The Backlash From Kobe's Gamewinner: Is Kobe REALLY Clutch?

OK, so who watched the Lakers-Bucks game the other day?

If you did, then you know what I'm talking about. First up, lets forget about the travel/charge no-call. I'm a Laker fan, and I can readily admit that the play was either a charge or a travel. Kobe got the superstar call. But you put LeBron, Wade, or any other NBA superstar in Kobe's place, they would have gotten the same call.

(Speaking of superstar calls, if they counted travel-non-calls, LeBron would be the leading player in league history already. Guy just flat out goes for strolls at time and no whistle. Check out the video on youtube where he eats a fan's french fries afterwards. When he steals that ball, he is in possession of the ball--albeit overhead--for a good 4 steps.)

ANYWAY....Kobe's game winner, which is seemingly the thousandth time we've seen him do something like that, sparked a debate across forums, ESPN articles and water coolers about whether Kobe was the most clutch player in the league. Funny, a week ago, it was essentially unanimous that HE IS, but then he hits a game winner against the Bucks and it's open for discussion suddenly?

The bulk of the people claiming that Kobe ain't clutch consists of stat geeks who have somehow unearthed statistics suggesting that Kobe is no better than the 92nd most clutch player in the league right now (behind the likes of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph and Michael Beasley). The statistics indicate that Kobe's shooting percentage during the final 5 minutes of regulation (plus entire overtimes) in games where neither team is leading by more than 5 in "clutch" time is worse than 91 other players.

This is just idiotic. Firstly, which douchebag decides that clutch time is precisely the final 5 minutes of a game featuring less than 5 points different? Why 5 minutes? Why not 6 minutes? Why not 4 minutes? Why not 4 minutes and 30 seconds? And why 5 points? Why not 4 points? Why not 6 points? And wouldn't you agree that the final minute is more "clutch time" than the minute before that? And the minute before that?

And who's to say that every game is equal? Is a player who hits a big shot in game 7 of the NBA finals not more clutch than a player who hits a big shot against the Clippers in December? The meaning of the game itself needs to be taken into account. Finals are greater than playoff games. Playoff games are greater than regular season games. Regular season games against good opponents are greater than regular season games against scrub opponents. And you have to remember, teams are FIRED up to play the Lakers. It's almost certain that the Bucks (or any other team for that matter) play MUCH harder against the Lakers than they do against, say, Philadelphia.

Check the stats and see what Kobe's FG% on game winners are. Filter out any player who has not attempted at least 10 game winners. Let's see if Kobe's not up there.

If you want to expand to a wider range, how about shots which give your team the lead in the final few minutes. Isn't that a better definition of "clutch" than any shot in the last five minutes? Or how about a shot which stops an opposing team's run in the final few minutes, to "stop the bleeding"? Let's see if Kobe's not up there.

How about the quality of the shot? Filter out all the lucky shots that scrubs, or teams' third best player hits in "clutch" time. Why? Not only is the sample size much smaller, thus easy to skew, but also the fact that the opposition is not gearing their defense to stop that player. True CLUTCH is delivering despite the opponent's 100% focus on stopping you. Filter them out. Let's see if Kobe's not up there.

Stat geeks and Kobe haters, listen up. As much as you think you know about the game, you have to remember that almost unanimously, GMs, coaches, Assistant coaches, scouts, other NBA players (superstars, all-stars, rotation guys and scrubs), even ball boys around the league, almost UNANIMOUSLY would choose Kobe as their clutch guy. I think they'd know just a LITTLE bit more about the game than you and your numbers.

Now let's just do a little logic test. If almost EVERYONE who draws a paycheck from the NBA knows that Kobe is the most clutch player in the league, who do you think they would focus on stopping in the clutch? Who would their defense be entirely geared around covering? Zach Randolph? Michael Beasley?

The TRUE definition of clutch? The player who wins the most games on plays he makes or creates for others, against quality opposition in meaningful games, DESPITE the opposition's 100% commitment to stopping him.

Kobe.