What made his performance even better is i just read this article before the game started:
Kobe Bryant vs. Jeremy Lin
Los Angeles Lakers guard is one of the more divisive players in the NBA. Fans of the Lakers worship him like a god; those who hate the Lakers tend to hate Kobe, as well.
I fall into neither category. I’m not from LA, so the Lakers have never been my team, but I also don’t hate him for beating my hometown Houston Rockets on that rare occasion when they made the playoffs a couple of years ago.
When I say I love Kobe Bryant, it’s not so much because he has five championships and represents the world’s most popular basketball team; it’s because he personifies a level of professionalism and absolute determination that has made him the perennial MVP candidate and champion that he is.
Kobe is a no-nonsense guy.
From my perspective as a journalist, I love that Kobe doesn’t engage in B.S. Ask him a great question and he’ll give you a great answer. Ask him something stupid and he might just call you stupid. Last night in Boston we had a case in point. Here Kobe sits, answering questions about one of the greatest rivalries in sports – that of the Celtics versus the Lakers – and suddenly someone starts asking him about Jeremy Lin. You know, the kid who just got picked up by the New York Knicks.
Kobe was courteous the first time he was asked about Lin.
“I know who he is, but I don’t really know what’s going on too much with him,” Bryant said in an interview that was transcribed by WEEI in Boston. “I don’t even know what he’s done. Like, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I’ll take a look at it tonight, though.”
Prompted to talk about Lin a second time – again, this is postgame following a hard-fought win over the Lakers’ biggest rival – he was a little less game.
“I don’t even know what the [fudge] is going on. What the [fudge] is going on? Who is this kid? I’ve heard about him and stuff like that, but what’s he been doing? Is he getting like triple doubles or some [stuff]? He’s averaging 28 and eight? No [stuff]. If he’s playing well, I’ll just have to deal with him.”
That’s enough, right? Kobe has just scored 27 points in a showdown with Ray Allen and has already made it clear that he hasn’t looked at the Knicks (their next opponent) yet.
And then someone asks him if he will consider guarding Lin on Friday night.
“Jesus Christ,” exclaims Bryant. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Let’s also not assume that Bryant is going to play out of position on the defensive end against a player who was auditioning for the D-League last week.
No disrespect to Lin, who has put together three great games for New York at a time when the Knicks really needed someone to step up and play well, but really? Three questions about Jeremy Lin after a big game like Lakers/Boston?
Ask Kobe Bryant a great question, he’ll give you a great answer.
Sometimes there is a shortage of great questions.
Be he regrets not watching the film!
