NBA Finals: Boston vs. LA Lakers - Series BOS leads (1-0)

[Celtsfan1980]

Anyone who knows anything about the current Celtics team knows that Paul Pierce likes to attack the basket. He wasn't doing this after his injury. Kobe laughing about it and the comments made from Worthy and Phil Jackson are just ridiculous. I expect something like this out of Jackson or Kobe, but not from Worthy. I hope this motivates Boston tonight and they win by 30+.

[Don Draper]

Quick question, who would you consider great perimeter defenders? Please give me a list so I could give you games where Kobe went off on them. Thanks

Kobe has trouble with teams with good TEAM defense, there's no one perimeter defender in the league that Kobe can't destroy on any given night. It's the rest of the team that stops Kobe, not the man defender.

In the NBA every defense is team defense. But you NEED perimeter defenders to slow down scorers so your bigs can have an easier time protecting the rim (ie. foul trouble, helping too much, illegal defense, etc.). Look at the Denver Nuggets. Marcus Camby and KMart are slaves on defense cause the rest of their team can't stay in front of anyone.

The Mavs, the Jazz, the Hornets, and the Raptors all are above average defenses. But he crushed all of these teams. It's not secret none of these guys have anyone who can slow down Kobe. Bruce Bowen's is not what he used to be and he looks worse every year.

But here is your request:

Deng
Battier (the real 1st team defender)
Artest
Prince
Stephen Jackson
Iggy
Bruce Bowen

[Elway=GOAT]

Look, a HouMac sighting! It means Kobe's had a bad game.

BRINGTHEPAIN, allow me to quote myself to answer your "Kobe rarely had a good game in the Finals" idiotism, since you probably only read the last page.

Oh, and making up stats... that's a big no-no if you wish to come off as even remotely objective (which you aren't, but you know; one can try, right? ).

-= original quote snipped =-



So, to summarize. The stats in the Finals:
2000 (if you discount the 9 mintues he played before getting injured, so it isn't too skewed - although that's how you like it, I know ) - 19/8.8/4.3 on 37% shooting; standout game: Game 4 (OT gamewinner, Shaq fouled out, Kobe still injured)

2001 - 24.6/7.8/5.8 on 42% shooting. Standout games - Game 2 (31/8/6 on 48% FG); Game 3 (32/6/3 on 43% shooting); Game 4 (19/10/9)

2002 - 26.8/5.8/5.3 on 51% shooting; Standout games - Game 3 (36/6/4 on 61% shooting)

2004 - horrible Finals (the only Finals I'll agree he played ridiculously bad, warranting every criticism he got), we know the stats; Standout game - Game 2 (34/4/7 on 52% shooting, forcing the OT with a trey at the buzzer).

So, with all do respect, do not pull stuff out of your ass, because there are some of us here (a lot probably) that still remember those years and don't like to see people such blatant revisionism of history (I'm sure you don't know what the word means, feel free to look it up).

You have a good one too, now! How are those Suns, btw?

Thats a hand full of games in his now 5th finals series. I do not think there is any question, Kobe, for the amount of hype he gets, and the best player on the planet praise he should be better than what he has done in the finals.

9-26 fg, 24 pts, 6 ast, 3 rebs, 4 to's.(L)
7-21 fg, 24 pts, 4 ast, 3 rebs, 3 to's (L)
8-25 fg, 20 pts, 2 ast, 0 rebs, 3 to's (L)
4-13 fg, 11 pts, 5 ast, 3 rebs, 4 to's (L)
14-27 fg, 33pts, 7 ast, 4 rebs, 5 to's (W)
10-27 fg, 25pts, 4 ast, 4 rebs, 3 to's (L)
7-16 fg, 25 pts, 8 ast, 6 rebs, 1 to's (W)
14-23 fg, 36 pts, 4 ast, 6 rebs, 6 to's (W)
9-15 fg, 24 pts, 3 ast, 8 rebs, 4 to's (W)
6-16 fg, 22 pts, 6 ast, 3 rebs, 4 to's (W)
7-18 fg, 26 pts, 6 ast, 12 rebs, 3 to's (W)
6-13 fg, 19 pts, 9 ast, 10 rebs, 4 to's (W)
13-30 fg, 32 pts, 3 ast, 6 rebs, 3 to's (W)
11-23 fg, 31 pts, 6 ast, 8 rebs, 2 to's (W)
7-22 fg, 15 pts, 5 ast, 3 rebs, 6 to's (L)
8-27 fg, 26 pts, 4 ast, 10 rebs, 1 to's(W)
4-20 fg, 8 pts, 3 ast, 5 rebs, 0 to's(L)
14-27 fg, 28 pts, 5 ast, 4 rebs, 3 to's(W)
1-3 fg, 2 pts, 4 ast, 1 reb, 0 to's(W)
6-13 fg, 14 pts, 5 ast, 3 rebs, 2 to's(W)


DNP game 3 against indy in 2000(L)

165-405 in the finals? That is 40.7% that is not very good at all. It took him 405 shots to score 445 points, not very efficient.

dudes putting up 22/5/5 with 3 turnovers a game. Which is fine, but when people prop you up as the best since Jordan, and a top 10 player all time I would expect more on the biggest stage in the league.

Whats also interesting is teams Kobe is on have lost 6 games if he shoots 20+ shots. The teams seem to be more effective when he is facilitating, instead of chucking and trying to be the main man doing all the scoring duty.

I do not totally agree with bringthepain, but he has a point. Of course I do not expect to get a good reaction to this. As stats do not count, when concerning Kobe, unless its in his favor. The finals do not count either, because the real championship was won in the western conference finals.

[GreenWithEnvy]

for all the Kobe haters

remember in Game 1 vs. the Nuggs Kobe shot 9-26 and people round here had cause for celebration thinkin Kobe was down

next game he dropped 49pts on 17-29 shooting

we'll see what happens tommorow but Kobe NEVER has two consectuve bad games in the playoffs

Well Kobe has NEVER faced a defense like this in two consecutive games. Kobe was genuinely off in that game because Denver gave him all the looks. Boston forces him into awkward spots to him on the floor. There is an easily identifiable difference in the Eastern and Western Conferences this year. The good teams in the West, are average defensive teams. The good teams in the East are good to great defensive teams. Boston is a phenomenal defensive team. Kobe faced Denver (NO D), Utah (foul machines), and San Antonio (Old, Slow and overrated defensively watch the highlights) but now Boston has the athleticism, speed, ferociousness and physicality to contain Kobe. Not stop him. but contain Kobe. These are the same guys who made Lebron James look like Eric Snow. I expect more games like game 1 outta Kobe not because i think he sucks or is overrated but because Boston seems to know where hes going on the floor before Kobe even gets the ball in his hands.

[Big Bird]

^^I never brought up Jordan and don't know why you did. But since you did, here's what I think about that: Kobe is not on his level and never will be as far as I'm concerned. MJ was a better player and has had a far better career. Kobe will probably go down as the 2nd best SG of all time.

To move on, I have no problem conceding to the fact that he's averages a measly FG% in the Finals, which is never what the debate was all about. Bringthepain claimed that Kobe is a proven no-show in the Finals and that he's not had great games... the stats and the memories are there to prove him wrong. It's really interesting that you lump me (you did, didn't you?) into a category of some mindless 12-year old Kobe fans that can't take anything being said against him. Au contraire, my friend, I'm the first to criticise him for playing poorly (which he did in Game 1 and in quite some Finals games). I am, however, against generalizing in the way only the worst of trolls are capable of.

cheers

p.s.: that handful you talk about is 30% of the games he's played in the Finals. It's not Jordan like by any means, but all of his 4 Finals appearances came til age 25 (the first being 21, 22 and 23). That's not meant as an excuse, I'd just like to wait some more (at least more than 1 game of these Finals) to judge him in the grand scheme of things. But if that's too much to ask... I'll stop.

[a-rod]

81

[G35]

Lets do a test and see what is really important:

Say Kobe avg's 35 ppg along with 8 reb's and 7 assists and shoots 52% for the rest of the series but the Lakers lose the series.

But if Kobe scores 24 ppg with 6 reb's and say 7 assists and shoots 47% for the rest of the series but the Lakers win the series.


Really it doesn't matter what Kobe does in the series. If the Lakers lose that criticism will be worse than anything he does stat wise. The Celtic fans and Kobe critics are valid in their criticism if the Lakers lose.

When you win it doesn't matter what you do, winning shuts up everyone.

I'm really interested in how Kobe reacts to all the critics and if he forces shots. If he forces it in a way like Wade can and draw fouls that's great. I don't know if he can sustain that because it wears your body down. But putting some fouls on the Celtics and getting into the penalty early would help.

Running the offense would help also, however I see that Kobe probably gets anxious when Gasol, Odom, Walton or whoever misses some easy opportunities so that frustrates him. The better his teammates the better Kobe will play. If they struggle Kobe will do one of two things; either take a lot of forced shots and make them or miss them.


What did Jordan say, "I'm sure everything will be fine as long as we're winning, but if we start losing I'm shooting."......

[snaquille oatmeal]

-= original quote snipped =-

Yeah because the Lakers are fully capable of shutting down 2 All-Stars and possibly the fastest/quickest guard in the league. I've heard people say this about the Celtics before but it's the dumbest strategy. It only works on one man teams.

wich point guard do you guys have? Williams, Paul, Parker, Davis, Iverson, Wade?

Rondo is not even quick or fast enough to warrant full coverage. I would sag and rove off Rondo if I was covering him and I am fat and old.

[JordansBulls]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/odds;_ylt=A ... _0Jx68vLYF


Sunday, Jun 8
Favorite Line Underdog
LA Lakers 1 at Boston


How the hell are the Lakers favorite over Boston in Boston?

Boston had the best record in the league and they are in the finals and the Lakers have yet to show they can even beat the Celtics, but yet the Lakers are the favorite on the road.




Not saying the Lakers can't win, but to say they are the favorite is silly especially considering they weren't even the favorite in either game in Utah or San Antonio.

[snaquille oatmeal]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/odds;_ylt=At5T4DNOzV6qX4g0_g_0Jx68vLYF


Sunday, Jun 8
Favorite Line Underdog
LA Lakers 1 at Boston


How the hell are the Lakers favorite over Boston in Boston?

Boston had the best record in the league and they are in the finals and the Lakers have yet to show they can even beat the Celtics, but yet the Lakers are the favorite on the road.




Not saying the Lakers can't win, but to say they are the favorite is silly especially considering they weren't even the favorite in either game in Utah or San Antonio.

or even favorites to make the playoffs. Vegas had us 30 to 1 at the beginning of the season to make it to the finals. the betting world works in mysterious ways or it could be that one game does not really reflect what a team can do, but 15-4 record in the post season may be a better bet than a 16-8 record. who knows?

[Frosty]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/odds;_ylt=At5T4DNOzV6qX4g0_g_0Jx68vLYF


Sunday, Jun 8
Favorite Line Underdog
LA Lakers 1 at Boston


How the hell are the Lakers favorite over Boston in Boston?

Boston had the best record in the league and they are in the finals and the Lakers have yet to show they can even beat the Celtics, but yet the Lakers are the favorite on the road.




Not saying the Lakers can't win, but to say they are the favorite is silly especially considering they weren't even the favorite in either game in Utah or San Antonio.

Lakers are huge favorites.


Sure hope they pull it off and don't choke. With the odds in their favor this would be a huge loss if they can't pull it off.

[Big Bird]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/odds;_ylt=At5T4DNOzV6qX4g0_g_0Jx68vLYF


Sunday, Jun 8
Favorite Line Underdog
LA Lakers 1 at Boston


How the hell are the Lakers favorite over Boston in Boston?

Boston had the best record in the league and they are in the finals and the Lakers have yet to show they can even beat the Celtics, but yet the Lakers are the favorite on the road.




Not saying the Lakers can't win, but to say they are the favorite is silly especially considering they weren't even the favorite in either game in Utah or San Antonio.

Yeah, I don't understand that either. They are playing that 66 win team, right? Not the LA Clippers. If I could understand that prior to Game 1 based on the postseason, I sure as hell can't now. Maybe they are factoring the injuries to 2 C's starters or what?

Anyone who knows anything about the current Celtics team knows that Paul Pierce likes to attack the basket. He wasn't doing this after his injury. Kobe laughing about it and the comments made from Worthy and Phil Jackson are just ridiculous. I expect something like this out of Jackson or Kobe, but not from Worthy. I hope this motivates Boston tonight and they win by 30+.

Where do you get this stuff from? He said that they are friends and that he was concerned about his health. Perhaps he laughed because the reporter adressed it as the "Paul Pierce drama", no? Nah, he's Kobe, the Antichrist that eats live puppies for dinner and wishes serious bodily harm upon his opponents.

Matter of fact here is his direct quote after the laughter:"He's a good friend. The thing that I was concerned with was his health and making sure he was Okay. But I don't think it had much of an effect on us. I was happy to see him come out there until he made those two damn threes."

Some of you people are making way too much out of a few simple quotes and comments, seriously. I'll give you that Phil's comments were perhaps a bit overboard, but other than that you really are being oversensitive, imo.

cheers

EDIT:

Lakers are huge favorites.


Sure hope they pull it off and don't choke. With the odds in their favor this would be a huge loss if they can't pull it off

Are you sure you're not hoping for something else?

[hermes]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/odds;_ylt=At5T4DNOzV6qX4g0_g_0Jx68vLYF


Sunday, Jun 8
Favorite Line Underdog
LA Lakers 1 at Boston


How the hell are the Lakers favorite over Boston in Boston?

Boston had the best record in the league and they are in the finals and the Lakers have yet to show they can even beat the Celtics, but yet the Lakers are the favorite on the road.




Not saying the Lakers can't win, but to say they are the favorite is silly especially considering they weren't even the favorite in either game in Utah or San Antonio.

celtics injury situation?

[Banks2Pierce]

Line started at -2 for Boston and has swung to the Lakers -1. It has to be the injury concerns.

Another thing is that the line always goes down for the home team after they win the first game.

[Celtsfan1980]

-= original quote snipped =-

Kobe laughed about the situation. You're entitled to think I'm oversensitive, but I'll continue to feel the way I do.

[TheSheriff]

Anyone who knows anything about the current Celtics team knows that Paul Pierce likes to attack the basket. He wasn't doing this after his injury. Kobe laughing about it and the comments made from Worthy and Phil Jackson are just ridiculous. I expect something like this out of Jackson or Kobe, but not from Worthy. I hope this motivates Boston tonight and they win by 30+.

Well Phil is a great coach, but has said things that were stupid in press conferences. Remember the "Brokeback defense" comment?

[Matt24]

lets go lakers

[humblebum]

If the Celtics defense shows up for four quarters the Celtics win easily, regardless of what Kobe does or doesn't do.

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

If the Celtics defense shows up for four quarters the Celtics win easily, regardless of what Kobe does or doesn't do.

Do you think the celtics win tonight?

[Ballings7]

I'm not sure who wins tonight, there are a couple extra factors for this game, but I expect the Lakers to play better over the full game.