I'm kind of a Lakers fan by default - I grew up in SoCal. But growing up, I was really a Chicago Bulls fan - because of Jordan. Now? I'm a huge Lakers fan - not only because I'm from SoCal, but because of Kobe. Kobe, as I constantly tell people, is the only player in the NBA right now who even remotely resembles Jordan's tenacity, will to win, and of course, skills.

Then the game 7 came along.

Obviously I was disappointed. Angry. Frustrated. Disgusted even. But more than all that, I was shocked. Shocked to see Kobe just letting the game slip away to be one of the greatest game 7 defeats in history. He had 23 points in the first half - made it look so easy too. Then he had one point in the second half. ONE FREAKIN POINT. He didn't go 1/15 or 0/20. He took only THREE shots. I kept telling myself "he's just trying to play team basketball. He'll start shooting, and take over, when they really need him to." Well, they needed him to, and he never did. It just made me wonder, what the hell happened in the locker room during the halftime?

Jordan would NEVER. MJ would never SIT OUT any game 7's. MJ would never give up.

Maybe it was my fault for thinking that Kobe is, in fact, the next MJ. But damn. Skip Bayless is right. He's not even close. Not right now anyway.

But am I still a Lakers/Kobe fan? Of course. After all, it's not fair to expect Jordan out of someone other than...well, Jordan.

Man...what an emotionally draining week that was. I love this game.