[quote]gregron wrote:
Heat won and all but that was terrible officiating in the final minute. Big Z goaltended that first shot and then Wade fouled Kobe right infront of the ref before Kobe lost it out of bounds. That woulda made it Lakers lead or a tie game with 25 seconds or so left in the game. (everyone knows how
Clutch the heat are in situations like that)
It’s not like this game matters at all but I was hoping for a Lakers win. The Lakers will still be in their conference finals (at least) and the Heat will not.[/quote]
You really are gonna make fun of the heat’s clutchness after Kobe once again bricked like 3 consecutive 1-on-5’s? I agree the Zydrunas call in particular was bogus but Kobe had the ball several times in the last 2 minutes and did nothing with it on possessions with no foul or goaltending.
I’ve said it many times…Kobe makes AND MISSES a lot of game-winning shots. Sometimes I think he should pass it (especially in the regular season) just so when the playoffs come around he won’t be double/triple teamed when he touches it.[/quote]
Enough with the stats. I could throw ones up as well that they showed during the game last night. In the last 5 years with 30 seconds left in a game, Kobe’s shooting percentage was like 34% and Wade and James combined was 29%. So you can diss his shooting % all you want with the game on the line. There’s a stat that doesn’t lie. Never mind the foul that Wade admitted to Kobe he did on his 3 pt attempt that missed badly that was not called. That would have been 3 free throws and wouldn’t go down as a miss in the stats.[/quote]
I was using random made-up stats to exaggerate my argument…but if you want to bring up real stats, I agree that James/Wade aren’t great last second shooters and 34% btw is very far down the list. I would never have mentioned that to you unprovoked because you would be shouting about how useless of a stat it is…I only say it because you brought it up.
If I personally had to have one guy take a shot to save my life it would be Melo. He destroys eveyrone in “clutch shooting” basically in any way you want to define the stat.
[quote]scj119 wrote:
Ok is anyone else pissed about Kobe’s manufactured postgame practice the media ate up like a starving puppy? There’s a fucking perfectly sized practice court in American Airlines arena he could’ve used.
To me it’s just such a transparent “look at me, I’m still the hardest working player!” attention-grab. Don’t get me wrong - Kobe probably IS the hardest working player in the NBA - but I think that practice was done more for the attention than getting work in on his jumper.
I just don’t think he cares THAT much about an early-March regular season game.[/quote]
I couldn’t disagree with you more. He does care THAT much about his game. He’s bar none the hardest working player in the NBA since he’s entered the league. I’m sure some of it was blowing off steam but I don’t have nearly the jaundiced-glasses as to his motivation for doing such shooting.
[quote]scj119 wrote:
If I personally had to have one guy take a shot to save my life it would be Melo. He destroys eveyrone in “clutch shooting” basically in any way you want to define the stat.[/quote]
Well you’d be in the minority on this one. Most would pick Kobe. But I definitely can’t argue with your personal choice. The dude is an offensive power house for sure.
[quote]scj119 wrote:
Ok is anyone else pissed about Kobe’s manufactured postgame practice the media ate up like a starving puppy? There’s a fucking perfectly sized practice court in American Airlines arena he could’ve used.
To me it’s just such a transparent “look at me, I’m still the hardest working player!” attention-grab. Don’t get me wrong - Kobe probably IS the hardest working player in the NBA - but I think that practice was done more for the attention than getting work in on his jumper.
I just don’t think he cares THAT much about an early-March regular season game.[/quote]
I couldn’t disagree with you more. He does care THAT much about his game. He’s bar none the hardest working player in the NBA since he’s entered the league. I’m sure some of it was blowing off steam but I don’t have nearly the jaundiced-glasses as to his motivation for doing such shooting.[/quote]
He does care that much about his game, yes, and as I said he probably IS the hardest-working player in the league… but he’s only done this after a game a few times in his career (I forget how many, I read it earlier). Why isn’t he doing this against Memphis and Minnesota, you know? He waits for the biggest media circus of the year.
I’m sure he was pissed about his last 2 mins of play, but if he wanted to avoid the media why not use the practice court? That’s the part that annoys me I think.
Part of this is gamesmanship. I’m not saying he’s doing it purely to make people like him… it’s also about reminding the other PLAYERS in the league that he’s the hardest working mofo. Maybe a bit “better” reasoning.
[quote]scj119 wrote:
If I personally had to have one guy take a shot to save my life it would be Melo. He destroys eveyrone in “clutch shooting” basically in any way you want to define the stat.[/quote]
Well you’d be in the minority on this one. Most would pick Kobe. But I definitely can’t argue with your personal choice. The dude is an offensive power house for sure.[/quote]
I certainly agree that most would pick Kobe and I’m in the minority. I’m admittedly more stats-oriented than most basketball fans so I tend to have a few opinions that differ vastly from the crowd.
For clarity: I’m not saying Kobe is a BAD choice. He’s just (in my opinion) not the best one. I expect no one to agree haha
[quote]scj119 wrote:
I really like the Bulls’ chances of the #1 seed in the East[/quote]
I’ll still stick with the Celtics but let me tell ya. The Bulls are scary good. I wouldn’t be surprised if they upset the Celtics. They could do it. They may have to pay the price for a year and lose a frustratingly close 7 game series to them first before they start dominating the East for the next few years.
The last second shot thing would need a little context too. If we’re talking, 1 person to create and take their own shot, Kobe has to be way up on that list(like 1a 1b type deal, even if his % might be less than a few others he has made some CRAZY shots in the absolute biggest situations, situations those other dudes literally haven’t been in).
If you maybe alter the discussion a bit though and allow guys who don’t really create their own shots, but would be the prime recipients of a kick out from the typical guys drawing a crowd; I think I go with Ray Allen all day every day(so cliche picking the 3 point record holder, but I guess he holds the record for a reason…)
[quote]scj119 wrote:
Ok is anyone else pissed about Kobe’s manufactured postgame practice the media ate up like a starving puppy? There’s a fucking perfectly sized practice court in American Airlines arena he could’ve used.
To me it’s just such a transparent “look at me, I’m still the hardest working player!” attention-grab. Don’t get me wrong - Kobe probably IS the hardest working player in the NBA - but I think that practice was done more for the attention than getting work in on his jumper.
I just don’t think he cares THAT much about an early-March regular season game.[/quote]
I couldn’t disagree with you more. He does care THAT much about his game. He’s bar none the hardest working player in the NBA since he’s entered the league. I’m sure some of it was blowing off steam but I don’t have nearly the jaundiced-glasses as to his motivation for doing such shooting.[/quote]
He does care that much about his game, yes, and as I said he probably IS the hardest-working player in the league… but he’s only done this after a game a few times in his career (I forget how many, I read it earlier). Why isn’t he doing this against Memphis and Minnesota, you know? He waits for the biggest media circus of the year.
I’m sure he was pissed about his last 2 mins of play, but if he wanted to avoid the media why not use the practice court? That’s the part that annoys me I think.
Part of this is gamesmanship. I’m not saying he’s doing it purely to make people like him… it’s also about reminding the other PLAYERS in the league that he’s the hardest working mofo. Maybe a bit “better” reasoning.[/quote]
I see what you’re saying, but disagree. I almost view it as a message of sorts. If he goes and puts up a couple of hundred jumpers in the practice court no one hears about it. If he does it on the opposing teams home floor, it makes the news. It was basiclly a “You may have won the battle but I’ll damn sure win the war” kind of statement.
[quote]scj119 wrote:
If I personally had to have one guy take a shot to save my life it would be Melo. He destroys eveyrone in “clutch shooting” basically in any way you want to define the stat.[/quote]
Well you’d be in the minority on this one. Most would pick Kobe. But I definitely can’t argue with your personal choice. The dude is an offensive power house for sure.[/quote]
I certainly agree that most would pick Kobe and I’m in the minority. I’m admittedly more stats-oriented than most basketball fans so I tend to have a few opinions that differ vastly from the crowd.
For clarity: I’m not saying Kobe is a BAD choice. He’s just (in my opinion) not the best one. I expect no one to agree haha[/quote]
While Bryant did take some bad shots late last night, he was most certainly fouled on a couple of 'em. And, the reason I take Bryant is that he can get ANY SHOT he wants, and hit that shot. Melo for the most part is confined to 18 feet and in with regards to last second shots. I will say that I think Melo is the second best offensive player in the league behind Bryant. I know Durant gets a lot of love but he puts up a lot of shots and gets an ungodly amount of freethrows.
Gimme a break. In the NBA apparently Lebron is to hate what Kobe is to admire. And that’s bullshit. Kobe is as flawed as Lebron. He kicked out Shaq from LA, he can’t garner love from his peers and coaches like other greats and has shown poor judgment in his personal life. Added to that he couldn’t get out of the first round without a Pau Gasol.
Don’t interpret that as a knock on Kobe. Yeah he’s probably the best player of the last 10 years, the hardest worker blah blah but he’s not perfect and worthy of dismissal of any criticism thrown his way.
from Simmons’ recap of thursday’s game (espn.com):
Will we ever forgive the MoHeatos? They might spend the rest of their lives paying for “The Decision,” their “Welcome Party” (which, thankfully, lives on YouTube for eternity), and LeBron’s prediction of “six or seven titles.” Americans love when false arrogance comes back to kick someone in the teeth. Heck, that’s what created our country in the first place: In 1774, the British easily could have been LeBron, Wade and Bosh dancing on a stage and pretending to be immortal. We love underdogs, upsets and comeuppances.
And that’s what this Miami season has been – a four-month-long comeuppance, a vindication that you can’t stack your team without thinking it through, that role players matter, that coaching matters, that even the most talented basketball teams need a pecking order. Miami tried to cheat the system. It didn’t work. Teams came roaring at them for four straight months – night after night, a bull’s-eye draped on their backs that never went away – and, eventually, Miami started to wear down. It’s possible to play playoff games for nine straight months, but only with a deep team. You can’t do it with three guys.
Against the Lakers, they won because Bosh played really well, Wade outplayed Kobe, and Miller and Bibby nailed six of nine 3s. Pretty good game for the Heat, actually. And they barely won. Not a good sign. I continue to think we’re headed for a Bulls-Celtics Eastern finals. At least I will have someone to root for.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So both Dirk and Melo have been more efficient than Kobe in the last 3 seasons? Didn’t know Dirk was up there[/quote]
That’s not entirely accurate. The more chances you have in high pressure situations the more your odds of success drop.[/quote]
How did you come to that conclusion?
I could understand that if Dirk was only in that situation 5 times - but out of 13 attempts Dirk has been very efficient.
If it were possible to see how Kobe did in his first 13 attempts I guess it would paint a more accurate picture[/quote]
Is that a serious question? Think about it. You also have to look at the level of intensity in those games. Bryant has made the Finals 3 years in a row now. His high pressure games were quite a bit more meaningful than either of Melo’s or Dirk’s. That’s not taking anything away from either of those dudes 'cause they’re fantastic balllayers, but if I have a last shot to make I’m taking Bryant every time.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So both Dirk and Melo have been more efficient than Kobe in the last 3 seasons? Didn’t know Dirk was up there[/quote]
That’s not entirely accurate. The more chances you have in high pressure situations the more your odds of success drop.[/quote]
How did you come to that conclusion?
I could understand that if Dirk was only in that situation 5 times - but out of 13 attempts Dirk has been very efficient.
If it were possible to see how Kobe did in his first 13 attempts I guess it would paint a more accurate picture[/quote]
Is that a serious question? Think about it. You also have to look at the level of intensity in those games. Bryant has made the Finals 3 years in a row now. His high pressure games were quite a bit more meaningful than either of Melo’s or Dirk’s. That’s not taking anything away from either of those dudes 'cause they’re fantastic balllayers, but if I have a last shot to make I’m taking Bryant every time.[/quote]
…Then you can never compare anyone to Kobe by this logic.
At the same time it’s unfair to assume Dirk would not make those shots in the same situations just because he was never given the chance.
I guess the only way to accurately compare is look at regular season only.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So both Dirk and Melo have been more efficient than Kobe in the last 3 seasons? Didn’t know Dirk was up there[/quote]
That’s not entirely accurate. The more chances you have in high pressure situations the more your odds of success drop.[/quote]
How did you come to that conclusion?
I could understand that if Dirk was only in that situation 5 times - but out of 13 attempts Dirk has been very efficient.
If it were possible to see how Kobe did in his first 13 attempts I guess it would paint a more accurate picture[/quote]
Is that a serious question? Think about it. You also have to look at the level of intensity in those games. Bryant has made the Finals 3 years in a row now. His high pressure games were quite a bit more meaningful than either of Melo’s or Dirk’s. That’s not taking anything away from either of those dudes 'cause they’re fantastic balllayers, but if I have a last shot to make I’m taking Bryant every time.[/quote]
…Then you can never compare anyone to Kobe by this logic.
At the same time it’s unfair to assume Dirk would not make those shots in the same situations just because he was never given the chance.
I guess the only way to accurately compare is look at regular season only.[/quote]
Well you’re right about one thing: Bryant’s incomparable. And no, it’s not unfair to anyone. If Dirk was as good as you’re making him he’d have chances to hit game winners aginst the Celtics or Magic, not the Grizz or Bobcats.