Mamba Jumbo

This was a game Kobe Bryant just did not want to lose. Time and time again, he controlled the ball up-court, determined to function as a one-man attacking force to wilt down the Atlanta Hawks. And time and time again, he delivered. Whether throwing an alley-oop pass for Dwight Howard, driving past Josh Smith for a thunderous, rim-rattling 'retro dunk', or driving past Smith (again) for a nerve-wrecking, game-winning double-pump lay-up with 7 seconds left to seal the win for the Lakers, this was the Black Mamba night, ladies and gentlemen. Oh yes it was. There was actually a point midway through the game after another big Bryant play, when he was walking back to the bench all pumped up, that I almost thought I saw venom actually spewing out of his mouth.... he was that deadly tonight.

With Bryant's superhuman performance, the Lakers have now won 13 of their last 18 games. They have finally reached 0.500 for their season (30-30), a milestone not brilliant in normal circumstances, but a worthwhile milestone at the moment in the Lakers' tumultuous, often-frustrating season. Make no mistake, the Hawks are a solid, playoff-bound team, who could possibly be challenging in the East. In this game, they had strong performances from Smith and power forward Al Horford, and good performances from bench-men Devin Harris and Kyle Korver. They kept it close all the way to the end, when really only Bryant's heroics kept them from another tremendous road win.

For the Lakers, guess what, they are finally starting to look like the powerful Lakers that they could be. Steve Nash was runnin' and poppin', Metta World Peace hit big three-pointers, Dwight Howard continued his recent energetic form and they had strong bench play from Steve Blake and Antawn Jamison. If, and that's a big IF, the Lakers can somehow close the gap on the Rockets, et al and qualify for the playoffs, could they actually make it all the way to the NBA Finals and dare I say it, win the whole damn thing?? Can a team with Kobe Bryant actually ever be counted out of winning the thing? Very interesting questions. I don't think any team will be looking forward to play the Lakers in the playoffs, that's for sure. And don't forget, they still got Pau Gasol, an integral part of their team and one of the best skilled big men in the league, to come back. Now wouldn't that be fun.