How come you guys never double-team Kobe?

[ljp24]

I mean, I don't need to say it, but he dropped alotta points on you. Why don't the Raps guard him tightly so he doesn't go off against them? Is it just Sam Mitchell refusing to acknowledge that one player can beat a team or is it just your game plan?

[teamLeiweke]

Ask stubborn Sam Mitchell.

[joeyt618]

Who needs to double team Kobe when we have Juan Dixon to man-handle Mr. 81. Sometimes Smitch just baffles me.

[Quiet-Storm]

Strange thing is that we actually use double teams quite a lot to neutralize some players.

We always double team T-Mac and it works wonders on him. It really throws him off his game. We always try to double on Duncun when we play the spurs and it worked last time at least.

I think kobe makes it too difficult to double him because he is such a good passer. You can double him and hell find the open guy or still score on your double team.

[the_top_dawg]

We actually did double team Kobe at times but he would find the open 3 point shooter and they'd hit the shot. When we didn't double him he'd get by his defender for a easy dunk or layup, or hit a tough 3 pointer over his defender.

[Raptors90102]

agreed. We did double him today but then the open 3 point shooter will hit the shot. Jose is still getting flamed by posters on this board for his poor defence when he was actually coming to help on Kobe..

[Marlowe]

Why double team Kobe, when you have Dixon to defend against him? *sarcasm*

edit: Joey beat me to it! LOL

[UTMCretin]

Who needs to double team Kobe when we have Juan Dixon to man-handle Mr. 81. Sometimes Smitch just baffles me.

That was the most surreal five minutes of basketball I've seen recently. He didn't even send out Joey Graham, the eternal Toronto Raptor's B plan, no, he sent out Juan Dixon. The logic being that Toronto just went on a run, and Juan Dixon was on the floor for that run, therefore, the crunchtime lineup would benefit greatly from his presence along side Calderon. As if he wasn't aware that Dixon would most likely be checking the opposing two-guard. And he just let this rampage go on for several minutes, with Juan not even contesting shots, as if Juan was just as confused as I was watching this all go down.

And all the while, Smitch was on the bench, screaming for better... whatever. Perhaps his plan hinged on a rapid growth spurt by Dixon, so that Juan's hand could potentially, if properly raised, obstruct Kobe's view of the basket. Or perhaps Smitch didn't have a plan, and was merely throwing out five players who had played well independantly, though never completely together, without giving any sort of regard to the matchups. Or common sense. Or Juan Dixon's excessive, if occasionally absent levels of suckiness.

Baffling? Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.

[bbalnation]

What's "double-team"?

[Anthrax]

Who needs to double team Kobe when we have Juan Dixon to man-handle Mr. 81. Sometimes Smitch just baffles me.

+1, I think the Smitch wants Kobe to drop 100 on us. Putting Juan Dixon on Kobe was an absolute joke, Deshawn Stevenson was able to overpower Juan and yet you expect him to have a chance against Kobe? These defensive schemes that the raps employ are so ridiculous for example: they'll send a soft double on the biggest scrub whenever he drives the lane or posts up which leaves shooters WIDE open on the perimeter and takes rebounders out of position because of rotations. Yet when the raps face the best scorer in the game today they play him straight up and allow him to get to the rim at will with no 2nd layer of D in sight. Kobe had anywhere between 4-6 dunks tonight which is totally unacceptable, if you allow a player of that calibre to get those kind of easy baskets eventually they'll get into a rhythm and will be incredibly difficult to defend.

[chyau.00]

smitch wants kobe to drop 100 on us....so he can get his name on the newspaper again...and in the records too.

[TheDoctor]

Sam was employing the desperation throw everything at the wall strategy vs Kobe.

Nothing was working, at all. It seemed like every time he passed, it was either a wide open look for his teammate, or there would be a 2nd pass to a wide open dunk. If we didn't double, he hit jumpers or drove and dunked. The only times he missed were when he settled for mediocre looks - and he even made some of those.

Now, personally I think Juan is a good guy to have as the helping double team - not as the primary defender... but Kobe didn't actually beat Juan - it was the doubles that did. He beat Delfino, Parker and Moon straight up, repeatedly, and sometimes for highlight reel dunks.

If Farmar, Vujacic, Radman, Fisher or Walton can make outside shots, while Kobe does his thing, Gasol does his thing, Bynum can score in the post, and the others just rebound.... man that triangle is frightening.

The game turned when the Lakers made their first 8 shots of the 4th quarter.

Kobe with 3 (including a dunk, a 3, and an and-1)
Sasha with 2 (one 3)
Farmar with 2 (both 3s)
Turiaf with 1

During that stretch,

Kapono went 4/4
Jamario went 1/3 with 2FTs
Bosh went 0/2
Dixon went 0/1

and 83-79
became 104-89.

End.

[99 Problems]

"Never question my abilities"

[xAIRNESSx]

If you watched the game, we did double-team Kobe and he would just pass it out and sometimes just reset back to him.

Where we lost the game was Kobe breaking down the man-defense with his quickness and handles, and beating out our non-existent help-defense. It didn't help that Kobe was making the majority of his shots, even when he was fouled.

[dirtybird]

It should be obvious. We get no NBA highlights in Canada. That why the Raptors don't know that Kobe can drive to the hoop and dunk the ball. Factor in that Smitch must have suffered amnesia after Kobe dumped 81 on him it makes total sense.

[peteyjones13]

haha the game was over when Smitch left dixon out there in the 4th when he subbed Jose in, and in addition also put Moon back in. At that point, the game was done.

[Andiamo]

-= original quote snipped =-




That was the most surreal five minutes of basketball I've seen recently. He didn't even send out Joey Graham, the eternal Toronto Raptor's B plan, no, he sent out Juan Dixon. The logic being that Toronto just went on a run, and Juan Dixon was on the floor for that run, therefore, the crunchtime lineup would benefit greatly from his presence along side Calderon. As if he wasn't aware that Dixon would most likely be checking the opposing two-guard. And he just let this rampage go on for several minutes, with Juan not even contesting shots, as if Juan was just as confused as I was watching this all go down.

And all the while, Smitch was on the bench, screaming for better... whatever. Perhaps his plan hinged on a rapid growth spurt by Dixon, so that Juan's hand could potentially, if properly raised, obstruct Kobe's view of the basket. Or perhaps Smitch didn't have a plan, and was merely throwing out five players who had played well independantly, though never completely together, without giving any sort of regard to the matchups. Or common sense. Or Juan Dixon's excessive, if occasionally absent levels of suckiness.

Baffling? Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.

smitch

[big_baller_shot_caller23]

when kobe scored 81 i was asking that same question, and when they did double him i was asking why dont they tripple team him.

[seanbig]

we did double kobe....he split the double and dunked over the flopping delfino

and then he passed to scrub and he shot a 3

and then he passed to scrub and he shot a 3

and then passed to scrub and then he shot a 3

[Don't_Reach]

Why double team Kobe? its better to use that strategy against unsuspecting guys like Drew Gooden and Reggie Evans...

It really bothers me to see us double teaming weak to decent 1-on-1 nearly as much as Superstars.