Bryant, the Raptors and the power of 81
LOS ANGELES— He was a fan, a diehard supporter who tried to never miss a game or a minute his hero played, a high school sophomore who dreamt of the day he might share a basketball court with his idol.
And sitting in his house on that magical Sunday night early in 2006, DeMar DeRozan was fixated on one of the greatest individual performances in NBA history, cementing his appreciation for Kobe Bryant’s unique talents and increasing his desire to emulate him.
“Vividly,” DeRozan said of his recollection of the January night when Bryant dropped an astonishing 81 points on the , the second greatest scoring game in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s iconic 100-point performance.
“I remember it all really well. Never be another game like it.”
The DeRozan-Bryant relationship has grown far beyond fan and idol in subsequent years. They are friends and competitors, colleagues and teammates, and it is against that backdrop — and for perhaps the final time in DeRozan’s hometown — that they will face each other on the Staples Center court on Friday night when the Raptors meet the Los Angeles Lakers.
It will be bittersweet for DeRozan, who will watch the player he admires more than any other try to find one more splash of greatness.
“For me, growing up watching him as a kid in L.A. to knowing him, playing against and competing against him, it’s definitely a great thing to say I played against him,” DeRozan said.
In what many expect to be the last season of Bryant’s illustrious career, the 38-year-old is fighting a bad back, the wear and tear of a litany of previous injuries, and the one thing no athlete in the world can beat: Time.
“It always sucks to see one of the greats and Father Time catching up to him,” DeRozan said this week. “That’s one helluva player, man. You can never take anything away from Kobe Bryant and what he’s done for this game, individually and on teams.
“He’s an icon of basketball and the force he became is amazing.”
Just as it can’t be easy for a prideful and dominant future hall of famer like Bryant to struggle as he has, it’s not easy for someone so enamoured of his skills and accomplishments to watch him. But DeRozan will remember the 81-point night, championships, awards and the drive that watching them closely instilled in a teenager.
“You can’t always write the ending like you want to write it, but I think everything he’s done in this league speaks for itself,” DeRozan said. “I don’t think he needs to have a perfect ending . . . because everything he did was amazing. You can watch endless Kobe highlights and be amazed.
“I think after he’s done, nobody is going to remember how he went out. They’re going to remember him being him.”
GONE IN A FLASH
The sudden dismissal of Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale, 11 games into a season that followed an appearance in the Western Conference final, was universally panned by those who share his position. Rick Carlisle, president of the NBA Coaches Association, called it “preposterous” and Orlando coach Scott Skiles spoke words that many of his colleagues would echo: “It’s hard for me to understand how somebody can be a great coach one year and then all of a sudden he loses the locker room the next year. If he lost the locker room, somebody changed the team. Who changed the team? And why isn’t that guy held accountable?” Don’t imagine Skiles will be sending his resume to Houston GM Daryl Morey anytime soon.
HOW BAD IS BAD?
There is no disputing the fact the Philadelphia 76ers are bad, bordering on awful — again. They are 0-12, haven’t won since last March, and it’s hard to see when they might get their first victory. But they are now verging on embarrassing and at some point something has to give, right? In a Wednesday loss to Indiana, the Sixers committed a shocking 31 turnovers — the most by a team since 2000 — and they average 19.1 per game. If they keep that up it’ll be the most by any team since 1989. And that’s not the worst. They came out of a timeout Wednesday with six players and were hit with a technical foul.
AN EARLY SHOWDOWN
There are impressive rookies across the NBA and fans will get a first look at one of the more intriguing matchups on Monday. Minnesota’s KarlAnthony Towns and Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor may not be getting the same hype as New York’s Kristaps Porzingis, but they are very good youngsters who should match up against each other for years. Towns is on the better team by far and averages 15.8 points and 10.7 rebounds, while Okafor is saddled with the sad-sack Sixers and still puts up averages of 18.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.
A TROUBLING TREND
Anthony Davis is a brilliant player — of that there can be no doubt — and is probably deserving of the richest contract extension in the NBA, which he got from the New Orleans Pelicans last summer. But at least some eyebrows have to be raised about his durability, no? In three seasons and about three weeks, Davis has missed 50 games now. He’s never had one catastrophic injury, but a lot of little ones that include toes and shoulders and hips and ankles and back spasms.
SCHEDULING WOES
The NBA has taken measures to reduce some of the travel grind, trying to limit the four-games-infive-nights torture along with other subtle changes. One we heard about this week suggests that, whenever possible, the league will mandate a night off for teams before visiting the high-altitude, Mountain time zone franchises in Denver and Salt Lake City. Having to face either of those teams on the end of a back-toback, especially travelling west to east and losing an hour, is one of the worst schedule quirks every year.
JUST QUIETLY THERE
Understandably, the vast majority of the attention in the West is focused on the Golden State Warriors and their pursuit of the hottest start in league history. And we’re not sure, but it’s a good bet that the San Antonio Spurs are just fine with that, having quietly rattled off six straight wins for a 9-2 record and second in the West. Veteran point guard Tony Parker had a season-high 25 points in their latest win, 109-98 over Denver and teenage point guard Emmanuel Mudiay. “He’s still got it,” Mudiay said. Yep, he does.