Kobe is let down by Lakers again

The intensity and mental toughness of the defending NBA champion, Los Angeles Lakers, has been doubted all season long. One thing that has never been questioned is the intensity and mental toughness of Kobe Bryant. For one short period, during his injury, the Lakers proved that they could still win important games without their star. Upon his retun, they came in and one four games in a row.

The four game winning streak came right before their trip to Miami to play the Heat. Unlike in previous years, the Heat are not contenders. Earlier this season, Kobe Bryant hit a game-winning three pointer that sent the Heat in a downward spiral. Because of their good record and their championship aspirations compared to the Heat's playoff aspirations, the only person who took the Miami game seriously was Kobe Bryant.

For years, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat star player, have been rivals. When they are playing against each other, both players turn their respective game up a notch. Despite Wade being among the best players in the NBA, his team is only an average team in an average conference. Because of that, the rest of the Laker squad does not take games against the Heat seriously. That is one of the main reasons why the Heat won in a balanced effort against the Lakers. Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, while Dwyane Wade only scored 27. Even with a lackluster effort from the Lakers, the game still went into overtime. The final score was 114-111 in favor of Miami.

The Lakers, especially Kobe Bryant, were looking to rebound against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats are the youngest franchise in the league. Their first season occurred in the season that Shaquille O'Neal had departed for the previously-mentioned Miami Heat. Because of that, the Bobcats have beaten up on the Lakers. Even last season, they swept the Lakers in the regular season series. But, this season, they were not fortunate enough to get a win in Los Angeles. Despite not winning in Los Angeles, they had to play a game in the Queen City of Charlotte, too. Expecting to bounce back after a tough loss, the Lakers were defeated 98-83. Again, Kobe Bryant led all scorers, while his teammates did not show up.

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Vince Carter was the Next Michael Jordan?

When he first came into the league, there was a lot of hype surrounding Vince Carter. He hailed from the University of North Carolina and he was playing for the Toronto Raptors. Early on, he showed the people how things were done. It did not take him long to become the best dunker in the league. Aside from dunking, Carter showed that he was a great player. On the opposite side of the league was Kobe Bryant, a backup guard for the Lakers. He was not much yet, but he showed flashes of what he could be.

At the time, Michael Jordan had just retired from the NBA and the media was looking to fill that void. Often, sports analysts would ask certain NBA players, current and former, about who they felt would fill Jordan's void. Almost everyone would agree that Vince Carter was that man. Early in his career, there were many parallels between himself and Michael Jordan. But, when the man, Michael Jordan, himself, was asked about who he felt was the future, he chose Kobe Bryant.

There was never any doubt that Bryant would be a good player, but to say that he would one day become the best player in the league was outrageous. Vince Carter continued to carry the Raptors on his back and he was putting up big numbers. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant was just stepping into the role of Robin to the Batman of Shaquille O'Neal. Even with Shaq as the leader, Kobe soon began to prove his worth. By 2000, there was not a person in the league who would not agree that Bryant was every bit as good, if not better, than Vince Carter. When Carter became injury prone and Kobe became a champion, everyone began to see exactly what Michael Jordan was saying way back in 1998.

Now, ten years later, Vince Carter has become a role playing journeyman, while Kobe Bryant has made himself into the second-best player in NBA history. So, Vince Carter was the next Michael Jordan?

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Dwyane Wade seeks revenge on Kobe Bryant

Not so long ago, this was a one-sided rivalry. The rivalry was created by former Los Angeles Lakers' center, Shaquille O'Neal. His feud with former teammate, Kobe Bryant reached a head and he was traded to Miami. With his new team, O'Neal formed a duo with Dwyane Wade. He used his new sidekick to get back at Kobe Bryant. Their friendship, put friction between Wade and Bryant. During one game in 2006, Wade and Bryant nearly came to blows. But, four years later, O'Neal stepped out and maturity stepped in.

Over the past few seasons, Kobe Bryant has returned his Lakers to winning ways. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade has learned what it is like to play for a lackluster team. His Miami Heat have shown flashes of dominance, but in between those flashes, they are not much better than the New Jersey Nets. During one of those flashes of dominance, the Heat went into the home of the Lakers and almost won. With only a few seconds left in the game, Miami led 106-102. It appeared as if the Heat were going to win a big game.

However, the Lakers stormed back and cut the lead to two. Two clutch free throws were missed by the Heat and Kobe Bryant capitalized when he hit the game-winning three-pointer as time expired. That game has been some time ago, but it remains fresh in Dwyane Wade's memory. After all, he was the one that Bryant shot over to win the game. In the mind of Wade, that shot was personal and he plans to avenge that loss. He feels that his team should finally use their homecourt advantage to their advantage and build a large lead over the defending NBA champions. That way, if Kobe Bryant hits a three-pointer when time expires, it will not matter. Dwyane Wade has promised a performance for the ages tonight.

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Kobe Bryant to Finally Return

For the past few games, the Los Angeles Lakers have been without their all-time leading scorer. He went down with an ankle injury and he has missed every game since. But, his absense proved just how tough of a team that the Lakers are. With Bryant out of commission, the team continued to win and they even gained ground on the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. The deep roster of the Lakers surprised a lot of NBA analysts, but now, the captain is back.

While the team was doing pretty good without him, they will be much better off with him. Kobe Bryant is still one of the best players in the game and the team cannot go but so far without him. They have played well and with a healthy Bryant back in the lineup, they are poised to only play better. Throughout the season, the Lakers have been doubted on, but they held their own.

Kobe Bryant hopes that he can lead the Lakers to another win tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies.

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Kobe Bryant will miss More Games

In an effort to lead his team to a strong finish to the season, Kobe Bryant decided to sit out of the 2010 All-Star Game. His decision came as no surprise, but it was a disappointment. At the time, Bryant promised that he would be ready for the game visiting the Warriors. For the past two weeks, Kobe has been hampered by a nagging ankle injury. Even without Bryant in the lineup, the rest of the team has picked things up. Right now, the Lakers have won three games in a row.

Tonight, Kobe Bryant was expected to return against the Golden State Warriors. In the past, Kobe has led the Lakers to dominating wins over this team. But, he will be missing tonight's game and possibly the next few games. He promised that he would be ready for the second half of the season. Since their opponent tonight, the Warriors, are not contenders, the Lakers can afford to sit Bryant tonight and still manage to win tonight.

Coming into the game, Kobe was listed as questionable before the game. Up until a few hours ago, many assumed that he would be good to go tonight. Going against all of the assumptions, Kobe Bryant was not good to go and the Los Angeles Lakers will have to wait a little longer to get their star back.

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Kobe sits out All-Star Game

For the most part, Kobe Bryant was on a roll. He had recently risen the ranks to become the all-time scoring leader for the Lakers. Ever since the start of the season, Bryant had his team sitting on top of the Western Conference standings. But, with all of this success, there has been a bit of tragedy.

Every year since his 1998 breakout year, Kobe Bryant has been an All-Star. Even through his rough period of 2005 through 2007, he was still an All-Star. Bryant has won the MVP of the All-Star game countless times, including sharing co-MVP honors with Shaquille O'Neal last season. But, a nagging finger injury has kept Kobe out of the past few Laker games.

While Kobe Bryant enjoys playing in the All-Star game every year, he has decided to sit this year's out. He was the top vote-getter for the game, but his loyalty remains with his team. Because of his finger injury, Kobe Bryant has been missing key games. He will not skip out on regular season games to play in the All-Star game. Bryant has gone against the wishes of fans and decided to sit out of the All-Star game so that he can get ready for the second-half of the season. Also, Kobe does not want to risk further injury at the game.

The 2010 NBA All-Star Game will be played at Cowboys' Stadium in Dallas, that was met with a lot of press and anticipation, but without Kobe Bryant, things will not be the same.

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