This series reminds me a lot of the Blazers vs Lakers from 2000. Stoudamire was playing very well against the Lakers back then and so the Lakers were forced to put Kobe on Stoudamire just as though they'e putting Kobe on Bibby. Scottie and Christie... both good defense. Wallace and Webber vs Horry both Wallace and Webber were/ are better than Horry. The most similar area however was Sabonis/Divac vs. Shaq. Sabonis and Vlade both have the outside shot which makes Shaq come outside and penetration a bit easier. This is the biggest area of the Kings success... Vlades neutralization of Shaq. The Blazers had the biggest choke ever in history in my opinion but these Kings are mentally tougher and so I think they will prevail in 7. Hopefully, 6
I have been thinking this as well. The BB in this series has been at such a high level. The thing about this comparison is that the Kings playing w/o Peja is like those Blazer's playing w/o Smith or Pippen (their 2nd best player). When Hedo does the best Peja imitation he can the Kings become very tough to beat. The largest difference in the Kings versus Blazers is that Blazer team was a little better defensive team and this Kings team is a little better offensive team. The Kings seem to be able to get some decent shots off even against terrific Laker D--something the Blazer's could not do when it counted.
Let's see if your analysis will come true Root for the Kings at all times, or else. Or else, they might lose.
I was rooting for the Kings but they are choking badly with 2 minutes left in game five. They look like they are expecting the officials to call fouls instead of playing the game, and they are choking at the foul line.
Mike Bibby is just awesome to watch. He does all the right things. I sincerely hope that Steve watched this game and saw what some Defense can do for your game. That strip on Shaq, and outrunning two Lakers to the goal was just awesome. On the other hand there is Chris Webber. Man, he single handedly almost gave this game away. The Kings didnt so much choke during the 4th as Webber did. Man he didnt want anything to do with the last few shots of that game.
Mea culpa and thank goodness. Yesh. The Lakers almost snatched victory out there but not enough time to pull it out. I was so glad when I saw Webber wasn't taking the final shot. Divac and Webber accounted for most of the Kings ft misses and lots were during the third and fourth periods. Bibby would be an excellent role model for SF. Just hope SF works on his fundamentals this off season and less on the flash.
almost gave it away?? he scored 29 pts and grabbed 13 rebounds. he seems to be the only king that knows what a rebound looks like sometimes. sometimes his mere presence on the defensive reb end makes the lakers back off and let him have it. that can't be said of any other king. while hedo does get in there, he can be pushed around and doesn't dominate the boards and vlade is too busy with shaq to concentrate on rebounds. webber did miss ft's which were costly and he did seem to be shying away from shooting at the very end but he certainly wasn't throwing this game away. he picked up the critical 4th foul on shaq and he hit that tough layup to bring it to 85-84 w/ about 3 minutes left i think. he misses that and they might have lost. also, he scored 7 in the 4th. that's hardly choking. and how did the kings even almost choke in the 4th?? they entered the 4th trailing and were down 85-80 and came back to win. isn't that the opposite of choking.
OMG, Nooooooo! How can a Rockets fan say this? The way those two went at each other when Bibby was in Vancouver and the whole rivalry that was involved...with Steve usually coming out on top. In my mind there will always be a rivalry with them...though, not much of one, as Steve already gets more points, rebounds, steals, and assists than Bibby.
I just gotta say I'm really impressed about Bibby. The thing that makes Bibby such a great player is that he's a smart player who's not afraid to take big shots. If Francis were to learn anything from Bibby it would be to play smart basketball. Sure Francis may score more points/rebound more show up on ESPN highlights but you can never under estimate smart bball which Bibby definitley posseses... probably he's so fundamentally sound because I'm sure his father Henry was tough on Bibby growing up. Furthermore, Bibby seems very disciplined.
Actually Bibby never really got to know his father, his father bolted when he was a little kid/baby and they have had a shaky relationship ever since. His mom was the one who raised him up.
So his Mom taught him how to play... jk. Still a smart, tenacious type player you would want on your side.
What are you talking about? Webber, missed something like 6 of his last 7 shots. Shooting an air ball, missed some VERY crucial free throws (like 4 or 5 of them!), fumbled the ball away a few times, and all but refused to shoot in the last minute of that game. Yeah he played big time for the first 3 1/2 quarters, but each possesion inside the 6 minute mark was a travesty for him. The one shot I remember him making was that terrible decision to drive head down and put up that total prayer of a scoop.
F4P has a valid point. The most important play of Webber's career so far was in the 4th when he drove and then went strait into Shaq and converted the 2 and got the foul (Shaq's 5th I believe). You could tell Webber hesitated and thought twice about going against Shaq (in the regular season he would have pulled up), but he damn well caught his senses and went right after the Behemoth. Again, THE most important play Chris Webber has ever made in his career up to this point. The boy still whines too much trying to draw contact instead of putting it in the hole, did seem pretty scared to take the last shot, and missed a lot of FTs (it is more understandable to me that Vlade misses them in the 4th because of the physical beating that old man takes against Shaq), but his at times great play is what allowed Bibby's shot to be the winner. Not neccessarily clutch in the waning seconds is Time-Out Chris, but he is a big game player.
