A few shots from the Game 1 beatdown :
More Kobe:
Sweet stroke:
And a cool shot of Kobe driving on Howard:
[quote]Xeneize wrote:
Slicing through the (lack of) defense:[/quote]
On this particular play, if you watch the replay in slo-mo you’ll see Bryant get hit on the arms by the three defenders he went around. The lack of respect he gets in comparison to the other “superstars” is astounding.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
On this particular play, if you watch the replay in slo-mo you’ll see Bryant get hit on the arms by the three defenders he went around. The lack of respect he gets in comparison to the other “superstars” is astounding.[/quote]
True. Bryant gets nowhere near the protection that King James and D Whistle (Wade) get all the time.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Xeneize wrote:
Slicing through the (lack of) defense:
On this particular play, if you watch the replay in slo-mo you’ll see Bryant get hit on the arms by the three defenders he went around. The lack of respect he gets in comparison to the other “superstars” is astounding.[/quote]
Truth. I remember screaming at the TV “where’s the foul!” when that play happened. Even my mom agreed with me, and when mom agrees on the lack of foul called, then something is going wrong.
ARRGGHH!!! Game 2 is on Sunday, I don’t like it during the Finals when Game 2 is three days after Game 1, instead of two days, then Game 3 is two days after Game 2, which means the Lakers will have to probably take a flight immediately following Game 2 and fly to Orlando, which is 3,000 miles away, then play the following day. Game 1 and 2 should be 2 days apart, then Game 3 should be three days after Game 2 with the travel day built in.
And tGun made a good point about the 2-3-2 format where the road team gets more swing games and builds some momentum for the series, causing it to turn in the lower seed’s favor. Maybe that’s why the rule was implemented in the first place, to give the lower seed team a somewhat equal chance. I prefer the 2-2-1-1-1.
First, as a die hard Bulls, I would like to say Da Bulls! But, is it just me or did the Magic look like they were just looking at Kolbe play as he dropped 40 big ones on the them. Nowhere near the intensity they had against Cleveland. The Magic’s version of a double team was terrible. This dude scored at will!
However, 29% from the field isn’t going to win you many games either. Is the Magic out of gas from the Cavalier series coming back from 30 point deficits every night or is Magic just not a good matchup against the Lakers?
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
And tGun made a good point about the 2-3-2 format where the road team gets more swing games and builds some momentum for the series, causing it to turn in the lower seed’s favor. Maybe that’s why the rule was implemented in the first place, to give the lower seed team a somewhat equal chance. I prefer the 2-2-1-1-1.[/quote]
that’s just tGun being a bitter BOS fan and searching for some angle that works against LAL.
I’m fairly positive the NBA switched to 2-3-2 in 1985, but the intention was simply to reduce travel for the teams and the media following them. And I think exactly ONE lower seed has won three straight home games, so it’s tough to say the lower seed gains much benefit.
[quote]SergeantQ wrote:
First, as a die hard Bulls, I would like to say Da Bulls! But, is it just me or did the Magic look like they were just looking at Kolbe play as he dropped 40 big ones on the them. Nowhere near the intensity they had against Cleveland. The Magic’s version of a double team was terrible. This dude scored at will!
However, 29% from the field isn’t going to win you many games either. Is the Magic out of gas from the Cavalier series coming back from 30 point deficits every night or is Magic just not a good matchup against the Lakers? [/quote]
Well, this is what I was saying earlier in the thread. The Magic tried what they tried against the Cavaliers. Let the Superstar shine and strangle the help. Only problem was. Kobe is so much more offensively effective than Lebron, and the Lakers’ frontcourt completely dominated the glass and made Dwight’s job hell. So, in short. It failed.
Next game we can expect the Magic to do their best to force the ball out of Kobe’s hands as much as possible. Also, we can expect the Magic to make some more of their threes. Lakers did a great job with perimeter defense last night, but that doesn’t change the fact that Alston, Turk, Nelson and Lewis all missed wide open 3s as well.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
WhiteFlash wrote:
Still maintain that he’s the best offensive player in NBA history.
More than MJ?
Yes. Jordan’s the greatest player of all time, but Bryant’s the best scorer the league has ever seen. Kobe’s a better ballhandler, has a better outside shot and a better pull-up off the bounce. He also has a better off hand. Jordan was better in the post and better around the bucket.
One-on-one, there has never been anyone that can do the things Kobe Bryant can do, and no one can get themselves in a zone like Bryant can. His 81 against the Raptors is the most impressive individual performance in pro sports history, and if he had finished the game against Dallas earlier that season [62pts in 34 min, sat out the 4th] it would’ve been his SECOND highest game of that season. Think about that.[/quote]
Not to mention that Jordan didn’t have to contend with the amount of double-teaming and zone defense that Kobe is routinely placed against. Ahem. But it’s a bad idea to start ‘that’ discussion. It will go on forever. Kobe is a vicious, vicious scorer, his ability to score should never be in question. Scoring, obviously isn’t all there is to making a player great. But Kobe’s scoring skills are unparalleled.
[quote]Malevolence wrote:
WhiteFlash wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
WhiteFlash wrote:
Still maintain that he’s the best offensive player in NBA history.
More than MJ?
Yes. Jordan’s the greatest player of all time, but Bryant’s the best scorer the league has ever seen. Kobe’s a better ballhandler, has a better outside shot and a better pull-up off the bounce. He also has a better off hand. Jordan was better in the post and better around the bucket.
One-on-one, there has never been anyone that can do the things Kobe Bryant can do, and no one can get themselves in a zone like Bryant can. His 81 against the Raptors is the most impressive individual performance in pro sports history, and if he had finished the game against Dallas earlier that season [62pts in 34 min, sat out the 4th] it would’ve been his SECOND highest game of that season. Think about that.
Not to mention that Jordan didn’t have to contend with the amount of double-teaming and zone defense that Kobe is routinely placed against. Ahem. But it’s a bad idea to start ‘that’ discussion. It will go on forever. Kobe is a vicious, vicious scorer, his ability to score should never be in question. Scoring, obviously isn’t all there is to making a player great. But Kobe’s scoring skills are unparalleled.[/quote]
I was gonna mention that. Jordan dealt with hand checking, Bryant deals with zones and all kinds of junk defenses thrown at him. I like that there’s people here that know basketball.
[quote]chillain wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
And tGun made a good point about the 2-3-2 format where the road team gets more swing games and builds some momentum for the series, causing it to turn in the lower seed’s favor. Maybe that’s why the rule was implemented in the first place, to give the lower seed team a somewhat equal chance. I prefer the 2-2-1-1-1.
that’s just tGun being a bitter BOS fan and searching for some angle that works against LAL.[/quote]
lol, 
But I’ve never been a fan of the 2-3-2. I didn’t like it last year when Boston had HCA, and I don’t like it this year when LA has HCA. I’ve never liked the 2-3-2.
The 2-2-1-1-1 is about as good as can be done, a clear-but-not-overwhelming edge to the team with HCA. With the 2-3-2, the road team actually has a slight advantage unless the series goes the full seven. Further, the Finals are the only round of the postseason where the road team can win a series while playing more games at home than on the road.
The 2004 Pistons did exactly that. Was that “fair” to LA, who supposedly had HCA?
I think it’s been two, the 2004 Pistons and the 2006 Heat. But that doesn’t change the fact that the road team gets half of the odd-numbered swing games (which I think are slightly more important than the even numbered games) as opposed to 1/4 in the 2-2-1-1-1, and gets 2 out of 3 odd-numbered games if the series goes fewer than seven games.
All it’s doing is shifting some of the HCA away from the home team to the road team. I think it’s silly for the league to do that for the Finals, but only for the Finals.
[quote]jlutz3 wrote:
Jordan is the greatest offensive player of all time IMO…[/quote]
Gotta disagree. Wilt Chamberlain. Jordan was certainly the total package and probably the fiercest competitor ever.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
I expected the Lakers to win, I didn’t expect a beatdown like that. Lakers on point and carrying over their performances from games 5-6 of the WCF into the Finals. Kobe was in the zone, and everything was going the Lakers way. I noticed Sasha only got garbage time at the end of the game, don’t know if this was strategy by Phil, matchup issue, etc.
Jameer Nelson coming back to play was interesting. He wasn’t much of a contributor (6 points, 4 dimes), but maybe was trying to provide a spark for the team. Didn’t happen. Also, the Magic shooting 30% from the field isn’t going to win games either.
I think Game 2 will be more competitive, but if the Lakers keep this up, this may be a short series.
Not saying it did, but Nelson coming back could’ve thrown off Alston’s rhythym. I just don’t understand why you’d fix what isn’t broken. Kobe’s proving over and over that he’s the best player in the L. Still maintain that he’s the best offensive player in NBA history.[/quote]
I agree. It looked to me like Nelson wasn’t 100% (despite his nice start) and threw off the rhythm of the whole team. Alston complained today about not playing AT ALL in the 2nd quarter. He later backpedaled but you could tell it affected him. Jameer is certainly the man on that team (guard-wise) but maybe they should have stuck with what brought 'em.
Nelson was totally ineffective as the game went on. He can’t be in basketball shape.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
WhiteFlash wrote:
Xeneize wrote:
Slicing through the (lack of) defense:
On this particular play, if you watch the replay in slo-mo you’ll see Bryant get hit on the arms by the three defenders he went around. The lack of respect he gets in comparison to the other “superstars” is astounding.
Truth. I remember screaming at the TV “where’s the foul!” when that play happened. Even my mom agreed with me, and when mom agrees on the lack of foul called, then something is going wrong.[/quote]
Agree completely. I remember several plays where Kobe got slapped on the arm on drives and there was absolutely no call.
Also, I was a little annoyed at the lack of respect Bynum got on both ends of the floor. The refs were quick to call fouls on him (and he does have a reputation, fair or not) as a fouler, but he got hacked several times on the offensive end and nary a whistle.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
ARRGGHH!!! Game 2 is on Sunday, I don’t like it during the Finals when Game 2 is three days after Game 1, instead of two days, then Game 3 is two days after Game 2, which means the Lakers will have to probably take a flight immediately following Game 2 and fly to Orlando, which is 3,000 miles away, then play the following day. Game 1 and 2 should be 2 days apart, then Game 3 should be three days after Game 2 with the travel day built in.
And tGun made a good point about the 2-3-2 format where the road team gets more swing games and builds some momentum for the series, causing it to turn in the lower seed’s favor. Maybe that’s why the rule was implemented in the first place, to give the lower seed team a somewhat equal chance. I prefer the 2-2-1-1-1.[/quote]
Again, agree completely.
I would have never thought Dwight Howard would have only one field goal. That’s incomprehensible. I have to believe the Magic will play much better in Game 2. They won’t miss so many 3s and Howard will have a better game. I still think the Lakers take Game 2, albeit by 10 points or fewer. If the “RealLamarOdom” as his Twitter name says shows up, that is such a huge X-factor for the Lakers. Kobe just has that crazed look in his eyes like this series just belongs to him. Looking forward to Sunday.