I was thinking about Dwight Howard earlier today. He’s a pretty smart kid. But he’s also a devout Christian who opted to skip college to enter the draft — which means he’s waaay undereducated, even by NBA standards. It’s dangerous to be intelligent but bury your head in religious sands. Least he could’ve done is gone to a secular college and given himself access to a great teacher or two who might’ve opened his eyes to different ways of looking at the world. Instead, he’s the franchise player of a major team, stepping into the cruel spotlight with a toothy smile that seems emblematic of his clueless worldview.
Even if we step away from all that for a moment and focus only on D-Ho’s court performance, I find myself vexed. Does he have the necessary grit to lay a straight beat down on his opponent? ‘Cause that’s what champions do. And not just once, but night after night, destroying another team’s front court like a rabid dog. Nice guys who love Jesus don’t know how to kill, and that’s a problem for a professional athlete. (MJ might smile while the Hanes cameras are rolling, but he was a cold-blooded beast on the court.) According to D., God granted Orlando its victory over the Cs. How’s D. gonna feel when he learns that God shined His light on Cleveland this time around? This kid has a serious existential crisis in his future.
(Cleveland in 6.)
LAKERS v. NUGGETS
As I was intially writing that last paragraph, I began to type that Dwight Howard might be the most intriguing figure in the modern NBA. But then I remembered Kobe. First of all, I love that he’s now forced to play three games in this series — the toughest one of these playoffs, btw — in the city of “the alleged incident.” But more importantly, I couldn’t be more excited because this is the series that will define Kobe’s career. As Alec Baldwin said in Glengarry Glen Ross, “It’s f**k or walk”; this is, in all likelihood, Kobe’s last chance to win it all sans Shaq. And in the end, he will fail. Spike Lee’s “documentary” is going to be flat-out laughable after this.
A champion has two basic qualities: 1) killer instinct (which Kobe has), and 2) a warmth of character the draws people to you, earns their trust, and brings a squad together. Magic, Bird, MJ, Dream, Duncan, even LeBron — they all have this latter quality. Kobe doesn’t. We’ve all hoped he would eventually mature and emerge from this dark disposition; he hasn’t, and he won’t. His story is, in a sense, already written; this series will be a highly entertaining formality. Consider this: The Lakers are LOADED. If they’re playing D and executing the triangle effectively, they should be virtually unstoppable. But they let a depleted Rockets’ squad take them to 7 games? Seriously?
(Denver in 7.)
P.S. Because this is Kobe’s Last Stand, there is a very strong chance that at least one game in this series will become ESPN Classic-worthy. Which means that when I’m watching that game 20 years from now, “Birdman” Andersen will still have that haircut. And that’s the kind of comedy that ages like a bottle of super tuscan.
8 comments:
I don't agree with your God comments. There's nice guys, who love Jesus, who were bulldogs on the court. D-Ho's limitation is not that he loves the Lord. It's that he doesn't do much yet besides dunk, and he's not consistent from the foul line. He's not Shaq-mean, but he's not David Robinson soft either. He punishes teams with 20-20's on the reg. The reality is he's not a finished product, and I wouldn't waste any time trying to figure out how his story will end.
In terms of Kobe, I think you're buying the Simmons hype a bit. Yes Kobe is Kobe, but he's not the a-hole he was when he dogged it in that Phoenix game. He ain't no great dude, but at this point in his career teammates know what they have in him. He's the best player of his generation, moving past his prime, who wants more than anything in life to win it all one more time. And he knows damn well, the time is NOW! If you're on his team and you can't f%ck wit Kobe, it's cus you ain't ready. You're scared of the fight. He doesn't have a teammate to be his Pip; someone talented and respected enough to be the on-the-court coach. So, h'es gotta do it. Mike wasn't good at that either if you remember right. Kobe's got an old Derek Fisher, a flighty Lamar Odom, a talented yet soft Pau Gasol and a young kid who's supposed to be a franchise center. The Lakers have plenty of talent, but not much character or consistency. These are the problems with the Lakers, not some bs about teammates not liking Kobe. He ain't asking to be nobody's godfather of they baby. He wants them to commit to defense and bang and play hard for 48 minutes. In that sense, he really ain't no different from the Immortal Mike.
I think the Lakers beat Denver. I think it goes 6. I think Denver plays physical and the Lakers front court is forced to stand up. I will say this, I think PJax is slippin' a little in terms of his intensity, and getting guys to listen to him. This is also his last hurrah. I think Kobe puts it on his shoulders a couple of games in this series, especially in Denver, and gets them out of it. I also think Denver is going to make some runs during a few games that show just how scary good their offense is. And they will blow the Lakers out in at least one game. However, the Lakers make it out of the West; only to run into a Cleveland team burning like a house on fire. That's the series we all deserve. The basketball gods (and David Stern) will make it so.
You make a great point: PJax is not altogether here. I got on my tear about what a malevolent prick Kobe is, without ever bringing his absentee coach into the discussion. Shame on me.
But come on, dude: Don't play the poor-Kobe violin. He's VERY MUCH UNLIKE the Immortal Mike because Mike evolved. Yes, attitudinally, Young Mike was very Kobe-esque. But he grew -- ironically, under PJax's guidance. But nobody could ever get through the Kobe. Never, ever. He's too old to be this single-minded and angry. And so, for him, it's over. (P.S. Mike regressed back into his Kobe-like young self when he played for Washington. Hmm.)
But seriously, you're gonna blame Kobe's supporting cast? The triangle was goddamn invented for a team like that! Can you really say -- position by position -- that the team around LeBron is that much better? Better at all? Stop.
-G
P.S. My question on D-Ho is not whether religion will eff him up, but rather whether his general ignorance/lack of education will. Devout religiousness is only one aspect of that. Every player brings his psychology to the court; you can't leave it on the bench. So when he hits his existential crisis -- and he will -- I wonder how that will play out. I have no guesses, I just wonder. (P.S. I'd feel better about him in general if he was a beast more than every-third-night. And he played on the Olympic team with Kobe and all those hard-working, overachievers. Ain't he learned nothin'? Maybe that's the point.)
The question I'm raising about the Lakers team has nothing to do with talent. On paper, they are far superior to the Cavs. It's why I bring up PJax. It seems like he's checked out. He's so calm that I don't think it's about him being Zen. Instead, it seems like he's given up; that his team is doomed, and he knows it. And by the way, they're doomed not because Kobe's a jerk, but because he can't go inside the minds and bodies of his big men and make them tough. The team was built to play the triangle, but they don't have the heart and will to consistently play defense and play in the paint like they need to. Cleveland does. And that's not just cus of LeBron, as good as he's been.
In terms of D-Ho, I think you're making a connection between religiousity and ignorance that's a little too blanket. You seem to be nuancing it a bit, but really you think that D-Ho is blind to the ways of the world because he believes in Jesus. It's a bit of reverse xenophobia if you ask me. Maybe you expect devout Christians to consider you a lesser being because you don't "know Jesus", and have turned it around on them by categorizing their faith as conducive to blindness and ignorance. Granted blindness is my word, but that's my specualtion.
I was trying to nuance it, but clearly didn't do it effectively. My problem isn't with the "Christian" part of the description; it's with the "devout" part. If you're a devout anything -- devout Muslim, devout Athiest, devout Republican -- then by implication, you're putting on blinders. You're basically crossing your arms and taking the stance: "This is how I see it, period. Good luck trying to make any point to the contrary."
Intelligent minds need to take the exploratory journey. And I just wonder how hampered D-Ho has been in this regard. Since young childhood, he's never questioned his higher power nor the morality handed to him by his faith. He was "educated" in a Christian school, and bypassed college. When did this kid ever take the opportunity to consider the vast grayness of the world?
If he were a dope, the question would be moot. But he strikes me as pretty sharp. So these thoughts are likely creeping in. You can't keep them out forever. How's he gonna handle it? I just wonder.
-G
P.S. It seems I made one gigantic oversight in my Lakers/Nuggets prediction: Denver doesn't have a single player who can guard Kobe. Uh oh.
After last night's game: "You get used to greatness," Lamar Odom said. "He was amazing. He wanted the ball. Kobe is always going to help you or bail you out more than he hurts you."
So, who does this statement say more about, Odom or Kobe? It's definitely honest on Odom's part. He's admitting pretty openly that Kobe hurts you at times. And he's also admitting that he (and the rest of the team) are used to Kobe bailing them out. The nature of his teammates is why I keep a vigilant watch on the Kobe bashing. Does Kobe want to be a hero? Yes. Does he play into this rescuing-my-team paradigm with his team? I'm quite sure. However, so do they. So, apparently, does Phil at this point. When the Lakers lay down, don't say it's cus a Kobe's not a good teammate. It's just not that simple.
I hear you about the "devout" thing. however, when you say the following "since young childhood, he's never questioned his higher power nor the morality handed to him by his faith.". You're assuming too much. You don't know what existential crisis he's gone through in the course of his life. You're letting yourself off easy to just assume his religious status means he hasn't gone through the very process you're waiting to see him grapple with. Maybe he has, maybe he hasn't.
And he is that dude that will win games for you; make sure you win games.
Kobe is the central force of this team. His energy feeds and/or poisons everything else. Yeah, this team is likely gonna either straight-up lay down, or else put the ball in his hands and hope for a "bail out." But who dictated that scenario?
Here's the test: If Kobe and LeBron switched teams, how would the either look right now? I am absolutely certain -- with no proof, granted -- that the Cavs would be hit-or-miss, and the Lakers would be frighteningly good.
-G
P.S. You're right that I'm assuming a lot with regard to D-Ho. That's understood. It's an interpretation based on the few scraps of his behavior to which I've been witness. But he sure does SEEM like a kid who drank the Kool Aid very young and never TRULY questioned his faith nor his moral sense. He is DEE-VOUT. (E.G., A lot of athletes will casually thank God after a win. D-Ho goes on AT LENGTH. He's talking about Jesus having guided him and his team long after it's remained comfortable. Honestly, can you imagine being out to dinner with Dwight and asking him what he thinks of a woman's right to abortion? Or homosexuals' right to marriage? You know exactly what you'd get back. (Yeah, you don't know for sure, but you know.) Not that my view is right and his is wrong, either. Just that I've struggled existentially to arrive at my answers -- answers that remain mutable, btw -- and he's likely taken his wrapped up with a super-sized order of holy water.)
And if God's so great, how come he didn't give Dwight any low-post moves?
Was last night Kobe's fault too?
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