Official NBA Playoffs Thread

[FAH1223]

The Thunder stole a game at home. Horrible loss for the Lakers. Kobe cost them the game with missed shots and the turnover. Ron Artest made a GREAT pass to Steve Blake off the inbounds. Westbrook was caught sleeping and nearly cost his team the game. Blake missed but he had a wide open look and those are ones he is perfectly capable of making.

If the Spurs are up by 7 with 2 minutes to go in OKC, I guarantee you Tony Parker or Manu Ginobli aren't going to pull what Kobe Bryant did. OKC's half court offense sucks and there are stretches KD, Westbrook are just jacking shots early in the clock.

OKC also turned the ball over more than anyone per game in the regular season. Yes, more than the Bobcats. That showed up tonight.

With that said, OKC SHOULD sweep the Lakers this weekend. LAL are 1-7 series record with Kobe when they are done 2-0 in a series. They're finished.

[queridiculo]

The Lakers have at least one great performance in them, so I wouldn't necessarily count them out. That said, I just don't see them being able to pull out wins on back to back nights against a younger, well rested OKC squad.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

LAL melts down, Kobe was most responsible and he pouted and blamed others ... and I missed it! Dog gone it! I would have loved to see that game at the end of that game just to see the dejection on the Lakers' faces.

Nothing against Kobe but I am definitely rooting against Bynum and Artest.

[tontoz]

Someone needs to tell Kobe he isn't a good 3 point shooter. After all these years he still doesn't get it.

[FAH1223]

The Lakers have at least one great performance in them, so I wouldn't necessarily count them out. That said, I just don't see them being able to pull out wins on back to back nights against a younger, well rested OKC squad.

hermit, its going to be a sweep. Trust me on that.

CCJ, Kobe threw a tantrum after Blake shot the wide open three. If Kobe had done his job which was to foul Sefalosha immediately, the Lakers would have had 2-3 seconds left to get a good shot off.

Series is over.

[Ruzious]

The ultimate Kobe turnoff to me was when after Blake missed the shot, Kobe yells at Artest for passing the ball to Blake - instead of waiting for the possibility that Kobe worked himself free (so the Kobe could let the ball go through his hands again or force up an air ball). It was the right pass and the right shot. Blake just missed it. That happens - just like it happens that Kobe usually misses end o game shots. It doesn't mean they did the wrong thing. I hate defending Artest, but right is right, and Kobe is no longer a great player.

[Nivek]

Blake with an open 3 is a probably a 50-50 proposition. For the sake of argument, let's say it's a shot with a 30% chance of going in. A pass to Kobe over two 6-10 guys with long arms -- might have been a 50-50 proposition to even be completed -- at best. Then Kobe...umm...creating a shot is maybe a 33% proposition -- again, at best.

So, Metta attempting to pass to Kobe would have given the Lakers approximately a 17% chance of winning on that play vs. a 50% chance of winning on Blake's shot.

Feel free to suggest your own odds. I don't see a way that it would have been in the Lakers' favor to pass to Kobe in that situation.

Maybe Mike Brown should have designed a better play.

[tontoz]

I think they should have gone to Kobe since he was having such a hot shooting night. Oh wait..... never mind.

Kobe just isnt in touch with reality.

[Nivek]

I was in face palm mode the other day. I had on SportsCenter while I was changing and I hear Jalen Rose dash off the top 10 clutch shooters in the league. Number one -- OF COURSE -- was Kobe. Rose's only nod to the fact that Kobe has actually been terrible in clutch shooting the past couple years was to say that when you shoot a lot of clutch shots, you'll miss a lot. And I'm thinking, but...but...if you miss a lot, doesn't that mean you're NOT a great clutch shooter? Wouldn't that mean you're a bad clutch shooter who just shoots a lot in clutch situations?

I don't get the hysterical reactions from Kobe acolytes when someone points out that he's been crappy in clutch shooting situations the past few years. He's aging, he's not what he once was. It's okay. It doesn't diminish the fact that he's had a great career. It doesn't diminish the fact that he's still a good player. But, acknowledging the reality might actually help Kobe get better in those situations, and might actually help his team WIN more games.

[tontoz]

Fanboys don't think logically. Trying to talk sense to them is like trying to drive a nail into a wall with your forehead. You aren't going to have much success and will just wind up with a headache.


Edit: I just remembered when the Wizards played the Lakers this year. Kobe literally shot them out of the game in the second half. I don't remember how bad he shot but it was quite an impressive display of shot jacking.

[Rafael122]

I'm just hoping the Thunder can finish this series off on Saturday. Mike Brown is probably gonna get canned too.

[FAH1223]

Fanboys don't think logically. Trying to talk sense to them is like trying to drive a nail into a wall with your forehead. You aren't going to have much success and will just wind up with a headache.


Edit: I just remembered when the Wizards played the Lakers this year. Kobe literally shot them out of the game in the second half. I don't remember how bad he shot but it was quite an impressive display of shot jacking.

Kobe was 9-31 against us.

And we complain about Jordan Crawford

[tontoz]

Fanboys don't think logically. Trying to talk sense to them is like trying to drive a nail into a wall with your forehead. You aren't going to have much success and will just wind up with a headache.


Edit: I just remembered when the Wizards played the Lakers this year. Kobe literally shot them out of the game in the second half. I don't remember how bad he shot but it was quite an impressive display of shot jacking.

Kobe was 9-31 against us.

And we complain about Jordan Crawford

In the first half Kobe was hot. In the 4th quarter he was 1-10 from the field.

[closg00]

Please refer to the Laker player Ron Artest as Ron Artest, even he doesnt use that other name.

[dobrojim]

Fanboys don't think logically. Trying to talk sense to them is like trying to drive a nail into a wall with your forehead. You aren't going to have much success and will just wind up with a headache.


Edit: I just remembered when the Wizards played the Lakers this year. Kobe literally shot them out of the game in the second half. I don't remember how bad he shot but it was quite an impressive display of shot jacking.

Kobe was 9-31 against us.

And we complain about Jordan Crawford

I was in Buffalo Wing Factor last night in Reston after a short run with friends
for a couple brews. When we came in, there was a guy at the bar with his Kobe
jersey on. I teasingly asked him how much LA was going to lose by tonight.
He was pretty confident that LA would win. I told him OKC in 5 games max.
Wish I could have seen him at the end. Wonder what rationalizations he would
have used to defend the 'piece of meat'.

all that said, I turned the game off towards the very end thinking LA had won.
Good thing my DVR probably caught it all. Jacqui loves OKC, her 2nd fav team.
Big Durant fan too. And she has no use for Kobe. I must say, I did some things right
as a parent.

[dobrojim]

Harden is so damn good. Crucial layup down the stretch followed by killer defense against Kobe with yet another clutch layup down the stretch.

No question Harden is really good but he had a stretch of really putrid play
for a lot of the game.

And Reggie Miller was correct in pointing out that Ibaka blocks look
a lot better in the box score than how effective they actually were.
We should know this after watching JaVale for the last 3.5 years.

Horrid reffing in the game too. How'd the refs allow Peace to
clothesline a screener taking down 2 players and get a fast break
out of the deal? It seemed like for a 5 min stretch in the game,
one ref gave LA EVERY freaking call. The NBA oughta check that
refs bank accounts.

[FAH1223]

Harden is so damn good. Crucial layup down the stretch followed by killer defense against Kobe with yet another clutch layup down the stretch.

No question Harden is really good but he had a stretch of really putrid play
for a lot of the game.

And Reggie Miller was correct in pointing out that Ibaka blocks look
a lot better in the box score than how effective they actually were.
We should know this after watching JaVale for the last 3.5 years.

Horrid reffing in the game too. How'd the refs allow Peace to
clothesline a screener taking down 2 players and get a fast break
out of the deal? It seemed like for a 5 min stretch in the game,
one ref gave LA EVERY freaking call. The NBA oughta check that
refs bank accounts.

That was a moving screen by Collison. The refs should have called that, not Artest 'throwing' them down.

[dobrojim]

i just watched it again on NBA.com.

I def do NOT see a moving screen there. Gotta disagree with you.

[Illuminaire]

Considering the contact made was with Ron-Ron's extended arm and not his body... sorry FAH, but you're wrong here.

[I_Like_Dirt]

Kobe's a douche, but I don't think the blame goes even mostly to him. The Lakers in general are terrible on offense in clutch situations. Their defense in clutch situations has generally been excellent, but their team just can't score against good defenses they way they used to be able to. Kobe isn't what he once was. Bynum is an offensive force against a team with a "frontcourt" like the Nuggets, but he's really tough to get the ball to against better defenses and risks lots of turnovers. Artest is one of the worst offensive players in the NBA. Blake runs hot and cold but really only works if he gets consistent open looks on his own timing, which he hasn't been against the Thunder to the tune of being 1 for only 6 shots (all 3s) in 2 games. Sessions can't shoot and is useless if he doesn't dominate the ball, and he doesn't with Kobe on the team. Their bench gets ugly after that. Gasol's really the guy they should be looking to a little more but the team in general seems to figure they've got better options.

They had basically every call go their way, played the game at their pace, had a day's rest in between games, had the Thunder play badly on offense and still lost. They're finished.