The Celtics Strongly Considered Drafting Kobe Bryant

The first one ended with a blowout win by the Celtics in TD Garden. At the same time I was extremely excited because might have an opportunity to live out this childhood dream of the Lakers and the Celtics.

The Lakers score the second-lowest points per 100 possessions (97.2, per NBA.com) in the league, and we recently went deep into the numbers behind their horrific offense.

“I was doing too much, particularly handling the ball”, Bryant said. Randle more than made up for Hibbert’s no-show. “And it hurt us”.

A few minutes later he walked off the parquet floor one last time, but not before waving to the crowd as they thunderously chanted his name.

At the moment, the Lakers are at 6-27 to remain fifth in the Pacific Division. While the Lakers-Celtics rivalry of the current generation didn’t have the longevity of the Magic-Bird era or the days of Jerry West and Bill Russell, it certainly had its own thrills with Kobe being right at the center of it all.

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant drives past Boston Celtics’ Avery Bradley during the second …

“We just have to get back to the basics”, Crowder said.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Lakers found separation in the third quarter. The Lakers also made significant moves, including a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies to get versatile big man, Pau Gasol. The future Hall of Famer has been bothered by knee pain of late but did manage 20 points in the loss to the Hornets, the fourth in a row for Los Angeles.

As odd as the night sometimes seemed, as weird as “Ko-be” chants sounded in Boston, Celtics fans enjoyed having Bryant around. “I don’t think there’s any question that all of our players respect and appreciate all that he’s accomplished as a player”.

“It was great, man. It was great”, said Bryant. Given the state of the Lakers (not good) and Celtics (improving but not championship-caliber), it wasn’t surprising that everybody wanted to talk about the past. Kobe Bryant has always gleefully stoked the hatred opposing fans have for him, feeding off the negative energy to mercilessly devour his opponents.

If the Celtics were at all starry-eyed by Bryant’s visit, so be it, but they know how important it is not to let this loss snowball into anything more. Because when we lost (to the Celtics) in 2008, that was the turn for me. “That was when I was like, listen, I have to figure this leadership thing out by any means necessary”. “I feel completely at peace”.

The adulation Bryant received late in that game prompted longtime Lakers trainer Gary Vitti to say incredulously, “It’s the most wonderful feat in basketball that won’t ever show up in the record books: Boston fans yelled “M-V-P” for our guy”. The 30-year-old signed as a free agent with Los Angeles during the summer. Wednesday marked the return of former Celtics F Brandon Bass to Boston and he had nine points and six rebounds off the bench….

Lakers: Host Philadelphia on Friday.