Apr 12, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) is looked at by a medical staff member against the Golden State Warriors during the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

I know many of you were expecting me to whip up another recap addressing how and why Portland tallied their 10th consecutive loss last night, but I need to pay my humble respects to the fiercest competitor of this sporting generation. In the 4th quarter of L.A.’s victory over Golden State, Kobe Bryant fell to the floor, writhing in pain with an apparent torn Achilles, while driving on Harrison Barnes. I’ve seen him do that move a thousand times before, as have all of us who have spent the past decade and a half cheering or booing his basketball feats, but this time his number was up. Kobe is scheduled for an MRI today to confirm the season ending injury.

And what a season it was. Even using the past tense right there was unsettling. Just two nights ago I spent the evening at my keyboard, bitterly tapping away with regard to his season high 47 points against the Portland Trail Blazers. Now he can hardly walk. For all the Laker drama, personal injuries, and public criticism, Kobe Bryant has been nothing short of a general. When D’Antoni struggled to fit in, Kobe stood by him. When Pau seemed to drift away, Kobe clutched him more closely. When Dwight behaved like a child, Kobe taught him to be a man. Kobe has always given his heart, soul, and body to this franchise since day one, 17 years ago, and the Lakers are just as much Kobe Bryant as he is a Laker.

Bryant held back tears in his post game interview when asked if this was the biggest disappointment of his incredible career. He responded in earnest:

“Yeah, by far. We work so hard, we put ourselves in a position where we control our own fate, and I certainly have done a lot of work to prepare myself. It’s just… it’s just sh*t luck.”

If the Lakers hold off the Jazz for the 8th playoff spot in the Western Conference, they will almost certainly have to proceed without their leader. At 34 years old, Kobe has averaged more than 27 points a game in an effort to keep the slumping Lakers in the race. Actually, no. He did more than that. The Lakers weren’t even on the track when Kobe pulled them out of the mud and grabbed the starter pistol. I remember just a few short months ago hearing Kobe Bryant guarantee that the Lakers would make the playoffs and, If I’m being honest, I took one glance at how far they had to go and thought quite loudly to myself and those around me, “Yeah right.” Yet here we are, and the Lakers are almost there.

I was bred to hate Kobe Bryant. I think often still, my upbringing gets the better of me when I watch him decimate the teams I grew up rooting for. Yet somewhere through the years of marshaled memories I arrived at a point of respect. It was at this point that I was hit with a hard truth; Kobe won’t be around forever. How spoiled are we to have been a part of his legacy? One day I will tell my offspring of the greatest players from my youth and be met with the same stare of oblivious deference that I give my father when told tales of Bill Russell or Pistol Pete. We should cherish the decades of Bryant’s dominion (graciously or otherwise) because not everyone will get to experience his magnitude first hand. How many seasons do we have left?

Four days ago, Kobe stated that he “could play another five years.” Of course, that was probably never in his plans, but the confidence and fortitude was there. Now I’m not so sure. I have no doubt that he will return late next season with more passion than ever, but will his body be the same? This is likely the worst injury Bryant has ever suffered, and at 34 no less. In hindsight, it is easy to look at the past few days and say playing 48 minutes in the 2nd half of a back-to-back against Portland was a mistake, but a few days ago Kobe was superman. I guess I’m just a little shaken because until a few hours ago, I could sweep Kobe’s eventual retirement to the back of my mind and enjoy the idea that the dream may never have to end. Now his human vulnerability is all too real and that scares the part of me that doesn’t want to imagine basketball without Bryant. I need my nemesis.

So here’s to you Kobe, and all that you have done for the Lakers, the fans, and basketball as a whole. I wish you a speedy recovery. May you be able to play as long as you want. Just take it easy on the players I’m actually supposed to like.

Sincerely,
a reluctant fan

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

Apr 10, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (0) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (12) at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

The game started off well for Portland, with Damian Lillard playing possibly the best 12 minutes of his NBA career. By the end of the first quarter the future Rookie of the Year had tallied an impressive 17 points and 7 assists. Those are the kind of stats that good players finish games with. Until the Lakers figured out how to stop him, he was simply scoring at will.

Lillard’s stat line: 38 points, 9 assists, 1 rebound, 3 steals, and 2 turnovers

This was the most aggressive Damian Lillard has been in some time. Tonight, I saw in Lillard’s eyes a sight all too familiar from just one Portland season ago; frustration. But the true mark of greatness is the ability to convert disappointment into tenacity. He spent as much time hitting the deck as he did hitting shots, with a perfect 9/9 from the free throw line to show for his efforts.

Interestingly enough, the only player to outperform Lillard, Kobe Bryant (47 points), was a perfect 18/18 from the line. Black Mamba made as many free throws as all of the Blazers combined. Far be it from me to say he didn’t take some hits, but I’d say they were about 50/50 with phantom contact. Even the level-headed Lillard lost his cool, receiving his first career technical for proclaiming one particular 2nd quarter call to be, “bull****!”

Nevertheless, Portland carried on and led by as many as 12 points over the course of the game. It was only in the 3rd quarter that the Los Angeles Lakers were able to take their first lead, although the game would belong predominantly to Portland well into the 4th. So what caused the breakdown? The Lakers were supposed to be playing on tired legs during this 2nd game of a back-to-back, so why were the Blazers losing ground?

• The short answer is injuries and absences, but let’s not let the Blazers off the hook. The biggest riddle Portland couldn’t solve in the 4th quarter was rebounding. Eric Maynor, I’m looking at you. Just because you’re 6’3” doesn’t mean you have a free pass to watch the ball flirt at your fingertips. If it’s in your space, grab it! The Lakers were able capitalized on 2nd chances that should never have come their way. When you’re tied with 6 minutes left, that can’t happen.
• The Blazers were unable to stop Pau Gasol. The Spaniard had 11 of the Lakers’ 25 fourth quarter points. He just backed into the paint and layed it in, time after time. Well, that’s not entirely true. He mixed in a couple of open jumpers. When he wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard he was dropping pocket passes to Dwight Howard, who also took joy in abusing Portland’s thin frontcourt. It comes as no surprise that interior defense was Portland’s undoing when they needed it most.
• The Lakers completely removed Damian Lillard from the game. I have to hand it to them; it was effective. Lillard scored just 4 of his 38 points in the final frame. He was stuck with the double, and with a limited supply of healthy talent to help him out, the Blazers succumbed to the well executed defense of the Lakers. Though, I might add, if Lillard saw as many freebies as one Kobe Bryant, this might be a different story.

All in all, I’m quite proud of Portland. They started four rookies against a team of all stars and nearly came away with a victory. The lack of Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews on defense saw Kobe Bryant to a season high 47 points and the Blazers still only lost by 7 in the conclusive minutes. With only 8 active players Portland pulled together the way I hoped they could. Though perhaps unequally, everyone did their part. Heck, even Luke Babbitt performed well (4/5 from the arc)! I’ll gladly eat crow on that one. After the final buzzer Kobe and Damian shared a warm hand shake and congratulated each other on a game well played. It gave me chills to see the most transcendent player in the game share a moment with the best up-and-comer. The win belonged to Los Angeles, but the night belonged to Lillard.

Blazers 106, Lakers 113

Box Score

Standings

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

The Blazers meet the Thunder on January 3rd in OKC, one of the month's biggest games. Photo courtesy of the Columbian.

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2012. If you subscribe to Starz you could watch 2012 all day long. If you’re in the finals of your Fantasy Football league, good luck, I hope you don’t have Aaron Rodgers. What I’m going to do to kick off the first month of this year—which as we all know might be the last one ever—is take a look forward at the month of January as it pertains to the Blazers.

Remember, this is really the season’s first month. A few teams got in five games in December; Portland had only three. As Jamal Crawford told me following Thursday’s win, now we all know the importance of pre-season. Nobody’s looked great, not even the Blazers, that will start to change in January.

So enjoy some Sunday football, and here’s my January preview:

What Happened in December: The Blazers finish 3-0, holding home court the whole way. The team looks good, but not without a few issues, 25 turnovers, and those that tend to get overly excited too early have started to predict Portland has Conference Finals potential (I’m talking about myself).

Number of Games in January: 18

Game Breakdown: 1/1 at LA Clippers, 1/3 at Oklahoma City, 1/5 vs. LA Lakers, 1/6 at Phoenix, 1/8 vs. Cleveland, 1/10 vs. LA Clippers, 1/11 vs. Orlando, 1/13 at San Antonio, 1/14 at Houston, 1/16 at New Orleans, 1/18 at Atlanta, 1/20 at Toronto, 1/21 at Detroit, 1/23 vs. Sacramento, 1/24 vs. Memphis, 1/25 at Golden State, 1/27 vs. Phoenix, 1/30 at Utah.

Games to Watch: There are going to be plenty of big games in January. Instead of singling out one or two as specific games to watch, I going to suggest we all pay close attention to the road games. In January Portland plays at the RG only seven times. The bulk of the team’s road engagements come from a brutal six-nighter that includes back-to-backs in San Antonio and Houston and Toronto and Detroit, and a stopover in Atlanta. Toronto and Detroit should be easy wins, but they come at the end of the trip. New Orleans also might prove problematic. Coming after the tough Texas games—Portland can beat both San Antonio and Houston but historically has had very little success in those gyms—the Hornets aren’t a great team, but they have the tools to beat a team that makes the mistake of taking them for granted. Another big road game is the penultimate away game of the month taking place in Oakland. The Blazers very rarely be the Warriors, regardless of how bad that team is, and almost never win at Oracle Arena. Add to it that this will be the final night of Portland’s first of two back-to-back-to-back, and this one could be interesting.

To reach their potential (Conference Finals) the Blazers will have to get wins on the road. They haven’t won on the road yet this season—they haven’t played a regular season away game but they did lose the Utah half of their home-and-home preseason—and they better start winning outside of Portland in a hurry. There are six very very winnable road games this month (Utah, Golden State, Detroit, Toronto, New Orleans, and Phoenix). That should be the baseline. Less than six road wins is under performing. Getting one in Texas, beating the Hawks in ATL, and not losing to both the Clippers and the Thunder will be a successful road campaign for the Blazers in January.

Game of the Month: Like I said, a lot of great games this month: two meetings with the high flying Clippers, the Lakers at home, Dwight Howard as long as he stays with the Magic through the middle of the month. My pick for game of the month will happen two days from today. On January 3^rd, the Blazers roll into Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder. OKC has yet to lose in five games, and will be Portland’s chief division rival all season. The Thunder have Kevin Durant, obviously, and are the favorite pick to represent the West in the Finals. I’m not sure that I disagree with that, but I do think it’s a beatable team, having to pull a Brandon Roy to beat a hapless Mavericks team is an example of this team’s mortality. Beating Oklahoma City on their turf on the second game-night of a really tough month could set the stage for a great run for Portland. Losing, especially if they get blown out, could have the exact opposite effect.

Prediction: 11-7. I almost feel like this is a conservative estimate. But then again it could very easily be overly generous. The 11 games that I picked are a two-game sweep of Phoenix, a win at Utah, a win at Golden State, another home victory over Jimmer and the Kings, victories at Toronto, Detroit, and New Orleans, a split with the Clips, a woodshedding of Cleveland, and a win in the RG against the Lakers. That also means I’m predicting losses at home to Memphis and Orlando, losses on the road to Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City, and a loss in Portland or LA to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Portland could very easily win a couple of those games that I’ve predicted they are going to lose. The high end of wins in January could possibly be 15. They could also lose a lot more.

What it All Means: It’s for real now. After three games, Portland is one of a trio of teams that are unbeaten; the other two are Miami (4-0) and Oklahoma City (5-0). More than one super pundit has that as their NBA Finals matchup. The Blazers are for real; just how for real they are will be determined in the months to come. Those months begin with this month.

email me: mike.acker1@gmail.com

Twitter: @mikeacker | @ripcityproject