncan228]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...l.33bd39e.html

Celtics bringing perception of high-flying Bryant down to earth
David Moore

I'm not arrogant enough to believe I have my finger on the pulse of the basketball public.

Taking my own pulse is difficult enough.

But my guess is your perception of LA's Kobe Bryant is different now than it was 10 days ago. I bet you have a different view of the Boston Celtics than you did entering the Finals.

When I say I bet, I don't mean bet in the Tim Donaghy sense. It's important to be clear on this point in case anyone from the FBI is reading.

But really, what was your perception of Bryant before the first four games of this series had been played?

The consensus was that Bryant was a brilliant athlete at the top of his game. He possessed a maniacal compe ive drive that was unmatched. You believed he would tilt this series in LA's favor with his transcendent talent and sheer force of will. You were convinced if the score was close in the final minutes, the Lakers star wouldn't be denied.

This wasn't simply a continuation of his MVP season. Bryant set out to cement his legacy. He wanted to prove he could carry the Lakers to a le without Shaquille O'Neal.

Now, with the Celtics holding a commanding 3-1 lead, you'd have to say Bryant isn't as good as many people thought. It's clear he received too much hype while Boston's defense received too little.

This isn't Bryant's fault. He didn't make these claims. The media and a fan base obsessed with finding the next Michael Jordan did. We've projected qualities onto him that have proven to be unrealistic unless Bryant somehow finds a way to lead the Lakers back from the brink.

If the Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki was 6-of-19 from the field in a playoff game, if he had just two field goals and seven points entering the fourth quarter of the biggest game of the season – which is what Bryant had in Game 4 – what would we be saying about him today? What would we be saying about Houston's Tracy McGrady or San Antonio's Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili if they had done the same?

Here's the reality. Bryant has averaged 26.7 points and shot 43.1 percent from the field in this series. His team has lost six of the last seven games it has played in the Finals.

Does that alter your perception?

Does that put comparisons to Jordan on hold, or do you choose to blame Bryant's supporting cast and absolve him of any responsibility? If you do, be careful, because then you open up the argument that Bryant isn't even the league's best player. Cleveland's LeBron James is.

The Celtics have changed some hearts and minds as well. After Atlanta and Cleveland pushed Boston to the limit in the first and second rounds, there was a su ion this team wasn't ready to win the le.

But here's a thought. Boston's drive to win a championship was so great, its mission so clear, that it wasn't able to play at the level everyone expected until its goal was within reach. The Celtics had to gather themselves first.

This isn't unusual for a team with a veteran nucleus.

Now look. Paul Pierce has been the best player on the floor, not Bryant. Ray Allen, who couldn't buy a basket early in the playoffs, has been the most consistent offensive threat in the series. Coach Doc Rivers, who didn't seem to know what to do with his bench through the first three rounds, is making all the right moves.

Who thought any of this would have happened entering the series?

I didn't.

[gasolina]

and so did we.

[Lakers08Champs]

I stopped reading after this: "If you do, be careful, because then you open up the argument that Bryant isn't even the league's best player. Cleveland's LeBron James is."

Everyone in the nba knows KB24 is the best player in the nba today even James said it himself....Way to kill your credibility, mr. david moore

[J.T.]

The Lakers were way too overrated going into this series. They got lucky against the Spurs, and since everyone thought the Spurs were a lot like the Celtics, they figured the Lakers would do the same thing in the Finals. God damn if only Ginobili was healthy

[UCantHandleTheTruth]

LeBron>Kobe. I've watched both of them play my team this postseason and I was far more scared of LeBron and far more scared of the Cavs than the Lakers. This Lakers team is soft both physically and mentally.

[1Parker1]

I don't understand how this writer argues in one sentence that Kobe Bryant was overhyped and the Boston's Celtics defense underhyped since Kobe is averaging 26.7 points on 41.7% shooting. If I remember correctly, Boston's defense also held Lebron James in check also.

[Mr. Body]

I stopped reading after this: "If you do, be careful, because then you open up the argument that Bryant isn't even the league's best player. Cleveland's LeBron James is."

Everyone in the nba knows KB24 is the best player in the nba today even James said it himself....Way to kill your credibility, mr. david moore

I'd take LeBron James over Bryant. LeBron seems to like his teammates and makes them better continually, not just when things are going well. I'd pick him to win a championship first going forward.

[SenorSpur]

The league's pundits and the national media are typical of American society. They rushed to lavish praise for the Fakers following the San Antonio series. They even went so far as to start comparing Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan.

Some scribes went onto to say that KB was THE better player because he was a better shooter. I found this to an insult of the highest order to the game's greatest player ever. Now less than 2 weeks later, the same scribes and pundits are set to crucify Bryant, on the heels of his failure in Game 4.

Granted, I don't give a about Kobe one way or the other. However, I will say this. I lost a lot of respect for Kobe when he quit on his teammates in Game 7 of the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs versus the Suns 2 years ago. Still bristling from national criticism that he was shooting the ball too much, he allegedly decided to prove a point to those critics by not taking a shot in the first half. In fact, I don't think he took 10 shots in the entire game!. From that moment on, I viewed him as a self-absorbed, MJ wannabe, who would NEVER, EVER be MJ's equal no matter what he did. Quitting on your team in INEXCUSABLE.

The moral of the story is: don't be in such a rush to coronate a new champion or even the next "Greatest Player of All-Time".

[The Franchise]

The league's pundits and the national media are typical of American society. They rushed to lavish praise for the Fakers following the San Antonio series. They even went so far as to start comparing Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan.

Some scribes went onto to say that KB was THE better player because he was a better shooter. I found this to an insult of the highest order to the game's greatest player ever. Now less than 2 weeks later, the same scribes and pundits are set to crucify Bryant, on the heels of his failure in Game 4.

Granted, I don't give a about Kobe one way or the other. However, I will say this. I lost a lot of respect for Kobe when he quit on his teammates in Game 7 of the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs versus the Suns 2 years ago. Still bristling from national criticism that he was shooting the ball too much, he allegedly decided to prove a point to those critics by not taking a shot in the first half. In fact, I don't think he took 10 shots in the entire game!. From that moment on, I viewed him as a self-absorbed, MJ wannabe, who would NEVER, EVER be MJ's equal no matter what he did. Quitting on your team in INEXCUSABLE.

The moral of the story is: don't be in such a rush to coronate a new champion or even the next "Greatest Player of All-Time".

It couldn't have been put any better.

[ducks]

I don't understand how this writer argues in one sentence that Kobe Bryant was overhyped and the Boston's Celtics defense underhyped since Kobe is averaging 26.7 points on 41.7% shooting. If I remember correctly, Boston's defense also held Lebron James in check also.

james shot 33% for the first several games