Despite working on shot after game, Kobe still misses mark

March 11, 2011, 12:18 am

By BILLY WITZ
FOXSports.com
WITZ ARCHIVE

MIAMI — It was nearly midnight, long after the final buzzer had sounded and long after his teammates had left by bus — perhaps taking their talents to South Beach for the night.

And here was Kobe Bryant out on the AmericanAirlines Arena court with three Miami Heat equipment managers feeding him basketballs in a quixotic attempt to right the evening's wrongs.

After he had iced his knees and ankles, met with reporters and showered, Bryant returned to the floor after the Lakers' 94-88 loss to Miami because his jumper stopped falling when it mattered Thursday night.

And so, for more than an hour, Bryant, his T-shirt dripping with sweat, moved about the court and shot from the three-point arc, the free-throw line and myriad other spots on the floor.

"I just wanted to work on some things," Bryant said, shrugging off the workout. "My pet shots I didn't feel comfortable with. It's my job. It's what you're supposed to do."

It's that drive that has helped make Bryant one of the best players to ever play the game, and it's admirable Bryant would be so diligent and meticulous about his craft.

But the question is whether all that work is misplaced.

It's like that old John Wooden bromide: don't confuse activity with achievement.

What would have been encouraging is if Bryant, rather than shooting away the night's frustration, was running the triangle offense with the equipment guys. Or if he were doing shuttle drills to work on his defensive footwork.

It was those shortcomings, rather than missed jumpers, that sealed the Lakers' first loss since the All-Star Game, snapping an eight-game winning streak.

Sure, after his long three-pointer tied the score at 88-88 with 2:26 left, Bryant missed all three shots he took.

But that wasn't the issue. The problem is Bryant was the beginning and end of the Lakers' offense. Once the ball was in his hands, his teammates only saw it coming off the rim. The shots he took were either forced or out of the context of the offense, and twice he turned the ball over trying to do too much.

And at the other end, Bryant was powerless to stop Wade, who scored eight of his 20 points in the final quarter, from taking over the game.

Bryant did not get much help from Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum or Lamar Odom behind him — and there are few in the league who can stay with Wade — but Bryant fell down trying when Wade crossed him over and drove for a layup that put Miami ahead, 92-88, with 46 seconds left.

And Bryant's two late turnovers were costly, too.

There was some irony in how the final minutes played out.

Before the game, Phil Jackson, who has suggested the Heat's recent struggles are because they're unlikeable and mocked their tears after a recent loss — the NBA stands for ‘No Boys Allowed,' he said — continued to take jabs at the Heat.

He said he did not find them aesthetically pleasing, as he might the Spurs or the Celtics.

"I'm not a big fan of the style that Miami plays," Jackson said. "I like to see everybody involved in the game."

The Heat, whose offense often consists of isolation plays for Wade, James and Chris Bosh, is more akin to "Xbox games or whatever those games are when you play 1-on-1," Jackson said. "Basketball's not a 1-on-1 game, it's a team game."

And yet, at the end, it was the Lakers who devolved into Xbox ball.

After Bryant made an impossibly long 28-footer to tie the score, barking at the TNT broadcasters as he turned to run back downcourt, the Lakers had a chance to take the lead.

Gasol missed a short shot, but after Ron Artest grabbed the offensive rebound, the ball went back out to Bryant, who reset the offense. But when he tried to drive against Wade, the Heat guard poked the ball away. Mike Bibby dove to the floor and poked it to Wade, who fed James for the go-ahead dunk.

That put Miami ahead, 90-88, with 1:27 to play.

Artest then missed a jumper, but the Heat knocked the rebound out of bounds and the Lakers got the ball back with 46 seconds left. After a timeout, the ball was inbounded to Bryant on the wing in front of the Heat's bench. He immediately raised up and took an off-balance, fadeaway three-pointer over Wade that missed.

Artest got the rebound, but as his putback rolled off the rim, Zydrunas Ilgauskas swatted it away — some Lakers believing it to be goaltending.

Then, after Wade put the Heat up 92-88, Shannon Brown lost the ball out of bounds. After a Miami turnover, Bryant missed an awfully ambitious 28-footer with 20.6 seconds left, and that was essentially the game.

"He's usually the best at [closing games]," Gasol said. "We obviously rely on him to make the right decisions."

The shot drawing the most questions was the off-balance, three-pointer out of the timeout with 1:08 left. Asked if the Lakers could have gotten a better shot, Bryant was adamant his shot was appropriate.

"I had it lined up," Bryant said. "They fouled the hell out of me."

He asked a reporter if he had seen the replay.

"Look at the replay," Bryant said. "That was a good shot. I had a good look. It should have been three free throws. Period."

Wade, when relayed Bryant's comments, was asked for his version.

"Sure," Wade said. "I didn't."

This type of ending was what Jackson feared, that Bryant might take the battle with Wade — who were matched against each other most of the night — personally.

Most of the night, it was Bryant who won. But when it mattered, he did not. And as he solitarily worked on his shot and worked out his frustration, it was hard to know if, deep down, he realized he could not reverse the result all by himself.

Or if were those shots, like the ones at the end, in vain.

Statistical Information provided by: STATS LLC and Associated Press.
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