Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 8:57 pm  |  223 responses

NBA Finals: Game 1 Live Blog

Relive the Lakers’ great start.

by Marcel Mutoni

LOS ANGELES — We in the house!

We got to our seats in the press section just in time for the National Anthem. It was apparently sang by Ozzie Osborne’s dad, or at least that’s what Lang tells me.

The crowd here sounds nervous, and a bit quiet. Not exactly a shocker considering where we are. Let’s see if the Lakers can give them something to get amped about early on.

Dwight easily wins the tip off. And…it’s go time!

Speaking of Mr. Howard, he opens the festivities by abusing Bynum inside for an easy two. Andrew comes back with a strong finish inside. Bynum vs Howard, it’s the NBA Finals on ABC!

After a Hedo baseline three, Bynum sinks a jumper. But Dwight answers with a nice running leftie hook. Battle of the bigs early on. 7-6 Magic.

The Artist Formerly Known as Derek Fisher with a putback. Which is quickly negated by a nice reverse layup from Hedo Turkoglu. I thought he was in there to only shoot threes?

Let the record show that it took Andrew Bynum just over four minutes to register his first foul of the night. Alright, we can build on this!

(Dwight, by the way, sinks one of two. We watched him hit a whole bunch of freebies prior to the game, so it’s safe to say he knew he’d be spending a lot of time at the line tonight.)

How do you say “he’s on fire!”  in Turkish? Because Hedo is exactly that. After a goaltend by Dwight on a Kobe drive, Lakers lead 14-12.

The biggest cheer of the night so far comes after Bynum fakes Howard out of his shoes, and gets hit on the arm on a short jump hook. After the timeout, Andrew is going to the line. Tie game, 14-14.

Pietrus is in the game. He was still wearing Kobe Nikes during warmups, by the way. Can you guys confirm what he has on now?

Gasol, despite the height advantage over Lewis, is struggling with his shots from close range in the early going. Derek Fisher, though, is not. He cans a jumper to give the Lakers a 2 point lead with just over three minutes to go in the opening quarter.

Boom-Boom Pau.

As expected, Andrew Bynum commits an impressively awful foul on Howard near the hoop, his second of the night. Oy.

Speaking of awful fouls, Ariza picks up his second foul on a runner from Hedo Turkoglu. And we have a timeout.

Luke Walton with a nice feed inside to Pau for the dunk…On the other end, Dwight buries his head in Gasol’s chest (that had to hurt, by the way) and picks up his second foul of the night. Early foul trouble for the two centers. Lakers up 22-20.

Rafer with a nice runner across the lane, giving Orlando the two point lead as the seconds tick down….

Kobe has a layup spill out to close out the first quarter. 24-22, Magic.

It’s clear what the Laker strategy on defense is: They’re letting Dwight operate inside one-on-one, and staying home on all of the shooters. As a result, Orlando has only hit one threeball so far. We’ll see if this keeps up.

Jameer Nelson is in the game! This should be interesting.

Nelson finds Marcin Gortat for the cram, registering his first assist in what seems like three years. Rashard then hits a three on the ensuing possession.

Courtney Lee with a nice swipe inside on Gasol, and he’s rewarded on the other end by Jameer with a pretty feed for a layup. Nelson has clearly never heard of the word “rust”.

Lang and I are also tweeting during the game, and trying not to kill ourselves each time Kareem posts one of his unbelievably mundane tweets. Way to state the obvious, Cap.

Lakers regain the lead as Kobe steps around Courtney Lee for a bucket in the lane, 34-33. Leading to an Orlando timeout.

A semi-inspired “Magic sucks!” chant starts up in the crowd, and Lang adds the following: “They should show Magic Johnson on the jumbotron during this.”

Kobe is catching fire, hitting two consecutive jumpers from virtually the same spot. And of course the crowd loves it. Another timeout for Stan and the gang. 38-33, Lakers.

After a no-call on one end, Bynum picks up his third(!) of the night on a Dwight spin move. The crowd here is less than pleased, to say the least. Howard splits the pair of freebies.

Bryant finds Fish for a baseline three. Derek Fisher, ladies and germs. Lakers with their biggest lead of the night.

Howard is headed to the line again, after a hack by Pau Gasol.

Kobe with an absurd turnaround over Pietrus. Who, not to be outdone, hits an open three on the other end. Kobe then answers with another jumper. Could we be headed for a Bryant-Pietrus shootout? Um, no. No, we’re not.

The Candyman, AKA Lamar Odom, finishes a nice alley from Kobe. Lakers with their biggest lead so far, with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

Jameer with his first basket of the night. Quicky answered by Pau on the baseline. 49-41, LA.

Were it not for all of the ticky-tack fouls, the Lakers could easily be up 15 at this point. Orlando can’t connect from the arc, and Dwight has been relatively quiet. Meanwhile, the Lakers are getting whatever they want on the offensive end.

Kobe closes the half by slicing through the entire Orlando defense for a layup, giving him 20 points at halftime. Lakers lead 53-43. See you after the break….

Second half underway, and Kobe continues to sizzle. A layup and turnaround give him 24, and the Lakers a 14 point lead.

Rashard cuts into it with a baseline three, his first sign of life this evening. He does realize the Finals have started, doesn’t he?

Dwight just got gang-tackled by the entire Laker team, but only Lamar got the foul tagged to him. Seems a little unfair.

With Kobe going to the line, I guess we should mention that Andrew Bynum has four fouls. Come on, Phil. Put DJ Mbenga in the game!

I never thought I’d say this, but Howard looks really tentative in the post.

(Kobe Bryant, however, doesn’t know what tentative means. He just canned a jumper, plus the foul on Pietrus. The MVP chants are getting louder by the minute in here. 14-point Laker lead, and Bryant has 27 so far.)

The Triangle Offense, worked to perfection by Bryant, Gasol, and Odom. The latter is going to the line, after canning a short hook in the lane.

Following a nice feed inside to Pau from Kobe, Stan Van Gundy leaps off his chair and calls a timeout. Nice hops, coach. Maybe you could help your team snatch a board out there next time.

Some maniac near the Laker bench is wearing one of those gaudy championship jackets from, like, 2002. He is up and giving the refs an earful after the foul call on Fisher. So much for Laker fans being dispassionate.

Things are getting ugly, as Ariza swats a shot after a nice drive by Kobe.

Kobe may get 40 before the fourth quarter starts if this keeps up. And Pietrus may need to visit with a shrink following this game.

As the fourth gets underway, it’s a 23-point Laker lead after Jameer cans a shot. Orlando has erased huge leads numerous times this postseason, so this puppy isn’t over just yet.

Lamar just nearly blew the roof off this place, as he extended way above Gortat (Polish Smash!) for a layin, plus the foul. Lead up to 28 now. Is this really the NBA Finals?

Pietrus with a nice hanging bucket. He’s going to the line, as Luke hacked him on the arm. Timeout, LA.

Lil’ Wayne is in the hizzie, wearing a Laker tracksuit. The ladies, I’m told, are loving it.

Bynum and Howard are back in the game. I guess Phil wanted to make sure ‘Drew used up all of his fouls this evening. Speaking of which, he just split a pair at the line, giving LA a 27 point lead.

It’s pretty dead in here now. A 24-point lead by the hometeam will do that to you. Even in the NBA Finals, apparently.

Celeb-watch: Kanye in stunna shades, one of the Baldwins, some guy from Entourage, Jack Nicholson (who gets a huge cheer as always), David Arquette, plus Weezy and his Laker tracksuit.

The Magic have attempted 22 threes tonight, and hit only 7. Yikes.

As Kobe gets his fortieth point of the evening, pushing the lead back up to 24, Phil Jackson signals that he’s going to empty his bench. But not until we head to this commercial break.

With just under 2 minutes to go, the house is still pretty packed.

DJ Mbenga just got a huge ovation from the capacity crowd. In the NBA Finals. Think about that for a moment.

100-75 is the final score. Lakers take a 1-0 series lead. Kobe scores 40, and all is well in the City of Angels.

Off to the locker rooms for reactions …

That’s it from me tonight. Thanks for playing along. See you on Sunday for Game Two.

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  • http://slamonline.com B. Long

    “That motherfu(ker pumped my gas on the way over here!”

  • http://slamonline.com B. Long

    “Well, that’s funny because I take Yoga lessons from him”

  • http://mindyourbusiness@nosybutt.com Allenp

    The Seed
    I can’t understand not wanting to watch Lebron play.
    Sure, he’s herky-jerky sometimes, and he’s bully. But there is beauty in that to me.
    At a certain point, competitive sports becomes about exerting your will. I like watching players decide “Nobody on this court/field can eff with me today.” And then going out and proving themselve right.
    Lebron in the open court is amazing. Lebron going to the rim is amazing. Lebron when his jumper is falling, amazing. Lebron isoing one on five can leave a little to be desired.
    Anyway, Lebron regularly does things on the court I’m positive that no other basketball player has ever done. Lebron can get 50, 10 and 10 and you dont’ even realize he’s shooting a lot.
    If you can’t appreciate that, I feel sorry for you.

  • breeze

    @allenp i beleive if players put they mind to triple double stats some elet players it can be done..but the obvious difference with him in kobe kobe just plays the game to win thats it…not too extra…but i do see lebron skill set..im sorry hes a specimen..but of power..with soft hands …its amazing..i agree with seed tthat dwayne is a better player just because of the heart..he doesnt look like he has heart to me all the time..if the game is not rolled out for him i dont se him changing it…soon as adversity came in the playoff they choked.. season wins mvp coach of the year doesnt mean a thing..and just to be fair kobe last year mvp doesnt either. but this year final mvp will mean everything

  • http://www.manutd.com/ Z

    Allen, co-sign 100% on the 1 on 5 thing. Mike Brown must take a little blame for that. Ugly basketball. I’d LOVE to see Bron playing like a ‘real’ 3 in an offense that moves a lot. How can you NOT involve that guy more on down screens, curling at the nail, going backdoors. Let him get easy buckets for god’s sake, he’s a BEAST. Let him be a finisher as well, not just a creator. J Kidd would help too.

  • http://www.manutd.com/ Z

    People really think Bron is chasing dimes and boards on the regular? Wow. What about trying to do anything and everything to give your team the best chance to win? Bron is not a stat stuffer, he’s just a gifted passer. Some people really can not appreciate Kob and Bron. It’s always either/or. Sigh.

  • http://mindyourbusiness@nosybutt.com Allenp

    BREEZE
    You can’t say Lebron choked when he averaged what he averaged. You can’t say he choked when you look at what he did in the games Cleveland won. His teammates choked, his coach choked, his GM choked, but Lebron didn’t choke. He failed, but he didn’t “choke.” There is a huge difference.
    Kobe failed when he lost to the Suns in that seven game series. Dirk “choked” when his team lost to the Warriors. It’s not about who is the higher seed, it’s about how the games are played. Lebron was willing his teams to wins when the offense was just iso at the free throw line and please God help.
    Come on, y’all are going overboard. Dwade looks better than Lebron sometimes, but other times he looks worse. His team lost to the same Hawks team that Lebron swept with no problem. Come on.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Myles Brown

    Choked is such a loaded word. I feel like it applies to an entire game or series performance, but I still maintain that as unstoppable, awesome, insert suitable adjective here, Brons performance was he still came up short in the 4th in multiple games.

  • http://mindyourbusiness@nosybutt.com Allenp

    Myles
    I can’t argue that Lebron was always clutch. He wasn’t. He had stretches of insane cluth play and stretches where he clearly struggled with the moment.
    But, I think his overall performance speaks for itself.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Myles Brown

    I hear that. I just think that blaming it all solely on his teammates and then citing that ridiculous stat line is slightly dishonest considering that if he had come through in those moments, his performance alone wouldve been enough for the win. Which wouldve been phenomenal and worthy of any superlatives tossed his way. So hell yes, he teammates came up short. But there were times that he did too and so the point of fingers just seems unnecessary. Take the good and the bad.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Are people really trying to say that Wade is better than LeBron? That’s some comedic sh!t right there. Wade is currently top 3, but no way is he better than LeBron, nor is he better than Kobe.

  • http://www.nba.com tealish

    Allenp speaks too much truth. Cosign everything.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    Stating the obvious is not pointing fingers. Blaming Bron for the loss only makes sense if you’re one of those dudes that hold the superstar accountable for every win and every loss. Get all the praise, take all the blame. Which is fair if it’s consistent. Which means that Miami’s loss against the Hawks would be D-Wade’s fault and LA’s loss vs the Celts last year was Kobe’s fault, right Myles? Because both of those guys didn’t play as well in those series as Bron vs Orlando. / Regardless of numbers, I’ve watched every game and I can’t blame Bron since he was actually the only dude on his team that balled at least as well as he did during the regular season. All of the other Cleveland players shrunk when it mattered the most. Z, Delonte, Mo, Andy V, Wally, Boobie, Sasha, Big Ben, Joe: none of them played well. How can you blame the only guy that showed up?

  • Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » NBA Finals Diary: Day 1 & 2

  • http://slamonline.com Nw09

    I find it funny LeBron pops in 99.99% of subject regarding Kobe it’s become annoying, but hell why not join in on the shananigans.

    Lmao@ people talking about chill out on the LeBron bashing. I’ve lurked this site longer than I’ve been posting and I never seen people willingly defend Kobe when he’s being bashed on here, some of you guys’s Kobe distain is so strong you come off biased.

    Anyway Lebron as Brent Barry said, HAS to be the rebounder, scorer and passer for his team the entire team relies on him.

    He took alot of freethrows his freethrows is a major part of his point calculated and sometimes he missed alot of them, and this is no diss to LeBron because I like his GAME. However I know LeBorn likes to be the stat man.

    He needs to know when to het his guys going and sacrifice his numbers in order to advance.

    Dwight is 23 and he’s brought his team to the finals as well. You know why he was so succesful so quick? Because he opened the confidence chamber for his teammates. He could’ve been averaging 40 a night and 12 rebounds with 10 assits but he didn’t because he got jis teammates involved enought to give them confidence. When that happens they don’t rely on one man all the time and it worked in their favor.

    Mike Brown is ba good coach but his way of winning isn’t. I don’t know how he got coach of the year because in situations he’s just a give it to LeBron and go guy.

    When D-Wade won his first title that season the entire Miami team were bebeficial to several of those wins in the playoffs not just D-Wade and that’s why he and Shaq won.

    When Shaq and Kobe played together the entire team was beneficial to that win not just soley one guy and that’s why they popped three.

    Kobe now has been a go to team guy and that’s why he’s been to the finals multiple times recently because he inserted his guys and they’ve won.

    LeBron’s teammates are just as good as Dwight’s but they relied too much on LeBron and when it was time for them to step up they looked like a deer caught on head lights. One man bands look good on the screen but on paper it shows that the team may hae not been as good as they really were.

  • http://slamonline.com Nw09

    Plus check out this article it reveals alot, it’s long but if you aren’t lazy then read it.

    Kobe Bryant is 30 years old. In August, he’ll be 31. In basketball years, that’s getting pretty high up there, and as a result, the consensus among sports writers is somewhere between “he is not the player he once was” and “he can’t continue to play at this level for much longer.” The problem? He’s been as good as ever, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

    I believe the problem here is that people are evaluating Kobe based on expectations, rather than reality. It’s like a referee who expects a foul to occur in a certain situation; when that situation occurs, he immediately calls the foul – not because there was one, but because he was already predisposed, be it consciously or subconsciously, to the idea that a foul would occur in that situation. Much like that ref, who is officiating based on expectations rather than based on what he sees in front of him, many in the sports world are judging Kobe Bryant based on their expectation that his performance should be declining, if not now then soon.

    But what is right there in front of their eyes tells a very different story. And not only is Kobe Bryant playing amazing basketball in his own right, but even when compared to LeBron James (whose individual performance has fans, bloggers, and media types raving) Kobe Bryant has been better — both in terms of individual performance and end result.

    Star-divide

    Let’s review, shall we? We’ll breeze right on through the first two rounds of the playoffs, where Kobe was “just” pretty great, and then spend some time on the Western Conference Finals, where he was truly magnificent.

    In the first round, Bryant started slowly. He took only two shots in the first quarters of each of the first two games, and an average of only five shots by half. In the third game, he shot poorly, as did most of his teammates. In Game 4, however, Kobe changed his approach. He had been looking to facilitate his teammates early in the game, looking for his shot more and more later on. In that fourth game, he took eight shots in the first quarter, making six of them, and then hit four of five shots in the second quarter. He went into the half with 24 points on 10-13 shooting. He finished the game with 38 points on 16-24 shooting (67%), along with six rebounds and two steals. His True Shooting Percentage (TS%) for that game was an astounding 72.5%. In the next game, he scored 31 points on an excellent 62.1% True Shooting, adding four steals and four assists, to lead the Lakers to an 11-point win to close out the series.

    A slow start, perhaps, but after a necessary adjustment, I’d say that’s not too shabby.

    In the second round, Bryant faced the defensive duo of Shane Battier and Ron Artest. In these two players, the Rockets had what no other team has ever been able to throw at Bryant: not one, but two elite perimeter defenders on the court at the same time, whose primary purpose was to make Kobe’s life difficult for 48 “minutes” every other day. Rarely has Kobe has to work so hard on the offensive end, and yet, this was nothing like LeBron James vs. Boston. Artest and Battier “held” Bryant to 27.4 points on 45.3% shooting (just 1.4% below his season average), 34.4% from distance, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Not exactly basement-dwelling numbers. In addition, Kobe turned the ball over only 1.57 times per game, while collecting 2.0 steals per game on the other end.

    Not his best series ever, but when that’s the best that two premier perimeter defenders can do against Kobe, it seems counter intuitive to suggest that Bryant is playing anything other than excellent basketball.

    And now we get to the good stuff, because the Western Conference Finals against Denver was one of Kobe Bryant’s best series ever. He didn’t waste any time, dropping 40 points on the Nuggets, on 59.3% True Shooting, along with six rebounds, four assists, and only one turnover. Most importantly, the Lakers won, and mostly thanks to Bryant. In a two-point victory, Kobe scored the Lakers’ final six points. He scored a total 18 points in the fourth quarter, coolly hitting all nine of his free throws along the way. He also doled out two assists in the final frame, making him responsible for 23 of the Lakers’ 31 fourth quarter points.

    In Game 2, another contest decided by a single possession, the Lakers lost, but Kobe Bryant still continued to perform. He scored 32 points on only 20 shots, good for 65.6% True Shooting. He also had five rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal, and by (questionable) design, he never got the chance to take potential game-tying shot.

    In Game 3, Kobe Bryant continued his otherworldly performance, scoring 41 points on only 24 shots, continuing his incredible efficiency with 65.1% True Shooting accuracy. He added six rebounds, five assists, and two steals, versus only one turnover, as he led the Lakers to a closely contested come-from-behind win. Not surprisingly, Kobe scored 10 of the Lakers final 13 points.

    Game 4 was a Nuggets’ blowout, and while Bryant never gave up, I have come around to ascribe Chris’s theory that Phil Jackson intentionally conceeded this game in exchange for much needed rest – leaving Kobe Bryant, never one to simply surrender, to go into desperation mode, throwing up tough, low-percentage shots in an unlikely effort to shoot the Lakers back into the game. Even still, Bryant shot a very decent 53.6% True Shooting, adding seven rebounds and five assists to go with only a single turnover.

    In Game 5, the Lakers came back with a vengeance, and Kobe Bryant led the charge – but not in the way you’d expect. He scored 22 points, but he took only 13 shots in the game (an impressive average of 1.7 points per shot), but it was his passing that secured yet another hard-fought win for the Lakers. In this game, the Nuggets double teamed and trapped Bryant more aggressively than they ever had before, and he made them pay. With the game on the line, he resisted the urge to do it all himself, instead making every right decision. He let the double team come, and rather than passing out early, he made them commit. As a result, his passes out of the double teams were unbelievably difficult, but he hit them with precision and made them look easy. With two Nuggets fully committed to Bryant, his teammates were left to play 4-on-3, and they took advantage of their numbers over and over again.

    If Bryant was brilliant in Game 5 – and he was, even without posting gaudy individual numbers – he was godlike in Game 6. The Lakers absolutely dominated this game, and once again, it started with Kobe. He scored 35 points on only 20 shots (1.75 points per shot), posting an absolutely unbelievable True Shooting Percentage of 73%. He also had 10 assists, six rebounds, one huge block, and yet again, only one turnover.

    Once again, the Nuggets aggressively trapped Bryant in Game 6, and once again, he made all of the right decisions. He never forced his shot, never attempted to play one-on-many, and consistently found the open man for an easy score. Along the way, he provided some very solid leadership, encouraging Gasol to be aggressive with his own shot, diagramming plays during timeouts, and instructing players like Shannon Brown during free throw breaks. As a result, the Lakers rolled to a 27-point blowout to close out the series.

    In the six games of the Western Conference Finals, Kobe Bryant made 48.1% of his shots from the floor, averaging 34 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game. Very importantly (as we will soon see), he shot 93.1% from the free throw line, making 67 of 72 attempts. He was incredibly efficient with his own shot, averaging 1.56 points per shot and scoring at an insanely great clip of 62.7% True Shooting over six games.

    Throughout the Conference Finals – and even now that they are over – the general consensus has been that Kobe Bryant has been “not bad,” and LeBron James has been incredible. Clearly, Bryant’s performance by itself should be regarded as truly incredible. But beyond that, the disparity in how Bryant and James were seen in their respective Conference Finals series demonstrates the different predispositions with which people evaluate each player.

    Consider the following:

    * LeBron, a (very big) small forward whose primary advantage over Kobe is his supposedly unstoppable ability to get to the rim, shot 48.7% from the field, nearly identical to Kobe’s 48.1% from the field.
    * LeBron’s True Shooting Percentage was a very solid 59.1% for the series, but Kobe’s was an incredible 62.7%.
    * LeBron took more three-pointers than Kobe did, but while Kobe made his at a respectable rate of 34.4%, LeBron shot a miserable 29.7% from distance.
    * LeBron took more free throws than Kobe did, but he hit only 74.5% of them, whereas Kobe hit 93.1% of his. (Important: In the fourth quarter of Game 3, LeBron missed 5 free throws that may have cost him the game. More on this later.)
    * LeBron turned the ball over 4.17 times per game; Kobe only turned the ball over 2.17 times per game. (Important: In the fourth quarter and overtime of Game 4, LeBron committed 7 turnovers that may have cost him the game. More on this later.)
    * LeBron scored 4.5 points more than Kobe during the Conference Finals, but he needed 4 extra shots per game to do so (and 5.3 extra shooting possessions, when shot attempts that result in free throws are accounted for).

    Considering all of the above, it baffles me that the talking heads continue to underrate Kobe Bryant’s performance in the Conference Finals, while ranting and raving to no end about LeBron James’ brilliance.

    Even more important than all of the above, however, was the result of the six Conference Finals games that each player participated in. While LeBron James was statistically and individually impressive, he also dominated the ball for his team. When Kobe has done the same thing in the past, he has been criticized for taking his teammates out of the game. Why is it that now, with LeBron doing the same, he doesn’t receive the same criticism?

    During the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers’ offense essentially reverted back to that old “give it to LeBron and let him do something” offense. Is it really any surprise that the productivity of LeBron’s teammates suffered while they were standing around watching and waiting for him to do something with the ball? It shouldn’t be; an offense so completely dominated by one player can only be so effective. And yet, somehow, LeBron’s teammates are receiving all the blame for their unexpected playoff exit. LeBron deserves his share, as well, for dominating the ball and taking his teammates out of the game. It worked once, in Game 5; the rest of the time, it hurt his team.

    Some will point to LeBron’s assists: he averaged an impressive eight assists in the Eastern Conference Finals. Again, I ask you, is it any surprise that he is collecting assists when the majority of the Cavs’ possessions end in LeBron making a play with the shot clock winding down? The “give it to LeBron” offense does not encourage ball movement. That extra pass? There isn’t time for it, and even if there was, players aren’t moving enough to make it worthwhile, because they have been too busy standing around waiting for LeBron. Shoot enough, and you will score plenty of points; pass enough in situations where additional passing is not encouraged, and you will rack up plenty of assists. None of that makes an offense built on waiting for LeBron to do something late in the shot clock anything close to efficient.

    On the other hand, while LeBron was dominating the ball and putting up incredible stats, all the while stifling his team’s offense and taking his teammates out of the game, Kobe Bryant was on the other side of the country, worrying more about winning than statistics. While LeBron was taking over at the end of games, dominating the offense, Kobe Bryant was gladly giving up the ball to facilitate ball movement and the creation of incredibly easy shots. While LeBron was busy putting on individual performances that would end in losses, Kobe was sharing the ball and allowing his teammates to share the moment with him. As a result, that moment was much more enjoyable, both for Bryant and for his teammates.

    The key statistic: In six games, Kobe Bryant took 131 shots; LeBron James took 154, also in six games. Adjusting to account for shooting possessions that ended in free throws, the disparity grows even larger, with LeBron (195) using 32 more shooting possessions than Kobe (163) – an average of 5.3 additional shots per game. Impressed by LeBron’s 38.5 points per game? Consider that Kobe sacrificed his own shots to get his team wins, but if he had taken as many shots as LeBron, he would have averaged 41 points per game.

    And that’s not where it ends. As the bullet points above show, it’s quite a stretch to actually suggest that LeBron James was better than Kobe Bryant in the Conference Finals – but if you’re still not convinced, consider this. As I mentioned above, LeBron James committed 4.17 turnovers per game to Kobe’s 2.17; in Game 4, he committed seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime alone. Orlando won the pivotal game by two points, putting Cleveland in a hole they would never be able to dig out of. Had LeBron been able to control the ball in the fourth quarter, the overtime period would never have been necessary; had he gotten control in overtime, the Cavs might still have won the game.

    And how about Game 3? LeBron missed five free throws in the fourth quarter alone. The Magic won by 10, but before the final 34 seconds, in which they increased their lead by five points due to “garbage time” fouling, Orlando had only a five-point lead. Had LeBron made those five free throws — the way Kobe made all nine of his in the fourth quarter of Game 1 (decided by two points) — the game would have been tied with 34 seconds left, and the end-of-game fouling would have been unnecessary. Again, the Cavaliers would have had a great chance of winning that game.

    Here’s the point: A look at Kobe Bryant’s performances should tell you that he has had a stellar playoffs, and that the Western Conference Finals was among the best series of his career (which, in his case, is saying a lot). His incredible numbers for the Western Conference Finals only reinforce this observation. And if you’re still not convinced, an honest evaluation of his performance compared to that of LeBron James, whose individual play in the Conference Finals is being lauded as some of the best basketball ever seen, will show you that Bryant has actually been better than James. He has been more efficient offensively, he has avoided key mistakes like missed free throws and hordes of turnovers that potentially cost LeBron two games, and he has kept his teammates involved and made all the right decisions in close, important games. In the end, only the final result matters, and while LeBron was busy playing his own game and racking up his own statistics, Kobe Bryant was sacrificing some of his own production in order to collect the most important statistic of all: Wins.

    By any measure, Kobe Bryant has been as good as ever in these playoffs. LeBron’s Eastern Conference Finals performance may be hailed as one of the greatest of all time, but Kobe’s Western Conference Finals performance was even better. And while LeBron is back at home, trying to convince us that his refusal to congratulate the Magic or talk to the media wasn’t poor sportsmanship, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are heading into the Finals at the top of their games.

    The “big three-oh”? It means nothing to Kobe.

    http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2009/6/3/897279/kobe-bryant-at-the-top-of-his-game

  • Peter B

    The difference between Kobe and Lebron now is very similar to the difference between Jordan and Magic circa 1988. Jordan, like Lebron now was statistically more dominant, younger and had just won his first MVP but had to sit at home and watch a gifted Laker’s guard play and win in the NBA finals. The similarities are startling. Lebron, like Jordan before him tried to do to much on his own and was beat by a better team (Pistons/Magic).

    Lebron will not win a championship until he becomes the best part of an effective group rather than a one man show, he needs his own pippen and phil jackson if he is going to win several rings.

  • http://Slamonline.com Austin

    Kobe and the lakers will not be stopped this year. They are very determined. Lakers in 6.

  • Scruffz

    LeBron isn’t in the finals, so can we stop talking about him?

    Also, if someone can let me know why the geniuses decided to put in a 3 days layoff between games 1 and 2, I’d be really interested in hearing it. This playoff scheduling is absolutely ridiculous.

  • http://www.hibachi20.blogspot.com Hursty

    Just say Bron underperformed in game 6. Thats all.
    Anyways, Clippers are taking this series in three games.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Nice point there, Peter B.

  • jason

    Nice article

  • http://cheapmedsplace.com PeterMontee

    Really strange

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