I say double double double before he can even make a move.. get the ball out of his hands late.. he cannot dictate what happens when the game is on the line.. let odom do that! disrespectfully disagreeing with DD
No, no, and no! Lakers have too many scoring options and Kobe is a good passer. We will get scorched if we double him. Think about it... - Yao floats over, Bynum dunks - Scola floats over, Gasol hits a midrange jumper - Any of our guards or SF floats over, Odom or Fisher hits the open three
Absolutely not! The Lakers have too many weapons and good shooters to punish you for doing so. Inside two minutes? Maybe. But only if he's in one of those crazy "It doesn't matter what you do i'm just going to pull up and hit the craziest shot you've ever seen" modes.
Exactly! Kobe is typically content with being a facilitator in the first three quarters, and thus conserving energy for the closing kick. He thinks he can put on his Superman cape and win the game in the fourth quarter if need be. JVG (via Lance Zierlein's blog) said the following when giving his keys to beating the Lakers: JVG Says: Make Kobe Bryant a passer in the 4th quarter. Z-Report Says: This key is very underrated and I'm glad JVG came with it. Too many times, teams just sit back and take it when Kobe or Lebron are going off on them rather than being proactive and making them change their games. Seattle, under George Karl, used to take Olajuwon out of games by aggressively double and triple teaming him. In the 4th quarter, when Kobe has the ball at the elbow extended or even the top of the key, the Rockets might want to run an extra defender at him to make him give the ball up. Wouldn't you rather have Ariza, Odom or Fisher beat you rather than Bryant? I couldn't agree more. The only problem with this strategy is that if you let Kobe facilitate and get his teammates into the game through three quarters, they'll be more confident in sticking those shots late. I say you live with this. The more Kobe tries and the more he presses, the better off the Rockets will be. Our best bet is to have Kobe try and take over the games and not involve his teammates. However, if he's sitting back and waiting to be the Black Mamba, you have to cut the snakes head off. I found this stat very telling:
In the 4th quarter, when he's on fire...Yes for sure double him. You want to make this guy a passer in the 4th quarter not a scorer. Jeff Van Gundy said the exact same thing, here is link http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2009/05/jeff_van_gundy_has_the_formula.html
Rough him up. I would even say put VON on him. for a short time of course but i think he would be good. IMO
Teams front Yao and make our roles shoot. We should do the same with Kobe, make him pass and take our chances in the 4th, specially if he has it going. Kobe is a guaranteed kill in the 4th. At least the role players might miss!
I'm definitely for trusting Shane on this one. Shut down the weapons he has to pass to and try to force him to do it himself. If you clog the lane (Yao, Scola) to avoid penetration and let Shane force Kobe into a statistically unfavorable shot, we could have a great chance of winning.
Of course. Whenever Kobe wants to score (end of quarters), double him. When he wants to facilitate, play one on one. Disrupt what the Lakers want to do and we can win.
It's a no brainer, of course you double him !! That's what killed us in the reg season @ home, where Kobe just took over and we let it happen.
If Kobe is on fire need to double him but late like DD stated. I just don't know if it will work but can not just sit back and let Kobe dictate the game. He will impose his will but the Rockets need to attack back at him likewise.
No. People need to stop thinking that this team is just Kobe and a bunch of role players. We will have a hard time guarding Odom/Gasol as well.
After the 8 min mark in the 4th qtr and after the 15 sec mark on the shot clock, definately run a good dble at him and try to get the ball out of his hands. Defending the pick and roll is the key to the series for us and executing and making shots on offense. If our offense starts to be stand around and dribble we are going to get killed. This will take 4 qtrs of maximum effort. I think we can get this 1st game if we play start to finish with intensity and limit turn overs. Rebounding will also be huge for us. It is not all about Kobe until the 4 qtr. we cannot let him dominate the final 6-7 minutes of the game.
