Nowadays, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant is probably better at escaping criticism than he is escaping defenders.
While LeBron James suffers through a list of endless grievances issued by fans and talking heads alike, Bryant's decision-making has been virtually irreproachable. If the Lakers have any problems, conventional wisdom blames them squarely on Andrew Bynum's immaturity, Mike Brown's incompetence or a roster without depth.
Sure, five rings and a long history of brilliant performances probably have something to do with that.
However, it appears a mass case of short-term memory loss has played its part as well, as should probably be expected in a city with marijuana dispensaries on every block.
Whatever Kobe's fans are smoking has clouded their present-day assessments of a deservedly beloved icon. Bryant's flashes of brilliance notwithstanding, he does make mistakesâ€"sometimes very costly ones. In Los Angeles' Game 2 collapse against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bryant made nearly two minutes of mistakes.
Bill Plaschke put it best:
Leading the Oklahoma City Thunder by seven points with two minutes remaining in Game 2 of their second-round series Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers put the ball in the hands of the great and trusted Kobe Bryant.
He muffed it. He dropped it. He bricked it. And in the final seconds, when the Lakers needed him most, he never even touched it, watching Steve Blake clank a three-point attempt that put the finishing fumble on a monumental collapse to give the Thunder a 77-75 victory.
Of course, those last two minutes belong in proper perspective. The much-maligned Bynum had just put the Lakers up by seven points on a baseline chip shot, only for Los Angeles to then force the ball to Bryant for the brief remainder of the game.
And Bryant was all too happy to take the shots.
Despite shooting his team out of a lead, the myth-makers who've hyped Bryant for so long even thought Metta World Peace should have made a dangerous cross-court pass to Bryant with one final shot remainingâ€"instead, obviously, he made the safe pass to a wide-open Steve Blake.
Kobe's thoughts on the end of Game 2.
LeBron James knew it was the right play, and he must be pleased as punch the anti-clutch narrative has taken leave from South Beach for what promises to be a fleeting vacation in Southern California.
Perhaps it should stay for a while longer, though.
Bryant hasn't been the closer so many take him to be, at least not for some time.
The numbers are undeniable in this case: Bryant's field-goal percentage in the last 24 seconds of one-possession games (31.4 percent) only ranks 57th out of 114 similarly situated players.
His apologists suggest he's done great things in the past and that he's risen to the occasion more often than not.
That's demonstrably false. Kobe may have made plenty of important shots, but he's also taken more than his fair share of them. Great players will make some great plays when they have enough opportunities to do so.
There are plenty of reasons for Bryant's shortcomings, and they really aren't his fault. After all, he takes the shots his coach and his team expect him to take (after playing the 40 or more minutes they expect him to play).
Unfortunately, every defender in the NBA also expects him to take them. The Lakers' insistence on isolating Bryant at the end of games and functionally shutting down the rest of Los Angeles' offense has become entirely predictable.
Kobe's confidence and record of success have afforded him a mystique that still eludes LeBron James. Never mind that so many of Bryant's defining moments had a lot to do with Shaquille O'Neal utterly dominating games.
And never mind that LeBron has altered the final moments of games with a dazzling array of on-point passes, crucial rebounds and decisive defensive plays.
When a guy makes some big shots in the very biggest moments, those images hang around for a while. They sear themselves into our collective memory as defining moments.
We were eager to construct an icon on the basis of such moments in the wake of Michael Jordan's inimitable mastery, and Bryant was the perfect candidate for the job. He played in the heart of a media machine, and he was a smooth talker exuding pomp in the guise greatness.
James has done everything within his power to follow suit, and he's probably become a better all-around player than Bryant ever was.
However, James has no Shaq to clear the way for a title run. For all the star power in Miami, he barely even has a frontline. Until he finds himself hitting Kobe-like shots and winning rings because of it, he won't get the free pass that's become the Black Mamba's calling card.
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