Real Deal

No player truly makes their teammates better, unless they do it in practice. They make the game easier, but it doesn't necessarily make them a better player. Smush Parker looked like a pretty good player when he was here. Once he left, though, he didn't do a damn thing. He didn't improve, just had a lot of open shots when he was playing alongside Bryant. Cleveland absolutely sucked when LeBron left. They had it easy when he was there because of the defensive attention he required. Had he made them better players, it would show without him in a Cavs jersey.

If Luke Walton doesn't shoot the ball, he'll be more effective on the offensive end than Ron. Sad to say, but it's true. He will help facilitate, take the load off of Bryant a little, much like he did vs. Detroit in the one game we actually won in the 2004 Finals.

http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/22957-source-derrick-rose-wins-mvp

Don't care. If we were playing the Thunder, I'd be a bit more concerned, but Artest isn't really defending anyone important (anyone that Matt Barnes can't handle), and he's ineffective on the offensive end. Start Drew, Gasol and Odom. Stick two down low, have Odom slashing to the rim, don't give Steve Blake a single minute on the court, and go for broke. I'm sure Barnes will start, though, or Kobe will be at the three, Brown starting.

Bynum is our second option now. I would personally apologize to him for ever wanting him traded over Pau Gasol, if given the chance. I wasn't too excited over his Game 1 numbers, but when he was out there with Brown and Blake, he wasn't getting the ball at all, so the eight shot attempts didn't tell us much. Gasol is a damn loser. I don't care if he was playing well during our two championship runs, today matters most. After last night, he has driven to the top of my most hated list, over LeBron. I'm honestly sick of his flopping and moaning, walking to Dirk when he takes his jumpers and not bothering to contest them, being three seconds late on any help, not taking any responsibility in post-game interviews, demanding more touches but being passive as hell, and playing 20 feet from the rim despite having Dirk Nowitzki on him. I have no idea where Odom's stupid ass was at last night, stopping to talk to someone in the crowd at least 4-5 different times, promising a win (probably Khloe). Steve Blake hasn't done anything, in a two-game stretch, this entire season...and Phil Jackson playing this goon as long as he did? Makes me sick talking about it.

No posts during, or after, the game...everyone go to sleep?

Just finished watching the track meet. The Celtics can't defend it, and back on offense, Boston doesn't have a post. Losing Perkins also hurt. Rondo isn't trying to score the ball, which is a mistake. Not having Thibodeau is killing them as well...seems like they forgot how to defend slashing superstars. I don't know...I'd be shocked if Boston made it a series. I know they haven't played on their home floor yet, but I really don't think it'll matter much.

That wasn't the point. He still took a lot of threes, which is bad in your opinion, because he should've been getting to the rim with those fresh legs of his. Efficiency trumps all, correct? And when he won his other scoring title, he took 6.5 threes a night, which is just stupid because he could still jump. The defensive attention is still the same, dude. Artest and Fisher have been getting just as many wide-open looks as Smush did. People are still doubling Kobe out by the three. When they don't, he hits 50% of his shots, like he did last night. Dallas didn't double. If Gasol was more of a threat, and played in the post, it's a different story...but you won't even talk about that. I rarely see you discuss anything other than Kobe when it comes to LA. Oh yes, the numbers (meaning, just the three-point percentage) is very telling of this. Kobe will continue to change his game, slightly, to accommodate the obvious lack of explosiveness, but you're talking something that has been happening since 2008, and he's still doing his thing. The fact is, it's Phil's choice to play him less and less, not Bryant's, and his "per 36" is better than last year's, and as good as it was in the 2007-08 season. If a few years ago means 2006-07, that's pretty clear...but he has led a team to a couple of championships since then, and just last season, he had 30+ in a stretch of 11-12 playoff games, so I'm not going to sit here and bother with this much longer.

Weird that he actually lost lift in his jumper back in 2004, when he shot around 32% from three (after a season he shot 38%), then got it back just slightly the following season...then did pretty good for a few years, and lost it again this season. I wouldn't think it would have more to do with players getting in his face as he takes the threes, more contested over the last year or two. That wouldn't make sense, just because.

Durant, LeBron and Wade all get fouls called out the ass for getting looked at...awful examples. And, ironically, when he won his scoring titles, he was also jacking almost seven threes a night, and I don't think those shots are layups. Kobe doesn't get to the line because he doesn't try. http://www.jimrome.com/cimages/var/ezjimrome/storage/images/repository/photos/kobe-bryant-2011-nba-playoffs-game-5-vs-new-orleans-dunks-on-emeka-okafor/338412-1-eng-US/Kobe-Bryant-2011-NBA-Playoffs-Game-5-vs-New-Orleans-Dunks-On-Emeka-Okafor_photo_medium.jpg No foul! I think Bryant needs to work on his flopping skills, honestly...not even saying it as a joke.

Not sure what else to tell ya. Kobe doesn't need to live off the referees, and I'll pump my fist for that. Less effective? Cool...that's probably why Allen Iverson has been out of the league for years. At the end of the day, Kobe gets it done. You can bitch about it all you want. Kevin Martin isn't even on the same planet, and never will be, so I find all of those points pretty funny, to say the least.

Honestly, I really don't know. I usually have an answer for that. I'm waiting for Gasol to turn into the player he was last year...not THAT much of a physical presence, but someone that still tried to be, and one that would get down into the low post and put in those efficient hook shots. Right now, he's holding the ball for far too long, not taking shots he's supposed to take, not playing deep in the post, and struggling to play defense and contest shots. He can put up 15/10, but it's the weirdest 15/10 any player can log. If you told me that Drew was going to be healthy for the rest of his career, I'm trading Gasol...no doubt about it.

From a seven-point lead, to one, if I recall correctly.

To be fair, Gasol played very, very well last season. He's an entire different person now, though. Most of Laker Nation has been talking about it in the second half of this year. May have to do with Drew playing so well, but I really don't know. But yes, you're right. Dirk is the superior PF. I may have said they are as good as each other at one point, and I know for a fact I've stated that Dirk is the best PF in the game many times, but I've never, ever stated that Gasol is the best at that position.

Efficiency is defined by how many shots you make, versus how many you take. He made 48% of his shots. He's efficient. And he scored 36. Bryant has been doing everything he possibly can to get to the line for the last 2-3 months, but hasn't been getting the whistle. In yesterday's game, he relied on jumpers because a) he's on a bum ankle, and b) he's not going to get the whistle. When he drives in, gets clotheslined, doesn't make the shot and doesn't get the whistle, people look back on the shot chart three hours later and see how he missed his layup, look at his FG% and see it lower, and make their statements based on that. Maybe it's Kobe's fault because he doesn't drop his head, close his eyes, and recklessly go to the rim to get to the line all season long, like other players do. Because of that, referees aren't used to calling them and putting him at the charity stripe, so they just don't do it. To be honest, he's been shooting jumpers over driving and flopping for the last 2-3 years, and it has resulted in two consecutive championships. It's embarrassing to see other players score 10-15 undeserving points at the line, so I'm proud to say that Kobe has more to his game than just that. Damn him for shooting 48% though.

I'm pretty sure everyone read your post. You don't need to tell us what you wrote. Zero assists doesn't mean Kobe chose not to pass the ball. I already provided the FG% of the rest of the team, and had you watched the game (I know you didn't, or you watched the wall next to the TV showing the game), you wouldn't have made a comment about his lack of assists. Funny enough, I knew you'd go this route at some point. You have a pony in your avatar. My apologies for not being such a comedian. I hope the game of basketball actually interests you from this point forward. It doesn't seem to after the Knicks got their asses handed to them by Boston.

Stein wrote a pretty good article (that I just posted) about us losing luster, and in it, he states that Kobe is suffering from the same thing Dirk is. People get caught up in Gasol's numbers, but they don't realize when and where he's getting them.

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=Lakers-110503

That's irrelevant. What I said was strictly talking about your comment, which was all based on Kobe's shot attempts. I didn't see any reason why LeBron James was even stuck in this topic in the first place. Who played in this game? You mentioned the Miami Heat on the fourth page, mentioned LeBron in the following post. You will stop doing it.

Where's the proof? The win/loss record? Typically, when we are losing, or blowing leads (like we did last night), Kobe has to get us back into the game by shooting the ball. That alone can bump the shot total from 18 FGA to 25, and when we lose the game, suddenly, people look at that? I really wish you guys would start watching the Lakers games. It's not a shot at any of you, it's me really wishing it. Last night, after we took our 16-point lead off of an irrelevant three that Kobe shot, the Lakers started playing pathetic defense. From that point, to the end of the quarter, Kobe shot nine times to try and keep the lead. He made six of those nine shots, but when the quarter ended, the Lakers had lost nine points from that lead. The ten total shots in that third quarter, nine coming after we started blowing our 16-point lead, would be on pace to him taking 40 shots in a game. It wasn't his FGA that lost us the game, or him not getting anyone involved...it was our defense in the third and fourth quarters, particularly when we had the biggest lead of the game, and early in the fourth, when he wasn't on the court for six minutes. If Kobe doesn't have that 15-point third quarter, he doesn't have a chance to win the game with three seconds left. It took him 10 shots to have that quarter. Are we really going to complain about his 29 FGA? When the Lakers lose, he typically shoots a lot more? It's obvious why.

Stupid ass Kobe better shoot 75% or better this game, and all layups, and if he makes one bad pass in the last 3-4 minutes of this game, the rest of his night becomes irrelevant. And he has a lot of help, so he better rack up at least eight assists, because facilitating Kobe always works. If he lets Dirk go off for another 28 points, I'm going to be pissed. Better keep his tall ass off the glass, also...those 14 rebounds were unacceptable, and Kobe needs to box out better. Go Lakers.

TIME: 10:30 PM ET TV: TNT

TIME: 8:00 PM ET TV: TNT

James' last three poor shooting games... LeBron shot 42%, 8-19, in the first game vs. BOS...although, nobody said a word about it, and ABL considered it a great game. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/22925-gm1-boston-at-miami He shot 5-13 (39%) in the previous game, against the Sixers, but nobody mentioned it. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/22845-gm5-philadelphia-at-miami-mia-3-1 He shot 4-14 (29%) against Philly in Game 1, but nobody cared to say anything except for Flash (who is a Heat fan): http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/22673-gm1-philadelphia-at-miami Nothing at all. Done with this one, simple as that. On to Game 2.

Aside from the turnover that was his fault (would've been nice to have Fisher, or someone, following him to the rim...but that never happens), what did he do wrong? He hit a shot with a minute to go to put us up by three. He was fouled by Kidd (don't care if they called it or not, it was a hold for at least three seconds). Are we really talking about Kobe Bryant, and not about how pathetic the rest of the team played? "Eh, Kobe didn't have a poor game. It wasn't that great. Kinda decent, average. Like a Barea-type of game." God forbid Kobe scores just 28 points on only 46% FG in the next one. Inefficient, selfish bastard of a player.