Kobe got them there. And, as the saying goes, he needs quality role players to "get him over the top." And the "get them over the top" player is, in fact, Gasol.
The "We Want Our Money Back!" player would be Odom for being constentally inconsistent again. Or is it acceptably predictable he can do that...? Then its a tie between Pau Gasoft and Kobe. Odom and Pau as painful as it looked at least finished the finals right around to their season averages, though either needed to ELEVATE their game. Kobe though...At least Pau can kinda say he was out of position. Kobe's dropoff was equally bad as Gasol's in point differential from the first round. He's a guy thats shown he has no qualms taking 40 shot attempts in a game. He tied Wilt's record last year for consecutive 50 point games. They termed that kind of approach "killer instinct" for Kobe....didnt see as much of that killer instance in the Finals, except for his better than Jordan 1st quarters and Luther Head 2nd through 4th quarters. Actually in truth, Coach Phil should get some blame. Besides putting in Chris Mihm out of nowhere did he make ANY ADJUSTMENTS at all? They might as well have drawn a diagram of the triangle on the court for everyone to reference while they played.
Yao is a warrior and he is determined to play for his country no matter how slim their chance is to win a game. He can actually make himself be proud of doing it, win or loss. He is very different from cowards like you who will dig a hole to hide if you see defeat unavoidable.
although Odom's lack of shooting from the outside will enable teams to pack the paint against Kobe much easier... think JVG said it during game 5 or 6, the Lakers really needed to try Radman at the 4 to help space the floor better..... Odom is a better undersized 4 than he is a power small forward......
China is just "some communist country" to Yao, huh? It wouldn't happen to be the country he was born and raised in, would it? He wouldn't feel a sense of national pride in playing for his country would he? No, of course not. Next time you have some free time to yourself do yourself a favor and open up a history book. The freedoms Yao enjoys in this country weren't provided by the hard work, blood, sweat and tears of the Houston Rockets. I don't recall the Houston Rockets name anywhere in the Constitution or Bill of Rights. Yao's sense of national pride and selflessness are things that should be applauded. Your selfish feelings about Yao providing you with temporary satisfaction of a Rocket's championship do not rank high on his list of priorities. I'd love to see it happen myself, but when Yao was drafted by the Rockets he came with certain stipulations attached to him by the Chinese government. Yao is setting his sights on helping his country achieve a goal to them that is larger than winning an NBA championship. That's just how it is.
Odom can hit the outside shot. He is not a great outside shooter. But he is decent if you leave him open. And they can always send in Radman to spread the floor if Odom is not shooting well. His biggest problem playing SF will be guarding speedy opposing wingmen.
+1 I hate people who bash yao for prioritizing his national pride ahead of the rockets in the off season
Wonder how Ginobli feels about it?... He'd probably say that winning the gold medal was bigger than the NBA thing.
Odom is a poor outside shooter at SF. He has no 3-point shot to speak of and isn't very good at mid-range. He would have a tough time fitting in the Lakers offense with Bynum inside, Pau either inside or on the wing and Kobe on the wing. It will be tougher for him to slash with defenders backing off and two big men clogging the inside. He misses a lot of open 15-17 foot jumpers. Lakers fans understandably groan when LO puts up outside shots. When he isn't slashing and attacking the basket, LO gets "confused" in the offense (as Phil Jackson would say).
