Thoughts after NBA Finals Game Three: Repeat of ’06

I have not come to bury Kobe Bryant; I have come to praise him. Uh, no, I have come to bury him. Well, actually I have come to do both.

Kobe Bryant had a Jordanesque first half. He truly looked like the best player in the NBA, starting out as a facilitator and then becoming a scorer.

His 21 first half points kept the Lakers within five points of the Magic at halftime, despite the Magic shooting an NBA Finals record 75 percent for the half. I really felt that Bryant would break forty by the time the game ended.

But that did not happen. In the second half, something had to give. Either the Magic’s shooting or Kobe Bryant’s scoring. Unfortunately for the Lakers, it was the latter.

Let me throw some numbers out there. The NBA average for players who t...

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