Kobe's 40 puts Lakers on top of Nuggets, 2009 NBA mock draft

Jerry West's words must have hit Kobe pretty hard, even if he denied it. Here are West's words: "… I do think LeBron has surpassed Kobe as a player." It comes from the guy who traded for Kobe on draft night back in 96. Kobe thinks of him as a second father. And here he is saying that sure, he would have Kobe take the shot at the end of the game, but LeBron has surpassed him.



Most of the world is saying this, but I'm going to have to stick with Kobe. I am aware that LeBron will surpass him at one point, but it's not now. He will have his time. He is only 24, he still has many years to go. For now, it's Kobe's time.



He showed that by dumping 40 points on the Nuggets in their 105-103 win Tuesday night.



The Lakers trailed 10 minutes into the game by 13. So, as usual, Kobe took over. Sometimes if this happens, Kobe is off and the La! kers end up getting destroyed. But, other times, he is successful and the Lakers go on to win.



This one was hard fought, though. Carmelo Anthony blazed the Lakers with 39, but the Lakers executed at the right time. Bryant was covering Anthony on an inbounds pass with 30.5 seconds left, and it forced guard Anthony Carter to hit Chauncey Billups with a pass. As his pass was in the air, Trevor Ariza snatched and secured the ball, giving the Lakers their close win.





MY NBA MOCK DRAFT 2009

Ok, so last night, I wrote about what the draft order was. Now, here is my mock draft for the first 5 picks. I will post about the rest in 1 or 2 days.



1 LA Clippers
Pick: Blake Griffin
Almost everyone says that Griffin will be the first pick in the draft this year, and I agree. This kid is a beast. He will be like another Elton Brand that the Clippers desperat! ely need.

2 Memphis Grizzlies
Pick: H asheem Thabeet
They need a big guy like Thabeet. His offense needs a little more work, but the Grizzlies mostly just need defense. They already have O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay for the offense part.

3 Oklahoma City Thunder
Pick: Jordan Hill
Nenad Krstic played pretty well at the center spot for OKC, and Jordan Hill will probably help the Thunder with their big man needs. 6-10, 235 is pretty solid.

4 Sacramento Kings
Pick: Ricky Rubio
Beno Udrih did well a while back, but this last season, I really didn't hear anything about him. Rubio still has years to learn the game better, but the Kings are growing as well. It will be good for both Rubio and the Kings.

5 Washington Wizards
Pick: James Harden
Sure, I love DeShawn Stevenson, but I would rather have him coming off the bench as a 6th man. Harden was an amazing scorer. The Wizards could lead the league in scoring n! ext year, if Gilbert Arenas comes back, and Jamison continues to play as he does, and Butler comes back to his normal self.