http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/users/cdbleb32008-03-12T11:53:34.000-07:002008-09-06T11:17:53.000-07:00For anyone who wants to talk about Kobes 81 point game and compare it to any Jordan single game accomplishment I have found the perfect game for comparison: March 13th 1989 Chicago Bulls (47-35...Ranked 12th of 25 offensively) V.S. Indiana Pacers (28-54...Ranked 23 of 25 defensively) MJ - STAT LINE: 30 min - 7/15 FGs - 3/4 3s - 4/4 FTs - 14 Rebs - 14 Asts - 3 Stls - 2 Blks - 1 TO - 21 points Bulls win 122 - 90 (Jordan triple double within 21 minutes of floor time) COMPARED TO KOBES 81 January 22nd 2006 Los Angeles Lakers (45-37...Ranked 8th of 30 offensively, comparable with Chicago) v.s. Toronto Raptors (27-55...Ranked 29th of 30 defensively, comparable with Indiana) KB - STAT LINE: 42 Min - 28/46 FGs - 7/13 3s - 18/20 FTs - 6 Rebs - 2 Asts - 3 Stls - 1 Blk - 3 TOs Lakers win 122-104 My Conclusion: Kobes 81 point game is impressive from a scoring standpoint and I cant argue that it is one of the greatest SCORING displays Ive ever seen. Kobe was hitting shots from everywhere on the floor during his 42 minutes of game time. The Lakers gave up a lead and Kobe took over to bring them back...BUT (Theres always a "but")! When Jordan faced a very similar team he came straight out of the gate getting his team involved (14 rebounds and 14 assists) with a less than average scoring performance and recorded a triple double in just 21 minutes of game time. Once the game was in hand he went out playing a total of 12 minutes LESS than Kobe and contributed all the way around unlike Kobe. Jordan played hard right from the start and didnt allow a poor defensive team to get a lead that required him to bring the Bulls back like Kobe did...Now, I know people will look at the teams and say "Yeah but Jordan had Scottie and Horace, Kobe only had Lamar". Well...Scottie had 10 points and Horace had 13 (Neither one much help in the scoring category). Yes Horace had 9 rebounds and Scottie had 6 with 5 assists but Lamar had 8 points 10 rebounds and 7 assists (overall better than Scottie) and Chris Mihm had 12 points 8 rebounds (5 offensive) Slightly less than Horace but still close when added with Lamar to compare to Scottie/Horace. So basically what it all comes down to is that Michael Jordan came into the game and did his job making sure that his team would not be embarassed by a much lesser opponent. Kobe on the other hand came into the game with an almost cocky attitude like they were going to destroy the Raptors and that ultimately forced him into a position where he had to shot jack in order to come back from a 20+ point deficit versus a much lesser opponent to avoid embarassment. Not only did he have to come back but Kobe also played multiple minutes that were totally unnecessary once the game was in hand, whereas Jordan sat out once the Bulls had the game in hand (including the entire 4th quarter). So while it was a scoring explosion that probably wont be duplicated for many many years to come by any individual was it really anything to use as leverage on Kobes career placement? I mean honestly would you rather have a player who comes into the game and underestimates his opponent putting your team in a position where they have to come back from that type of deficit and then tops that off by remaining on the floor risking injury after the game has already been decided while everyone is just waiting for the time to run out...OR a player who comes into the game and gives 100% to ensure a victory then graciously sits down knowing that the win is more important than the personal (and meaningless) accomplishment? Notice that in the end BOTH Chicago and LA won their games with ease... Kobe has a higher career high than Michael Jordan...That can not be disputed (So does Wilt Chamberlain, David Robinson and David Thompson),however Kobes career high came against a terrible team who admitted that their plan was to let Kobe "Shoot (LA) out of the game". So an already terrible defensive team made a game plan to not even play defense on Kobe, and it was working for a portion of the game. Anyone who says Jordan couldnt do that can not possibly be proven wrong because Jordan never did do it, speculation based on averages says that Jordan could infact do it but again there is absolutely no proof that he could...Still theres absolutely no doubt in my mind that if Jordan faced the 05/06 Raptors back when he was in his prime and he played with the same mind set that Kobe had that Michael would have beat even Wilts record...Again there is no proof that Jordan could score 81 so I will concede that my opinion of the matter is irrelevant. But when comparing Jordan to Kobe there is an 81 point differential that is relevant...Jordan lead the Bulls to a 42 point WIN in the Finals, and Kobe lead his team to a 39 point LOSS in the Finals...42+39=81...Would you rather have 81 meaningless points or a Finals MVP and a ring? Yeah, me too!cdbleb3http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/users/cdbleb3cdbleb3mUSFor anyone who wants to talk about Kobes 81 point game and compare it to any Jordan single game accomplishment I have found the perfect game for comparison: March 13th 1989 Chicago Bulls (47-35...Ranked 12th of 25 offensively) V.S. Indiana Pacers (28-54...Ranked 23 of 25 defensively) MJ - STAT LINE: 30 min - 7/15 FGs - 3/4 3s - 4/4 FTs - 14 Rebs - 14 Asts - 3 Stls - 2 Blks - 1 TO - 21 points Bulls win 122 - 90 (Jordan triple double within 21 minutes of floor time) COMPARED TO KOBES 81 January 22nd 2006 Los Angeles Lakers (45-37...Ranked 8th of 30 offensively, comparable with Chicago) v.s. Toronto Raptors (27-55...Ranked 29th of 30 defensively, comparable with Indiana) KB - STAT LINE: 42 Min - 28/46 FGs - 7/13 3s - 18/20 FTs - 6 Rebs - 2 Asts - 3 Stls - 1 Blk - 3 TOs Lakers win 122-104 My Conclusion: Kobes 81 point game is impressive from a scoring standpoint and I cant argue that it is one of the greatest SCORING displays Ive ever seen. Kobe was hitting shots from everywhere on the floor during his 42 minutes of game time. The Lakers gave up a lead and Kobe took over to bring them back...BUT (Theres always a "but")! When Jordan faced a very similar team he came straight out of the gate getting his team involved (14 rebounds and 14 assists) with a less than average scoring performance and recorded a triple double in just 21 minutes of game time. Once the game was in hand he went out playing a total of 12 minutes LESS than Kobe and contributed all the way around unlike Kobe. Jordan played hard right from the start and didnt allow a poor defensive team to get a lead that required him to bring the Bulls back like Kobe did...Now, I know people will look at the teams and say "Yeah but Jordan had Scottie and Horace, Kobe only had Lamar". Well...Scottie had 10 points and Horace had 13 (Neither one much help in the scoring category). Yes Horace had 9 rebounds and Scottie had 6 with 5 assists but Lamar had 8 points 10 rebounds and 7 assists (overall better than Scottie) and Chris Mihm had 12 points 8 rebounds (5 offensive) Slightly less than Horace but still close when added with Lamar to compare to Scottie/Horace. So basically what it all comes down to is that Michael Jordan came into the game and did his job making sure that his team would not be embarassed by a much lesser opponent. Kobe on the other hand came into the game with an almost cocky attitude like they were going to destroy the Raptors and that ultimately forced him into a position where he had to shot jack in order to come back from a 20+ point deficit versus a much lesser opponent to avoid embarassment. Not only did he have to come back but Kobe also played multiple minutes that were totally unnecessary once the game was in hand, whereas Jordan sat out once the Bulls had the game in hand (including the entire 4th quarter). So while it was a scoring explosion that probably wont be duplicated for many many years to come by any individual was it really anything to use as leverage on Kobes career placement? I mean honestly would you rather have a player who comes into the game and underestimates his opponent putting your team in a position where they have to come back from that type of deficit and then tops that off by remaining on the floor risking injury after the game has already been decided while everyone is just waiting for the time to run out...OR a player who comes into the game and gives 100% to ensure a victory then graciously sits down knowing that the win is more important than the personal (and meaningless) accomplishment? Notice that in the end BOTH Chicago and LA won their games with ease... Kobe has a higher career high than Michael Jordan...That can not be disputed (So does Wilt Chamberlain, David Robinson and David Thompson),however Kobes career high came against a terrible team who admitted that their plan was to let Kobe "Shoot (LA) out of the game". So an already terrible defensive team made a game plan to not even play defense on Kobe, and it was working for a portion of the game. Anyone who says Jordan couldnt do that can not possibly be proven wrong because Jordan never did do it, speculation based on averages says that Jordan could infact do it but again there is absolutely no proof that he could...Still theres absolutely no doubt in my mind that if Jordan faced the 05/06 Raptors back when he was in his prime and he played with the same mind set that Kobe had that Michael would have beat even Wilts record...Again there is no proof that Jordan could score 81 so I will concede that my opinion of the matter is irrelevant. But when comparing Jordan to Kobe there is an 81 point differential that is relevant...Jordan lead the Bulls to a 42 point WIN in the Finals, and Kobe lead his team to a 39 point LOSS in the Finals...42+39=81...Would you rather have 81 meaningless points or a Finals MVP and a ring? Yeah, me too!