Why The NBA Needs Kobe Bryant

As the NBA All-Star Game came to it's most exciting point, a tie late in the fourth quarter, two things became apparent.  

1. George Karl didn't know who the best players were on his team and when he should play them.  

2. The NBA and the All-Star Game need Kobe Bryant. 

Though the West kept the game close and competitive until the end, the All-Star Game had no energy or life.  Both teams had flashes of brilliance, but never kept a sustained amount of energy, making the game rather dry and boring.  Love him or hate him, Kobe brings his competitive nature to every game and would have put on a show at a game that everyone is watching.  Kobe could have also saved the game for the West at the end, when Carmelo Anthony took one of the worst end of game shots I had ever seen.

This brings me back to my first point.  Why in the world was Anthony taking that last shot?  A poor coaching decision, but it was because of another poor coaching decision that Anthony was the only one free to take the shot.  Why would Karl have kept Amare Stoudemire on the floor when he could have put Kevin Durant, a far better shooter, in the game to try to take that last shot?  I would have also replaced Chauncey Billups with Steve Nash, who has been a ridiculously good shooter so far this year.

Now back to my second point.  Imagine how different this game would have played out if Kobe Bryant had played.  In all likelihood, he would take the last shot and is far better at doing this than Melo.  Kobe would have probably replaced Stoudemire in the last few possessions, which makes a lot more sense than keeping Stoudemire on the floor as you attempt the last shot, since Stoudemire wouldn't shoot that last shot unless the rest of the team decided to sit on the court and refuse to play.  

The game would have been much for even in terms of talent as well since the East already had D-Wade and LeBron.  Who was the West's superstar? Dirk.  He's a great player and had a great game, but doesn't have the same amount of game as Wade or LeBron, but Kobe does and may have more than either of them (but that's debatable).

This All-Star Game showed a lot.  How many people will show up for an NBA game? Over 107,000.  How much game does Dwyane Wade have? A lot (He's been under appreciated since Shaq left and the Heat went from a championship team to a lottery team).  How good is Dirk?  Pretty good, but not as good as LeBron, Kobe and Wade.  Can Carmelo Anthony make a tough shot at the buzzer? Nope.  How important is Kobe Bryant to the West and to the NBA? Extremely.