On its face, there was nothing much to see here. The 12-12 Atlanta Hawks played an 11-12 Western Conference opponent, which is about as close to a match of mediocrity as it gets. (Given the skewed state of the NBA, the Hawks stood a handsome third in the motley East, while Monday’s guest ranked 12th — four spots below the playoff cutoff — in the brawny West.)
Which only goes to show that appearances can deceive. Monday’s game at Philips Arena was rendered something of an Event because of one man. Kobe Bryant was in the house.
This was Bryant’s — it sounds silly calling him “Bryant” since nobody ever does, so we’ll dispense with that now — fifth game back after tearing his Achilles, and he’s not just working his way into shape. He’s also playing a new position. Due to injuries to Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar, the just-returned Kobe is the Los Angeles Lakers’ point guard. How long, coach Mike D’Antoni was asked, is this apt to last?
Said D’Antoni: “Until we get one.”
It’s a tribute to Kobe’s grasp of fundamentals — and fundamentally, he’s as skilled as any NBA player, Tim Duncan included — that he can function as a facilitator in a pinch. It’s also a bit of a cheat. For Kobe to Get Everyone Else Involved means he’s passing and not shooting, which kind of defeats the purpose of Kobe.
On Monday, Kobe threw the ball away four times before he made a shot, and we had our answer to a question never asked. Everyone debates whether Kobe is as good as Michael Jordan (no) or as good as LeBron (not quite), but nobody has ever wondered if Kobe was as deft a distributor as Magic Johnson.
Still, there’s no denying that even a slow-to-shoot Kobe commands the spotlight. There is about him an aura unlike any the NBA has seen since … well, maybe ever. We celebrated the immortals of the ‘80s because they were great players who also seemed like nice guys. (Larry Bird really wasn’t, but he could fake it.) Kobe has never seemed a particularly nice guy. He seems, not to put too fine a point on it, as mean as a snake, which is fitting, given that his nickname, of which he heartily approves, is the Black Mamba.
For all the lip service — and ESPN airtime — devoted to Kobe, you’d think he was a multiple Most Valuable Player on the order of Magic (three) or even Duncan (two). Truth to tell, Kobe has won half as many MVP awards (one, that in 2008) as teammate Nash (two, both with Phoenix). Kobe’s immense reputation hinges mostly on his playoff legacy. He has been part of five NBA champions — three as Shaquille O’Neal’s sidekick, two as unchallenged Main Man.
On Monday, an L.A. reporter told D’Antoni that Kobe had spoken of “playing in June,” meaning the NBA finals. To his credit, the coach of a sub-.500 team seemed surprised. “We’ll have to improve a lot,” D’Antoni said. Then this: “We’ll see how Kobe is.”
There are many stories on the sprawling Los Angeles sports scene — the Dodgers and Puig, the Angels and their spending, UCLA and Mora, Southern Cal after Kiffin, the Clippers and Doc Rivers — but there is none to rival Kobe. Ninety minutes before Kobe’s fifth game of the season, nearly 80 percent of the questions posed of D’Antoni involved No. 24.
A sampling of responses: “He’s had a great career … I wouldn’t bet against him finishing up strong.”
And: “Give him a month — that’ll be like preseason … I think every game you’ll see some facet of his game improve.”
We’ll have to call Monday’s performance the exception that proves the rule. Kobe finished with eight points, six assists and five turnovers. He missed 10 of 14 shots. He looked like a 35-year-old who isn’t yet in game condition and who’s playing out of position to boot.
“I felt all right,” he would say afterward. “Felt a little stiff.”
He looked that way. DeMarre Carroll made it tough on the famous Laker, picking him in backcourt and making him work just to start the Lakers’ offense, such as it was. Come the second half, the exertion showed.
“There are certain things I can do,” Kobe said, “and other things I can’t do yet, but they’re coming. I have to keep focused on the big picture.”
Kobe was culpable in the Lakers’ third-quarter collapse. Leading by nine points two minutes in, L.A. was outscored 21-4 and was done. He returned midway through the fourth to no avail. (Inside the final two minutes, he cast a brick of a 3-pointer and had the ball stolen by Jeff Teague.) The third-best team in the East squashed the 12th-best team in the West. Play in June? The way the Lakers looked, they’ll be lucky to be playing in late April.
But they do have Kobe, which mean this is all subject to change. He might not be his Black Mamba self this season or ever again, but you discount him at your peril. As D’Antoni said: “He’ll always find motivation, whether it’s June or the next game in Memphis.”
If that’s true, Kobe should find much sustenance from this December Monday. He wasn’t good by anyone’s standards. By his, he was terrible.
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