Lakers were down a bunch. Kobe nailed clutch 3 after 3, I think 4 or 5 in the last couple of minutes, some of which were contested, which brought them back. He missed his last few shots though.
IMO there is no reason why shots in the clutch are any different than shots in regulation. People who do not believe in that theory are more shaky in the clutch I think. People who know that a shot is a shot is a shot, do not let it bother them and so they hit their average or maybe adrenaline-charged above average % (and possibly shoot more per minute, since wimps tend to defer at this stage), while people who worship the clutch are so pre-occupied with the idea that they shoot the same or lower than they usually do. I think for Kobe, from the 1st minute to the 48th, he closes things out of his mind. The game has a life of its own in his head and revolves around him, despite what his team/opponents/stats are saying. Besides that, the guy can score from literally anywhere on the floor, whether via post up, drive, long range, mid range, whatever. He's a tremendous player and he has multiple rings and constant succesful playoff runs. On this Lakers team, I can't see anyone else filling the role of closer. Since high school he's been under the spotlight, through a divorce, rape accusation, bust up with all-time great Shaq, etc. Lay off the guy. He's earned his stripes. If he's a ballhog, then he's the best ball-hog of all time because I didn't see the Glen Robinsons and the Stephon Marburys and the Tracy McGadys and the Steve Francis of this world take their team as far as he has as many times as he has, even taking into account his usually superior supporting cast. But yeah, George Karl is playing mind games. Media scrutiny of his 32 shots plus the ego boost from George Karl may cause some chemistry problems.
Idk man, higher stakes = adrenaline = changed shot or state of mind/focus. Could play a big role late.
Goodness I hope Kobe is paying the OP for how much he rides Kobe. This has to be about the 50th pointless Kobe thread you have created. I'm pretty sure Kobe has scared most coaches throughout his career.
I was beginning to forget my hate on Kobe (due to the new superstars of douche today) but then I watched clips of that Sacramento series... Sacramento fans must really hate the Lakers like Dallas fans (prior to last year) hate Wade and the Heat.
Lakers have won more close games this season than any other team in the league. They also won around 22 out of 26 OT games in last few years. Exactly the reason why every coach would be scared in that kind of situation.
Yeah, Kobe will shoot you out of games (like his 3-10 first quarter shooting last night), but he's fully capable of going on a hot streak and shooting you right back in.
Yeah thats the one area of the quant community I don't like them bringing their debunking and "myth busting" into. There's hardly ANY WAY quant stats can indicate the flow of the game up to that point, and what the other team is gameplanning. It can do a chart-by-chart rundown of what offensive sets in that game have worked correctly. But it can't guage trust level and confidence. I get sick of "cyber nanny" telling people what to do sometimes lol.
I respectfully disagree. I used to ball a lot, and I know that I always played a lot looser at the beginning of the game than the end. The guys in the NBA are human just like me, and I'm sure some of them are the same way. Guys who can still play loose at the end of games and hit their shots are on another level. Pressure always affects us physically. you know what they say about stress, it'll kill yah.
Didn't want to, just sayin people blame Kobe for high point games and applauded Jordan for high point games. It's stupid.
If the Lakers win another Championship it will be because of the talent of Kobe's supporting cast playing better than the arrogance and terrible shot percentage of "the black mamba". Jordan won primarily because of himself. Don't get me wrong he had some great supporting teammates but nothing like the luxuries Kobe has won with. Kobe won primarily because he had Shaq (the best big man in the game) and then two extremely talented 7 footers in the paint. I mean seriously, watching the nuggets try and rebound against them is like watching children try and rebound over their Dads.
