no, kobe was laughing because he was lighting him up, while artest continued to made ridiculous comments he couldnt back up on that night. i would be laughing too.
Just a question for you guys - now i've heard everyone rave about how defenders aren't contesting for blocks anymore instead they are putting their hands in the opposing players' face - but have any of you noticed... That the hand doesn't reach the shooters' face until the ball is already in the upwards motion - all that's left for the shooter to do is release the ball. Now if you've ever played a game of basketball in your life - and especially if you're a great scorer - you might realise that you only need to look at the ring for a split second before making the calculation and letting it fly. So does it make THAT much of a difference? When Battier puts his hand in the offensive players face as he's shooting - because he's already got the look? In no way am i downplaying Battier or any defender for using this technique - i'm just curious as to whether anyone else out there has had this idea pop into their head?...
Ron will get in quick foul trouble if he is the primary defender. Shane's main role is defense. Ron might lose it too.
I've thought about it before...never really had anyone use their hand to the extreme that Battier does, but I guess when I'm playing basketball I don't really concern myself with the defender's reach so much. I think when you've played enough (and NBA players certainly have) then you really only need a split second to gauge where the rim is and then the rest is mostly muscle memory. Next time I'm at the gym shooting around I think I'll try closing my eyes just as I release the ball. I guess that might simulate the obstructed view and test the muscle memory theory...
Interesting point. Wish we had a guy like Rip who does so much motion without the ball and would make Kobe expend energy on the defensive end. Kobe is a load, I'm sure the game plan is to use both guys on him and wear him down.
We play Battier on him first, then Artest. They keep rotating at random on him. We need to stop Kobe form getting his teammates involved. We need to make him have to score 40 points a night to be us. If he averages 40 points, we have a chance but if he average 25/5/5 we will get swept.
