the conferences were not even close to equal. the rockets were either 24-6 or 25-5 that year against the east, including the done only once before sweep of the central division (16-0). and we didn't even make the playoffs in the west, with 7 50 win teams and someone else at 47. granted we were a fairly extreme example of east domination, but when the west's 9th seed would've been the co-favorite to win the east with the east's 1 seed, it's not very equal.
I like Shane but are you kidding? When Kobe is on, Battier gets torched. The only player I've seen throw Kobe off even when his shot is on is Bruce Bowen, and he can't do it anymore because he's slowed down a lot.
Well, Wade and McGrady have done so with arguably worst lineups than what Kobe has at his disposal right now. The Lakers are talented, their only weakness is the fact that they're a young team and have consistency issues. People are forgetting that the Lakers struggled mightly with Luke Walton out for whatever reason. Kobe is in a zone right now, but his team is barely winning against bad teams in the league with him going bananas, and they're in midst of a soft schedule right now. I hope he keeps it up, it's pretty entertaining stuff for any NBA fan. However, it's silly as hell to argue that he's doing what he's doing in the "flow of the game". I have watched everyone of his 50+ pt performances and in order for him to put up those 40 shots, he brings the ball up a lot of times and just pulls the trigger, or receives a pass and immediately shoots it. I will say this: no other player in the NBA can put up 40 shots a night, only Kobe can. It doesn't mean that they suck and they should shoot more, but I just don't think anyone else has that mental approach to the game, for better or worse. I don't think anyone can argue this with a straight face. See? No argument there.
btw, making the playoffs with a crappy supporting cast doesn't really mean anything. HALF the freakin teams in the league make the playoffs! it isn't really that great of an accomplishment. what Kobe is doing, that alone is a great accomplishment.
That's exactly what's wrong with so many NBA fans, they're far more interested in individual brilliance than team accomplishments. Making the playoffs is ALWAYS more important and tons more valuable than missing the playoffs and averaging 50 ppg. This is precisely why I love the new direction the league is moving in where team ball is honored and team players are recognized for what they do to win games. The whole premise of playing the game is winning, if you don't make the playoffs then you're a failure that particular season.
Right now, the Lakers are an easy one and done for the Spurs or Suns unless they develop better chemistry on offense and play good defense. Without questioning his motives, what Kobe is doing is great for his own reputation and nothing more. What the Lakers SHOULD be doing is honing the type of basketball they expect to play in the playoffs. Obviously the Kobe Show has no chance of winning a 7 games series. For us general NBA fans, what he's doing is interesting theater.
wow...the rockets are something like 30-7 when Tmac has 7 or more assists. This team dosnt need someone to take 40 shots, they need a playmaker who can take over when needed. When Tmac is hitting the jumper, he is the perfect player for our team.
I dont think thats true. The Lakers were detonating on themsleves and had almost fallen out of the 6 seed before Kobe went off, and since then they are 4-0 (second longest winning streak in the NBA to our Rockets). How you see this steak depends on your outlook on the NBA. If you value individual brilliance (and bad coaching, seriously, ever heard of a double team?), then you are likely to be enamoured with this streak. If you like team ball, you are likley to point out that they barely beat bad teams and Kobe had 1 assist tonight.
man, he got another 50 points tonight. 4th 50+ game in a row, and lakers won four of them. Kobe is too good to be true.
what good would that be if they're sitting at home when the playoffs start? though they would have some more free time to hone it i guess. and valuing team success is good and all, but not to the extent that that's all there is. most team brilliance is because of combined individual brilliance, with chemistry and teamwork separating the talented teams from other talented teams and untalented teams from other untalented teams. kevin garnett is about to miss the playoffs for another year. he plays hard every night, is unselfish, and goes all out on defense. is he not valuable just b/c his supporting cast sucks? should we praise every superstar on every playoff team over garnett, no matter how much better he is than them, just b/c they have better teammates? a good player's supporting cast is such a huge part of the equation that it becomes unfair when you value team success to such a large degree as tigermission1. look at tmac and yao 2 years ago. we had no supporting cast and started 5-11. then we got one and finished 45-20. did tmac and yao suddenly become more valuable or better? well tmac did start playing better, but the point is the role players can matter a ton and your organization's ability to put them around you should elevate or take you down so much.
Not really. One great player can go nuts in a series and single-handedly win it. I would agree that the Lakers aren't gonna win a title with Kobe being a mad gunner.
no that's way off...it was only 7 "Only the late Wilt Chamberlain has had more 50-point games in a row than Bryant, hitting that mark in seven consecutive games during the 1961-62 season. Bryant, of course, has long since learned all about Chamberlain, the basketball legend. He's also studied up on Elgin Baylor and knows Michael Jordan, the only other players to hit at least 50 three straight times." http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270323003 EDIT: SORRY YOU BEAT ME TO IT!
Maybe I shouldn't have done this, but I'm assuming they will make the playoffs. With the standings as they are, I find it very hard to believe the Lakers will fall behind both the Warriors and Hornets this late in the season. Then again, coming off a 7 game losing streak, I guess the Lakers can't take anything for granted right now. Don't know if you were replying to me on this particular issue, but team success is all that matters. If it's best for the team that Kobe score 50 points a night, so be it. If not, they better figure out another way. Team success should be the sole goal. This is not the same as a player sacrificing his game for the sake of others if it doesn't help the team.
that was my main point. they were about to fall below .500 and were on a 7 game losing streak before the 50's started happening. while walton and odom returning has also helped, the point was just that the lakers were freefalling. you cross the bridges as you come to them and making the playoffs was the first one. preparing for them is next. and scoring a bunch may still be for the best, who knows. i completely agree. it's just that there's way too much of a tendency to completely devalue what a great player does just b/c he's on a terrible or mediocre team. it's like knocking tmac back in his orlando days if he scored 48 and orlando lost and saying "well 48 is great, but i'd rather have the win" as if tmac wasn't trying to get the win. or as if his 48 on good shooting wasn't a big factor in his team doing as well as it did that night. so many people act as if putting up big stats in a loss or for a losing team is practically worthless and we should appreciate some lesser player just b/c their organization happened to put a bunch of talent around them. as if it's wrong to consider the tmac-type guy better than the guy on the winning team, just b/c that guy is on a winning team. put michael jordan with 4 kindergarteners and he's going 0-82, but that doesn't take away from his greatness. it just means kindergarteners suck as basketball.
