Relive the Lakers’ great start.
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.
LATEST NEWS & RUMORS
View all »
- 2012 NBA All-Star Reserves Announced
- 2012 McDonald’s All-American Rosters Announced
- John Salmons Debuts ‘Salmons and Brown’ at Fashion Week
- Ticket Prices Skyrocket as Linsanity Continues
- Big O: West, Chamberlain, Russell, Baylor Would Beat ’92 Dream Team
- Mo Williams Mad the Clippers Haven’t Given Him a Contract Extension
- Kobe Bryant: LeBron James Would Be the Ideal Teammate
- Video: Will Ferrell Does Player Intros for the Bulls and Hornets
- Kobe Bryant Expects Lakers Front-Office to ‘Tweak’ Team
- View All »
http://www.nicekicks.com/2009/06/nike-zoom-kobe-iv-for-game-1-2/
Kobe, NBA FINALS, 40/8/8/2/2 with 1 TO…
.
AND making his teamates play along, AND winning!
.
hey Lebron… are you paying for those late night lessons?!?!?!?!?!
by the way… how SWEET is to watch somebody that actually plays BASKETBALL instead of WWF with a ball in his hands!?!??!
You mean to tell me that the mean mugging is making you change the channel and not the incredible shots? I think you got it backwards homie!
Give it up okay? They did the same thing with Lebron when they were blowing away the Pistons and the Hawks. Did you have a problem with that too? And you wonder why Laker fans are the way they are. It’s because of people like you.
That ish is spreading like wildfire.
“Haters wake up on my d!ck, eat some breakfast first…”
Mamba strikes fear in Clark Kent!!!
And maybe if you had finished high school you would have more sense instead of drizzling out on a regular basis hot mess from that hole you call a mouth. Just saying. Truthteller’s alter ego does not apologize!
Yes Ma’am!!!
I got nothing but love for you! I just love going back and forth with someone who I think is as witty. There are not too many on this site! So don’t take it personal. But I’m gonna be coming at you a little harder as from now on and anybody else. Just so you know! I’m really getting a little annoyed by all the idiots and kobe haters out there! So now it’s on!!!
I like the stinkface though. When you do something so nasty, you gotta make the stinkface, well that’s acceptable. But the exaggerated Jaw Jut is just too much.
Kobe ain’t even need to do that. He let the whole world know why he’s considered the best by many last night. He destroyed the same defender and team that gave Lebron fits. I mean, Lebron was AMAZING in that series, and yet he never had a game where he made everything look as easy as Kobe made it look last night. You could say it’s cause Lebron’s teammates suck, but that’s not it.
It’s more that Kobe’s game is so much more refined than Lebron’s. What Kobe lacks in brute force and jaw-dropping athleticism, he makes up for in pure skill.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. There is nothing on the offensive end that Kobe can’t do, and that makes him a chore for a decent, but not great defender like Pietrus.
Pietrus could count on Lebron not hitting jumpers, and relying on straght bullying to get to the basket. With some help, he could contend with that. But, with Kobe, he has to worry about every offensive move in the book, and unless you’re and outstanding defender like Artest Battier, or the Celtic’s team, that’s hell.
And even those defenders didn’t shut down Kobe completely.
It’s going to a long, horrible series for Pietrus.
You got it all wrong!!! When LeBron gets those stats people acted like Kobe never did that his whole career. Everything that Lebron has just started doing (defense, game winning hsots, etc), Kobe’s been doing his whole career but when Lebron does it, OH MY GOD!!!! THE GREATEST EVER!!!!! This is why the lakers fans are the way they are! This is why I keep pulling for Kobe ’cause while he’s not perfect he doesnt deserve all the hate he gets AT ALL! So, excuse me if I don’t bend over and kiss LeBron’s feet like a lot of you guys do! I’ll stick with the guy who’s been tried and tested!
Come one. Kobe is a shooter. Shooters take less than optimal shots because that’s what they are supposed to do. Kobe takes some techinically “bad” shots because he can make those shots.
Your boy Dwade takes some pretty horrible shots at times as well. That’s his job.
I’m tired of Lebron hater and Kobe haters pointing to the other side and saying “Well they started!”
Y’all sound like petulant children.(No offense intended Eboy). Somebody has got to be the bigger man and say “I don’t care what other folks do, I’m going to do what I know is the right thing to do.”
Remember, when you point a finger at others, you point three at yourself…
LMAO
But that could just be because Kobe is SO self-aware, that not a diss, its just much more obvious whn Kobe decides to celebrate with a certain facial expression. You know he’s thinking about it before he does it, its all ‘on purpose’, not just reactionary.
He’s like the superhero who’s power is to bite other superhero’s powers. When he sees a move he likes he uses it in the next game. I’m pretty sure he saw how people repsonded positively to Bron’s celebratory facial expressions, so Kobe starting using his dolphin tooth game.
Kobe = “The copycat”?
I feel like Lebron’s scoring was an ordeal, while Kobe’s was like playing with a child.
That’s an overstatement and something of slight to Pietrus, but it makes sense.
You saw the game last night. Kobe was isoing Pietrus and just destroying him!
He had that one crossover, where he gave him a little hesi with the left, came back left to right between the legs, and the Utep-two stepped him back to the left. He had Pietrus STAGGERING.
Or that time when he gave Pietrus a series of crossover, went to a little half back down, and then spun off him to hit the banker in the lane AND ONE. Just nasty.
Look, Lebron got his because nobody in the world can stop a monster from being a monster. Lebron is too big, too fast and jumps too high to be contained by someone like Pietrus. But, Pietrus made him work and he made him earn all of those points. There were no easy games.
On the other hand, Kobe looked like he was working out in the summer last night.
The difference between Kobe and Lebron is that Kobe never looks “lost” on offense. He never looks confused, or unsure of what he’s going to do when he’s attacking a defender. It’s like he’s an offensive computer that just has to access his memory banks for how to exploit a given defender in a given situation. The only way to give him trouble is to have an whole team geared towards stopping him, which prevents him from adjusting fast enough. And even then, he still might average 25.
Look at Houston. The defended Kobe better than anybody thise playoffs and he regularly dropped 30+.
It’s never been a contest for me as far as who is the most skilled offensive player in the league. But, I’ve always docked Kobe for how he interacts with his teammates. I still see that as a problem, but just not in this series.
I think the biggest problem for Howard was how the Lakers played the pick and roll and refused to double him in the post.
For some unknown reason, Mike Brown could never figure out how to provide help on the pick and roll, and prevent Howard for folling uncontested to the rim. Part of it was the fact that Big Z was just slow, but part of it was that Orlando was hitting shots.
Last night the Magic missed a lot of WIDE OPEN jumpers. The series will get interesting if they start hitting those shots. Then we shall see if Phil Jackson can adjust better than Mike Brown did.
Are you and Eboy married?
The fact that you find nothing to enjoy in watching Lebron play makes me wonder about your acumen as a basketball fan.
Sorry, it just does.
[applause]“HATE,HATE,HATE!”
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.
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.
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.
* 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
Anyways, Clippers are taking this series in three games.
Comments