Bryant drops 81 on Raptors

[HatCityEnforcer]

Kobe is an amazing player. The "li'l more than hype" argument does not hold water. But no single player -- not even MJ -- can win championships all by himself. Kobe first, last and always may be enough to beat the Raptors in January, but come playoff time the Lakers will be first round losers.

My beef w/ Kobe is not that he's overhyped, nor that he carries his team. My beef is that his team sux in large part because Kobe was largely responsible for driving the rest of the talent away. I think Kobe wanted to prove that he could carry a team all by himself. He feuded w/ Shaq and Phil and demanded that the front office choose between them. Kobe won that power struggle, but at the expense of the players who could help him add to his tally of titles.

It would not surprise me if Kobe never wins another ring. That's a shame, IMO. His individual ability is undeniable, but that alone is insufficient to ensure his place in the Pantheon. Making teammates better, working together to win champions -- that's how a player of Kobe's supreme talent builds a legacy of greatness.

Totally agreed....and that's my main issue with #8 for the Lakers. If he'd just keep his damn ego in check and share the spotlight with some quality guys that could take the LakeShow to the next level, he'd probably be in excellent shape to get a few more rings down the road....

Jordan was able to do this (with Pippen, Kukoc, Rodman, etc) and it was a huge reason why the Bulls became the dominant team they did....they were still Jordan's team, but as you stated above, no man can win a title by himself alone.

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That being said, dropping 81 on ANYONE is pretty mind boggling. I don't like Kobe one damn bit (personally, I think he's a knucklehead and an egomaniac), but I can give the guy his due for an incredible performance like last night.

[amare32]

Leads to the fact that basketball is a selfish game.

Not really. NBA champions are overwhelming clubs that play team basketball. Kobeism is not an excuse to pile on the game of basketball as a whole.

[HatCityEnforcer]

Leads to the fact that basketball is a selfish game.

Tell that to the last 2 teams that won the NBA title....

Last time I checked, San Antonio and Detroit sure as heck don't play "selfish" basketball...

[Cyclopsis Joe]

Yeah, good job Kobe.

I wonder what the Lakers will do when someone puts all 5 of his guys against Bryant?

Surely if I can think of that, some coach can..either that, or I definately need to change careers.

[Jigga]

Chamberlain carried teams on his back to championship appearances.  Bryant slings female 19-year old hotel employees on their backs to get his jollies.

What an "a$$hole-ish" thing to say. You're better than this.

[Gamingboy]

Dude, I don't care if no other Laker even looked at the ball. 81 points is obscene. Nuts. I mean, seriously, when someone is that good, you don't call him a ball hog. When his teammates are that bad, you realize that Kobe is the Laker's only hope of ever winning games. Kobe this year has been amazing.

How amazing?

As in "Schedule-A-Game-In-Hershey-PA" amazing.

[Roger Clemente]

Next time I use the toilet, I'm gonna say I'm "dropping 81 on the Raptors".

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[The Nation]

Which brings me to my next question.

Would Michael Jordan been able to score 100, if he was on the lakers yesterday and in his prime.

Think about it...

And would Kobe have been able to score 60+ if he was on Chicago...during anypoint of the Chicago dynasty.

[See Red]

Chamberlain carried teams on his back to championship appearances.  Bryant slings female 19-year old hotel employees on their backs to get his jollies.

What an "a$$hole-ish" thing to say.

Ignorant too, considering that according to Wilt Chamberlain's claim, he slept with 1.2 women per day from when he was 15 until the day he died.

[Gradients Kick Butt]

Big deal. A meaningless January game and a Laker team that's headed nowhere. Keep on chuckin' up those shots, Kobe.

[Swiss]

Next time I use the toilet, I'm gonna say I'm "dropping 81 on the Raptors".

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

Man, I didn't think about laughing out loud when I read it.

[TFoA]

Chamberlain carried teams on his back to championship appearances.  Bryant slings female 19-year old hotel employees on their backs to get his jollies.

What an "a$$hole-ish" thing to say. You're better than this.

Yeah, that is super-hating on Kobe. I don't like the guy, but bringing up something that is totally unrelated to basketball makes no sense. I gotta tip the hat to him. Anybody who gets 81 points, that's amazing and he should've taken a picture with the number "81".

Add to that the fact that they came back from 16 down to do the only thing that matters, which is to get the "W". So basically, what I'm saying is this: If scoring 81 is what it takes to win, then do it. Don't give me that junk about "Oh, he didn't pass the ball." or "Oh, he's a supposed rapist from 2 years ago." All that matters is that he did what it took to win the game, and he accomplished that mission. So yeah, Go Kobe, you are now #81.

[Michigan Dave]

This is way more impressive than Wilt's 100. For a perimeter player to drop 81 without the luxury of the easy drop-in points in the paint a center would get, the athleticism involved in running the floor and playing more athletic defense, it's just amazing. Of course, Chauncey Billups would've gotten 82.

[WSU151]

This is way more impressive than Wilt's 100. For a perimeter player to drop 81 without the luxury of the easy drop-in points in the paint a center would get, the athleticism involved in running the floor and playing more athletic defense, it's just amazing. Of course, Chauncey Billups would've gotten 82.

There's a quote in the paper today from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (the Lakers great, not the ex-Dolphins player), and he talked about watching last night's game, as well as seeing Elgin Baylor score 71 against the Knicks in 1960. Kareem said this: "Elgin's game was an incredible performance, also. I don't think there's any comparison. Elgin did it without 3-pointers". But if you look at the numbers, which Kareem should have done before shooting off his mouth, you will notice that Kobe would have scored 74 points if no 3-point line existed - so last night's game was undoubtedly the best one-man performance by a Laker...ever.

Big deal. A meaningless January game and a Laker team that's headed nowhere. Keep on chuckin' up those shots, Kobe.

I hate comments like this. You sound completely idiotic. "Big deal"...man, show some appreciation for the sport and its history. I'm sorry it didn't happen to someone on the Pistons. But for a player to have the second-highest point total ever in a league that has existed for 60 years IS a big deal.

I hope that when you do something successful (if that even happens), someone says to you "Big deal" and some smartass comment.

And think about it...Kobe outscored both Dallas and Portland (if you count only the scores at the end of regulation, as both teams were tied at 79), scored one less point than the entire Wizards team, three points less than the Timberwolves, and five points less than the 76ers. Simply astounding.

And to conclude, I agree with amare and a couple others that while this feat is amazing, it is well known that one-man basketball will never win a championship.

[Natsfan36]

although there is no I in team, there is a ME

[CS85]

Was Kobe being guarded by Peanut Tillman?

[Seadragon76]

I don't think so. But, you have to wonder if you're a Raptors fan (If there are any).

Your team just basically got whipped by a one man wrecking crew and no one laid a hand on him! Dude, contest those shots, man. Although Kobe's a good player, don't get me wrong, but no team should let one man drop 81 points on their hides.

[amare32]

Was Kobe being guarded by Peanut Tillman?

Ouch, man. Give the Peanut a break.

[Nervous One]

Toronto didn't play a whole lot of defense. Only Bosh fouled out, and MoPete and Bonner had five hacks. If the Raptor starters had any self respect, they would've all fouled out and all of their reserves would have at least had four fouls. Think about it: Jalen Rose had only three fouls! Mike James had four. They should've both fouled out to at least say they tried.

[kingssss]

Next time I use the toilet, I'm gonna say I'm "dropping 81 on the Raptors".

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

Nice.