Kobe Bryant is omnipresent.
The Los Angeles Lakers managed to defeat the San Antonio Spurs sans the Black Mamba, but just because he wasn’t on the court, doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved. He was.
Per Janis Carr of the Orange County Register, Kobe spoke with Pau Gasol at halftime and told him to be more aggressive.
Gasol says he talked to Kobe at halftime. Kobe told him to “be aggressive” in the second half. No one else talked to him.
— janis carr (@janiscarr) April 15, 2013
Bryant’s mid-game communication shouldn’t come as a surprise. Not only is he, well, Kobe, but he himself tweeted that he would call in at halftime with some adjustments.
Can’t move for 2weeks so I’m laid up. Will watch game on tv and give adjustments if needed by phone at halftime #countontheteam
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 14, 2013
Unfortunately, Kobe’s sentiments didn’t do much for Pau. He was fairly aggressive, jacking up 17 shots, but he hit on only three of them, finishing with just seven points.
Still, the Lakers emerged from the Staples Center victorious, and are now just one game away from clinching a playoff berth. If the Utah Jazz lose one of their last two games or the Lakers win their final game against the Houston Rockets, they’re in.
Which is huge. For a team that hasn’t been able to figure itself out all season, reaching the postseason is a major accomplishment. That it would come after having watched Kobe go down with a ruptured Achilles would only mean more.
Admittedly, without Bryant, the Lakers won’t seem to stand a chance in the playoffs. They rode Dwight Howard and Steve Blake to the victory over the Spurs, and Howard himself is no stranger to carrying a team on his own, but in a talent-laden Western Conference, it’s difficult to imagine them unseating the Oklahoma City Thunder or Spurs over the course of a seven-game series without Bryant.
Stranger things have happened, though. And nothing about this Lakers season has been conventional. Plus, with Kobe whispering sweet nothings in his teammates’ ears at halftime, perhaps the Lakers can go farther than most believe. He just has to be sure to give more specific advice next time. Simply telling Pau to be more aggressive wasn’t enough.
But here I go falling into the trap that implies the Lakers will be without Kobe, when they really won’t.
He won’t be on the floor and there’s a chance he won’t be on the sidelines, but he’ll still be there. He’ll be watching, taking in every possession and will have his phone at the ready, prepared to coach the Lakers from a distance.
He’ll still be there. Always has, and always will be.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
