Kobe Bryant Done Change The Game

Joe CNov 15, 2009

Here is the scariest story from the start of the NBA season; Kobe Bryant has gotten better.

How could this possibly happen? Shouldn't his hunger have been satiated by winning the championship sans Shaq? Shouldn't his knees be getting weary from all the games he has played in the NBA?

Nope, Kobe has used the championship as an ending to the first chapter in his book, and now he is filming the sequel.

Kobe is currently scoring 31.4 ppg at a near .500 field goal percentage. His three pointers are down, but he has become deadly from within the arc. The main reason for his newfound success? The addition of a killer post-up game. This is why Kobe is the best player in the game; he is never satisfied and is willing to add new facets to his game. Hey LBJ, maybe you should be taking some pointers from Kobe.

Apparently Kobe has gotten sick of Shane Battier constantly putting his hand within licking distance of Kobe's face. Shane had figured out a way to bother Kobe, he could never block his shot so Battier would block Kobe's line of vision. Last week's Houston-LA game proved that Shane cannot handle Kobe 2.0. Battier is bigger than Kobe, yet Kobe continually got the ball down low and scored with ease. Fadeaways, bank shots, and layups, the only thing missing was the '70's afro.

Kobe may have had only a couple more years left at the top of his game, but his new post game has granted him access to the fountain of youth. Black Mamba can save his legs by posting up as much as possible. He may have five plus years now where he can still play at a superstar level.

Kobe also seems much more relaxed now that he has won a ring without Shaq. It's like his ego has been satisfied in a way Kanye West could only imagine. He doesn't force shots anymore, and it appears that Kobe can truly score whenever he want to. You could put freshman girls out on the court and Kobe would be scoring just as easily.

Kobe is setting the tone for the league. Everyone knows that Kobe and the Lakers were gonna put up a strong title defense, nobody realized that he has been gunning for the repeat all along.