Ted Green: Kobe Bryant is the Jedi master of the NBA playoffs
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Kobe Bryant didn’t go to college, but when it comes to high basketball IQ, he’s Einstein by way of Caltech, which incidentally once employed the legendary super-genius as a professor for three years.
And here’s why -- call it my own Theory of Relativity:
The square root of the Lakers’ gut-check, Game 1 victory over Denver on Tuesday can be traced back 48 hours, to Game 7 of the conference semifinals, a Lakers blowout win over the Rockets.
Why do I think, why do I know Kobe is so smart?
Because once he saw that Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had him and the Lakers covered on Sunday against Houston, Kobe backed off. He took his foot off the accelerator, scoring just 14 points. But this substandard scoring game was not an accident, a random act in the universe. He put Mamba to bed early Sunday for a very important and calculated reason.
Call it planning ahead.
Sensing the rhythm of the playoffs as only a basketball genius can, the Jedi master conserved his energy, knowing the Lakers might be a little flat emotionally and just tired enough physically to be vulnerable to the tough-minded Nuggets stealing Game 1 -- especially with Denver primed and ready after having had a full week off to rest and recover after their demolition of Dallas.
So having rested just enough on Sunday, Kobe marshaled his strength. And combined with his Herculean competitiveness, he put the Lakers on his back and willed them to win, dropping 16 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter to leave Denver flummoxed and frustrated, again, knowing they’d been beaten by the best there is west of Cleveland, at least according to Jerry West.
But as you now see, Kobe’s mind had as much to do with Game 1 as his body of work.
Funny, when a colleague of mine at KTLA wondered why Kobe didn’t do more against the Rockets in a critical elimination Game 7, why he let Pau get the headlines, I happened to tell him:
He’s saving it for Denver and Game 1. He knows they’re going to need one of those Kobe nights. He knows it may take 40 to hold off the more rested and energized Nuggets in that first trap game.
It’s true Kobe only graduated from high school in Pennsylvania, but when it comes to NBA basketball, he’s a citizen of the world ... and WAY smarter than everybody else.
-- Ted Green
Ted Green formerly covered the Lakers for the L.A. Times. He is currently senior sports producer for KTLA Prime News.