Finally, Cavs ready to move on from LeBron
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — When the media showed up to the Cavaliers practice facility Monday, all but one question was about the Cavaliers.
The other one came late in the interview session and was directed toward rookie point guard Kyrie Irving. It had something to do with the Miami Heat.
That’s the team the Cavs face Tuesday night (7:30 p.m., FOX Sports Ohio). It’s also the team for which LeBron James plays.
You remember James, don’t you? The Akron native whom the Cavs selected with the No. 1 overall pick in 2003?
Sounds like a silly question, but there’s a point behind it. Namely, that most folks in these parts finally seem ready to focus on their own town and their own team — as well as Irving, their most recent No. 1 overall pick.
Really, that has to be considered good news.
It appears the Cavs and their fans are over James and his departure in the summer of 2010.
Now, the Cavs vs. Heat is about the actual game.
It’s about the Cavs’ win over world champion Dallas this past weekend, and over Boston six days before that.
It’s about Irving’s strong fourth quarters, the Cavs’ recent ability to overcome large deficits and make a game of things, and whether Irving and Anderson Varejao will make the All-Star team.
What it’s not about is James and the Heat. At least, not any more than it would be about Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers.
“It’s just another game to us,” Irving said in answering the lone Heat-based question. “The Miami Heat have a lot of talented players. (But) it’s not one person vs. another. It’s two teams.”
Clearly, Irving meant no disrespect to James or Miami. Just the opposite actually.
Irving was just stating the obvious. After all, only four players remain from James’ last team in Cleveland — Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Anthony Parker and Antawn Jamison. And Jamison was only teammates with James for less than half a season.
The Cavs have a whole new image now, a different mission. Unlike the LeBron era, nobody in Cleveland will be overly heartbroken if the Cavs don’t win the championship.
Instead, the Cavs want to see Irving continue to dazzle, Varejao continue to hustle and Alonzo Gee and others continue to energize off the bench.
The playoffs would be great, for sure. But not getting there would be OK, too — as the Cavs would be back in the lottery. That’s where they found Irving and rookie forward Tristan Thompson, two huge pieces to their future. And postseason or not, the Cavs could certainly use another young piece or three.
As for James and the Heat, well, you know the story.
Actually, the fact James’ decision to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh is hardly even a story these days. The Heat’s realistic quest for a title still makes headlines — but James’ decision sure doesn’t. Not in Cleveland, not anymore.
Now, don’t misunderstand.
Most Cavs fans are still angry with James. Most still root feverishly for the Heat to fail. Most still check James’ statistics in the box scores and the Heat’s progress in the standings.
The difference today, it seems, is they check to see what Irving and the Cavs are doing first.
In most cities, that may not be news. Free-agent superstars leave all the time in every sport. Heck, even Bosh did it in Toronto.
But in Cleveland, trying to forget the memory of James and conquer the concept of What Could Have Been has taken some real effort.
Unquestionably, that pain remains. Not like it once did, but it’s there.
But the Cavs and their fans have made big strides, bigger than a lot of folks thought they would, especially this soon. To them, James is just a member of the Heat. And Irving and Varejao and coach Byron Scott are members of the Cavs.
It’s the latter that feeds this city’s passion, and that tells you a lot about how far this city has come.
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NBA Rumors: Orlando Magic Finally Give Dwight Howard Ultimatum Date
The Orlando Magic have finally made a decision regarding Dwight Howard.
It is either to trade or not trade him, but at least they’ve finally drawn a line in the sand.
According to Brian Schmitz, Magic beat writer for The Orlando Sentinel, a date has been set for the Magic to ask Howard if he wants to stay or go:
Ultimately, that answer will be to leave Orlando and go elsewhere.
DH12 has been a distraction all year long. His teammates are aware of desire to leave town and they’ve lost six of their last nine games, including a four-game losing streak to close out the month of January.
In those six losses, Orlando averaged an anemic 73 points per game.
In the three wins, the Magic averaged a whopping 30 points more to put them at 101 points per game.
As evidenced by their inconsistency, this team is letting the outside distractions affect them seemingly every other night. They cannot win a title that way. They will not win a playoff series that way. And they certainly won’t keep Dwight Howard that way.
D12 leads the team in four of five major categories, and somehow still manages to get his numbers despite being mentally checked out.
That is not a good thing for Howard or the Magic’s chances of keeping him around for another year.
Come the March 1st (or roundabout) deadline, the Magic need to make sure they’ve either changed Howard’s mind, or have a suitable deal to make instead.
If things aren’t fixed, he’ll walk away for free this summer.
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Timberwolves finally have everyone healthy
MINNEAPOLIS Last Friday, Wes Johnson pulled an inhaler off the top shelf of his locker. It had been given to him to combat the breathing problems that accompanied the illness which he described as pneumonia he’d come down with earlier that week.He shrugged and set it back on the shelf, knowing he’d need it later. Because within the hour, the not-quite-recovered Johnson took the court and started for the Timberwolves, playing 17 minutes for the injury-riddled team.”He wasn’t hyper-ventilating,” Kevin Love said of Johnson after the game, laughing. “He wasn’t gasping for air, so I guess that’s good.”Love’s only choice was to make light of it. There really wasn’t another option for a team that defeated Dallas on Jan. 25 with just eight healthy players. Be resourceful, find the humor, and get through it.Just a week later, the Timberwolves are in far better physical shape. Four players who’d missed weeks in some cases, the entire season so far have returned to the court, and with the addition of J.J. Barea, Martell Webster, Michael Beasley and Brad Miller, the Timberwolves’ bench looks less like a place for well-dressed 20-something men to hang out than it has all season.The physical burden has been shifted off of the team, but it’s been passed on, in the form of a more cerebral challenge, to coach Rick Adelman, who now must determine exactly where these now-healthy players fit within his scheme.”It’s not going to be easy,” Adelman said of integrating the players. “Everybody’s going to have to understand that the ultimate thing is how our team does. These guys can only control the time they’re on the court. They have to play hard and play within the team system when they’re on the court. They don’t control their minutes, but they do control how they play.”Obviously, players have some control over how soon and how much they get to play, but the ultimate decision is Adelman’s. Beasley, the only injured starter, had a season-high 34 points in Houston on Monday, but he still hasn’t returned to the starting lineup. Before spraining his right foot on Jan. 6, the small forward was averaging 31.6 minutes per game. Now, in his first four games back, he’s averaging 26.3, and he’ll gradually creep back into his starting role.Beasley said he’s comfortable with where he stands right now, coming off the bench, and the transition back seems to be doing him some good. It’s only been four games, but Beasley seems more consistent on the court than he did before his injury, despite that the team’s offensive attack has changed in the month he was injured.”Normally, Michael was our starting small forward, and you would work him back in right away, but I think it’s just to get some continuity, to probably bring him off the bench, see how he feels, see how he goes,” Adelman said.The other three players Barea, Webster and Miller are going through the process of reintegration without the expectation of getting regular starts. Barea, who averaged 20.6 minutes off the bench last season in Dallas and should see similar time in Minnesota, was the last player to recover. He’s been suffering from right hamstring problems and a sprained left ankle all season, and his return Wednesday night against Indiana marked his third such comeback this season. The first two, he said, were premature, and taking two weeks off this time should put Barea in a better position to remain healthy.The veteran point guard is one of the most difficult players to gradually re-introduce into a lineup, strictly from a personality standpoint. Though trainers said that Barea should only play four- to six-minute stretches, Adelman said that he is the kind of player who’s always going to want to be on the court, who struggles to raise his hand for a sub. On Wednesday, though, Barea played just 14 minutes, and that was enough. He looked rusty in the first half and improved in the second, but even so, Barea said he felt like it had been a matter of years, not weeks, since he’d last played.Adelman faces another less obvious challenge with Barea back in the lineup. When he’s healthy, the team’s best three guards Barea, Ricky Rubio and Luke Ridnour are small, which puts the team at a disadvantage against larger opponents. How Adelman will negotiate the three guards’ minutes in those situations remains to be seen, and he’ll have to find a balance between their talent and their lack of size.”It’s a domino effect,” Adelman said. “I’m just going to have to play it by ear, and everybody’s going to have to have some patience.”Webster, who had back surgery on Sept. 28, has a realistic view of what it’s going to take to get him back to full-strength. When he entered the game against San Antonio last Friday, he had yet to even scrimmage for Adelman, and he’s aware that he’ll need more practice time to find his place.Webster told Adelman that he’s ready to go whenever the coach wants him, and he’s averaged 22 minutes in the last three games after playing just six in his 2012 debut.”The first step’s there,” Webster said. “The explosiveness is something that’s going to come with repetition. That’s something I can’t get mad at because I can’t control it.”Without a doubt, the team needs Barea and Webster. But what might come as the biggest surprise is the demand for 35-year-old Brad Miller. At the season’s beginning, Miller being injured seemed like something of little concern; the team had Darko Milicic and Nikola Pekovic, two big men who could rack up minutes, and Miller’s age and knee problems make it so he won’t ever play the majority of a game. But with Milicic’s recent injuries and illnesses exactly what they are and how they limit him are murky, as is everything with the center Miller’s return came at the perfect time. With Pekovic playing the best basketball he’s played since arriving in the NBA, there’s less of a spot for Miller now, but having a veteran backup if Milicic continues down the path he’s on will be crucial for Adelman and the Timberwolves.Right now, Adelman still isn’t at the point where he trusts the formerly injured players in clutch situations. Beasley may be the closest to earning that trust, but after streaky play early in the season, he still isn’t there. Luckily, though, the initial “grit your teeth and put them in” phase is over. Now, Adelman must simply experiment and see where each player excels and struggles, and to what extent. Eventually, he’ll make more permanent changes, but not yet.”Someone’s got to separate themselves to change things up,” Adelman said. “One game, a guy does great; the next game, he doesn’t. In my experience, once you start making changes, it goes the other direction.”For now, the Timberwolves should be happy with what they’ve added. Maybe injured players are rusty and still finding their footing, but they’re still warm bodies, well conditioned and able to shoulder minutes. And while some players, most noticeably Anthony Tolliver and Anthony Randolph, seem to be cast aside in the process of re-assigning minutes, Adelman said that they too will have roles once this period of fluidity is over.”It can limit guys’ minutes in a good way,” Love said of the influx of players. “It gives us different looks and helps our firepower.”For the first time all season, Adelman had a healthy scratch on Wednesday, when Randolph was relegated to street clothes on the bench. That’s as encouraging a sign as any for this team, and though the process of figuring out where each player fits is nowhere near complete, at least Adelman has enough healthy players to again hold a somewhat normal practice when there’s time, that is.Follow Joan Niesen on Twitter.
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Wolves finally play at full explosive potential
MINNEAPOLIS When the Houston Rockets came to Minneapolis on Jan. 23 and delivered the Timberwolves their most devastating loss of the year, something seemed different, off.
The Timberwolves didn’t look like themselves. They gave up and succumbed to their largest margin of defeat this season, 15 points.
It was a fluke. It was an aberration. At least, that’s what everyone hoped.
So when the Rockets’ former coach and his young team took the court in Houston on Monday, there was something extra to prove. It wasn’t just Adelman’s return; it was also his chance to show that the Timberwolves are more than the team they appeared to be just a week ago.
And they proved it.
They hammered it home — that this team is different, even a threat — with 120 points and six steals, with 40 rebounds and just three missed free throws. In its 120-108 win, the team shot 58.1 percent, a far cry from its struggles the night before against Los Angeles. It was a different team from the previous week, from the previous night, even.
The catalyst of that change was without a doubt Michael Beasley, the small forward who spent much of January out with an injured foot. In his first two games back, Beasley eased into his role, coming off the bench for seven points against San Antonio and 18 against the Lakers. That increase in production continued Monday, when he tied a franchise record for most points off the bench, with 34.
“I’m just trusting in my shot,” Beasley said. “That’s kind of been my problem so far this season, just been babying a lot of shots, trying to aim at the basket. I came out here, I trusted my shot.”
At the half, a panting Beasley said he was shooting the ball without thinking, and perhaps that’s the key to success for the often-streaky small forward. After scoring 24 points in the Timberwolves’ season opener, Beasley’s production declined, and he’s been derided throughout his career for a lack of consistency. Those criticisms can get inside a player’s head, and Beasley’s injury may have provided him with a fresh start to the year.
“I thought he was really active, and he was attacking,” Adelman said of Beasley. “We’re trying to figure out how to use him right now, and if he’s active, he’s really hard to guard . . . He was really patient tonight. He took what was there, and when it wasn’t there he gave it to somebody else.”
That willingness to share the ball was crucial in the team scoring a season-high 120 points. In the third quarter alone, the Timberwolves scored 42 points — the most the team has ever scored in the third quarter and one point less than the franchise record for points in any quarter — which was just three less than it scored in the first half of Sunday’s game. Kevin Love had 29 points, and Ricky Rubio was just two rebounds short of a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
Rubio’s big game was a perfect example of the effect a dynamic point guard can have on the team. He and Beasley seemed to feed off each other’s energy all night, and Rubio seemed as satisfied as he’s been all season after the game.
“It’s great,” Rubio said of his night Monday. “It’s a good feeling because that’s what a point guard has to do, try to help your teammate. You have to envelop all your teammates and try to win.”
Adelman too stressed that sense of feeding off teammates. He said that players on his team need to make plays for one another, and much of that hinges on the offensive power of Love and Beasley. For the first time since December 26, both were explosive on Monday night, and the high score showed just how much the team is capable of when both are operating at their full potential.
“It just showed that we can be a pretty darn good team if we can play the way we’re capable of,” Adelman said.
And so as the clock ran down to zero, the Timberwolves weren’t hustling toward a basket or diving for a last-second foul. For all the excitement of the win, it ended with just a circular dribble, as Martell Webster held the ball near midcourt until the buzzer. It was far from exciting, but it made a statement. Not every game will be so easy, but wins also don’t have to be as hard as the Timberwolves have sometimes made them this season.
Follow Joan Niesen on Twitter @FSN_JoanNiesen.
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Jimmer Fredette: Is NBA Rookie Finally Ready to Break out for Sacramento Kings?
It’s been a rough go for Sacramento Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette to begin his NBA career.
He’s seen his minutes drastically decreased and he’s offered up little to no production. Fredette has the reputation of a scorer and if he’s not scoring, he doesn’t offer up much value.
That was until three games ago.
After scoring only 49 combined points in a 10-game stretch before Saturday’s game against Memphis, Fredette has erupted and scored 52 points in his last three games; including a career high of 20 against the Grizzlies.
He followed that with a 13-point effort against Portland and a 19-point game against Denver.
That begs the question: Is Fredette ready to break out?
The answer could be yes.
As long as he’s getting enough minutes, Fredette can get hot as a scorer and keep this roll going.
The main difference between early Fredette and what we’ve seen lately has been the confidence on his jump shot.
He’s taking more and making them at a higher rate, especially from three-point range, where he’s connected on 11-of-18 (.611) from behind the arc during the last three games.
In the 13 games prior to this recent stretch, Fredette had connected on only 13-of-49 (.265) from long range.
As long as Marcus Thornton remains banged up, Fredette will be given the opportunity to remain in the starting lineup. If he continues to play with confidence, Fredette will make it hard for coach Keith Smart not to give him major minutes.
Sometimes it takes a young player some time to find his way in the NBA. It takes a while to get enough confidence to play in this league.
That could be the case with Fredette. He could be ready to break out.
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Villanova Basketball: Wildcats Finally Get a Big East Road Win
In a game that saw Villanova get back to its gritty roots, they were able to outlast St. John’s in overtime, 79-76. St. John’s is not a great team, but it is significant in that it’s Villanova’s first win on the road, giving them their first winning streak since November 24.
Even more encouraging is that Villanova didn’t do it with a rare, hot shooting performance. In fact, they were especially bad. The Wildcats shot 39 percent from the field, 25 percent from three and just 58 percent from the foul line.
So no, they didn’t do it by hitting shots. They did it by playing Villanova basketball. They played tough defense. They were scrappy rebounders. Most important, they never quit.
St. John’s was on a tear for most of the second half. After starting the game 9-of-28, they hit 20 of their final 32 attempts from the field. Trailing by a score of 60-50 with 6:29 remaining, Villanova dug in on defense and clawed their way back on offense.
Villanova grinded out a 13-3 run over the next 4:35 to tie the game at 63-apiece. Each team scored four more points to send it to overtime. It was in the extra session where Villanova hit some timely shots.
Maalik Wayns carried the load once again, scoring 28 points and adding three assists. But the story was his supporting cast once again.
Despite the poor shooting, Villanova put three other scorers in double figures. Dominic Cheek scored 20 points and added seven rebounds. He shot just 5-of-15 from the field, but he scored 10 of their last 20 points.
Freshman JayVaughn Pinkston continued his coming-out party with a second straight double-double. He scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Sophomore James Bell chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Villanova was able to keep pace with relentless offensive rebounding. They pulled down 24 rebounds on the offensive end, tallying 19 second-chance points.
If the Wildcats can continue playing with this type of effort and aggression, they can expect to make a run in Big East play. Jay Wright has gotten the message through to his young team, and they are playing their best basketball of the season.
They are not likely to make the NCAA Tournament, but they can give any Big East foe a long night. Wayns is establishing himself as one of the conference’s best players, and the rest of the team is starting to follow his lead.
Next week is another big test, as Villanova plays at Louisville and hosts Marquette. It is a chance to establish themselves as a true threat. It’s starting to look like they may just salvage this season yet.
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Villanova Big East Basketball: Finally the Young Wildcats Roar
After two full months of struggles on offense and defense against legitimate competition, Villanova may have finally put a stamp on their season. Seton Hall entered the game 15-3 and 4-2 in the Big East, but the Wildcats pillaged the Pirates 84-76.
Villanova used a recipe they have struggled to master this year. They played aggressively on offense, getting to the free-throw line 41 times while attempting just 18 three-pointers. The Wildcats knocked down 34 of those free-throw attempts and six threes. That is the way their offense needs to look.
Their leader, point guard Maalik Wayns, poured in 25 points, making 15-of-16 shots from the foul line. He also dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds. Wayns basically did exactly what he has been doing all year. The real difference was in his supporting cast.
Sophomore James Bell chipped in 18 points and six rebounds, shooting 4-of-8 from three-point range. As well as Bell played, his contribution still wasn’t the big story.
JayVaughn Pinkston, one of five Villanova freshman, had been coming on strong in recent games, but no one could have predicted that he’d have the performance he did against Seton Hall. Going against Herb Pope, one of the nation’s best big men, Pinkston had a true breakout performance.
Pinkston bullied his way to the rim on offense, scoring a career-high 23 points. He also played tough defense and pounded the boards for 11 rebounds. Pope had just 10 points and eight rebounds.
Defensively, Villanova held Seton Hall to just 37 percent shooting and only sent them to the line 16 times.
The Wildcats are still just 9-10 and 2-5 in the Big East, but if they can get that type of scoring help for Wayns, they can turn their season around in a hurry. It could very well be too late to make an NCAA Tournament run, but if nothing else they can make noise in the conference tournament and possibly a run in the NIT.
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Villanova Basketball: Finally the Young Wildcats Roar
After two full months of struggles on offense and defense against legitimate competition, Villanova may have finally put a stamp on their season. Seton Hall entered the game 15-3 and 4-2 in the Big East, but the Wildcats pillaged the Pirates 84-76.
Villanova used a recipe they have struggled to master this year. They played aggressively on offense, getting to the free-throw line 41 times while attempting just 18 three-pointers. The Wildcats knocked down 34 of those free-throw attempts and six threes. That is the way their offense needs to look.
Their leader, point guard Maalik Wayns, poured in 25 points, making 15-of-16 shots from the foul line. He also dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds. Wayns basically did exactly what he has been doing all year. The real difference was in his supporting cast.
Sophomore James Bell chipped in 18 points and six rebounds, shooting 4-of-8 from three-point range. As well as Bell played, his contribution still wasn’t the big story.
JayVaughn Pinkston, one of five Villanova freshman, had been coming on strong in recent games, but no one could have predicted that he’d have the performance he did against Seton Hall. Going against Herb Pope, one of the nation’s best big men, Pinkston had a true breakout performance.
Pinkston bullied his way to the rim on offense, scoring a career-high 23 points. He also played tough defense and pounded the boards for 11 rebounds. Pope had just 10 points and eight rebounds.
Defensively, Villanova held Seton Hall to just 37 percent shooting and only sent them to the line 16 times.
The Wildcats are still just 9-10 and 2-5 in the Big East, but if they can get that type of scoring help for Wayns, they can turn their season around in a hurry. It could very well be too late to make an NCAA Tournament run, but if nothing else they can make noise in the conference tournament and possibly a run in the NIT.
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Kobe vs. Jordan: Can Jordan’s Fans Finally Accept the Truth About Kobe?
It was recently revealed that former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan acknowledged that Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was the only NBA player he felt to attain his level of play, which takes a lot of wind out of the sails of the crowd who refuses to accept any Kobe comparison to Jordan.
How can you argue with his “Airness” in the flesh?
I’m sure Jordan’s fans will still find reasons to denigrate Bryant after having the scales cast from their eyes by the only person who really has a definitive say in the matter. And the first point that will likely be brought up is Kobe is still not a better player.
And I would agree, but that’s not the point.
Until now it has been a sacrilege among Jordan’s most ardent supporters to even acknowledge the similarity in Bryant and Jordan’s games, their attitudes, their mannerisms or their skill sets.
But Jordan saying that Kobe is the only player to reach his level must mean that all of the imitation has paid off.
After all, it’s one thing for a player to try to imitate a player like Jordan, but it’s entirely something else when a player is dedicated and driven enough to live up to the comparisons.
There have been many players labeled as the heir to Jordan’s throne (Harold Miner anyone?), but only Kobe has crafted the type of legacy that stands up under all scrutiny.
Kobe will likely finish his career ahead of Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, especially if he continues at his current rate. And there is still an outside chance that Bryant can finish with a higher ring count as well.
If Bryant does achieve those lofty goals, then where would that place him on the NBA’s all-time player list, since most honest people agree that he was already top 10 before Jordan’s comments were revealed?
Unless you think Jordan resides at the bottom of the top five, you would almost have to rate Bryant solidly in the top five as well if you believe in Jordan’s judgement.
I consider Jordan to be a top-three player myself, and I think it’s revealing that Kobe’s name was the only one mentioned during his moment of reflection.
If Jordan really feels that Bryant is the only player to ever reach his level of excellence, and the fact that Kobe has all the necessary historical hardware to back that claim up, one could reasonably assume that Kobe is a legitimate top-five player, right?
That list will always be a subjective matter, but Jordan’s opinion must be hard to swallow for those who argued that Bryant would never even be in a top-five-player conversation.
Jordan may not be a great judge of talent when it comes to running an NBA team, but he is an expert witness when it comes to recognizing greatness in one of his peers.
And Kobe is definitely one of Jordan’s peers, if not his equal, which is something that Kobe’s supporters have known all along.
I’m not sure if I’m ready to anoint Kobe to one of those hallowed spots in the top five just yet, but how could I disagree with the opinion of Jordan, who is arguably the greatest player to ever grace an NBA court?
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Kobe Bryant: Has Kobe’s Game Finally Silenced the Haters?
I wonder if the folks at ESPN still think Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is the seventh-best player in the NBA, because nobody else does.
The only thing rising quicker than Bryant’s scoring average are the number of people who have recanted on their statements concerning Bryant’s guaranteed decline this season.
With each game Kobe plays, it seems his 16th season could be one of the most productive and successful of his long career, and it also means a long season may be in store for the chorus of haters who scrutinize his every move.
Bryant leads the NBA in scoring at 30.3 points per game, while also averaging 5.7 assists 5.9 rebounds and shooting nearly 46 percent from the field.
Bryant’s also forcing many people to eat a whole lot of crow.
Before the 2011-12 season began it had become fashionable to predict how far and how fast the Lakers—and especially Kobe—would fall this season, but ESPN and the TrueHoop network’s ranking of Bryant may have been the icing on the cake.
Many people, myself included, were willing to accept the theory that Kobe may no longer be a top five player, but apparently Kobe was not.
I’m not sure of the exact cause for this new invigorated version of Bryant, but I can think of a few reasons.
One of them is Bryant’s liberation from former head coach Phil Jackson’s offense, which sometimes prevented Kobe from receiving the ball in his comfort zone.
In head coach Mike Brown’s motion offense, Bryant is able to roam much more freely, and this allows him to be more creative with his offense.
Lakers fans have had the pleasure of being exposed to most of Kobe’s offensive arsenal during the Lakers’ first 12 games, and they’ve also been able to catch a glimpse Bryant in his younger days.
Many people have pointed out that Bryant is attacking the rim and finishing with aggression at a much higher rate than last season, and that could be a result of his revolutionary knee surgery in the offseason.
Kobe certainly looks much lighter on his feet, and the extended offseason due to the NBA lockout provided him with plenty of time to rest up for the short season.
But the main reason for Bryant’s renaissance might be his uncanny ability to draw inspiration and motivation from criticism.
And the fact that Bryant is playing with yet another injury only makes his feats this season more impressive. Other NBA stars could possibly play with a torn ligament in their wrist, but I’m not sure they could compete on the same level that Bryant has.
The inevitable next round of criticism from Bryant’s detractors once they gather their thoughts will likely center around his ability to maintain this pace for the duration of the season and the playoffs, but even that is much different from what I was hearing before Christmas.
Twelve games is not enough time to determine the true contenders for the NBA’s MVP award, but if it were Kobe would definitely sit atop that list.
And if you think Kobe’s critics have fallen quiet now, imagine how deafening the silence will be if he can continue to play at this level and capture the award at 33.
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