Kenny Smith failed to take into account our additions of Scola, Landry, and Brooks as well as the Jazz's loss of Fisher & Giricek and their addition of Korver. I know everyone thinks that the Jazz are immediately doubling tmac whenever he touches the ball, but I just don't see it. I see the double team when tmac penetrates or attempts the pick and roll, but nothing close to what other clutchfans are seeing.
Yes, yes. I believe if we had Yao we'd be fairing much better with a good chance of winning but as seen without Yao it puts too much pressure on the other scorers. Let's face it, Yao makes it 10x easier for Landry and Scola to score. Scola is having just as rough a time scoring in this series as T-Mac. As far as the double teams go, I've seen them set up some trap plays on him and he ends up turning it over, obviously not every possession. I was mostly talking about penetration and pick and roll plays though which is what he gets almost all of his points off of.
You want to start an argument defending Kobe? Fine I will too. Management built a team around Kobe. They had MASSES of cap space circa next season to sign someone decent. He couldn't wait ONE season for them to make a big signing. Why don't you just change teams to support Kobe Bryant cause you obviously can't get off his jockstrap either. T-mac doesn't want to win? If i remember correctly there was a certain Kobe Bryant that play even more horrendously against a certain Phoneix Suns team and scored like nothing in a certain game 1. WOW sounds exactly like T-mac except it wasn't even close to a triple double. Im sure a big reason that the Lakers are no 1 seed is because they managed to steal Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and nothing to do with Kobe Bryant's spirit, because last time I checked when he was alone with Lamar Odom he got no where. Lets check in on prior to the Pau Gasol trade and where the Lakers were projected to hang without Bynum. If T-mac had Kobe's mentatlity he would have run Yao out of this stadium.
This is pretty much true... I still can't believe what a 2 faced twit he is sometimes. He totally threw Bynum under the bus this past off season and demanded he be traded away, no that he show he has potential hes singing a different tune. Viewing his past seasons with Shaq etc I don't see how anyone could stand being in a locker room with him. I'm sure the only way it's bearable is because of his skill. He's a great player with good work ethic, but man he's a bad person.
Oh ok so you also forgot to mention the rise of Ronnie Brewer who is a legitimate NBA starter now. And the fact that the three players you named at least two of them are Rookies in the NBA. His Analysis is correct stop trying to discredit it. Define your term of double teams. Im sure you've seen the video over and over again where the Celtics had three people in the lane everytime T-mac got the ball. The Jazz are playing the same game, one guy is sagging off his guy straight away to deny him the drive as soon as he gets the ball. His driving and pick and roll is a fair amount of the plays run for him last game as well. Im pretty sure that constitutes as a double team. In my opinion if you think single coverage on the perimeter with multiple help defenders on the drive is not double teaming then you obviously have never been the playmaker for a basketball team.
Couldn't wait one season? He already waited at least 3. And a lot can happen in a season. Ask Elton Brand or Shaun Livingston. Supporting the rockets doesnt mean I have to support Tmac. If I feel that the rockets can improve themselves by trading him, thats my opinion and i'm entitled to it. It doesnt mean that i'm any less of a rockets fan. It only means i'm not a tmac fan. It Tmac truly wanted to win, he'd work on his free throw shooting. He'd work on his conditioning so he wouldnt get tired in the 4th. He'd work on his shooting form. As long as you're remembering Kobe's deficiencies against the suns, do you also remember the 3 rings he has? It has everything to do with his spirit. He wants to win. Laker's management knows that without roster changes or playoff success, there would be offseason turmoil again. I'm pretty sure there wont be any turmoil in the upcoming offseason for the Lakers. Wrong. Kobe knows that he's the top dog in LA. Basketball is a business, and Kobe knows he brings in a lot of business. Tmac also knows that basketball is a business. If he makes the Rockets management choose between him and Yao, he knows he'll be on the next flight out of Houston.
Kobe & Tmac are different players as of right now. Kobe is a prolific scorer, and can slice and dice the defense like a samurai. Not to mention a great defender. Tmac was like Kobe back during the Magic days, but clearly has transitioned his game to a more of a point forward type player. Main ball handler, pass and shoot, not just shoot. His defense leaves a lot to be desired, but he can control the game as good as any player in terms of his play making abilities and natural talent. Whos the better player? Hands down Kobe Bryant!! But take the two players and have them trade teams and both teams would be in the same situation as they are now... Tmac would be spanking the Nuggets, and Kobe would be losing to the Jazz.
At the end of day, number speaks. Find all the excuses you want, but TMac still hasn't passed first round after 8 tries. And Kobe's got 3 rings and counting. The difference is far profound than what it seems. I don't see how Kobe's team helps him to shoot better FT
What's funny is T-Mac nearly went for 50 against the UTAH JAZZ! The same Jazz that is blanketing Tracy now. Want to know why Tracy can't score in the 40's now? No Yao and no Rafer.
So if you want to analyze the Lakers in Magic Johnson's rookie year, do you ignore Magic b/c he's a rookie? No you dont. You can ignore Landry and Scola all you want, but they have been a big reason for our improvement this year. As such, they belong in any worthwhile analysis. Don't forget that Scola was arguably the best player in Europe before joining the Rockets. Yes, Brewer should've also been included in the analysis. Overall, Kenny's analysis is very weak and almost discredits itself. Its meant for people who dont follow the rockets and shouldnt be taken seriously by those who do. A double team occurs when two guys guard one. If T-mac is at the 3 pt line w/ the ball and the celtics have 3 people in the lane, thats not a double team. So the 2nd defender isnt actually guarding tmac...he's guarding an area, correct? Sounds more like a zone than a double team. When he's double teamed on a pick and roll, the 2nd defender usually doesnt stay too long. Mostly, the 2nd defender will step out to prevent any penetration and then return to guard his original man. Based on your description, Chuck Hayes is also double teamed a lot. He gets single coverage on the perimeter, but if he has the ball under the basket, then there are multiple defenders trying to stop him from scoring. And if your description says that Chuck Hayes is doubled teamed a lot, then you're description is wrong.
Its not Kobe's team that helps him shoot better free throws. He shoots better free throws b/c he doesnt have to shoot them in the toyota center where his depth perception will get messed up.
kobe's the better player, but he also has a TON more help. they led by 19 pts with kobe shooting 5-19 for 14 pts, 1 rebound, and 0 assist through 3 quarters last night. they INCREASED the lead in the 2nd quarter with him AND gasol sitting. even when kobe dominated like he did tonight, he still had gasol putting up 18 pts and 10 boards. he still had walton and guys off the bench chipping in. kobe may be a one-man show scoring wise at times for the lakers, but EVERYBODY does everything else plus scoring. tmac has to do the scoring and everybody else's job right now. remember, kobe has never beaten a team he's not favored against (the yrs without shaq).
in the chron article tonight, ak47 ADMITTED they're doubling him. george karl admitted on the TNT interview after the first quarter he's not going to double kobe (and he never did for more than a few possessions). why do you think one guy is doubled so much v. the other? not b/c one is better than the other, b/c one guy has a better team that makes you pay.
Yes it's coming back to me. League MVP? 3 straight finals MVPs? Best center in the league? Most dominant center ever in his prime? Left the Lakers and won a title while those very same Lakers have failed to get out of the first round until a bought of highway robbery landed them with talent again? Oh wait...that sounds like Shaq. No one wins without talent. Shaq didn't. Kobe didn't even get out of the first round without talent. So YOU can find all the excuses you want, but Kobe has accomplished little on his own. Now that doesn't change the fact he has his rings, but he can't get one without some talent. So that's another reason why comparing T-Mac and Kobe doesn't work. They are different. I will say Kobe is better. But Kobe hasn't passed the first round without Shaq and they even missed the playoffs once. Sounds like T-Mac in Orlando.
Let me remind you, in todays game Kobe >> TMAC. But put TMAC with shaq on the Lakers, and he'll have 3 rings too. Btw FT% means nothing. Ask Shaq and Duncan.
why can't people get the logic that when your team has more talent than the other team (with a great player), you win. it's as simple as that right? why is paul pierce suddenly gonna go to the finals now? why is ray allen? why is KG? not only that, they're freakin' blowing out the competition. weren't they all on some of the worst teams last yr? if the lakers don't have gasol right now, would they win in the first round? idk, maybe it's common sense, but i guess you can win with one player. even michael jordan knows that right? how many times did it take even the GOAT to get out of the first round? 4-5?? but how did he win? oh yea, a guy named pippen. but hey, it doesn't matter who you play with really. at the end of the day, all that counts is if you win or not. so it's true kobe has won. but when he was in the same position as tmac (main guy with little help), he saw the same EXACT fate (blew 3-1 lead and never got out of the first round). but it's weird how kobe's fate is. the year he criticizes the team, the year he was handed the most stacked team in the L.
Wrong once again, Kobe threw Bynum under a bus because he couldn't wait one season and now he looks like an idiot. You said it best alot can happen in that period of time, look at Andrew Bynum, or even Caron Butler. No I just feel you need to get off Kobe's jockstrap. If you think so highly of him you should go buy a model of him and frame it and then kiss it good night every day. Im yet to see you make a single positive comment about a single Rockets player. Everytime you bother to reply its this guy sucks this this guy sucks this. If Shaq wanted to win he would work on his free throw shooting, so would Tim Duncan, or Dwight Howard. Your right though his free throw shooting is unacceptable. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to win. Suggusting he doesn't practice is also ridiculous because every Rockets practice i've read about in the playoffs his been practicing his free throws. He'd work on his conditioning? T-mac got tired as the only option on his team. Let me see Kobe got tired AGAINST the Rockets no less, as the one of three options on his team. Maybe he should work on his conditioning too. As long as we are remembering Kobe's three rings I'd also like to remember how he was never the no 1 option on the board and how the first topic on all his oppositions team included Shaq and Oneal on it and not Kobe and Bryant instead. Im pretty sure if Yao was playing it would Yao and then Ming as well for the Rockets. And while we are on that subject who won the championship when he got shipped out of LA? And Kobe Bryant achieved what as the alpha dog? Face it if Kobe was so brilliant he wouldn't have needed Pau Gasol. If basketball was a business then the LA Lakers would still making craploads of money from the 4th Championship Kobe would have won with Shaq. End of story.
No one argues that Kobe has better help right now. The difference is their competitive spirit. I dont think i've ever seen him disappear in the playoffs when his team needed him. And in past years, he was never too tired to play in the 4th. Honestly, when the Lakers traded Shaq, they put themselves in a rebuilding mode. How far do you expect a team to go in the playoffs when they're rebuilding. Do you think the Hawks or Sixers have a shot at getting past the first round this year? Btw, the rockets were favored to win last year.
when kobe won the rings, T-mac and Kobe were close... not anymore though, LBJ has replaced t-mac to be the one next to kobe
uh game 7 2 years ago? he disappeared the ENTIRE game dude. he literally REFUSED to shoot (and he's a guy that refuses to shoot?) the entire game. like i said, kobe is the better player (i would say simply scorer, but scoring goes a long ways in this league b/c you score more you win). but we all saw him without help (or not as stacked like this). year 1 - no playoffs year 2 - blew 3-1 lead year 3 - lost 4-1 and btw, the rockets were NOT favored to win last yr. most guys picked utah to go to the WCF even last yr (word to TNT and ESPN). our fans may have expected us to win, but not the media. it may not be as staggering as this yr (26/27 ESPN people picked utah, but more picked utah regardless).
