Staples Center East

"Dawg, you playin' on that? Gotta set the example bruh!"

John D. Rockefeller spit this one on freestyle Friday, “Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.” John c. Maxwell the famous author, speaker and pastor said it this way, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” The abolitionist, Henry Ward Beecher, shut the building down with this one bruh, “Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.”

Boyz would have completely understood if the Black Mamba would have excused himself from play on Friday night in Indy seeing that he had a cantaloupe strapped to his ankle. The Lake Show came to Indianapolis complete with team, multiple broadcast squads for English and Spanish along with what looked like the entire freaking Staples Center bruh to beat the Pacers 99-93!

 Kobe rolled into Bankers Life Fieldhouse literally for shoot around. The average dun would have been chillin’ at the hotel for less than that but not Kobe Bryant. He talks the talk but on Friday night he walked the walk playboy! Nothing but mad love for this cat for being the ultimate team leader when boyz would have given him a pass, especially after looking at that ankle. It looked like Jack Spade’s big toe in I’m Gonna Get You Sucka.

Everyone was waiting to see what he was going to do because it made no sense to play on it but he had already put himself out there earlier in the season by telling Dwight that he has to learn how to play through injury. D’Antoni even said in the pre-game press conference that they would look at it with the medical staff and then KOBE would determine what HE was gonna do. Make no mistake about it pimpin', Kobe is driving the Bentley at all times! So you knew ole boy was going to play and start before they even released it to the media.

He knew that he couldn’t go but he was making a statement to his teammates and that’s called great leadership! He only played 12 minutes but that 12 minutes put fire into some average Joe’s for lack of a better word! Steve Blake and Antawn Jamison combined for 35 points off of the bench. Blake hit five 3-pointers finishing with 18 to put in the collection plate and Jamison threw in 17 while connecting on four 3’s. Metta World Peace bogarted boyz for 19 and picked off 7 rebounds. That was all Kobe Bryant setting the example, “If this cat can hobble into this joint we gotta step our game up playa.” 

"It's called sacrifice!"

Granted the Mamba was 0-4 and finished scoreless for only the 15^th time in his 17 year career but he was very instrumental in winning that game. He became the player coach on the sideline the rest of the night and boyz were feeling him. On some real talk, he really didn’t have to say a word. His actions for that quick 12 minutes was all the Lakers needed to go out and beat the Pacers that have the No. 2 defense and the fifth best home record in the league.

Well, it really wasn’t a home game for the Pacers. They just happened to play in Indy that’s all. That joint was Staples Center East! There were literally more Lakers fans in the joint than Pacers fans. The city of Indianapolis should be ashamed of itself bruh! I spoke on it yesterday in the joint entitled "United States?" Not only did the Lakers take over, they brought their own male and female groupies too.

 I’ve never seen so many dudes wearing one cat’s jersey in my life. Give the Black Mamba his props because he’s a beast but check yo self fool! I saw straight up gangstas falling apart because this dun looked there way and said what’s up! C’mon bruh! Really!! Then you gone run back out in the streets and try to be hard in two hours. Wheredeydodatat?

To play for the Lakers is like being in the Beatles in the 1960’s homeboy! It’s a traveling road show and for the life of me I can’t understand why Buster Brown won’t commit to playing in LA. It doesn’t get any better for a professional basketball player than the Lakers! That’s some real unadulterated, unmitigated talk for you playa.

Now can you finally understand why I call him Buster Brown? Who “thinks” about playing for the Lakers when you never have to play a road game and you’ve got groupies coming out of the walls to get at you more than on any other team in the league? SMH

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport