[this is our contribution to Hardwood Paroxysm's Kobe Bryant Blog Day today]
Even with the Rockets' 19 game winning streak, we still trail Kobe's Lakers in the Western Conference. Which leads me to today's thesis: Kobe Bryant is freakin' awesome.
Considering I have been a die-hard Rockets fan since I can remember (the 1986 season being the first I remember with any great detail), it's weird to say that I am a fan of a player on another team who has never had any real connection to the Rockets. Robert Horry got his career started here, so I don't see the problem in cheering for Horry while simultaneously hoping the rest of the Spurs all get leprosy and die.
Kobe is an anomaly though.
I was never a huge "fan" of Michael Jordan. Or Magic Johnson. Or Larry Bird. Or Dominique. I pretty much hate Karl Malone, John Stockton and Patrick Ewing. I even hated that Ewing was a Rockets' coach for a couple seasons under JVG. This is what makes my fandom of Mr. Bryant so crazy. It's unexplainable. And yet I can't stop following everything he does on a basketball court.
Maybe it's because from 1996 to, oh, about January 22, 2006 - most NBA fans (and people in general) despised Kobe Bryant for one reason or another. As I tend to gravitate towards unpopular opinions just to mess with people, I guess I considered Kobe a kindred spirit of sorts. I mean, we're both accused of being egotistical and arrogant. We're both insanely competitive - even amongst friends, winning trumps all. His middle name is "Bean" - just like the one my favorite musical artist gave his own daughter (Ms. Frances Bean Cobain). We also both seem to have a predilection for 19 year old white girls... (Kobe was clearly innocent, so Lee, you can cut out the "Raping Garter Snake" bit for today).
Now all of a sudden people finally realize that Kobe is the best player in the NBA. Of course, they can't buy into it completely (*cough*LeBron-is-not-the-MVP*cough*). This amazes me.
Let's backtrack - for I would love to be able to pinpoint when I truly became a devoted Kobe fan.
Was it when he announced his candidacy for the NBA draft? No - the sunglasses were too much.
Was it when he took Brandy to his senior prom? No - but that was awesome.
Was it when Shaq realized Kobe was awesome and tried to keep him in his place by calling him "Showboat" all throughout Kobe's rookie year? No - but because it made the Fat Ass jealous, that was definitely a plus.
I think it was when Kobe had his first true taste of failure. His first playoff series loss - against Utah. Kobe memorably shot not one, not two, but THREE airballs in the fourth quarter of what would be the Lakers' last game of the 1997 season. While the rest of the team couldn't believe a rookie had the balls to keep shooting even after the first two airballs, it showed me that Kobe just knew he was the Man to take those shots. Even Del Harris, his coach at the time, said that Kobe was the only player on the roster who could create his own shot in those situations. Kobe had lost the big game - and yet he had arrived.
Not even the Fat Ass could slow down Kobe after that. That has to be where it all began. Even in the face of defeat, Kobe remained defiant. To this day I respect the hell out of him for that. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the team that "beat" him that day was Utah. Damn I hate the Utah Jazz. Another thing Kobe and I have in common.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
It's Kobe's world - we're just living in it
Maybe the Boston Globe was right after all (19-0!)
Last night, the Houston Rockets did what the New England Patriots could not - get that ever elusive 19th win (in a row). Suck on that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick! We are #1 - but you aren't! That's NINETEEN (19) WINS IN A ROW!
Fortunately for T-Mac and the Rockets, Elisha Manning is not on the regular season schedule. Though he has been showing up for a lot of basketball games lately - I think I even saw him at the Duke/UNC game!
Then again, not even Eli is a match for Luis Landry. (Come back Carl Landry - we need you. Bad! It was pretty clear we had a hole in our post offense last night!!)
What is there to say about last night's game? The Rockets could not shoot straight. They could not pass the ball. And they could not make free throws. So, they said "to hell with this, if we can't score, neither can New Jersey!" They then proceeded to shut down Jefferson. And made Vince Carter quit before the 3rd Q. VC quitting isn't exactly a surprise though - that had to be part of the gameplan.
Dikembe would not allow the Nets to score. At all.
I hesitate to write much more, because the game was really, really ugly on the offensive end. The Rockets recovered to shoot 46%, and the Nets limped to a 30% shooting game. No one player scored 20 points (T-Mac had 19 and then sat out the 4th Q). The Rockets free throw shooting was atrocious (though Tracy did go 6-7). 13-26. And we missed both of the FTs following technical fouls. Not quite a repeat of the Detroit game, but that is ugly. We cannot beat the other elite teams if we continue to shoot 50% from the FT line. It's unacceptable. Hopefully it's a byproduct of boredom from being up 20+ points every game.
Yeah, that's 10 wins in a row in double figures - tying a mark most recently matched by the Nets a handful of years ago. Impressive, indeed.
The 19 wins in a row ties the mark most recently matched by the 2000 Shaq and Kobe squad - on the way to their first of three rings (and the first of many locker room fights). Speaking of which, today is Kobe Bryant Blog Day over at Hardwood Paroxysm. Since Kobe is my current favorite player to have absolutely no connection to the Houston Rockets, I kinda sorta have to contribute. That should be posted shortly.
A 19 game winning streak (and counting) and day to write about Kobe. Awesome.
Go Rockets!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
the Twelve Days of Christmas - Rockets Edition
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
a series of blow-out victories!
two Western Conference All-Stars
and series of blowout victories!On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
(Bonzi? Scola? Stevie? anyone? ... Bueller?)
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
seven great games versus Utah/Dallas/San Antonio/Phoenix in round 1
FIVE golden games for Rafer
a fourth playoff win in one series
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
______________________
seven great games in Round 1
a sixth man off the bench
FIVE golden games for Rafer
a fourth playoff win in one series
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
______________________
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
nine technical fouls from Yao (get angry, Big Man!)
the return of #8
seven great games in Round 1
a sixth man off the bench
FIVE golden games for Rafer
a fourth playoff win in one series
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
___________________
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
Ten More Years of the Ming Dynasty!
nine technical fouls from Yaothe return of #8
seven great games in Round 1
a sixth man off the bench
FIVE golden games for Rafer
a fourth playoff win in one series
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
___________________
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
eleven gratuitous South Park/Rockets references
Ten More Years of the Ming Dynasty!
nine technical fouls from Yao
the return of #8
seven great games in Round 1
a sixth man off the bench
FIVE golden games for Rafer
a fourth playoff win in one series
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
___________________
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...
12 Rockets players that can one day dream of being this clutch:
eleven gratuitous South Park/Rockets references
Ten More Years of the Ming Dynasty!
nine technical fouls from Yao
the return of #8
seven great games in Round 1
a sixth man off the bench
FIVE golden games for Rafer
a fourth playoff win in one series
the third Championship Ring
two Western Conference All Stars
and a series of blowout victories!
THE END
