What Kobe's Missing

While watching the NBA finals over the last couple of weeks, I have been forced to admit something that brings pain to very depths of my soul: Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the planet. There, I said it. I won’t even say ‘arguably the best’; this guy is hands down the best player in the game right now. You name it, he’s got it:

Long Range Jump Shot: Check. Damn near pulls up from half court
Mid Range Jump Shot: Check. With or without the glass
Ambidextrous: Check. The guy even puts up floaters with his left hand
Post Up: Check. Sometimes posts up even bigger players
Durability: Check. Played with a broken finger and torn cartilage in his knee
Court Vision: Check. Knows exactly where to be and how to get the right shot
Passing Ability: Check. Not the greatest but can create and dish
Leadership: Check. Sometimes I sit wondering if Phil Jackson somehow got fired because he’s constantly teaching
Defense: Check. All NBA first team in defense for several years
Clutch Performance: Check. Yeah, you already know

Yes, Lebron has better court vision, Ray Allen is a better shooter, he no longer has the leaping ability as some the others in the league, and he may not even be amongst the fastest in the league, but this guy is more complete than them all.

While watching Kobe play, its obvious that he has patterned his game after MJ (no, not the singer), and in some ways is even better than him (fix your face!, This is myyyy blog!! *Poyser voice* - insider). However, I notice that his teams aren’t as dominant as the 90’s Bulls were. Certainly he may have the opportunity to match Jordan’s success (measured in Championships), but the Lakers often struggle and lose to teams that on paper are far inferior. Jordan’s Bulls completely dominated when he played.

I thought long and hard to analyze the difference: his role players are certainly more talented than the role players Jordan had, he has the same coach, the same triangle offense, and obviously the same will to win. So why don’t the Lakers win 70 games? Why do they lose or at least struggle with these sub-par teams? Then it dawned on me, there is one element of Jordan’s game that Kobe didn’t embody: Kobe has not mastered the art of TRASH TALKING.

I know the basketball purists believe that trash talking is sophomoric and you should let your game speak for itself, but I argue that those purists are discounting the psychological effects that trash talking has on an opposing player.

Let’s use these NBA finals as an example. Kobe’s defensive assignment is to guard Rajon Rondo: a player who is quick, gets to the rim at will and can create for other players, but he has no jump shot. The perfect defense is to back off him so he can’t run past you, and force him to be a jump shooter. The first part is easy enough, however, giving him space does not force him to shoot. Rondo is also well aware of his weakness and as a result will not voluntarily shoot the open shot. Instead he will look for a teammate to pass the ball to and reset.

Now lets revisit that scenario, however, instead of Kobe just giving Rondo space, he is also telling him ‘Go ahead take that shot! I’m giving you all that room! Take it, you bum!!’ Rondo still knows that is not his game, but in his mind Kobe has just challenged his psyche and questioned his talent, and it quite possibly may be the first time his talent has ever been questioned (considering all the players in the NBA were probably the star of every team they have been on growing up).

Now imagine if Rondo was able to ignore it the first time and stay within the game plan by not taking the shot and Kobe would then say something like ‘Yeah, you don’t want it! You’re a bum!!’. Then imagine Kobe taking the ball on offense and shooting a three pointed from damn near half court and saying ‘Thats how you shoot a jump shot, you bum!!’.

Imagine the damaging psychological effect this will have. I can almost guarantee that Rondo will take the jump shot next time down the court just for the possibility that it will go in and shut Kobe up and keep his ego in tact. Now, not only does Kobe take you out of your game plan (an added defensive tactic), but he now also has you beaten psychologically and Kobe’s team will dominate. This was a tool Jordan used all the time, and what I believe to be one of his most overlooked ‘talents’.

Hey Kobe!, if you are looking to dominate and not just squeak out wins, you gotta step your trash talk game up!! Work on that over the summer and you’ll probably win the championship for the next 3 or 4 years at least. If you need some help, give me a call, I got u .. Not that Im a great trash talker, but because I've had my psyche damaged enough to know whats effective.. Lol

But Kobe, please be careful, because the only thing more damaging to the psyche than effective trash talk, is an effective two piece to the chin (oh yeah, but you already know that): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqafrgriot8


But then again , what do I know?