These are Kobe's stats last year in the Finals against the Celtics. While this is a completely different season and series, one cannot help but compare Houston's solid defense and hustle to that of Boston's. My main point is that if you put a great defender on Kobe and extend the series, he can eventually wear down. GAME 1 Lakers Lose 88-98 9-26 24 points GAME 2 Lakers Lose 102-108 11-23 30 points GAME 3 Lakers Win 87-81 12-20 36 points GAME 4 Lakers Lose 91-97 6-19 17 points GAME 5 Lakers Win 103-98 8-21 25 points GAME 6 Lakers Lose 92-131 7-22 22 points For the first 3 games Kobe shot 46% and averaged 30ppg For the last 3 games Kobe shot 34% and averaged 21.3ppg Mind you this was the NBA Finals and Kobe was poised to take himself to the next level of greatness but in the end he failed miserably against a much smarter and tougher team.
Great point. This is especially true if you make Kobe work on both ends of the floor. He doesn't really like playing defense all night, only in spurts when he feels like it. Shane scoring really hurts Kobe in more ways than just pride.
He shot 36% against the Pistons in the finals too. Kobe's performance in the finals are is pretty bad.
I mentioned before the series that hopefully Bryant would wear down if the series was expected. He looked bad yesterday but he could still go for 40 at anytime. Let's hope he is tired.
That's why he's a faker. No matter how talents he is, how many points he scored in regular season, he never reached expectation in playoff as team first options.
hopefully he'll expend himself on defense out of the shame of being outscored by shane. If kobe shoots less than 40%, I like our chances.
