After having taken in a lot of the fawning over Kobe's 61 point game against the Knicks - and rightfully so because the man did score 61 points after all - some friends and I were discussing how impressive Kobe's big scoring nights have been in comparison to MJ's.

The very first question that unconsciously came out of my mouth was, "Why doesn't Kobe score 60 against the Celtics, Spurs or Cavs"?  We took a look and Kobe's highest scoring games came against Toronto, Portland (when they were not a good defensive team at all), Dallas, Memphis, Charlotte, the current NY Knicks, the Rockets about 2 seasons ago and the Washington Wizards. In that group, only the Houston Rockets were a decent defensive team.  And of all the 50 point games he's had I would argue that the only other above average defensive unit was Utah.  Here is the list for Kobe:

http://www.kobebryantshoes.com/50point_games.htm

Sure Kobe is uber-talented and can score with the best of them.  Whether people like Kobe or not, the fact that he is a quintessential offensive talent cannot be disputed.  But when comparing his top scoring exploits to those of Jordan's you can't help but immediately notice that 5 of Jordan's top 6 scoring games came against good to great defensive teams.  The late 80s and early 90s Cavs, Shaq's Orlando Magic, the Bad Boy Pistons who were without a doubt the most physical defensive unit we've ever seen on a basketball court (against whom MJ scored 59 and 61 respectively), Bird's Championship Celtic teams, the overly physical bump and thump 76ers when Barkley and Mahorn were kickin' everybody around, the New York Knicks when they were at their best, the Portland Trailblazers when they were championship contenders, etc....  Factor in that MJ scored 40 or more 38 times in the playoffs (Unbelievably, Kobe has only 6 thus far) and MJ scored 50 or more 8 times in the playoffs (obviously none for Kobe at this point).  Here is the list for MJ:

 http://www.nba.com/jordan/50games.html

Keep in mind that this list represents only what he did in his 13 seasons as a Chicago Bull (the same number of seasons that Kobe has played to this point).  Looking at those playoff numbers in this context has only reinforced the belief I've long held about MJ being a far superior scorer than Kobe in the biggest of moments.  I've had several arguments with guys in the past about this very topic.  I told them that I don't really care about what happens in game 37 or 54 of the regular season and when Kobe goes for 81 in the playoffs to let me know then (and as we can all see plain as day, Kobe's postseason numbers PALE in comparison to MJ's and that's ultimately why for my money MJ is better).  But for all you guys too young to remember, you simply had to see MJ to believe it.  Kobe's the best thing going now (and he's a damn good thing), but to see what MJ did on a nightly basis was simply mind blowing.

We concluded that Kobe's big games are impressive.  Hell you could lock some guys in a gym by themselves with 2 balls and they couldn't score 50 pts in 48 minutes and an overtime period. And if 50 was so easy to get then everybody would do it, so big props to Kobe.  But ultimately we were not as impressed with Kobe's big nights as we are with MJ's due to the significance (Jordan had big scoring nights and it was usually at the most dramatic of moments) and tougher opposition most nights.

So again, when Kobe hangs 60 on the Celtics or Spurs in a crucial game you let me know.  He may very well do it and do it soon.  But it sure hasn't happened yet. Where do you guys stand on this?