Kobe Bryant walked off the floor blowing kisses and waving goodbye to another roaring sell-out crowd in another visiting city.
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And just like Bryant’s fadeaway mimicked MJ’s, and his gait mimicked MJ’s, and his celebrations mimicked MJ’s and even the inflection of his voice mimicked MJ’s, so too did the advice he chose to bestow upon Irving. “It was really special”.
One of the final Kobe and LeBron duels was a dud in Cleveland. A deal with the Bulls broke down when Bryant didn’t want forward Luol Deng to be included in the trade, believing he was a big piece to championship contention in Chicago.
In the final season of his Hall of Fame career, Bryant has been up and down – although he’s showed flashes of his former self lately, averaging 26.4 points per over his last five games, including a 27-point, 12-rebound performance against the Pelicans last Thursday and a 38-point outburst against the Timberwolves in the game before that. I was just losing faith in what they were trying to do. It’s not a Magic or Bird sort of thing. “Never”, Bryant said to Holmes.
“We never crossed paths unfortunately”, Bryant said.
Bryant said there have great moments and some hard ones to handle during his league-wide farewell tour.
“I don’t think we take it serious all the time”, Lue said. “It wouldn’t be surprising if in the next couple days it loosens up on me and feels good”.
“I never would’ve approved it. Never”. D’Angelo Russell scored 15, playing through an errant pass from James that hit him right below the waist. After he got back to the bench, Bryant laughed at him….
“Once I knew he was OK, the jokes write themselves”, Bryant said. However, with a little rest over the All-Star Break, Love expects to be ready to go, and that will be a welcomed sight for the Cavaliers. “This stretch couldn’t come at a better time”. To me, it still seems like he just got into the league.
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The Lakers couldn’t work out a deal with Bryant’s three desired destinations. The least any team with a big star such as Bryant can do is gauge interest. “I just talk to him often about the game and the mentality and technique and execution, as well as some of the psychological things that he’s going through and how to navigate through those”. The Lakers have lost eight of nine on the road. Cavaliers G Matthew Dellavedova missed his fifth game with an injured left hamstring….
