Post#44 » by Gomes3PC » Sun Jun 8, 2008 3:31 am
A lot of Kobe's shots didn't fall, but when you are constantly shooting from 15+ feet out, that's not conducive to a high FG%. Kobe is at his best living in the paint and then stretching the D after with jumpers. If he settles for jumpers, he can still shoot at a solid % (like his 28 point, 9-21 game vs. BOS), but he is also likely to have clunkers more often (like the other two games he's played Boston). When you settle for jumpers and you are a bit of a streaky shooter, you will get in trouble.
More than anything, Kobe needs his teammates to get more assertive and attack the paint. If they do, the C's might get into foul trouble and make life easier for #24. If they can't, Boston will continue to seal off Kobe from the lane and dare other guys to take it inside.
Kobe will go off a couple of times in this series, but if the Cs dare him to settle for contested jumpers, it will be a lot harder for him to dominate and get his teammates involved. When he drives he not only draws fouls & gets points, he kicks out and gives easy looks. When he shoots jumpers, he might score, but he gets no fouls and he doesn't involve the other 4 guys.