Kobe is a cancer to the survivors. His bad attitude has really affected KG's game. I will say Kobe must go
When you have no one who can hit the outside (heck, or inside) shot to pass the ball to, that will kinda impact your stat totals against a double and triple team. Remember that the Magic's 2nd (Grant Hill, out for last season) and 3rd (Mike Miller, playing on a severely sprained ankle) scoring options were not present during the playoffs, whether in terms of physically being there or contributing. Even without much to pass to, he still averaged 5.5apg in the postseason and 5.3 in the regular season. Kobe? His assist average went down in the post season, from 5.5 in the regular season to 4.8 in the playoffs. With Shaq to pass to, plus the other players the Lakers have who can hit the shot, Kobe's assist totals should be higher. Plus, this is supposed to be a battle of the best players in the NBA. All 5 players except for one are the de facto first options on their teams. The one who isn't? Kobe Bryant.
Big deal, Charlotte's second option in the playoffs was David Wesley, who shot under 39% vs. Orlando and averaged about 15 a game. They were giving Bryce Drew minutes...in the PLAYOFFS. The Nets weren't exactly teeming with spot up shooters either, plan B in crunch time for them was "throw it to Aaron Williams and we'll all stand arround looking at him". McGrady failed where others like Kidd, Davis, and even Pierce, succeeded. He is fantastically talented, but he has been to the playoffs 2x with orlando now and he's just not there yet. Of course you can say the same for Garnett, but at least he has the "Western Conference" excuse to use, however lame.
Considering Orlando's been ridden with injuries to their best players - and I'm not even including Grant Hill - the past two seasons, McGrady's accomplishments are even greater, even if it means two first round exits. Jason Kidd, until his 7th season in the league, could not lead his team anywhere. Paul Pierce was not the same player in the playoffs as he was in the regular season. Baron Davis had one hell of a playoff series, stepping in for Mashburn, but when there is no one healthy to continually guard him - what else do you expect? And last I checked, the Nets' 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th options were not throwing it to Aaron Williams. Beyond Kidd, Kenyon Martin became option two, with Kittles and Jefferson not behind. MacCulloch and Van Horn saw more touches late in games than Aaron Williams.
Paul Pierce did lead the greatest 4th period comeback in playoff history. in the second round no less. I don't know how much of the NEts playoff games you saw, but Jefferson barely registered an impact, and Aaron Williams WAS their first option late in several games. He played more minutes than McCullloch overall and he was always on the floor int he 4th. I don't think he played that many in the finals though, I don't know how much difference that would have made.
KG is in the West coast and Tmac is in the East coast. Nuff said. KG and the rest were doing great untill they lost Brandon. If he hadn't been hurt, we might have seen that team put up more of a fight.
But you're forgetting the EWI (East-West-Imbalance). Heh, I use this excuse to counter so many arguments that I thought I'd just make an acronym. But seriously, I bet the TWolves would dominate the eastern conference and the Magic wouldn't even be a playoff team in the west.
And where did it get the Celtics? Absolutely nowhere. His playoff statistics, rebounds excluded, were equal to or below his season averages across the board. The best players step it up over the entire playoffs for their team, and Pierce did not do that - while McGrady did and did in 2001 as well. I didn't know 40% shooting was all that great, or disappearing from the three-point land was either. He had a great 1st round series and was non-existant afterward, heaving up shot after shot like Walker. MacCulloch: 18.5min/gm in the Finals, 19.2 over the entire playoffs. Aaron Williams: 11.5min/gm in the finals, 20.5 over the entire playoffs. A slight advantage to Williams, yes, but considering his scoring and rebound averages were down in the playoffs as opposed to the regular season (6.5ppg & 3.5rpg vs. 7.2 & 4.1) in more minutes (20.5mpg vs 18.9mpg), it's hard to imagine him ever being a huge option. I did watch the Nets, and they would throw it down to him in the post - but just because they do that a couple of times per game doesn't make him a #1 option. The #1 option for the Nets was always Jason Kidd. He's the whole reason why they were even in the playoffs. Kenyon Martin was the 2nd option, as became very evident in the finals. Aaron Williams didn't play much in the finals because of his ineffectiveness. But, the Nets aren't the subject. Would Kobe be doing what he has done without Shaq? It's debateable, and until Shaq leaves, we won't know. I'd rather take a player who has proven he can get it done when it counts, even with an injured and subpar supporting cast - Tracy McGrady.
