When I saw Portland matching up with the Lakers last year, I tried to think of matchups Portland could exploit and I immediately thought back to when the Rockets had success against the Lakers. Our smaller, quicker guards could penetrate at will against the Lakers' bigger guards. MJ recently called Damon the hardest guy he's ever had to guard. If MJ had trouble guarding him, I wouldn't think Ron Harper or Brian Shaw would have a prayer guarding Damon. Aside from Rasheed on AC and Horry, I thought Stoudamire against the Lakers would be the best matchup for the Blazers. So why was Damon such a nonfactor in that series and just about every other important game for the Blazers? Surely, his game has not dropped off that much in two years? [This message has been edited by Oatdog (edited September 16, 2000).]
I think in the lane Damon does not make the best decisions. His internal passing is suspect. So those BIGGER Guard can take more chances adn rely on SHAQ to clean up the mistakes. I think if Damon cleans up his passes and CAN HIT THE MID RANGE JUMP when he gets beside the bigger defender . . .he could be a more potent weapon. Rocket River He is good. . but can do better ------------------
Actually the Lakers put Kobe on Damon that series and Harper on Steve Smith. When you put Kobe, who is one of the better defensive 2s in the league, on Damon it definitely can take him out of the game. ------------------ Looking for next year's Dan Langhi? Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com 4th Friday of August= Rocket Day 1999-Steve Francis 2000-Maurice Taylor
Dunlevey thinks so highly of Damon, that most of the time he sits him on the bench in crunch time ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Cat, that's what I thought they were going to do, but it seemed like Kobe was on Pip. Am I wrong? He just seems lost with the Blazers. Pretty weird. ------------------
The Cat, Are you saying Kobe is a better defender than MJ? Man, talk about hype versus hype. (As in Kobe v. MJ, not in their respective defensive game.) ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem. DREAMer's Rocket Page
Another reason to sit damon down would be his sorry ass defense. I bet phil jackson can come in and lite damons small ass up for a cool fitty. ------------------ Fun Police Says: 1. Stupid threads are not FUN! 2. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are not FUN! 3. Stupid BBS names are not FUN! 4. Conduct yourself in a FUN way! The Fun Police are Watching. Vote for the Rockets & Have FUN or be Assimilated.
I think a lot of it can be attributed to Dunleavy being a sorry coach. Seriously, what has the guy ever done, other than run the Bucks into the ground? I know he won Coach of the Year with LA one year, but so did Don Chaney.
Huh? In the past I have gone on record to say at times Kobe can even be a defensive liability, although by that I mean he gets baited into fouls often and can then be posted up. I like Kobe's defensive ability, but he's nowhere in the neighborhood of MJ. However, if you compare Jordan's final years vs. Kobe right now, I would say Kobe has a slight edge in quickness over MJ in his final years. With Stoudamire being so much of a speed player, that can make a difference. And despite the argument that MJ has, the facts remain Kobe literally took Damon out of the game vs. the Blazers. Go watch the tape if you want. Kobe matched up on Pip when Damon was not in the game, which actually was pretty often. ------------------ Looking for next year's Dan Langhi? Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com 4th Friday of August= Rocket Day 1999-Steve Francis 2000-Maurice Taylor
Coach Sampson should come up with a conspiracy theory about how Damon got robbed any time now. ------------------ Fun Police Says: 1. Stupid threads are not FUN! 2. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are not FUN! 3. Stupid BBS names are not FUN! 4. Conduct yourself in a FUN way! The Fun Police are Watching. Vote for the Rockets & Have FUN or be Assimilated.
or maybe the fact that Damon wasn't in the game was PART of the overall conspiracy... ------------------
Actually....Dunleavy put Damon on Kobe quite a bit defensively. I would venture to say that Damon fared ok guarding Kobe, unless he got him in the post. If Kobe put the ball on the floor, it seemed that he had a hard time getting around Damon. He even got stripped a few times by Mighty Mouse. At any rate, I think Damon played well overall in the series. I think it is a GOOD decision to sit Damon in crunch time sometimes. He tends to get a little over zealous and shoots a bit much. And when you have weapons like Wallace, Pip (sorry), Smith and Wells, you have to give it up! ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
I'm a little tea-pot short and stout, This is my handle, this is my spout. When I give a whistle hear me shout! Tip me over and pour me out. ------------------
