NBA Finals 2009: Lakers vs Magic

[Jackal]

Kobe faced the best defense he would face in the playoffs after being played by Battier and Artest

Fixed.

Artest just bumped him around, Battier stuck to him and avoided fouling in an amazing fashion.

[shadowgrin]

Yeah, I just want to reiterate your point of Kobe facing the best defense with Battier guarding him and Artest trying to bully him.

[Carmo]

And then Jones tripping him.

[MC Hao]

it's a shame the nuggets couldn't make it to the finals. i wanna see more birdman!

[Jackal]

...Oh my.

[puttincomputers]

Go Lakers.

Wait Pat, I need this tool

what! you cant read that! I can read this you need glasses on the smallest font on the forum!

[Angelo]

Oh many Lakers hater here but oh well GO GO LAKERS

[Jackal]

You aren't very bright, puttincomputers.

[Oakrhum]

it's a shame the nuggets couldn't make it to the finals. i wanna see more birdman!

Hey MC Hao, why do you want to see more bird?

[benji]

Who wouldn't want to?

Hitler. That's who.

[gyezra]

Kobe is unstoppable, how can u stop the unstoppable?

[Lamrock]

By making the unstoppable miss a bunch of shots?

[kibaxx7]

By making the unstoppable miss a bunch of shots?

Exactly... Magic in 6.

[shadowgrin]

Why do I have the feeling that Hack-a-Shaq is going to be revived again?

[Brave Sir Rubin]

Why do I have the feeling that Hack-a-Shaq is going to be revived again?

I hope you mean hack a-Bynum for the entire 15 minutes he plays... because Dwight has been hittin' 'em free throws.

[shadowgrin]

Lakers may get desperate you know.

[Brave Sir Rubin]

Lakers may get desperate you know.

I hope so.

I really, really hope so.

[puttincomputers]

hey kc i am sorry what i posted was over the top. a little to much coffee i guess

[gyezra]

By making the unstoppable miss a bunch of shots?

but his shots are unstoppable can u stop something that's not stoppable?

[MikeMan™]

Make him work for everything . . .

[Modifly]

but his shots are unstoppable can u stop something that's not stoppable?

Kobe is stoppable. He's from planet Earth just like each and everyone else. If Kobe is unstoppable then he must hit every shot he takes, well that's not the case here so he is stoppable. He cant be shut down completely, he'll still make a lot of shots but when he have to earn those points that's when you know you're playing good defense on him.

[Oakrhum]

Wow, you're writing in blue.

[Modifly]

Yeah, and Pdub is sporting a Lakers avatar.

[Oakrhum]

Why do I have the feeling that Hack-a-Shaq is going to be revived again?

I hope you mean hack a-Bynum for the entire 15 minutes he plays... because Dwight has been hittin' 'em free throws.

Bynum has a good free throw touch.

[benji]

Kobe is completely stoppable, he has enough terrible Finals performances against someone who simply sticks to him with the idea of making him work for every point. (And Kobe still has yet to resist trying to win games with a 9/25 performance.) Every single team going against the Lakers when it counts knows that sticking someone who can focus entirely on Kobe can make him harm the Lakers total attack. The Magic luckily have two of these guys.

The Nuggets didn't have this guy. (I'm not buying Dahntay Jones. Ever. And putting Carmelo on him for 30 minutes a game was a terrible decision as Melo broke down in the fourth quarter of nearly every game from having to chase Kobe around. And J.R. Smith has made strides defensively, but he started as the worst defender in the league and is now still below average. I'm still convinced I could score on him.) Billups played Kobe better than anyone in that series (because he's a fucking genius) and he still wasn't going full bore defensively. The Magic can sic Lee and Pietrus on Kobe for 40 minutes and neither one effects their offense. (Since they can still just camp in the corner and be an impact player.)

Kobe's a great player and probably the best two guard in the league, but he's no LeBron. You can defend the guy, he's a fucking jump shooter. Not a genetic freak who is threatening the very validity of the NBA. Kobe has no fear in taking a shot and that's part of why he's great because he's not rattled and wants to hit one in your face, but he's still a jump shooter and can be defended as one in such a way where he's forcing shots. (I want to make sure fanbois understand me, Ray Allen can also be defended as a jump shooter, but he's going to nail that shot in the end because he's awesome, the point is, you let them shoot, with a guy draped all over them, because if they're not on, they don't matter.) LeBron is a completely different beast.

Kobe won't decide this series, the rest of the Lakers will. Can they defend the Magic, and can they get their points? Kobe is borderline irrelevant.