Kobe, 50 plus again

[E20]

Kobe Byrant is a ing monster.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Phil Jackson said Kobe is motivated because of the elbows suspension. (and probabaly the dirty player talk). Lets send Kobe some flowers when we play him in the first round.

yeah, I was watching the recap on ESPN, awesome shots, and then I looked to the side read Phil's quote and thought. Bleh, Kobe will always be remembered how half the people hated him. THAT is where he differs from MJ.

"Remember that suspension two weeks ago?" Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, referring to a one-game suspension Bryant got for hitting Timberwolves guard Marko Jaric. "I think this has motivated him. I don't know if we like to have suspensions all of the time work for us, but there were some things there that motivated him."

There's no doubt Kobe is AMAZING but. this is what I don't get about him. And why I can only appreciate him on a talent level..

"The thing that was frustrating for me was people were talking about, 'He's a dirty player,' which, for me, is pretty insulting," Bryant said. "To have people talking about something else besides that -- it's a much better feeling."

Why does he care so much?? It's the same train of thought, where he texted Chuck 30 times over a one commentator's opinion of being called, "selfish". Talk about emotional immaturity. Just shut up, say " 'em" and play to ing win. Records come as a result of that desire. He shouldn't be playing to shut up meaningless media drivel. No one would have remembered the suspensions in the long run. He needs a psychiatrist...

That said, I wanna see him go for 5 in a row.

[TheNextGen]

NEW ORLEANS -- Phil Jackson does not believe Kobe Bryant is capable of breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of 100 points in a game, and he's not the only one thinking that way.

Kobe doesn't think he could do it, either.

"I tend to agreed with him, just because of the rules and the way the game is being played today," Bryant told me after he scored 50 Friday night in a victory over the Hornets. "They scored so many more points back in the day, had more possessions. In this day and age, with the scouting and the zone defense, it's very tough."

Bryant attempted 29 field goals Friday night -- the first time he's been under 30 during his streak of four consecutive 50-point games -- and made 16, and he also went 16-for-16 from the foul line. As a team, the Lakers attempted 86 shots and 21 free throws.

Contrast that to the numbers from Chamberlain's 100-point game, and you begin to see where Bryant's and Jackson's disbelief is coming from. Chamberlain shot 36 of 63 from the field and 28 of 32 from the line in his 100-point game March 2, 1962, and the Philadelphia Warriors attempted 115 shots and 52 free throws in that game. (Their opponent, the New York Knicks, attempted 118 field goals and 41 free throws in that game).

"The game is not played the same way anymore," Jackson said when I asked him about the possibility of a 101-point game. "A couple teams are running up and down, Phoenix and Memphis, but for the most part you'll never get that many possessions in a game."

Bryant is well aware of the historical significance of his accomplishment, and he is happy it's helping a younger generation of both NBA fans and Lakers fans learn something about the greats of the game from years gone by.

Somebody asked Bryant if he had ever met Chamberlain, and he laughed at the absurdity of the question because he remembers meeting him when he was barely out of kindergarten.

"When I was like 6, the only name I knew him by then was Bombaata, from the Conan the Barbarian movie," Bryant said.

Bryant also spoke to a few other items both related and unrelated to his scoring streak:

• He said he still considers Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs the player who defends him best.

• He said he does not think he merits MVP consideration this season, because that award should be reserved for a player on a team with one of the NBA's best records. "You have to honor that. When we get to that point, then maybe I'll get some consideration."

• He claimed he did not know he had 48 points before hitting a tough jumper over Rasual Butler with 5:12 left. "I went up to [assistant coach] Brian Shaw and said, 'Did I get 50 already?' " One player who did know Bryant was on 48 was Butler. "I didn't like being a part of history that way," Butler told me.

• Bryant acknowledged that his scoring streak was spurred by the national debate over whether he was a dirty player after he was suspended twice for elbowing opponents in the face. "For me, that was insulting. To have people talking about something else is a much better thing."

• You may notice on the highlights of Friday night's game how Bryant high-fived a young boy midway through the third quarter after hitting a sick 3-pointer from the left side with a defender draped all over him. I asked Kobe: Why the high-five? "It was a little kid, and he had said, 'What's up,' and I said, 'What's up' back. And I told him: 'Watch this 3. I've got a 3 for you.' "

[Purple & Gold]

yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah

You do realize that Kobe and MJ are two different people?

Right?...

[mardigan]

Somebody asked Bryant if he had ever met Chamberlain, and he laughed at the absurdity of the question because he remembers meeting him when he was barely out of kindergarten.

"When I was like 6, the only name I knew him by then was Bombaata, from the Conan the Barbarian movie," Bryant said.


• He said he still considers Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs the player who defends him best.

Awesome! Wilt was great in that movie!

And Kobe still loves Bruce