Hmm, so he dropped 40 anyway. Well, I guess that looks familiar to us, so maybe Battier did share his "tips".
If Hill hadn't tried it before, it's probably just instinct to go for the ball even though his brain is telling him to get in Bryant's face. To those that think Battier's d against Bryant was overrated, what was his fg%, and points per shot taken against Shane? I'm going to guess rather lower than his average. Bryant had to work his ass off to get those points and it usually meant he was passing up better options and sucking the shot clock dry.
Kobe's stats vs Rockets since Shane was traded here 2006-12-12 8/26 23pts 2006-12-15 17/38 53pts 2007-01-10 6/18 20pts 2007-03-30 19/44 53pts 2007-10-30 13/32 45pts 2007-11-14 11/23 30pts 2008-03-16 11/33 24pts 2008-11-09 10/17 23pts 2009-01-13 13/32 33pts 2009-03-11 14/23 37pts 2009-04-03 7/11 20pts 2009-05-04 14/31 32pts 2009-05-06 16/27 40pts 2009-05-08 11/28 33pts 2009-05-10 7/17 15pts 2009-05-12 10/19 26pts 2009-05-14 11/27 32pts 2009-05-17 4/12 14pts 2009-11-04 15/30 41pts 2009-11-15 5/20 18pts 2010-01-05 9/23 22pts 2010-03-27 7/14 17pts He averages 31 pts on 43.7%FG. Bryant's career average is 25.5 pts on 45.5%FG.
So when Kobe plays badly against us, it is because he has a bad shooting night. And when Kobe plays well, you say Shane's defense is bad. That's a double standard.
I still think Bruce Bowen is the best at guarding Kobe. He's dirty and always finds a way to get into Kobe's head.
it was already stated that kobe had to take a lot more shots to get those points. more shots for kobe with a bad shoot percentage= less shots for Gasol and Odom and possibly losing the game. That's why they said you can't just look at Kobe's point total for the game to determine if someone played good D on him. Does anyone remember Kobe's face after game 6 last year? He looked exhausted and told the reporter "i just want to get the hell out of this series as soon as possible!" Later when asked in interviews who is the best defender he has ever faced, he said Shane Battier. without even thinking about it.
Kobe shoots 43.7% against Rox since Shane came here, I wouldn't consider that as a bad shooting percentage. I think Shane did OK against Kobe and that's it.
Rarely making any mistakes is overrated? What does he have to do to be correctly rated? Perform miracles? Walk on water?
The fact that Kobe scored MORE against the Rockets, at a lower percentage, should tip you off that the defense against him was successful. 43.7% is actually pretty bad for a superstar, especially one who is only an average 3-point shooter. The reason why the Rockets were generally quite successful against the Lakers is because of two things 1. Shane guarded him one on one in the perimeter, which meant not leaving shooters open 2. Letting Kobe settle for semi-open jumpshots meant less penetration, less Yao getting in foul trouble, less kick-outs or offensive rebounding opportunities due to collapsing defense. The Rockets defense against Kobe is a bend-but-don't-break defense, similar to Cover 2s in football. We give up a lot of jumpers, which Kobe can shoot at a good clip because he's a superstar. But we don't give up the big plays, the and-1s or the kick-out for 3 pointers. So yes, Kobe puts up stats. But as a team the Lakers generally have less success against us because we don't have to focus only on Kobe. And THAT is why Battier is a great defender against Kobe.
Was Battier playing in each of these games, and did we or they have key players injured and out for those games?
I should recheck this fact, but I believe Battier sent Kobe to the line less than anyone else who guarded him in last year's playoffs. Also, Battier's Rockets team won more games in a Lakers series than any other team has since 2008. Bonus fact, Battier elicited more jackass facial expressions from Kobe than anyone else. (Damn Kobe. He's so good, but his arrogance negates it for me.) Kobe's gonna get his, whether it's via friends like Joey Crawford or because he's just good. Still, Battier plays him as well as anyone... I don't care for the idea that Battier should ever have to "get the better of him". Team defense is what's going to get the better of any star.
Bingo. Look at anyone else trying to guard Kobe... they make too many mental mistakes. You can see it in their body language. Battier was extremely disciplined and was all over Kobe stride-for-stride; the dude just gets his points. As far as making mental mistakes, it doesn't help when the refs give you phantom fouls and then T you up for questioning them (cough, see Grant Hill tonight).
Oh, you mean the other guy in the NBA who got away with rape. I guess that must be Kobe's kryptonite.
I say put somebody who has long arms like prince on him and he struggles. Remember Detriot killed Kobe and lakers that year since Prince's length bothered Kobe. Also early in the year, Ariza covered Kobe, with his wingspan and quickness, he was able to keep kobe in front of him.
Shane guards Kobe well, but that hand in the face crap doesn't work on guys like Him, Melo, and Durant. I'm sure they barely even recognize it because they are such good shooters they can shoot with their eyes closed. I'm sure they have too, either that or against a broom It's like saying to a Center about to play Yao "You need to get your hands up and contest when he does that hook." it's pointless, because i'm sure Yao doesn't even notice it. Just like how Dirk always does that fadeaway mid range shot. It's being contested, but it really makes no different most of the time. Thats when you have to get aggressive and swipe at the ball or do something other than just taking it. That's why Hayes even though he's short always does a good job guarding PFs, he knows he can't block the shot or contest, so he either flops, prevent them from getting deep into the post, or swipe just at the right time.
