Legacies.
Coming into these Finals a lot of the hype centered around people adding to their legacies.
A lot happened last night.
Kobe Bryant’s legacy took a turn down the wrong road, and it may never come back.
(Before I write this, let me get this out of the way: I’m not a Kobe-hater, Kobe-basher or any of that nonsense. He’s clearly the best talent on the planet (sorry Tim)
Everyone was talking about this being the series that crowned Kobe as the next MJ. People were practically waiting for him to explode on the Celtics. It was to be a victory lap. The culmination of a great MVP season. A season in which Kobe had grown into a great teammate, and now the Lakers with New Kobe, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and all of that depth were unstoppable.
That’s what it was supposed to be. Except Old Kobe reared his ugly head right from the start of Game 1. Looking back with 20/20 vision, the change was dramatic. Watching any of the Spurs or Jazz series games and then watching these Celtics games…it’s like he turned into a different person. Or he was the best actor in the universe because he sure had me fooled. He wanted it so bad he forgot what got the Lakers there. Honestly, his body language completely changed. Yes, he’s notorious for being hard on his teammates…but you can only go so far. You weren’t screaming in the past three series, why start screaming now? You weren’t pouting and sending death stares, why start now? The way Kobe handled his teammates in the Finals was just wrong and inconsistent with what he had been doing all year….or it was just Kobe being Kobe. All year the guy loved Pau Gasol. Chest bumps, trash talk, all of that. And then the Finals come and he’s treating everyone like “I can’t believe y’all are messing this up for me”
Everything before hand was a facade. Made up. A dream. A lie.
After last night, he can never be mentioned in the same vein as Michael Jordan. Ever. Forever on his legacy like a tattoo will be this epic fall. Right next to the terrible 2004 series against the Pistons. A Kobe Bryant-led team blew a 20+ point lead in the NBA Finals and lost. Is it fair to put it all on Kobe? No. It’s not. Lamar Odom went back to his spaceship, Pau Gasol continued to play like Margo Dydek and no one showed up to help him. He wanted to fight the fight but he had no one to fight it with. Facing a defense in the second half determined not to let him explode, he looked around and saw teammates determined to let him do it on his own.
However, I’ll maintain until the end of the time that it could have been avoided. There’s no excuse for blowing that game last night None. And as the superstar the buck stops with you. Now….unless he can pull a miracle and find a way to win three straight games, something no team in Finals history has done…his legacy will be tainted. That second half if not the whole series will be the confirmation for those who believe that he can’t do it without Shaq.
On the other side of the equation, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are cementing their legacies. Paul Pierce is one of the 50 greatest players to play the game. Bar none. After these playoffs I’m ready to argue this with anyone. His defense on Kobe…psh. Team scheme or not, Pierce was playing defense. Kevin Garnett finally got it, went to the post and put…in….work. Ray Allen has been a rock these Finals, making everyone forget the Atlanta series and looking like he’s making He Got Game 2.
Legacies have been altered in ways that we may not understand for a while.
And Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan, and the discussion is over. Dead. I want the Undertaker from 1992 (when I was legit scared of him) to come bury it.
It’s tough to make sense of what happened last night. Except for the fact that the Celtics just wanted it more. They needed it. And they took it. Case closed.