This conversation actually happened after Phil Jackson watched as Kobe Bryant attempted one shot in the second half of a Jan. 24 game against the Nets. One single shot.
Now then, there usually is no need to cajole Kobe Bryant into shooting, but that’s exactly what the Lakers coach felt he needed to do after Bryant pumped in a deflated 11 points in 41 low-energy minutes.
“We had to sit down and talk about the playmaking versus the energizing through scoring, those two things have to be both part of his palette he has to paint for this team,” Jackson said in his own inimitable verbal style.
Translation into English: Shoot the damn ball, Kobe.
“I just punch the clock, whatever he wants me to do, I go out there and try to do it to the best of my abilities,” Bryant said. “He said he wanted me to be more aggressive offensively.”
Ever since, Bryant has shot, and shot, and shot some more and the points have come in a flurry, an avalanche, a blizzard, a, well, you get the picture.
Last night, Bryant went wild, devastating the Knicks with an array of dunks, jumpers and baseline aerodynamics, pumping in 46 points as the Lakers built a huge lead and settled for a 114-109 victory at the Garden.
“Sometimes we sit back and we’re like, ‘Dammmnnnnn,’ ” teammate Robert Horry said. “For the most part he’s been playing phenomenal. I guess he’s trying to stake his claim to that MVP trophy.”
No kidding. Bryant entered last night’s game having scored 40, 38, 42 and 35 points since his little pow-wow with his head coach, prompting Jackson to offer up a rare superlative about his all-everything superstar.
“He is playing probably as good as anybody’s seen him play in the regular season,” Jackson said. “I think he’s had a couple of playoff series that he’s played exceptional basketball. This is really top form he’s playing at right now.”
The form he laid on the Knicks was as devastating as anything the Garden has seen, and, yes, that includes those mesmerizing performances Michael Jordan came up with.
The first half was more about Shaquille O’Neal (21 of his 33 points) than Bryant, but Kobe did provide a hint of what was to come with an outrageous baseline reverse dunk, blowing by Latrell Sprewell late in the second quarter, officially turning the fairly subdued crowd into Bryant-backers. He buried a fallaway 3-pointer with six-tenths of a second left in the half to put the Lakers up 60-45 and the rest of the game was his personal showcase. He scored 22 points in the third quarter alone.
“I love the Garden,” Bryant said. “I absolutely love playing here, I love playing in front of these fans and I love the city.”
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KOBE ON FIRE
Kobe Bryant, shooting over Latrell Sprewell, scored 22 of his 46 points in third period of Lakers’ 114-109 victory last night over Knicks at Garden.
Here’s what he did in third period:
11:13 – Missed 21-foot jumper.
10:43 – Missed layup.
10:00 – Missed 21-foot jumper.
9:33 – Made finger-roll layup
8:28 – Made jump shot
8:06 – Made driving layup
6:38 – Made 25-foot 3-pointer.
5:26 – Made 18-foot jumper
5:26 – Made free throw
4:51 – Made 25-foot 3-pointer
4:15 – Made running jumper.
1:41 – Made 26-foot 3-pointer.
0:15 – Made 16-foot fadeaway.