Those dogs, sweet as they may be, just don't know when to quit.
I remember growing up with a black lab named Fudge (yes, he was overweight). As soon as we let him out into the front yard, he'd run around with reckless abandon, refusing to stop until he'd completely exhausted his massive reserves of energy. And even then, he'd still push the limits.
In fact, Fudge would fly around so much that by the end of the day, the grass would cut up his paws, making it painful for him to walk and causing him to leave the occasional bloody footprint on the driveway.
Did he care? Of course not.
He just didn't know when to stop.
Doesn't the same theory apply to Kobe? Has he ever known when it's in his best interest to take it easy and relax a bit, allowing his body to naturally heal without pushing the limit?
Nothing in the Mamba's career indicates that he has any idea how to do so. This is the man who has routinely played over 40 minutes with nagging pain—the same guy who made two free throws after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
Take a look at that play once more.
The free throws begin at 2:15, but the entire sequence is well worth watching. It's not everyday that you see a man tear his Achilles then refuse to leave the game, instead drilling back-to-back freebies to tie the game down the stretch.
Kobe has scored 31,617 points in his career, more than anyone in NBA history save Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan. Despite the massive selection to choose from, those two points sum up his career as well as any others.
Throughout the 2012-13 campaign, Kobe routinely stepped up and played almost the entire game. The Lakers needed hi...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
