A little more Sacto analysis
Just came across these two clips over at Sactown Royalty (via our friends at Forum Blue and Gold). The first is fun because it shows that every team's fans, after every game, go through the same questions about officiating, coaching strategy, player performance, etc. that happens here... except these days, the complaints of the Laker Nation are pretty mellow by comparison, even after a somewhat sketchball win. Sometimes sticking a toe in the pool of another team's misery is good for perspective! In the second link, there's a great comment from ESPN.com's David Thorpe about how the Lakers, by moving Kobe onto Kevin Martin, made the Kings totally one dimensional, and that Reggie Theus didn't do much to prevent it:
The Kings did a fine job for three quarters last night in mixing in lots of offensive looks. Post ups and iso's for Artest, a spread floor for Beno drives, and lots of 2-man action with Miller and Martin. Double screens are not needed to spring Martin free - only touches for Miller in the high post. Martin is expert at using backdoor cuts or handoffs to create shots for himself or teammates.
But in the 4th quarter, Miller was not involved. Which means Martin wasn't either. One reason why Kobe could explode in the 4th was that he got to rest on defense while almost every play featured a stationary Martin watching the ball being force fed to Artest. Kobe had 21 shots in the first 3 quarters-then he really got going. Martin had 16 shots in 3 quarters, with just one in the 4th. Only 2 touches overall. I wonder if the Kings would have scored just 18 fourth quarter points if Martin was just as central to their attack as Kobe was to the Lakers. And I also wonder if Kobe would have been so effective as a scorer in the 4th if he had to chase Martin around screens and hand-offs and backdoor cuts the entire quarter. We don't know if Martin can carry this team over the Lakers in crunch time. I'd like to find out. I'm sure Miller would love lots of 4th quarter touches.
Kobe was on Martin for a reason - Phil Jackson wanted the Kings to go to Artest. Had Artest started making shots, I'd guess Kobe would have switched onto him. The Kings did exactly what the Lakers' hoped they would do.
Kudos as well for the title of their game post for tonight's tussle with the Clippers: GAME 61 at Bad Los Angeles, Game Thread
Very clever.
BK
yahoo!
Posted by: Grady | March 05, 2008 at 07:16 PM
Lebron serenaded with MVP chants and a standing ovation by entire MSG crowd as he drops 50 on the knicks in NY
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280305018
Posted by: 10milliondollarzen | March 05, 2008 at 07:56 PM
phil jackson has 9 rings for a reason, lets give him his 10th this year.
GO LAKERS
Posted by: mrbarneydangles | March 05, 2008 at 07:59 PM
don't care what BRON did... he won't get to NBA Finals anyway.... i more concern about the CELTICS with SAM and the SPURS.. more than that i don't think any team can match up with us.. the FUNS CAN'T PLAY DEFNSE AT ALL.. just look at their game with denver... UGLY DEFENSE..
LAKERS - SPURS in WCF lakers by 6
CELTS - LAKERS in NBA FINAL.......... lakers by 7
GO LAKERS..
Posted by: kobe24 | March 05, 2008 at 08:15 PM
LEBRON SCORES 50
Well wipdi frickin do
Against the ever tough NY KNICKS
JA Adande now says LBJ is his choice for MVP. What a guy.
Hmmmm lets see, Kobe scores 52 against one of the best teams in the league in a playoff atmosphere,
LBJ scores 50 against a team in the toilet.
I've said it before, Lebron is the true phoney. He makes sure the score is close so he can ball-hog at the end. Of course he said it was about winning the game and not the points but he stayed in long enough to make sure he got 50 didn't he!
Who was it (ex teammate Larry Hughes) who said he didn't have any fun playing for the Cavs. All the sportwriters got on him, but if you read between the lines... it was about not having fun playing with LBJ, Mr Ballhog. No one would dare say anything bad about Lebron. he gets a free ride on everything.
a lot of bloggers give him love because he gives props to Kobe.
Hello... that's a calculated plan. Takes all the pressure off him and onto Kobe. As long as Kobe is around playing at this level, LBJ will never have to deal with the pressure of being the best.
I predict LBJ will win the MVP award. His stats are ridiculous, plus Mr. Ballhog will win the required 50 games in the weak weak East where everyone is afraid to put a body on him.
And now an oldie
Smiling faces sometimes pretend to be your friend
Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes
They don't tell the truth uh
Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies and I got proof
The truth is in the eyes
Cause the eyes don't lie, amen
Remember a smile is just
A frown turned upside down
My friend let me tell you
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes
They don't tell the truth, uh
Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies and I got proof
Beware, beware of the handshake
That hides the snake
I'm telling you beware
Beware of the pat on the back
It just might hold you back
Jealousy (jealousy)
Misery (misery)
Envy
Your enemy won't do you no harm
Cause you'll know where he's coming from
Don't let the handshake and the smile fool ya
Take my advice I'm only try' to school ya
Posted by: YOU EVER NOTICE | March 05, 2008 at 08:19 PM
lebron dropped 50 against the knicks, big deal. kobe dropped 52 on the mavs. mavs>knicks. lakers number one in the west, cavs 3rd? in the east.
GO LAKERS
Posted by: mrbarneydangles | March 05, 2008 at 08:20 PM
I disagree with the observations by David Thorpe. The Kings tried to get Martin involved in the 4th, running him off of countless screens. Kobe did have to chase him around, but he was able to deny him the ball. The backdoors to Martin no longer worked because Kobe kept his arms up to prevent the pass from the high post. We also got lucky on one play when Martin slipped after getting free with the ball off of a screen.
Regardless Kobe did have to work on the defensive end in the last 8 minutes and was a large part of our ability to lock down on the Kings. The fact that Kobe was able to get it done on both ends of the floor at the end of the game is what makes him so special.
Posted by: CalLaker | March 05, 2008 at 08:24 PM
Cleveland will come out of the east and play either the Lakers or the Spurs in the finals....btw, last 3 years, Lebron is 5-1 vs. Kobe in games played.
Posted by: 10milliondollarzen | March 05, 2008 at 08:26 PM
.....and the Suns really may not make the playoffs
Posted by: 10milliondollarzen | March 05, 2008 at 08:29 PM
Flea's most recent blog entry:
"and they are just full of characters from top to bottom
kobe, the focus, the leader, the best current player on
earth.........one of the greatest to ever step on the court
derek fisher, the soul the integrity
pau gasol, the wily intellectual spaniard who has managed to fit
right in and understand how to lift the lakers immediately, an
amazing thing, they way he fell into synch with the lakers so quickly
lamar, what a great all around player, that mischievious scalliiwag,
i am so glad he did not get traded for jermaine oneal, i love that
guy even though he eyeballs my wife at every game we go to
radmanovic, that snow boarding three point shooting vlad the impaler
jordan farmar!! whoo hoo..straight out of taft high school and ucla
and then to the lakers! yeeeaaaaah l.a. boy!!!, this kid is an energy
spark plug
just like trevor ariza! westchester high and ucla!!!!! whoooo whom
will be a huge help when he returns
andrew bynum our wunderkind, the classic back to the basket center,
with the smooth moves and the long arms, the great center, could be
the best in the league with yao out..????? anyways what a beautiful
kid and he has the same birthday as my daughter sunny bebop, man i
cant wait til he gets back
sasha vujacic the machine! he has really turned me around, he was one
guy i just wasnt sure about and he has really developed into a
consistent player..... playing d and draining em!
rony turiaf, the guy with the biggest heart in the nba! the energy
booster the great defender in the post!!! what a dancing twirling joy
it is to have him around!!!!!!!!! booooom bop! baaaaaaah!!!w3hoooo
luuuuuuuuuuuuuke, he seems to be finally coming back from that
injury, he is our stablizer
didier mbenga......from the congo! i love this guy, wish he could
play more i hope is a laker for ten more years
and coby karl..who else has two kobe cobys on one team! no one but
the lakes! the whitest guy in the nba! he's gonna show his skills
before it is all said and done
laker fans love coby karl like we used to love chuck nevitt....
CHUCK NEVITT!!!!!!!!!!! "
He's too good!
Posted by: bobie | March 05, 2008 at 08:29 PM
This game was incredible. It was truly so much fun to watch. I wrote an article about how it made my night at LABallTalk.com
Sports betting, as I have learned, can really make a game against the Kings a lot more exciting!
Posted by: LA BALL TALK | March 05, 2008 at 08:31 PM
The Suns are getting run off the floor once again. They've already given up 114 points with 7 minutes left in the 4th. If someone can still make an argument that Shaq was a good idea for the Suns then I'd like to hire you as my defense attorney.
3-5 and counting.
Posted by: Xodus | March 05, 2008 at 08:32 PM
MVP chants and fighting through an "injury to his right pinkie"....
I'm beginning to think LeBron is biting Kobe's style.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 05, 2008 at 08:34 PM
i can't believe lebron has almost 70% of the mvp votes on nba.com. kobe only has 17% ..... WTH?
Posted by: | March 05, 2008 at 08:35 PM
btw 10million regular season games don't mean a whole lot. Should KB and LB meet up in the finals, THAT would mean something, and it would be a hell of a series to watch.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 05, 2008 at 08:38 PM
ESPN had a poll the other day and Kobe was the one with 75% of the vote... the only state that LBJ won was Ohio... go figure.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 05, 2008 at 08:40 PM
Man Phoenix is comin' unglued.
Must be comforting to know they'll have Shaq's 20 mil per on the books next year too.
Happy birthday, Shaq. Big Cactus is 36 which in his case looks like 80 in NBA years.
Posted by: Vman | March 05, 2008 at 08:41 PM
just want to share an anonymous post from http://jonesonthenba.blogspot.com/2008/03/kobe-everywhere.html
the dude made a nice point on head to head match ups. if lebron owns the head to head record against kobe (6-3 i guess), then lebron is better right? Yes only if lebron fansalso consider the 8-2 record of carmelo against him and accept that anthony is superior than "king"
POST
_________________
uh...defense?? lebron plays defense?? when?? has he been on the all defensive team?? crap, even magic johnson lead the league in steals two years and he was notoriously bad on defense. lebron?? puhleeze! look, everyone talks about lebron leading the league in scoring...blah, blah, blah. kobe could average 40 points a game if he wanted to. assists, rebounds...lebron is supposed to be the next coming of magic, but he only averages 8 assists a game? that's because ESPN only highlights his passing. kobe averages 2 assists less! putting that aside. lebron will probably be crowned the greatest by the media and fat sports white guys who love michael and hate kobe, but now love lebron. but, if i'm going to make an argument i might as well back it up, right? ok, here it goes...i'll dissect it for you one by one:
1. OFFENSE: advantage-kobe
lebron is a freak of nature, built like a linebacker, but agile like a running back. dude should be a wide receiver. when he drives to the hole, NO ONE can stop him. double team him and he'll kill you with a pass to one of those other chumps on the cleveland "worst team to reach the finals since the 1979 seattle supersonics" cavaliers. ok, you're probably wondering how is that kobe is better offensively? lebron cannot be stopped, right? absolutely, when lebron drives, he's impossible to stop; unfortunately the king is preoccupied with showing his haters (like me :)) that he's multidimensional. and this, my friends, sets kobe apart from him. you see, kobe's jump shot is much MUCH MUCH more superior to lebrons. in fact, kobe's jumper his rookie year was 100X better than lebron's is right now. kobe does not possess the natural muscle that lebron or ron artest has, but he is more than capable of driving to the hoop and scoring at will. kobe's three point shot is also superior (didn't kobe drain 12 three's in one game??). why is kobe's shot better? i've noticed something about "the king": his jump shot is the same (or damn near close to it) one he had in high school. when dickie "i hate every high schooler going straight to the nba unless his name is lebron, in which case i'll become a hypocrite and participate in the hype that i so much have preached against" vitale and the rest of the damn sporting world were salivating over lebron, i got a good look at his infamous jump shot. you see lebron, as a high schooler, had been criticized for not being able to hit a three. it was widely reported that his jump shot would be his achilles heal in the nba. nevertheless, lebron defied critics in a game that i saw...he hit 11 three pointers (or something like that). of course, this was a HIGH school three point line...and over a 5'9" high school chump named samuel whose mother checks his temperature rectally before he has his oatmeal (ok, i'm sure the kid wasn't samuel, as samuel was probably on the bench filling up the water bottles). kobe...he hit 12 three pointers...from the nba line (and not that crap nba line in '95...but the real nba line). crap, larry bird didn't even do that. what's my point?? the debate begins and ends with kobe...PERIOD! what about passing?? lebron is a better passer than kobe, thus although he can't shoot like kobe he can make his teammates better. well, then, wouldn't magic be considered a superior player to jordan?? wanna look at stats...go ahead. lebron is definitely a better passer than kobe; although most of lebrons passes come from drive and kick outs (hey, that's how everyone does it these days). lebron was supposed to be the next magic...but magic was a far superior passer to lebron (in fairness to sir "king" james, magic is the greatest passer ever!!) but we're not comparing magic and lebron, we're comparing kobe and lebron..so, the point has to be conceded that lebron is the superior passer to kobe...however, based on the type of passes lebron makes...not by much. simply because i said so!! ok, then the stats should be looked at more closely then (but hey, didn't we throw out stats for scoring?? yes, but we can include those if you like and you will see that kobe takes about 2 shots LESS than "king" and thus AVERAGES 2 points less than "king", so i'll let you figure this one out...) king averages approximately 2 more assists a game than kobe...but he's considered more unselfish?? for example, magic johnson averaged 11 assists a game...and michael jordan averaged a little over 5 assists a game...that's a difference of 6 assists and a minimum of 12 points differential between the two. the point being that it's much safer to call magic "unselfish" and michael "selfish" considering the assist differential. what if the pass is there and the teammate blow the easy opportunity? well, then hope for good teammates. for now, you'll just have to accept my opinion (and anyone can feel free to disagree) that KOBE BEAN BRYANT is a superior offensive player than "king". (many of you will note that i did not include free throw shooting...that would be easier than paris hilton on a saturday night in vegas!)
2. defense: advantage-"king"
what?? "king" is a superior defender?? "king" being a superior offensive player is more believable...but a superior defensive player?? kobe, at age 21 was voted 1st team all defense...he's been 1st team 5 times (possibly 6 times after this season) and 2nd team all defense twice...a total of 7 time all defense team. kobe was handpicked to defend Team USA's opponents best player this past summer and shut them down...which he emphatically did. hey, wasn't "king" on that team?? why didn't the coach as him to "shut down" the opposing team's best perimeter player?? ya' know what...those are good points. in fact, it's probably the same reason that by age 23 kobe bryant has been selected to the all-nba defensive team...whereas at age 23, "king" is still thinking about that time he pickpocketed his opponent in the 8th grade and went coast to coast...i mean "king" held that 7th grader to just 8 points on 2-7 shooting! (fyi, "king" took the kid out for ice cream afterwards and gave him an autographed jersey). hey, at least dickie v noticed...and they say "king" can't and won't play D! (so some of you are probably wondering about how "king" blocked kobe during a warm up game for the olympics...and to that i reply two words: DAVID VAUGHN!)
3. intangibles/other things: advantage-draw.
lets look at head to head matchups..."king" has won the last 5 meetings against kobe and has better stats. he's also come up more clutch than kobe in the last few meetings, so that should definitely be taken into consideration (not to mention that he did play some terrific D on kobe in the last meeting down the stretch). that said, head to head matchups mean very little. didn't "king" and the rest of "the worst nba finals team since the 1979 seattle supersonics" sweep the spurs in the regular season? and didn't they then proceed to get wiped off the floor by those same spurs? do they have to meet in the playoffs to determine the true edge?? maybe. but again, carmelo anthony has an 8-2 record against "king"...and for some odd reason, we don't hear his name mentioned in the same breath as "king"...wonder why?
Posted by: Capuxx | March 05, 2008 at 08:42 PM
We should no longer talk about the topic LeBron vs Kobe because as a Lakers fan we all know who is the best in between the two.
Maybe I am wrong but if my buttons which never lied to me before are once again right... LeBron is the only one who is out there fighting for attention because as far as know... Kobe doesn't even care about the MVP award... all he cares is the championship.
He would rather have 3 championships with this Lakers squad than 3 MPV awards.
LeBron clearly is now trying to prove something out there because as soon as Kobe dropped 50+ on the Mavs he decided to drop 50 on someone else just for him to continue to be in the discussion.
I give him credits though because right now he's the only one who cares more about the award and who's the best 'cuz Kobe is not even there... he's letting his peers talk for him.
Good lucky for those who want to continue to promote "shows off" .. against the knicks 50? and he's making a case now??? Knicks!?!? LOL
IF they are now making a case just because he scored 50 against the knicks... now give the MVP award to all knicks players LOL
Posted by: classic | March 05, 2008 at 08:45 PM
I think LeBron has been taking "special" vitamins since he was a teen.
Yeah, you heard me.
There's a reason why a high schooler looked like he was thirty years old... a wee bit too much testosterone will do that.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 05, 2008 at 08:46 PM
Denver Nuggets did us a favor tonight.
I TOLD YOU Colorado loves the Lakers!
Posted by: Hugo Boss | March 05, 2008 at 08:48 PM
Um, the Suns know that Shaq isn't really Superman, right? I mean, they've been crusin' for losin' ever since he signed on - Mike D'antoni can't possibly believe he has anything more than Clark Kent's grandpa...
Posted by: Lois Lane | March 05, 2008 at 08:48 PM
LeBron and his one man show have already been done. That was Kobe Bryant for the last three years. Doesn't work in the Playoffs again GOOD teams Bron Bron. That's why you were swept by the Spurs last year in the Finals. 5 guys beats one guy every time.
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | March 05, 2008 at 08:54 PM
I think what the league needs to do is have a MVP trophy for the west, and one for the east. Kobe and Lebron deserve it, and its really unfair to give only one of them the MVP since the conferences are so different in style and competition. Don't baseball have two separete MVP, and one for each league?
Posted by: wow | March 05, 2008 at 08:54 PM
Gotta confess, it was a joy to watch Denver smother the Funs tonight. Phoenix slides to #6. The Lakers and Spurs are tied at #1. What a great place to be right now.
LBJ getting 50 would be more impressive if it were against a better team than the Knicks.
Happy to see Fish break out of his slump last night. Friday I'd like to see the starters crush the Clips early, so the Bench Mob can be on a longer leash, and Ronny, Jordan and Sasha can regain their form. In my opinion PJ has shattered their confidence and the Mob needs a chance to play their way out of it.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | March 05, 2008 at 08:54 PM
Ok so I almost threw up watching the BSPN announcer...including Scott and Linda Cohn...
going on and on and on about 50 points that LEBRONZE (yes i will continue to use that much used term)...
drop on the KNICKS (yah ok the knicks..woooopp dee dah)
Kobe ROUTINELY goes for 50 and well....yah they dont make that big of a deal.
Kobe is the most underrated and hated player still..it may be more LATENT and occult hate..but still
PATHETIC.
i am with JON K..no MVP this year..NO PEACE....and I would say the NBA is a disgrace...
KOBE IS THE CLEAR CUT FAV right now..his leadership....
his tenacity..his will to win....his desire....his ASSASIN mentality...
everything about him spells MVP..forward backwards sideways..
I dont care if LEBRONZE goes for 104 points in one night..
KOBE IS THE MVP.
period.
no ifs ands or buts...
damn.
LAKERS FOR LIFE.. triple OCHO FOR MVP.
Posted by: Lakers4Realz | March 05, 2008 at 08:55 PM
man how I wish the Lakers could be on a season long Least coast road trip like LBJ and his team is on . Can anyone imagine what Kobe and the lake show would do if they were. How GREAT would Kobe be playing against tough teams like Chicago, Indiana, N.Y, so on and so on?
Man I don't even care about the tainted M.V.wut eva award anymore.
I'm making my own award to give to the LAGUNEROS,
I'm calling it the M.V.T award, the MOST VALUABLE TEAM in the nba.
To me the nba with out Kobe and the Lakers is stale and boring.
M.V.T
M.V.T
M.V.T
M.V.T
M.V.T
Posted by: LAGUNERO | March 05, 2008 at 08:58 PM
Guys, looking at the schedule we can VERY well go 6-1 the next 7 games....
intriguing...
all of this while the suns play the spurs...and other top west teams beat up on each other....i think HONESTLY we are the best rested team......
b/c of our bench strength and anyone who thinks kobe will get tired....must i remind you the man is a CONDITIONING FIEND....he gets started in JULY running, doing track workouts...he is the energizer bunny...
24=MVP
Posted by: Lakers4Realz | March 05, 2008 at 08:59 PM
The Celtics play the Pistons and Sports Center starts with a Lebron James retrospective cause of his 50.
It's Kobe's MVP to lose but if he slips, the East coast press loves the guy that plays in their time zone.
Posted by: Vman | March 05, 2008 at 09:00 PM
10 milliondollarzen,
I think you mean the Cavs are 3-1 versus the Lakers last 3 years.
Posted by: Benjamin | March 05, 2008 at 09:00 PM
10 milliondollarzen,
I think you mean the Cavs are 5-1 versus the Lakers last 3 years.
Posted by: Benjamin | March 05, 2008 at 09:00 PM
Cleveland will come out of the east and play either the Lakers or the Spurs in the finals....btw, last 3 years, Lebron is 5-1 vs. Kobe in games played.
Posted by: 10milliondollarzen | March 05, 2008 at 08:26 PM
Good post mate and nice prediction. We'll see though if it holds true. BTW, it's Cavs 5-1 against the Lakers. Cavs also swept the Spurs in the regular season, but we all know what happened when it mattered most in the finals. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 05, 2008 at 09:04 PM
http://ivegotabasketballblog.wordpress.com/
The Lakers are most assuredly better than the Suns at this point in time. The Suns have turned in to a leaky sieve and the Matrix must be laughing in Miami. Nice more Mr. Kerr.
Pig
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | March 05, 2008 at 09:21 PM
Some good late night reading if you like tragedies.
http://tinyurl.com/2lr3ld
Bunch of Suns fans ready to jump off the cliff and a couple of Laker and Spurs fans giving them the blindfold and cigarette.
Posted by: HmrHed | March 05, 2008 at 09:24 PM
Does anyone think we might play the BUMS in the first round AGAIN, but this time with HOME COURT and the better team?
Life is funny sometimes.
Posted by: DrewPauKobe | March 05, 2008 at 09:30 PM
Forget about Lebron vs. Kobe. There's not even a question (just ask yourself who has been the yardstick since Jordan was still in the league?)...
Instead let's ask ourself, hmm, there seems to be a guy they wanted to do a Larry vs. Magic thing, with Lebron. I think his name is Carmelo Anthony. Whatever happened to him?
Posted by: Faith | March 05, 2008 at 09:37 PM
As long as the Lakers handle their business, let the chips fall where they may. It's one thing if another team is just better, but don't falter or lose games we should win. Lakers will be fine if they have that "we expect to win every game" mentality.
As far as LeBron goes, he's just another amazing, awesome player that we should appreciate and applaud. I think many on here would be singing a different tune if he were a Laker. I'm fine with all these media people drooling over LeBron as long as they give Kobe his due. Of course I'll always say that Kobe is better than LeBron because I believe it to be true and because I'm a Laker fan, but we shouldn't belittle any accomplishments by LeBron. The bottom line is that championships defines how truly great a player is. This is why Wilt Chamberlain for all of his Herculean offensive records is hardly ever in the discussion for greatest player of all time. MJ is considered by most as the greatest player in the history of the game, but if we went according to titles won, Bill Russell should be standing on top of the mountain with 11 rings. However, the standard and criteria differs depending on who you listen to. What happens if Kobe happens to win 4 more rings with the Lakers? Should he end up with 7 rings, will that put him above MJ? Now that would be an interesting debate. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 05, 2008 at 09:41 PM
The funny thing about the media is that, everything they slammed KB for(he's not a team guy, no leadership) is everything he's become. The little outburst over the summer will prevent him from winning the MVP. Everytime the media doesn't want to vote for a guy they start making up excuses and justifications. Truth is, The West is the most competitive Conference in all team sports...If its about leading a team, I think he's got that covered.... I see him getting the short end and even worse than that, he may finish 3rd or 4th....Sick! But I know how the EAST COAST JERKS WORK...
Posted by: Pompay | March 05, 2008 at 09:41 PM
10milliondollarzen,
"Lebron is 5-1 vs. Kobe in games played."
Yea and Kobe was injured in 4 of those games. Including the two this year. He won't make excuses, but you could tell he couldn't move in the last game against Lebron. Why doesn't anyone else see this?
Posted by: zen | March 05, 2008 at 09:42 PM
10milliondollarzen,
I seem to recall an injured Kobe in one of them...and a horribly officiated game (check it out on youtube) in another.
Posted by: Faith | March 05, 2008 at 09:43 PM
Lebron getting 50 tonight was only done to strengthen his MVP vote. What a selfish punk. He saw Kobe getting the glory this weekend and decided to do the same thing..This was absolutely a selfish game by Lebron.
Posted by: zen | March 05, 2008 at 09:44 PM
Calling AK and Xodus!!!
Shaq had a career high 18 rebounds tonight! A career high at 36 years old! They ended up losing though, but it shows you that Shaq is healthy and motivated. Phoenix is just adjusting to a new style.
Posted by: zen | March 05, 2008 at 09:46 PM
I dont think Phoenix has enough time to adjust to Shaq so their window is closing fast..
Posted by: zen | March 05, 2008 at 09:51 PM
So what if Kobe doesn't get the MVP? The award has become a meaningless joke. Let LeBron have it. He thrives on that stuff. He loves the attention, the endorsements, all of that. So let him have it. Who cares? If the Lakers win it all this year, and LeBron is MVP, what are people going to remember? Kobe's drive to the finals, or LeBron's MVP season, getting eliminated in the weak east?
The media will always vote for the most marketable dude. In this case, it's LeBron. See, the thing is, is that there's too many people out there that hate Kobe. If Kobe were to be awarded MVP, there would be a lot more people that would be upset than if LeBron got it. On the other hand, most everyone is drinking the LeBron kool-aid, so if he gets MVP, the NBA benefits from that. Why would David Stern screw himself over and give it to Kobe? It's just not gonna happen. And half of these dudes that get votes act like LeBron is the greatest thing to ever happen to the NBA. Of course they'll vote for him.
We know Kobe deserves it. We know he deserved it a couple of years back. We know they're changing their criteria so that LeBron will get it. This makes the award completely irrelevant. They should come up with some kind of point system or something. Until then, I refuse to take this award seriously. They will always give it to the guy that's most liked by the general public. Unfortunately, that probably won't ever be Kobe. It's purely a popularity contest. And after that billionaire comment, I'm convinced that LeBron would rather have the endorsements and popularity more than a championship. So I say let LeBron have the MVP and let Kobe have a ring. That way everyone's happy.
Posted by: gokobego | March 05, 2008 at 09:52 PM
Seriously when it's time for Kobe to leave the game, Do we expect Bron to entertain us for years to come like Kobe has? I don't think so. I mean c'mon Bron is so over hyped like a MUG. I'll keep it simple, wont even get into numbers or stats
lets do highlights, when anyone watches a Kobe highlight reel, you see an array of dunks, numerous last second shots, numerous dagger shots, drives to the hole, up n unders, the list goes on n on.
But when theres a Lebron highlight, how come the only thing that comes to my mind is him throwing dust up in the air before a game( hhmmm I wonder who he got that from? K.G), and that one, YES THAT 1 dunk they're always showing
The power tomahawk dunk he always does, I'm sick of it. Every time he does it in a game the crowd goes WOW, LBJ looks at the crowd,and the commentators wet themselves acting like Bron just did a
2 fisted- triple pumpin- inter continental- rim wreckin- double dunk.
LBJ is a good player, but he's has to put in some more, alot more work to get mentioned with the BEST PLAYER in the MUH FUH world.
Posted by: LAGUNERO | March 05, 2008 at 09:53 PM
"Phoenix is just adjusting to a new style."
Playing less defense and its working.
Posted by: HmrHed | March 05, 2008 at 09:55 PM
If LBJ wins MVP then KB24 wuz robbed. The Cav's have no shot at going beyond the first round in the East. LeBron isn't tough enough to turn it on the way Kobe did against the Queens last night. Kobe has that extra gear that NO ONE else has in the NBA, pure and simple.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | March 05, 2008 at 09:57 PM
zen,
Shaq does look better than I thought he did, but he grabbed 18 rebounds playing in a 126-113 game. That means there were more rebounds for him to grab because the game was played at a very fast pace. A faster pace=more shots= more missed shots=more chances at rebounds. That's one reason why he's averaging more rebounds in Phoenix than in Miami.
The more telling stats is that Nash is averaging over 4 turnovers a game since Shaq came and he picked up another 5 today. Shaq also had 5 turnovers today and he's been a turnover machine all year.
The Suns also gave up over 50 points in the paint today and that was supposed to be one of the reasons why they got Shaq. They've given up over 113 points in 6 of the 8 games Shaq has played in.
This isn't taking time to adjust to Shaq, this is one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They have three defensive liabilities in their starting lineup (Nash, Amare, Shaq) and bring two more off the bench (Barbosa, Diaw).
The Suns pretty much suck now. They traded their best defensive PG (Banks) and their best defender period (Marion) for one of the worst defensive bigs in the league. As a Laker fan, I'm thrilled.
Posted by: Xodus | March 05, 2008 at 10:01 PM
zen,
Shaq had 18 rebounds, but did you watch the game or just check the box score?
Amare was in foul trouble, so he was off the court most of the time Shaq was in and most of them were uncontested boards. There was only one "tough" rebound in traffic I can even remember. (Shaq swung his arms wildly to create space after collecting)
The point is not Shaq's stats, which he can accumulate just by hanging around the basket, it's what happens to the Suns when he's a part of the game. BAD DEFENSE and REDUCED OFFENSE. Stats are meaningless in a loss where the Suns never had control of the game. He's killing them softly.
Posted by: DrewPauKobe | March 05, 2008 at 10:03 PM
zen,
That also isn't a career high for Shaq. It was a season high.
Posted by: Xodus | March 05, 2008 at 10:07 PM