GM1 of finals a false high

[Kilroy]

Game 2...

Sure the Magic will shoot better...

But so will Kobe... He wasn't hitting impossible shots. In fact some of the shots he missed are ones he usually buries.

Magic will be forced to try doubling Kobe farther out...

Which means big nights for Pau, Bynum, Odom, Ariza, Fish, etc...

Lakers win by 6 going away...

The Magic weren't that off last night... They played a really strong first half and the only thing that changed was that the Lakers increased the intensity on D and Kobe recognized/exploited the fact that they weren't doubling him...

Kobe is in an mind-set where in these finals, if you don't at least try to shut him down, he will in fact beat you by himself... The "Lakers are better when Kobe doesn't shoot as much" argument doesn't apply now that we're in the finals because Kobe just wants it that bad...

And if you do try to shut him down, he's going to hit wide open guys that are much better than the Cavs...

This Laker team has been beat up and kicked and punched in the mouth for the first 3 rounds of these play-offs... And we've faced strong outside shooting teams all playoffs.
It's an ugly team to face right now.

[miggs]

Magic weren't hitting their 3's, when they are you can't stop him.
Kobe was hitting some impossible shots, as great as he is he's not going to hit that all game.
34 shots or whatever he took is usually not a good idea. And will bite him in the ass when he's not feeling so Kobesque.

You must not have watched the game closely enough. Yes, the Magic struggled but the Lakers closed out well too. The lateral quickness was on point as were the defensive rotations and wow, what active hands out there. that's how they gotta play D every possession! anywho, so we've been saying that the Magic live and die by the 3 and so if they're depending on their 3 pointers to win them the NBA Finals well then they're in way over their head, too much fairy dust i guess.

Your missing the point. It's all about Momentum, had the Magic hit 3's there would have been a momentum change and the Lakers would have had to hurry back and score fast, as a pose to scoring when they want to.

The fact that the Magic didn't hit their shots means more htan just they didn't score poitns. When they hit those bak to back 3's or 6-8 3's in as core they have teams SCRAMBLINg to keep up.

Last night Lakers were executing them with no fightback from Magic. It's not going to be like that all series.

I'm not taking credit awy from lakers, I said they played D well, but Magic were downright HORRIBLE on 0 which transcended even psat the stellar defense of the Lakers.

Nah dude, YOU are missing the point. This is not the NCAA Championship where one game determines everything! nor a 90s first round series of 5 games! This is the NBA Finals! a 7 game series with a format that puts A LOT of pressure on the team without HCA.

Since the 2-3-2 format was introduced for the 1985 NBA Finals (84-85 Season), only 2 of the 24 underdog teams have won the middle 3 games! Also, in the 10 times that the home court advantage team has gone back home leading 3-2, all 10 times that team has won the title, with 8 of those 10 times being Game 6 clinchers.

[Luxury]

Let me just explain one thing about how the Magic are playing Kobe in the pick and roll.

The Lakers are putting DH in the screen and roll. The Magic are having him sit back in the paint just like they did against Lebron. They do this to avoid DH picking up fouls.

It worked against Lebron b/c of his inconsistent mid-range, but Kobe torched the Magic from mid-range.

If you're telling me Plan B for the Magic is to hedge Kobe with DH, DH will be plagued by foul trouble.

Game, set, and match.

+1 Exactly the same thing I was saying to everyone at the bar last night.

[Luxury]

we win game 2, regardless of what anyone says, IT IS OVER!

now some say this is actually a different team since game5 vs. denver. and they definitely look like it. during the playoffs gigantic mood swings. big blowout win. big blowout loss. up and down. left and right.

but if this is truly a changed team since game5 denver, a team that has grown and morphed into something totally unstoppable. then we will and should win game 2.

and again, if we win game 2, THIS SERIES IS OVER.

Adopt Kobe's mentally please. Take care of business and win the game, then forget about it and get ready for the next.

[LAKESHOW]

this is an area that folks have underestimated the LAKERs. IT HAS BEEN THE INTERIOR DEFENSE that has given up points on the inside. THE PERIMETER DEFENSE IS TOP NOTCH!

our problem has been on the inside, but lamar, ariza, kobe, gasol, all have length and can squeeze the juice out of you up top! if you have an ariza running out at you, it is a gigantic difference than szerbiak or whoever cleveland had. we have skinny lengthy guys, gasol, lamar, etc... and believe it, it is a gigantic difference with the ground they cover.

[TommyTheCat]

lakers need to just keep on showing up and playing hard for 48 minutes. they match up well with the magic and unlike the cavs have some bigs that can make dwight work for his and get him in foul trouble. the lakers should keep posting up whoever lewis is guarding..........he can't stop either gasol or odom down low..........i think they did a descent job of it in game 1 but should go to it as often as they can. the magic have no answer for kobe but who does? the lakers did a good job of rotating and closing down quickly on the outside shot.

i don't expect blowouts every night but i like the matchups the lakers have. we'll see how the magic adjust

[kevin_405]

For defensive adjustment all they need to do is look at the houston series on how to take away the passing lane..

I see a similar scheme coming from vangundy.. they will make Fish and Ariza and kobe jump shooters..

lakers need to just keep on showing up and playing hard for 48 minutes. they match up well with the magic and unlike the cavs have some bigs that can make dwight work for his and get him in foul trouble. the lakers should keep posting up whoever lewis is guarding..........he can't stop either gasol or odom down low..........i think they did a descent job of it in game 1 but should go to it as often as they can. the magic have no answer for kobe but who does? the lakers did a good job of rotating and closing down quickly on the outside shot.

i don't expect blowouts every night but i like the matchups the lakers have. we'll see how the magic adjust

[tayzer]

The same strategy the Rockets use, won't work. Lakers already figure out how to counter it as seen in game 7, it was a blow out. After game 5 against the Nugs, Lakers figure how to play on a whole new level.

[KObe Bryant]

Kobe will not be slowed down because He's a lot of abilities that anybody else can't do. Just like what Lamar said "There's nothing that he cannot do". I expect Kobe to have another 30+ game but I think he'll be a decoy in game 2 , just like we did against Denver in 5. I'd say this is a must win because the next three games will be in Orlando. Come on, who the hell cares if Orlando didn't make their shots?? They said it was just an off night What did the Lakers do?? They still box out and rebounding is a part of the defense and other guys doesn't have to score more because Kobe is hungry and will do it all in the offense.

[Redphilly]

did you watch the game? lol..seriously..they cant have done a better job on kobe... he was just...UNSTOPPABLE...

there were so many times when kobe was going in for the shot that you'd see THREE magic players challenging him. They just couldnt stop him. NOBODY can.

I agreed with that but i think Kobe will not have every night that big performance. Don't get me wrong he is great but he made a couple unbelievable shots.

[kevin_405]

Why is this thread attracting Magic flies..