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Monday, May 08, 2006
Sayson: The defining moment that never happened
By Homer Sayson
Secondovertime
CHICAGO – Last night at the US Airways Arena in Phoenix, the basketball gods handed Kobe Bryant an empty page with which he can write his own lines for history.
In the grandest stage of a Game 7, Kobe was thrust in a situation where he can finally step out of Shaquille O’Neal’s shadow, and provide plenty of evidence that a future championship for Los Angeles can be won without the lovable Shaq.
But sadly, horribly and inexplicably, Kobe’s supposed ink of greatness became as dry as the Sahara desert. After 23 first-half points, Kobe only had a shameful one point in the entire second half as the Suns moved on to second round of the playoffs with a 121-90 pounding of the Lakers.
In arguably the biggest game of his post-Shaq career, Kobe appeared disinterested, someone who’d rather be someplace else other than the Suns’ lair. Especially in the third and fourth quarters, where he shot just three field goals, Kobe was a lot less ordinary, very unlike the guy who lit up the Raptors for 81 points in January.
Maybe Kobe finally got tired carrying the Lakers on his back all season long. Maybe his rifle had finally gone empty after shooting 2,173 field goals and engaging in so many battles that required him to score 30, 40 and even 50.
Maybe the 2,173 regular season minutes he played had drained every ounce of energy in his weary 220-pound frame.
Or maybe, just maybe, Kobe simply isn’t the superstar many think he is.
When the Lakers gave Kobe a $136 million contract extension, it was to pay for big moments like a Game 7. With his superstar salary, Kobe was supposed to act like a superstar: Play under duress, ignore pain and rise above adverse conditions.
Instead, Kobe lay in meek surrender. He wasn’t just beaten. He was shattered and stepped upon, and his perpetually arrogant smirk was stripped from his mug, replaced by the frozen smile of embarrassment.
A press conference will be held in Phoenix today, and in that gathering, Steve Nash will be formally announced as the MVP for the second straight season.
If doubts still linger about Nash’s choice over Kobe, it all dissipated yesterday. Playing with a gimpy ankle, Nash had 13 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Suns, who shot 47-of-77 field goals. Even when his team was down 3-1, Nash’s spirit wasn’t broken, and when Game 7 beckoned he sparked the Suns to victory.
Like Kobe, Nash was tired too. But unlike Kobe, Nash dug deep into his reservoir, ignored pain and willed his team to an emphatic win that saw the Lakers struggle with just 32-of-91 field goals (35.2 percent).
There’s also a press conference to be held in LA today, I am told. No MVP trophies will be given, just a somber announcement that a reward awaits anyone who can provide any information leading to the discovery of a missing person – Kobe Bryant.
United we stand, divided we fall. We’ve been told that time and time again. That’s the story of the Suns-Lakers series. One great player can’t beat eight good guys who play for and with each other.
As for Kobe Bryant, he’s just a scoring machine, not MVP.
(homsay@hotmail.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 8, 2006 issue)
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