Kobe Bryant: The injury and the inevitability

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers hangs his head as he walks off the court after injuring himself against the Golden State Warriors in the second half at Staples Center on April 12, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

3:08 was left in the 4^th quarter. The Golden State Warriors led the Los Angeles Lakers 109-107, a score-line that belied much of the Lakers struggles for the better part of 4 quarters. The only thing that kept them in the game was the insurmountable and indomitable will and desire of their leader, the Black Mamba, with a little help from Pau Gasol.

The game for sure had been rough on Kobe Bryant as with the Warriors converging on him at every single opportunity, he had been through numerous hard fouls, had hurt both his knees and was limping heavily for the major part of the game. But with time running out on the Lakers, Kobe knew better than to dwell on his agonies. It was as they say “mamba time”, and his last two contested 25-foot impossible looking shots, were sign enough that Kobe was sensing the finish line and was ready for another of his clutch performances.

He caught the ball in a mid-post, isolated against Barnes, and knowing Kobe you just knew what was to happen next. He turned the corner, and just felt the smallest of push on his back, enough to disrupt his balance and send him scampering to the ground. The referees called a foul, and the Staples Center crowd rejoiced, as the foul would send Kobe to the line and give them a chance to tie up the game.

But the pandemonium and the euphoria didn’t last long. The whole crowd that was up and jumping a while back, suddenly was cast in a dire shadow of melancholy and nihilism. Bryant lay on the court still, clutching his ankle, twitching in pain and with every single burst of agony radiating through the tendons of his Achilles, the Lakers play-off hopes were drifting farther and farther away. The Lakers fans were aghast, and had their hands clasped in prayer, hoping against the inevitable. It isn’t often that Bryant gets helped out from the court. He is known to have braved many injuries, played through pain and fatalities that is considered medically impossible. And that was the reason why the Lakers fans were worried. It takes a lot to keep Kobe down. For sure, it was the Achilles heel.

As Bryant left the court after knocking down two vital free-throws, the whole crowd stood up and acknowledged the man, the warrior and the heart of the champion. Yes, the Lakers won, and may still make the play-offs but as a lifetime Lakers fan, I was worried and devastated.

As a pained fan, I do wish to stand up and call out Coach D’Antoni for his utter refusal to manage Kobe’s minutes, and allowing him to play beyond his physical limitations. In the past 5 games, Kobe averaged around 47 minutes a game. If you look through the season’s stats, you would realize that Kobe averaged over 38.5 minutes per game, and has notched up the third highest number of minutes in the whole NBA. He is third in scoring in the league, is averaging a career high in assists and has certainly played at a MVP level. Yes, hypnologic stats for sure, but beyond all these stats it also spells the story of crude mismanagement by D’Antoni.

Now, D’Antoni was never the right coach for this team. To deploy the system in a team that has two of the most skilled big-men in the league; to have defensive players like MWP, Howard and Bryant and still leak the points that the Lakers do. It is just plain downright unacceptable. Yes he is a great offensive strategist, but the hamlets of champions build their legacies on defense and rebounds. All great NBA teams, barring maybe the ‘Showtime’ Lakers did it with just their defensive intensity and grit. Be it the Celtics of the 60′s, the Bad Boy Pistons or the Invincible Bulls. All these teams paid maximum emphasis and effort on defense, and in many ways their defense fuels their offense.

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers grimaces after injuring himself, as Carl Landry #7 and Harrison Barnes #40 of the Golden State Warriors and Pau Gasol #16 of the Los Angeles Lakers look on in the second half at Staples Center on April 12, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

Credit to D’Antoni that post the All-Star break, he sure seemed to get his act together. He allowed the team to fuel its offense through the post, and gave Bryant the free leash to do whatever he deemed necessary to win. The defense was still suspect, but as long as the team managed to get the job done, it was deemed just good enough. D’Antoni had openly stated that if the Lakers don’t turn out to be championship contenders, he surely would have failed.

Up against the truth and the inevitability of a lacklustre season, D’Antoni pinned his hopes on the belligerent 17-year veteran, and Kobe did deliver. He had games in which he scored 15 points, while dished out 14 assists, and then rebounded back with some clutch 40-point games. He was everything that the Lakers needed, play-maker when his teammates were free, scorer when the shot-clock was running out and the game was on the line, defender when the back-court of Steve Nash and Blake were too feeble to keep up with the younger and quicker guards, and also the leader and the vocal patriarch. When the team needed him he played the minutes, braved the injuries and the strains, but at all times stood out as the best and most competitive athlete in the purple and gold shirt. He played with an energy beyond his legs, an effervescence beyond his age, and with venom beyond anything I have ever seen.

I may run-out of words here, but I guess the following quotes do best describe, the heart and the will of Kobe. “It isn’t a sport for pretty boys…It’s about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. It’s the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It’s about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It’s about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It’s about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there’s not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. It is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you’ve finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best you can be. And that’s all that you can ask for.”

I admired the sentiments, the passion, the histrionics and the glory-attached with such amazing plays. But I can’t surely say that the injury was a shock. D’Antoni needs to take the hit for this one. He allowed Kobe to do too much, and allowed him to take calls on everything. He played Kobe for long minutes, and refused to sit him until Kobe asked for rest himself. What was he thinking? Kobe has always been the all-action basketball superstar, ready to play beyond anything. In his own words, he has always been like this kid, which just really loves playing the game of basketball.

Nothing else ever mattered, and did D’Antoni ever expect the guy, who turns up three hours before practice to shoot jumpers, the guy who sheds more sweat in the gym than anybody else in the game, to ever ask for a time-out. D’Antoni was just happy watching from the sidelines as Kobe set about doing impossible things on the court, allowing him to make sacrifices beyond his physical limits. He was just like the manager, who made his demands and saw his prodigy deliver, not like a responsible coach who though well of his prodigy. He set Kobe impossible challenges and Kobe being the ultimate competitor that he is, delivered.

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”- Kobe Bryant

Now, yes I maybe a little bit hard on D’Antoni because nobody saw the injury coming. As Kobe himself said, “I made a move that I’ve made a million times, and it just popped.” Was it because he was just too tired due to the long minutes? As Kobe said, “Who knows? It was all necessary. It’s just a freak situation, I guess.”

(L-R) Steve Blake #5, Jodie Meeks #20 and Pau Gasol #16 of the Los Angeles Lakers walk off the court after Kobe Bryant #24 injured himself against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter at Staples Center on April 12, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

But yes the Lakers would have been much better off had Kobe been forced to play 38 minutes rather than 47. Could D’Antoni have been the enforcer and forced Kobe to take adequate rest, rather than play to his whims and allow him to it all? Yes, he could and much rather he should have. How much of the injury was due to fatigue can never be resolved. But even if the injury were not to occur, the minutes were sure to take a toll on Kobe. Yes, he still remains wonderfully conditioned for a 34-year old, which is just a tribute to his competitive nature, but 47 minutes a game would take a toll even on a 25-year old. And come the play-offs, the Lakers would have had to face its impact.

Making the play-offs was maybe the biggest agenda, but the costs for the same were for sure over-estimated. D’Antoni never trusted his bench players enough, wasn’t ready to allow Gasol to control the offense with the bench. He was just too single-minded to allow any discrepancies, and that was maybe the reason why Kobe now will have to spend the rest of the season watching everything from the side-lines in a black tuxedo.

As Bryant bids a solemn adieu to a much-haphazard and roller-coaster season, he for sure left with a shining example to all his detractors and critics. He has often been called too selfish for his team, many have questioned his ability to trust his team, and some even have castigated as just an insolent kid who tries to do too much. As his much maligned Coach summed it up, “I hate it for Kobe. I hate it for us. I hate it for L.A. He’s just an unbelievable player with a heart, and it is unbelievable.” The truth from the man, who knew that he had a player who put everything he had on the line, to ensure that the team succeeds. To all the non-believers who still wish to throw up random numbers and statistics, comment on the volume of his shooting and his percentages, just ask anybody who ever has guarded the Black Mamba where do the percentages count when he rises up to launch a 18-foot fade-away. Percentages are for idealists, and idealists don’t make believers. I choose to believe, because beyond all the percentages I just see something far more important: the heart of a champion.

Yes, we now have some other critics who have started to question the possible early retirement of Kobe, and knowing that an Achilles injury typically takes about 10 months to recover, and with Kobe slated to earn over $30 Million in the next year, how do the Lakers perceive the situation. It does disgust me, but the questions are valid and for sure met an astute answer. Kobe on being questioned retorted back, “I know I can do this. It’s fuelling me. It’s fuelling me. I can feel it already.”

As he sat in the locker-room still wearing his purple and gold uniform, it seemed Bryant was having a tough time fighting back tears. The few times when we get to look beyond the hyperbolic exterior, into the heart of an ultra-competitive player who plays the game with his heart, because to him that is all he has got.

Bryant stated, “We worked so hard to put ourselves in position and control our fate. I certainly have done a lot of work to prepare myself. It’s just bad luck. I’ve never had to deal with something like this. It is a new experience for me. Obviously, there have been a bunch of players that have had the same injury. All I can do is look at them, see what they’ve done, and see who had more success coming back quicker and healthier. See what they did, and try to improve on that. We’ve been dealing with injuries all year. I’ll do what I can, watching film and communicating to the guys the best form of attacking certain teams, and go from there.”

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives around Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at Staples Center on April 12, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

The next matches are still very important for the Lakers as they try to make the final play-off push. They welcome the Spurs on Sunday, and one will surely be hoping that they play with a wounded warrior mentality, and play for their leader. Nash may be back on Sunday, but the impetus will be on the team’s big men duo of Gasol and Howard to come up big, and make all of Kobe’s sacrifices worthwhile. I don’t see the Lakers achieving much this season, but the least that the team should try to do now is to find a way to ensure that they stand true to the Black Mamba’s play-off guarantee.

And the inevitable question if he will be back, and will he ever be this good. If you are pondering over this, you surely haven’t seen the Black Mamba enough. He may himself be having his doubts as evident by his latest post on facebook.

Kobe goes on to state: “Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player or better at 35? How in the world am I supposed to do that? I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not!”

I still stand a believer and believe that it surely isn’t the end. Summing it up by quoting Bryant again: “If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear. I’ve always loved that quote. That’s “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, and we don’t run. We endure and conquer.”

You surely shall, Sir.