Bryant's 'Zone' Night 'Unbelievable, Amazing'.
Sports Fan
Bryant's 'zone' night 'unbelievable, amazing'
January 24, 2006
BY BRIAN HANLEY Staff Reporter Advertisement
Bulls coach Scott Skiles was not at the team practice Monday. He was
sick.
Guessing Sam Mitchell, the Toronto Raptors coach, was not feeling very
well, either.
Not after Mitchell's Raptors on Sunday became an answer to a trivia
question as the opponent that Kobe Bryant lit up for 81 points, second
most in NBA history to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 recorded in 1962.
''I watched it last night; it was unbelievable,'' Bulls lead assistant
coach Jim Boylan said. ''I told the guys before practice that I hope
they all got a chance to see it. If not, they should get a tape because
that may not happen for another 50 years.
''It shakes your confidence a little bit when someone puts a number on
you like that. Years ago, I was a player-coach in Europe against Sam
Smith. My great strategy was: We'll let Sam get his points, and we'll
shut down everybody else. Well, Sam had 75. The game went to
double-overtime, and we lost. So I kind of have a little experience with
that; I know how Toronto is feeling.''
Ben Gordon said he tuned in late to Sunday's game.
''So I probably caught his last 50 or something points,'' said the
second-year guard, who leads the Bulls in scoring with 14.8 points per
game -- about six minutes of work for Bryant in his 55-point second
half.
''I can't even imagine how Kobe felt [Sunday]. I mean, it was just
ridiculous. I just saw that look in his eye, and you just knew he was
going to go out there and kill people.
''It was just amazing. I saw history, that's what I was thinking. I was
rooting for him, just as I'm sure everybody else was in America.''
Gordon said he has experienced a shooter's ''zone.''
''You think every shot is going in,'' he said. ''Every possession down,
you know you're going to get the ball and you know you're going to
score. That's how you feel.''
So shouldn't the Raptors have known Bryant was going to get the ball
each time the Lakers had possession?
''Toronto tried to get the ball out of his hands,'' Boylan said. ''When
they did bottle him up, they passed it back to somebody else, and then
he just ran down into the post and they threw it to him. The double-team
tried to come, but it was too late.
''He was in that zone, and he was shooting it from everywhere. I don't
know what else they could have done other than just close two people
right to him and not let him leave ever. That's just not the way you
play the game. It just looked like there was no way anybody could stop
him last night.''
Bulls assistant coach Pete Myers said he received a telephone call from
his brother, who asked if a Raptor or two should have delivered a hard
foul to Bryant.
''I was like, 'Yeah, he probably would have had a hundred because he'd
have gone to the free-throw line a lot more,' '' Myers said of Bryant,
who made 18 of 20 free throws.
''When a guy like that is on, there's not too much you can actually do
about it -- unless you start putting five guys on him and leave the
other four guys open.''
Myers said Bryant does things that remind people of Michael Jordan. ''No
question about it,'' Myers said. ''But I like his whole attitude and
approach to the game. He's never out of shape. Every year, he has added
something to his game, which is a plus to the league.''
Bulls guard Chris Duhon said Bryant is a complete player.
''He just has a killer instinct,'' Duhon said. ''No matter who's
guarding him and whatever team he's playing, he's going out there to
prove to the world that he's the best player.''
Which is something Bryant proved to Gordon on Sunday.
''Come on, now -- you just saw what happened,'' Gordon said. ''That
should put all questions to rest as to who is the most talented and who
is the best offensive player in the league.
''Him, putting on a showcase like that, just shows how dedicated he is
to the game and what kind of work he puts in.''