Kobe's 61 Really not that Impressive

So, Kobe scores 61 against the Knicks. I respond with, “So what?”

First, the Knicks are a terrible defensive team. Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system of seven seconds or less turns a blind eye to defense. We saw it in Phoenix, and now we see it at New York. 61 against a team like the Spurs would be incredible, but it’s not going to happen because the Spurs play defense. When Kobe gets hot against the Spurs, Bruce Bowen is immediately brought in to the game to face guard Kobe. If Kobe manages to free himself long enough to receive a pass, a double team is immediately thrown his way to force him to pass the ball. Players do not score ridiculous amounts of points on teams that care about defense.

According to Basketball Reference, the Knicks’ defensive rating ranks 22nd out of the 30 teams in the league. In addition, the Knicks' pace is second in the league. In other words, the Knicks play an extremely fast game, 7 seconds or less, and play horrible defense. Is it really that hard to imagine a player of Kobe’s stature scoring 61 points against that defense? Of course not.

"We tried to do the rope-a-dope a little bit where he might shoot himself out, but he didn't. He just kept on going."
-- Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni

Are you serious? You tried to let Kobe shoot himself out? What does that even mean? If a player is hot, you force him to pass the ball. You definitely do not allow him to drop 61 points. Did no one learn from Lebron’s fourth quarter against Detroit last year? This is truly flabbergasting. Kobe should send D’Antoni some flowers for Valentine’s day. He should take him out to a nice dinner. Maybe they could have a few drinks at Kobe’s place and then Kobe could ask him to bend over a chair and….
Yeah, next time, how about you triple team Kobe, throw a box and 1 at him, have Nate Robinson face guard Kobe and as soon as a pass is made have a two defenders running at him. I mean, do anything aside from allowing one of the best players in the league to “shoot himself out.” Alright, I’m done.