Kobe Watch: All-Star Edition

Well, here at the Kobe Watch we've witnessed some important milestones as Kobe has chipped away at the list of all-time scorers in NBA history.

Kobe now sits fifth on the all-time career scorers list in NBA history and may, health pending, one day surpass Kareem and Karl Malone atop the list, while passing Wilt and MJ is just a matter of time. 

Meanwhile, in all-star competition, Kobe now holds the all-time record with 271 points, and he did it in true Kobe fashion by playing through injury to snare the record even with a nasal fracture.

Congrats Kobe. Keep up the good work, you've still got a few all-star years ahead of you to distance yourself from the competition.

The Kobe Watch continues.

Player	Points
Kobe Bryant	271
Michael Jordan	262
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	251
Oscar Robertson	246
Bob Pettit	224

Dunkus Interruptus

When a player shoots for the moon and knocks down a couple stars along the way, it's time for my occasional column, 'Dunkus Interruptus.' When a dunk like this happens, no matter what you're doing, set it down, and take a minute to watch a dunk that may just change your life. You won't be disappointed. After the short dunk interruption, go back to your day as you had planned it, with a smile on your face, a spring in your step, and a lust for more aerial domination. This time we've got Blake Griffin skying with the Nuggets scrambling out from under him like cockroaches when the lights turn on. Enjoy!

Link: Blake Griffin on the Nuggets

Raps Rap; Feb 15-21

Game 31- vs Spurs (L 113-106 / 9-22 / streak L3) Wednesday February 15, 2012

The San Antonio Spurs are rolling right now, and with their victory over the Raptors extended their winning streak to nine games. Ginobili has now returned, the Spurs have the second-best record in the West, and were one of just two teams (with OKC) to receive an A on their midseason report card from NBA.com. Thanks to Tony Parker's 34 points, 14 assists and five other Spurs cracking double digits on the scoresheet, the Spurs outclassed the Raptors who never led in the game. While still missing Andrea, Jerryd and Linas, DeMar had 29 points in a strong showing, and Jose had 16 points with 11 assists. A couple key turnovers and the inability to contain Tony Parker cost the Raptors this game.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; Reverse alley-oop flush from Jose to DeMar

Game 32- vs Bobcats (L 98-91 / 9-22 / streak L3) Wednesday February 15, 2012

In a matchup of the 29th and 30th best (or 1st and 2nd worst) teams in the League according to  NBA.com's power rankings, the Bobcats bested the Raps for just their fourth win of the season. The Bobcats hadn't won since January 14th, and the W at the ACC snapped their 16-game losing streak. With the loss, the Raps fall to 1-5 on their nearly-complete seven-game homestand. The Bobcats outscored the Raptors 30-22 in the final quarter. DJ Augustin and Kemba Walker were a potent point guard combo, Bismack Biyombo had 7 blocks, and Reggie Williams scored a season-high 22 points. DeMar had 24 points and Amir Johnson grabbed 15 rebounds. The Raps shot just 41.7% from the field and only 12.5% from beyond the arc. Aside from Barbosa's 16 points, the Raps bench went 4-17 with 11 points.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; DeRozan fills the lane and powers in the one-handed jam


The Week Ahead

Wednesday, Feb 22 - vs Detroit Pistons. 7pm

ALL STAR BREAK

Friday, Feb 24 - Rookie-Sophomore Challenge. 9pm

Saturday, Feb 25 - All-Star Saturday Night. 8pm

Sunday, Feb 26 - All-Star Game Orlando. 6pm

Raps Rap; Feb 9-14

Game 28- vs Celtics (W 86-74 / 9-19 / streak W1) Friday February 10, 2012.

After losing 100-64 in Boston, the Raptors flipped the script on the Celtics pulling out a big win. The Celtics were just one night removed from a tough overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and their weariness showed with 13 first-half turnovers. The Raptors were able to leak out in transition and outscored the Celtics 12-3 in fast break points and finished with more rebounds and more points in the paint.  The Raptors never trailed and once led by 16 points. DeMar led the Raps with 21 points, and Amir went for 12 points and 12 rebounds. "I thought the guys took it to heart, they had pride, they remembered how they spanked us down in Boston and bounced back from it," said Dwane Casey. "The resilience they showed was impressive."

Raptor Highlight of the Night;  Amir Johnson gets the block then throws down the oop in transition


Game 29- vs Lakers (L 94-92 / 9-20 / streak L1) Sunday February 12, 2012.

I was at this game, and despite the Raptors loss it was an exhilarating game. Kobe brought the Lakers back into the game with a three-pointer with just under a minute left, then gave the Lakers the lead off a steal and assist to Metta World Peace. After Calderon capped off his career-high 30-point night with a free-throw line jump shot to give the Raptors the lead with 16 seconds remaining, Kobe had the ball in his hands with seven seconds left. Kobe knew what to do with it. Kobe faded away in the corner and swished a jumper right in front of the Raptors bench with 4.2 seconds left. The Raptors proceeded to fudge consecutive inbounds plays and the Kobe shot ended up being the winner. Calderon finished with six assists to go along with his 30 points and sparked a comeback after the Raps trailed 24-8 in the first quarter. The Raptors shot 54.5% from three and outscored the Lakers 11-2 in transition in the loss. Pau Gasol scored 16 points and pulled in 17 rebounds, but Kobe was the hero despite shooting just 9-23 from the floor.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson beats the buzzer with a coast-to-coast dunk

Kobe drills the winner with 4.2 left (Star)

Game 30- vs Knicks (L 90-87 / 9-21 / streak L2) Tuesday February 14, 2012.

The Raptors bothered New York defensively and forced Lin to commit eight turnovers, but a sloppy game led to a 10-1 Knicks run and a huge three-pointer by Jeremy Lin at the buzzer.  Lin also nailed a three-point play to tie the game at 87 just one play earlier. Lin finished with 27 points and 11 assists in perhaps his most memorable performance yet. The Raptors limited second-chance opportunities and Linas Kleiza played excellent defence on Amar'e Stoudemire, who was mostly ineffective though he finished with 21 points. Jose Calderon scored 25 points, and Linas Kleiza had 15 points and 11 rebound. A tough loss will have the Raptors reviewing just what went wrong with a stalled offence and allowing too much penetration on defence. 

Raptor Highlight of the Night; Raptors force a turnover and hit DeMar for the fast-break dunk

The Week Ahead



Wednesday, Feb 15 - vs San Antonio Spurs. 7pm

Friday, Feb 17 - vs Charlotte Bobcats. 7pm

All-Star Reserves

EAST                                              WEST

Dwight Howard                                  Andrew Bynum

LeBron James                                      Blake Griffin

Carmelo Anthony                                Kevin Durant

Dwyane Wade                                      Kobe Bryant

Derrick Rose                                         Chris Paul


Paul Pierce                                          Dirk Nowitzki

Chris Bosh                                            Steve Nash

Luol Deng                                         LaMarcus Aldridge

Roy Hibbert                                          Marc Gasol

Andre Iguodala                                     Kevin Love

Joe Johnson                                          Tony Parker

Deron Williams                                 Russell Westbrook


Missed the cut                                    

Josh Smith                                           Monta Ellis
Rajon Rondo                                       Kyle Lowry
Brandon Jennings                                Rudy Gay
Greg Monroe                                       Paul Millsap
Andrea Bargnani                                  Pau Gasol

Sub the Snubs

Josh Smith vs Roy Hibbert
Josh Smith is an exciting player whose game is tailor-fit for the all-star game. Not only is his offensive game high-flying, he also plays defense with 1.5 steals and 2 blocks per game. Since Al Horford went down, the Hawks are 9-3 thanks to the play of J-Smoove and he would make a great all-star. Though Hibbert has had a breakthrough year with 13.6 points and 9.9 rebounds he still averages fewer steals (0.4) and blocks (1.4) than Smith. Hibbert will be considered for most improved player of the year, but he's at the ASG because of his size, 7'2", and the need for a backup centre. Greg Monroe could have been considered for backup centre, but the Pistons are 8-21 and the Pacers are 17-10. Winning counts.


Monta Ellis vs Tony Parker
Monta has been left off the all-star team for years now. A scoring point guard gets no love in the NBA. Russell Westbrook gets the all-star nod because he plays on the Thunder, the NBA's best young team, but the numbers between Ellis and Westbrook are almost identical. Ellis leads Parker in almost every statistical category except assists (Parker 7.7, Ellis 6.1) and field goal percentage. The Spurs are 19-9 mostly without Manu and the Warriors are 10-14 mostly without Curry, causing both Parker and Ellis to stand up. The argument could be made that Ellis is the more talented player, but winning counts.


Pau Gasol vs Marc Gasol
Marc's election to the all-star team is an attempt to get a Grizzlies representative in Orlando, though Pau has been statistically better than Marc this season. Marc has earned this spot by filling the gap in the Memphis frontcourt caused by Zach Randolph's partial MCL tear. Memphis is 14-14, while Los Angeles is 16-12. Pau is averaging 16.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while Marc is averaging 15.0, 10.0 and 2.8, but Marc has a slight edge in blocks and steals with 2.2 and 1.1 compared to Pau's 1.2 and 0.5. Marc has been able to amass these stats without sharing the frontcourt, while Pau's numbers are certainly diminished by the presence of all-star starting centre Andrew Bynum on the Lakers. Pau's numbers rival Bynum's (who shoots just 58% from the line compared to Pau's 80%, I might add) but only one is an all-star. Pau deserved a spot, but was the odd man out.


Paul Millsap vs Dirk Nowitzki
I don't know how everybody thought that the coaches wouldn't select last years' Finals MVP tot eh all-star game. Though Dirk has had a tough time hitting his stride this season, his star status and reigning NBA champion status should earn him an automatic bid even though Dirk himself admitted he wasn't worthy of a selection based on numbers and team wins. Paul Millsap's inspired play this season made many people think he'd earn an all-star selection, but he lost out to the 'lifetime achievement' vote. Dallas is 17-11 and has improved throughout the year while the Utah Jazz are 14-12. Millsap averages 16.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, while Dirk averages 18.3, 6.2 and 2.3. The most telling stat is that Millsap is shooting 0.308 from three, while Dirk is shooting just 0.239 from deep this season. Utah fans want a player in the all-star game, but Dirk's resume and recent achievements more than give him the benefit of the doubt.


In the end it's a tough call. Team records sometimes matter, and sometimes don't. Personal statistical measures often matter, and sometimes they don't. And sometimes the all-stars selected are just the biggest stars in the NBA regardless of record or statistics; their image and clout speak for themselves. It's not a pretty, or even necessary process, and as unscientific as it is, it's all for fun anyways.

To the guys that made it - congrats. Don't go and get a big head.
To the guys that didn't - it's just an all-star game. Prove you matter when it really counts.

Raptors Rap; Feb 1-8

Game 23- @ Boston (L 100-64 / 7-16 / streak L2) Wednesday February 1, 2012.

When you lose a game by 36 points, it's simply demoralizing. Having to face a banquet crowd of season ticket holders the next night makes it even worse. Boston scored 57 in the first half, shared the offensive load and recorded 30 assists. DeMar had eight points, while Bayless led the Raps with 14. The Raptors were out-rebounded, had 15 turnovers, and trailed by as many as 40 points in a game we'd like to forget as soon as possible.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; Dwane Casey post-game interview

Game 24- vs Wizards (W 106-89 / 8-16 / streak W1) Friday February 3, 2012.

The Raptors have played a league-high 15 games on the road, but coming home won't do them much if they're still without Andrea Bargnani. On this night, the Raptors won without Bargs for just the second time on the season, but also notched their fourth win in a row at the ACC. Amir Johnson finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, Barbosa had 19 points and Kleiza had 15, all off the bench. The Raptors rebounded Washington 61-37, and their 23 offensive boards helped them get 28 second-chance points. The Raptors also had 68 points in the paint compared to the Wizards' 38. Solid win for the Raps.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; Amir Johnson flies in for the slam


Game 25- @ Miami (L 95-89 / 8-17 / streak L1) Sunday February 5, 2012.

The Raptors hung tight with the reigning Eastern Conference champs thanks to DeMar DeRozan's big 25-point night, but came up short against a tough team. A Raptors 12-0 run cut the deficit to three with 3:23 left, but that's the closest the Raps got. Jerryd Bayless finished with 17 points. LeBron James had 30 points, 9 rebounds and capped the game off with a steal and slam dunk. Wade had 25 points of his own, while Bosh shot 3-13 and finished with 12 points. The Raptors needed to be more aggressive on offense because the Heat got to the line 34 times compared to the Raptors' 21 total attempts. The Raptors also turned the ball over 16 times.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; DeMar pinballs his way through the entire Heat team for the cram

James Johnson with the clutch block (US presswire)

Game 26- @ Washington (L 111-108 (OT) / 8-18 / streak L2) Monday February 6, 2012.

In an exciting and tightly contested matchup, the Raptors fell in overtime to the Wizards after a Jose Calderon desperation three-pointer caught only air. After Amir Johnson's putback dunk tied the game at 105, James Johnson had a terrific block on Nick Young to send the game to overtime. In OT the Raptors gave up a key offensive rebound and couldn't hit a long three that could have tied the game. Jerryd Bayless and Linas Kleiza finished with 30 points apiece, while John Wall had 31 points and Nick Young finished with 29 in the win. The Raps shot 50% from deep, but had 18 turnovers: a trend that is really starting to hurt the Raptors.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson block to send the game to OT

Game 27- vs Bucks (L 105-99 / 8-19 / streak L3) Wednesday February 8, 2012.

Six Bucks players reached double-digits including former Raptor Carlos Delfino with a game-high 25 points and 9 rebounds. DeMar scored 25 points, Calderon had 9 points and 15 assists. Jerryd Bayless left the game with an ankle injury after a couple strong games for the Raps. Bayless has been inconsistent and his repeatedly re-injured ankles aren't helping.  James Johnson had 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals and was versatile as ever. The Bucks had 11 blocks in the game, many of them down the stretch. On a positive note, the Raptors scored a season-high 29 first-quarter points after going winless over the previous 14 first quarters.

Raptor Highlight of the Night; James Johnson throws down the hammer

The Week Ahead

Friday, Feb 10 - vs Boston Celtics. 7pm

Sunday, Feb 12 - vs Los Angeles Lakers. 1pm

Tuesday, Feb 14 - vs New York Knicks. 7pm

Kobe Watch 5

Kobe Bryant has just moved up the all-time NBA leading scorers list once again following his 28-point performance in his hometown Philadelphia. Kobe currently has 28,601 total points in his NBA career, surpassing his former teammate, friend and rival Shaquille O'Neal. As with the other entries in the Kobe Watch series, I will profile Shaquille O'Neal on 360special sometime soon. Kobe Bryant now enters the top 5 all-time NBA scorers. Kobe is averaging 29.3 points per game this season, and that pace continued over the remaining 41 games this season would leave him with 29,802 career points. That estimated total leaves Kobe 2490 points behind Michael Jordan, which means he'd have to average 30.4 points per game over an 82-game season next year to pass MJ. Even if it doesn't happen next season, Kobe will certainly pass Wilt Chamberlain, and it is now only a matter of when, not if, Kobe eventually passes Jordan. The Kobe Watch continues,

                                                                                     Games             FGs             FTs          PPG      Total

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1,560	15,837	6,712	24.6	38,387
2. Karl Malone	1,476	13,528	9,787	25.0	36,928
3. Michael Jordan	1,072	12,192	7,327	30.1	32,292
4. Wilt Chamberlain	1,045	12,681	6,057	30.1	31,419
5. Kobe Bryant	1,128	9,978	7,189	25.4	28,601
6. Shaquille O'Neal	1,207	11,330	5,935	23.7	28,596
7. Moses Malone	1,329	9,435	8,531	20.6	27,409
8. Elvin Hayes	1,303	10,976	5,356	21.0	27,313
9. Hakeem Olajuwon	1,238	10,749	5,423	21.8	26,946