If you have more than a passing interest in the NBA off-season, it's possible you saw the somewhat hyped Kobe Bryant to Derrick Rose alley oop in Manila from over the weekend.
You didn't? The video is embedded after the jump.
As a big Derrick Rose fan, an ambivalent Kobe guy and, maybe most importantly, a man who will only be able to dunk in my most wild and unrealistic dreams*, I have to say: the play was weak. Like, super weak.
While Rose somewhat held up his end of the bargain, Kobe basically travels, drives the lane with old man slo-mo speed and throws a pass that literally anyone who has played basketball for more than five minutes could make. All in all, crappy. I give the play a soft B-. The announcing? A or A+. Their hype and context is perfect.
But I don't blog to complain and create negative energy, I blog for solutions. So to remedy that lame ass video, I present to you my alternative alley oop highlight from the weekend, a Kevin Durant to James Harden monster killjob. PEEP THIS.
Yes, Durant drives the lane somewhat slow and old man-y (nowhere near as bad as Kobe), but he throws it off the backboard with the blind assumption Harden will be behind him to finish the play. Spoiler alert: he does. More air, more skill, higher degree of difficulty. The Thunder duo top our local boy and The Doberman.
Still not impressed? Man, you are tough to please. Well, here's an alley oop -- this time Harden to Durant -- they executed in an NBA playoff game.
Winners.
(* - wild and unrealistic sports dreams)
Bobby Loesch is the associate editor of the Chicago sports blog Tremendous Upside Potential and a daily contributor to SB Nation Chicago. Follow him on Twitter @bobbystompy.