IMO what cost Orlando a certain win was Rashard Lewis not taking the contact and getting to the line when he got his man in the air when they had a 5 point lead with about 30 seconds to play. Instead, he ducked under and let the guy fly by and missed the shot. Get to the line, go up 7, game over.
Kobe Bryant has never been a "thug". Even as a child he was "upper class", his dad was a pretty good basketball player and a coach in the WNBA. He's always had a stable family and lived in a productive environment. As a basketball player, I've always viewed him as someone who is hyper competitive and loved to win, as a team more than anything else.
