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Kobe Bryant’s 81 or Carmelo Anthony’s 33?



December 14 08

Each week, HoopsVibe the Blog drops a player comparison for fans to weigh in on. We call it head-to-head ... 

Occasionally, basketball fans witness history. Goose bumps overtake their body because they know the player, team, or teams they’re watching are dropping a special, record-breaking performance.

For me, I love when a player hits his offensive zone. You know what I mean –an individual gets so hot from the floor he believes the basket is bigger than Oprah and Dr. Phil. All shots, no matter how improbable, go in.

Two players have gotten down like the combined weight of our favourite talk show divas. In late January 2006, Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant scorched Toronto for 81 points, while recently Denver’s Carmelo Anthony tallied 33 points in a single quarter versus Minnesota.

In this edition of head-to-head, HoopsVibe The Blog wants to know which scoring spree is most impressive: Black Mamba’s 81 total points or Melo’s 33 in a 12 minute frame? As always, read both arguments, watch both video clips, and drop an opinion in the comment box below.

The case for Bryant’s 81 points …

  • It was the second-highest scoring outburst of all time.
  • Wilt Chamberin, a seven-footer, set the all-time mark against smaller players and less sophisticated athletes.
  • Bryant went off despite the Raptors using man-to-man, box-in-one, zone, denial, and several other elaborate defensive systems.
  • Phil Jackson, a veteran NBA player, Hall of Fame coach, and bench boss for the Lakers and Bulls’ dynasties, commented, "That was something to behold. It was another level. I’ve seen some remarkable games, but I’ve never seen one like that before."

 

The case for Anthony’s 33 points in a quarter …

  • He matched a thirty-year old record set by George ‘Ice Man’ Gervin.
  • In the past, Anthony has been called selfish. The Nuggets, however, needed his scoring to beat a hungry T-Wolf side.
  • Chauncey Billups, a world champion and All-Star, had this to say: “I’ve played against some great ones and played with some great ones. That’s the best I’ve ever seen in a 12-minute span.”

Our Call: Bryant gets the slight nod; 81 points is ridiculous. However, I believe Anthony has evolved and matured. On Wednesday, he provided a necessary lift with his 33-point outburst and then unselfishly followed the team concept for the rest of the night.

Bryant’s 81 or Anthony’s 33? Which scoring outburst is most impressive? Get at us in the comment box below and come back to HoopsVibe The Blog for more NBA tidbits. Photo courtesy of gg99.



46 Comments: Kobe Bryant’s 81 or Carmelo Anthony’s 33?

Posted by
edd1#bryant
on 12.15.2008		 kobe keepd consistincy thru out the game sry melo kobes hs got ths 1. .
Posted by

on 12.15.2008		 Gotta go with MELO .
Posted by
Manny Pacquiao will destroy Floyd Mayweather
on 12.15.2008		 No Doubt, Carmelo’s 33 in one quarter was harder than Kobe’s 81 points because the defense played on Kobe was weak. .
Posted by
J. Nguyen
on 12.15.2008		 Nothing is too outrageous or "insane" to compare unless someone is comparing Matt Fish to Mark Madsen or Jud Buschler to JJ Redick. That could have been a better issue to discuss. .
Posted by
TC mix-tape exclusive
on 12.15.2008		 Come on dude!slw ppl kno da answer 2 questions like these!Kobe averages like 33!dat aint crap!Melo did good,knowin dat he iz a rook,but still.....i watched dat game wit Kobe!Sry Melo...he got u on dat 1!I like u tho!lol .
Posted by
TC mix-tape exclusive
on 12.15.2008		 Come on dude!slw ppl kno da answer 2 questions like these!Kobe averages like 33!dat aint crap!Melo did good,knowin dat he iz a rook,but still.....i watched dat game wit Kobe!Sry Melo...he got u on dat 1!I like u tho!lol .
Posted by
hil
on 12.15.2008		 are u kidding me? gotta be 81 ! .
Posted by
nob man
on 12.15.2008		 it would be handy if u could get a hold of the points per minute scored for each person but i still think that kobe’s haul is better .
Posted by

on 12.14.2008		 allthatglitters: oh by the way, that "terrible and sad" raptors team you were referring to "that was about to be dismantled"? they were man handling the lakers until kobe took it to them. what’s wrong with your memory? .
Posted by

on 12.14.2008		 "i’ll take Melo’s 33!!!!!!!! i’ve watched Kobe’s 81-point performance. the Raptors didn’t have a good defense ."like the wolves had great defense? if "not having a good defense" is an excuse for being able to score 81 points, why haven’t we seen a lot more players in the entire history of the nba score anywhere near that against hundreds of sorry a$$ teams? if it really were that easy to score 81 points against weak defenses, there would be a lot more of them. shutup with the lame excuse of "weak defense". melo was playing against a sorry as wolves team. that doesn’t make his achievement any less spectacular. .
Posted by

on 12.14.2008		 all that glitters:are you a revisionist? trying to make up your own history? the lakers were down by 14 going into the 3rd, and almost by 20 a few more minutes in. and then kobe cranked it up and put the lakers up near the end of the 3rd, and then it was still a tight game until near the end of the 4th quarter. from then on, it was for history. .
Posted by

on 12.14.2008		 i’ll take Melo’s 33!!!!!!!! i’ve watched Kobe’s 81-point performance. the Raptors didn’t have a good defense .
Posted by
that one guy
on 12.14.2008		 allthatglitters.. the lakers didn’t get a 14 point lead agains the raptors ti’ll about 4 minutes left in the game.. your mistaken.. la was down by 20 at halftime.. your telling me there was a 35 point quarter swing alone in that game? i don’t think so.. it was a tight game until about 4 min left in teh 4th. .
Posted by
A Nugget
on 12.14.2008		 I’ll take Melo ... Gotta love Denver boy!!! .
Posted by
All that glitters is purple and gold
on 12.14.2008		 Oh and JB 24 ... nobody is downplaying Bryant’s 24 at all ... .
Posted by
All that glitters is purple and gold
on 12.14.2008		 Actually, no-name poster is wrong the Lakers blew the Raptors out by 20 points in the game Kobe got 81 ... 122-104 And the Lakers were up by like 15 heading into the third against a terrible and sad, sorry Raptor team that was about to be dismantled! Still, Bryant’s 81 is impressive and I believe it was an amazing game. .
Posted by

on 12.14.2008		 "I respect Melo for going off and than fitting in for that fourth quarter, so Denver can win...while Melo had to revert back to the team system for his team to win in the fourth"Your article was about comparing Melo’s 33 points IN THE 3RD QUARTER against Kobe’s 81 points IN A GAME. What Melo had to do in the 4TH QUARTER is IRRELEVANT to the comparison.And Kobe was playing in the system for the first 2 quarters and had to turn it on in the second half to get the W for his team. .
Posted by
jb24
on 12.14.2008		 dumbest comparison ever. Another way of downlplaying Kobe’s 81. .
Posted by
O.Sandor
on 12.14.2008		 Hi Hoops-4-eva ... Isiah’s fourth quarter in those Finals were special ... Zeke has been so bad a s GM, we forget how good he was a player ... Thanks for commenting .
Posted by
O.Sandor
on 12.14.2008		 Hi no-name ... Thanks for writing. It is a comparison based on the two best single scoring outbursts I have seen over the last few years. It’s not meant to be overly scientific, which I have mentioned over-and-over again. I respect Melo for going off and than fitting in for that fourth quarter, so Denver can win. For me, that is a difficult thing. I’m not in any way downplaying Bryant’s achievement ... In the game against Toronto, after a certain point everything went through Bryant, while Melo had to revert back to the team system for his team to win in the fourth ... I think you are overlooking how difficult this is ...And yeah, sometimes out of the box comparision are worth doing ... Nevertheless, thanks for your thoughts and keep reading cause I will bring more ’inane’ comparisons ... Cheers ... .
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Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More  






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