Kno wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
I dont think mac as shut down.
Yes, Bryant was guarding him, but it was more like being a facilitator on an off-shooting night.
My point was exactly that. Nobody was shut down tonight, IMO. Kobe was driving to the basket a lot in the second half and not getting calls. He only went to the line 4 times (and missed 2 of them).
But the point is, is that Kobe was guarding T-Mac. Kobe is a two-way player. He doesn't have the luxury of Battier guarding the team's best player. So for T-Mac to shoot like he did tonight and get posted up by Luke Walton a few times doesn't make Kobe look so bad IMO.
Yes Kobe forced up shots some shots, but there were others where he was trying to draw the foul on a midrange or in the lane and it just didn't happen.