Lakers Rock the Cavs in Cleveland. Kobe vs. Lebron Debate Finally Settled

The Cavaliers and the Lakers faced off Sunday afternoon at 3:30 EST, and I found myself literally running home before tip-off in my Saturday night outfit, crosstown through Harlem—a showdown like this REQUIRED for me to watch in HD on my 37” Vizio. It’s been a while since there was an NBA game in the regular season that has carried so much hype. The Lakers are the hottest team in the league, and they’re coming fresh off an overtime victory against a stacked Boston Celtics squad. And in the red corner, the Cavaliers were the only team that remained undefeated at home; stringing together 23 straight home wins at Quicken Loans Arena. But that was hardly what all the hype was about…

What else could possibly generate this much anticipation? A better question is ‘who?’

Hector and Achilles, Ali and Foreman, and now Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Both of these young men dominate the court and the debates over who is basketball’s best player. You’re reading a basketball blog, so you already know that, but the timing couldn’t have been any better for this match-up to occur, and for this debate to play itself out. Both of these players put up ridiculous numbers at MSG last week—Kobe dropped 61 points on the K-nicks, while Lebron scored 52, dished out 11 assists, and grabbed 10 boards against the same K-nicks team (but the NBA took Lebron’s triple-double away retroactively because he didn’t actually get his 10th rebound, Yoink!). That set the stage for yesterday’s face off in Cleveland.

The head-to-head match up was easily won by Kobe. He made 5 more shots on 3 fewer attempts than Lebron, all while playing six fewer minutes since he was battling illness. There were also numerous occasions where Kobe went at Lebron 1-on-1, inviting the larger James to Tango, and hitting shizzots in his fizzace. I’m in no way insinuating that King James isn’t near Kobe’s level, but he was only 25% from the field against the Lakers, who give up over 100 points a game, while Kobe was almost twice as effective against the Cavs and their league-leading scoring defense. Advantage Kobe. Lighting up the scoreboard against the K-nicks is one thing, but composing a solid performance against an elite team, when home-court advantage in a possible Finals match up is on the line, in front of a national audience requires…”G.” What is G? G is overcoming flu-like symptoms and ballin’ regardless of opposing teams’ win streaks; isolating and posting up against Lebron James and putting the ball in the basket; G is doing what it takes to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit on the road. Lebron witnessed G.

Welp, Werewolf Bar Mitzvah is admittedly a Lakers Blog, and I would be remiss if I stayed on the Kobe/Lebron tip and neglected to talk about the team as a whole. The Lake Show once again displayed its second-half tenacity during Sunday’s 101-91 beatdown of yet another Eastern Conference frontrunner. Going into halftime down by 10, mainly because of Mo Williams’ 18 first-half points and contributions from Wally “Sir-bee-ack,” some sort of inspirational speech (think Varsity Blues) propelled the Lakers to a dominating final two quarters. For the second game in a row, Lamar Odom flexed his swagger in the second half, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 boards in the third quarter alone. Lamar’s activity around the rim is obviously difficult for teams to deal with, and he’s been exploiting defenders off the dribble. Soon, teams are going to have to bring in three separate defensive specialists to deal with Lamar, Pau, and Kobe and the distinctive offensive threats they each pose. L-O, finished the game with a season-high 28 points and 17 rebounds. Way to step up.

The Lakers bench played another great game, and actually preserved the lead against the Cavs’ starters in the start of the fourth quarter. Although they were only 8 of 22 from the floor, the Bench Mob hit the shots when they mattered most and kept the intensity hella-high while the starters recharged. They also shut down Mo Williams in the second half, holding him to 1 point. The All-Star game isn’t for everyone. Stop cryin’ like a little Mo.

On paper, this win is just one of many for the Lakers, kinda like a million dollars for Bill Gates. But it went much farther than just being a piece adding to the sum. This win showed that the Lakers can take $500,000 in the middle of a recession, with an injured and sickly staff, after being away from home for several games, in the toughest market to win in, and flip that 500K into a cool million…all while King James keeps trying to take it away. Yup, exactly like Bill Gates and a million bucks.

Horus

PS – Instead of Knicks, I use the spelling 'K-nicks' in order to point out the truth. The K is silent and it stands for Kobe, the King of New York. Have some.