Post#176 » by Ballings7 » Wed Mar 5, 2008 6:55 am
Well, as was probable, the Lakers really got it going in the 4th qtr. We were playing very well up until the Lakers balance took over late. Teams like that can manage the game, and then up the level of play as a constant in the 4th qtr. I've watched the Spurs do it for years.
And on Ron's missed shots late, I thought only two or three of them were bad shots, where there could of been a better shot gotten. The rest were either with the clocks running down (shotclock before the 40-30 second range, and the gameclock when the game got to seconds because that was desperation to try and get closer) or was good defense by the Lakers, taking away other options on offense. Specifically on the drive he had where Ron got past Odom, but when he got to the basket he missed because of the defense effecting his shot.
John also noticably forced it a couple times later in the game while he was still in, and in general he takes an amount of bad shots too, but still in a small amount just as Ron does. It's just Ron gets more flack for it because it's Ron Artest. It goes both ways, though.
With that defense by the Lakers, part of it was Kobe shutting down Kevin Martin, which wasn't surprising at all. Considering Kobe's a great defender, and the 4th is when Kobe cranks up his defense, and when defense is upped in general. Also Kobe shutdown Kevin in a similar fashion in the TNT Arco game last season, where we had the 4-5 pt lead late, but choked the game away to an overtime. Kobe will probably will do it again against Kevin in the 4th, with the game being competitive.
Both Ron and John played strong games, and both did very effective jobs defending Kobe. But Ron's obviously going to be the main guy on him (or others he'd guard), and as he should. Unless Ron's getting a rest or in foul trouble.
I just thought we should of doubled Kobe more than they did, though. Make others take shots or force Kobe into a turnover.
I also think there was some fatigue playing a factor in the 4th qtr, with some of the missed shots and possessions.
Brad and Beno also played well. Brad with the usual all-around game. Beno's ability to make some of these shots is becoming a regularity. Just impressive.
