The Return of the King

Last night Kobe Bryant proved why he is the best player in the NBA. After going 5-24 from the field in the Lakers' Game 3 loss, the reigning MVP went 16-24 and scored 38 points and led the Lakers to a Game 4 victory in Salt Lake City. Kobe finally put his stamp in the series, and pretty much ended Utah's season at the same time. The Lakers now lead the best of seven series 3-1 and will most likely finish off the Jazz tomorrow night in Los Angeles. Last night was just another one of the numerous amazing performances from Kobe. Coming off his second worst shooting performance in playoff history, Bryant came out on fire in Game 4. He scored 13 of LA's first 15 points and went 6 0f 8 shooting in the first quarter. Kobe was the reason why the Lakers were even competitive in the first quarter, as the rest of the team shot 2 of 10 from the field while trailing Utah 25-20 at the end of the quarter. The Lakers took control of the game in the second quarter, during which Kobe scored 11 points. Kobe picked up right where he left off in the third quarter, as he shot 4 of 5 from the field and finished with 10 points. Bryant was able to set up open teammates due to the double-teams he was receiving from the Jazz, which resulted in a number of three pointers for the Lakers. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers led by 19 and the game was well in hand. I have never seen any athlete with the will, passion, and fire as much as Kobe has. He sent a message last night that he will do whatever it takes to win a championship as he willed his team to victory in a game that the Lakers needed to win. Kobe wanted no part of a tie series headed back to Los Angeles, and he did everything in his power to make sure it did not happen. When Kobe takes over and when he plays with the fire that he did last night, there is no one in the NBA that can stop him, just ask Utah. Game 5 of the series is tomorrow night at 7:30 in Los Angeles.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the first team into the second round of the playoffs, as they completed the 4-game sweep of the Detroit Pistons. The Chicago Bulls evened out their series with the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime thriller today in Chicago.

The Dodgers took 2 of 3 games from the Colorado Rockies this weekend. The Blue Crew have a record of 13-6, which is tied for the best record in the National League. I watched The Wrestler this weekend for the second time, and I still think Mickey Rourke should have received the Oscar for Best Actor. Speaking of wrestling, the WWE Backlash Pay-Per-View is tonight. Only two and a half more weeks until I am done with my freshman year of college