Saturday, March 9th, 2013 at 9:00 am  |  128 responses

Post Up: Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number

Kobe scores 41 to lead the Lakers to an OT win.

by Peter Walsh

Thunder 116 (46-16), Bobcats 94 (13-49)

One night after a grind-it-out win over the Knicks, Oklahoma City caught a break with Charlotte on the schedule and got a dub in blowout fashion. Kevin Durant scored 19 points in 23 minutes to lead OKC who separated themselves from the Bobcats in the second quarter with a 19-0 run. Gerald Henderson scored 21 for Charlotte.

Pacers 115 (38-24), Magic 86 (17-46)

Paul George scored 25 points and Tyler Hansbrough came off the bench to score 18 as the Pacers made light work of the Magic. Much like Oklahoma City, the Pacers used a big second quarter to run away from the Magic and cruised through the second half. Indiana takes on Miami on Sunday. Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 19 points.

Nets 95 (36-26), Wizards 78(19-41)

Deron Williams set a new NBA record with nine first half three-pointers to lead the Nets to an easy win over the Wizards. DWill went off for 42 points and hit 11 3′s by the time it was all said and done. Williams hit his first eight 3-pointers and matched the Wizards entire first half scoring output by himself. Reggie Evans grabbed a career-high 24 boards and Brook Lopez chipped in with 11.

Mavs 102 (28-33), Pistons 99 (23-41)

Dallas led by 15-points in the fourth quarter but the Pistons stormed back making for a tight finish. After the Pistons grabbed a 97-96 lead, Dirk Nowitzki finally woke up after a quiet first three quarters. Dirk hit back to back mid-range jumpers to give the Mavericks enough to hold on for the win. O.J. Mayo scored a game-high 22 points and Nowitzki finished with 12 points and 7 boards. Brandon Knight scored 21 for the Pistons.

Grizzlies 103 (41-19), Cavaliers 92 (21-41)

The Cavs led going into the break but the Grizzlies regrouped at the half and outscored Cleveland 32-18 in the third quarter to take control of the game. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 22 points, 8 boards and 5 dimes and Mike Conley finished with a 17-point, 11-assist double-double. Kyrie Irving scored 24 points on 11-21 shooting for Cleveland.

 

Celtics 107 (34-27), Hawks 102 (34-27) F/OT

A contest between two teams currently battling for the fifth seed went to overtime where JET added another huge shot notch to his belt with the game winner. With the score knotted at 102 and under a minute left in OT, Paul Pierce drove baseline, drew Atlanta defenders and found Jason Terry with a great pass and JET took care of business with the game winner. Pierce finished with 27 points, 7 boards and 7 dimes and Terry scored 19 off the bench. Josh Smith scored 32 points, dropped 9 dimes and grabbed 8 boards and Al Horford went for 22 points and 13 boards.

 

 

Heat 102 (46-14), Sixers 93 (23-38)

The Heat trailed for three quarters then came alive in the fourth quarter to beat the Sixers and win their 17th in a row. Miami trailed 77-76 before going on a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter that gave them the lead for good. LeBron scored 25, grabbed 10 boards and dropped 5 dimes and Dwyane Wade went for 22 points on 9-16 shooting. Thad Young led Philly with 25 points.

 

Bulls 89 (35-27), Jazz 88 (32-30)

A back and forth game came down to the final seconds and Marco Belinelli’s 3-pointer with time expiring gave Chicago the win. With Chicago trailing by one and the game clock winding down, Belinelli missed his first shot attempt but Joakim Noah grabbed the offensive board and found Jimmy Butler who found a wide open Belinelli for the corner three. Gordon Hayward had a final chance to win but his shot drew iron.

 

Blazers 136 (29-32), Spurs 106 (48-15)

Dame Lillard took advantage of Tony Parker’s absence by going for 35 points, 9 dimes and 0 turnovers to lead Portland to a blowout win over San Antonio. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 and J.J. Hickson finished with a 23-point, 11-assist double-double. Eric Maynor(!) scored 20 and dropped 6 dimes off the bench. Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

 

Kings 121 (22-42), Suns 112 (22-40)

Sacramento snapped their two-game losing streak with a win over the Suns. Four Kings’ players scored 22 or more points and they were led by Isaiah Thomas’ game-high 27 points 0n 8-13 shooting. DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 points, grabbed 14 boards and dished out 7 dimes. Michael Beasley led the Suns with 24 points.

 

Lakers 118 (32-31, Raptors 116 (24-39) (F/OT)

Kobe Bryant continues to prove that he can still perform at the highest level and carried his time to victory over the Raptors. Bryant finished with 41 points and 12 assists and hit the big shots when his team needed them. Kobe hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining in regulation then exploded to the basket for a go-ahead dunk with 10 seconds left in overtime to seal the deal. Dwight Howard scored 24 points and grabbed 13 boards and Steve Nash scored 22. DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points, grabbed 5 boards and dished out 5 assists and Kyle Lowry finished with 15 points and 10 dimes.

Rockets 94 (34-29), Warriors 88 (35-28)

Chandler Parsons scored a game-high 26 points and James Harden scored 20 and handed out 11 assists to lead the Rockets to the victory. Houston is now within one game of the Warriors for the six seed in the Western Conference. Houston held Golden State to just 12 points and won the game despite not scoring a field goal over the final four minutes.

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  • shuck

    Its stupid how fast people forget how good kobe braynt was in his prime and still is.

    He scored 4 straight games with more than 50 points (65,50,60,50)
    He had streak of 9 straight 40 point games
    Lebron Jame’s 30 point game streak is not as impressive if you consider the fact that Miami has so many weapons (d-wade and chris bosh and bunch of 3 point shooters like Ray Allen), which makes it harder for teams to gaurd lebron. Also consider the fact that a lot of lebron’s points are coming from ally-oops and breakaway dunks.
    If you watched Kobe’s recent 2 games with 42 and 12 or w.e, his single handedly carrying the lakers to victory. Teams are litterally double teaming him because there is not much of an offensive threat in other players, especially with howard not being 100%.

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    LeBron’s streak was impressive regardless of how you try to discredit it. Anytime a wing player scores 30 a night and shoots 60% while leading his team to a win in each of those games, it’s impressive. More impressive than Kobe’s last two games. LeBron playing this well makes it much easier for Wade to be playing as great as he’s playing, not the other way around. You failed to talk about LeBron’s midrange shots and his 3 point shooting. Both better than they’ve ever been. Also his postgame which is better than it’s ever been. No one’s forgotten how great Kobe was during his prime but he’s not there anymore. He’s still great, but LeBron is better now than Kobe ever was because of his dominance on both ends of the floor and his ability to set his guys up. He can control games as a point guard, shooting guard or a power forward whenever he wants to.

  • Drig

    Honestly, why can’t people enjoy Kobe for what he brings and stop comparing him to others. At 34, Kobe’s a lot of things. The best two-way player in the L is NOT one of them. And there’s no shame in that. He’s not the MVP although he has had the toughest circumstances of all the contenders. Plus, he hasn’t had a great year TOs wise. However, saying LeBron’s February is better than Kobe’s streak back in the day is hard for me to agree with.

    Kobe averaged 44 points on 50% FG%, 47% 3PTFG% ,5 rebs, 3.5 ast, 2.5 steals during that stretch. The Lakers were 23-23 before that streak. The Lakers went 7-2 in that stretch with one loss coming when Shaq wasn’t in the team for some reason.

    LeBron averaged 29 points on 60% FG%, 43% 3PTFG%, 7.5rebs, 8ast, 2 steals. Now, it doesn’t take an einstein to realize that quite a sizable amount of Kobe’s attempts came from the perimeter even back in the day compared to LBJ’s since Shaq was around in the paint. Plus, scoring 15 more points is gonna have an affect on the FG% and assists stats. Miami was 29-14 before the streak. They lost only once the entire month.

    So, how exactly was Kobe’s streak any less worthy? Considering he had the additional pressure of everyone criticizing him for not doing better with Shaq out.

    This isn’t to say Kobe’s streak is better than LeBron’s. I, as a Kobe fan, understand the kind of effort that goes into being extremely efficient for a long period of time. However, Kobe’s streak was much more captivating and more varied in the way he got his points ( by choice and necessity at different points ) compared to LBJ who did it the most efficient way in an O built to his strengths.

    If anyone watches football ( Soccer for USA folks ), it’s like the CR7-Messi issue. Or RVP – Suarez issue. One player is so efficient to the point it sounds absurd while the other is much more captivating and is more of a big-time player than the former. Neither is a wrong choice.

  • Drig

    Oh yeah, as a Lakers fan, I found this game a bit troubling. Nobody could generate the O outside of the starting lineup. There was no D to speak of till Dwight showed up. We’re screwed if Pau’s not there on both ends. Clark’s hit the wall. D’Antoni’s playcalling and subs were infuriating at times. This sort of play vs the Bulls is gonna be fatal.

    BTW, could anyone check out clutch time Lakers stats as a team?? There are a lot of things the Lakers need to work on but I have enough confidence in this team to back it in close games with 5-8 minutes remaining. These Lakers have had so many comebacks its been equally rewarding and infuriating as a fan :( .

  • Drig

    I’m assuming you haven’t watched the Lakers recently. Don’t tell me you said that after you watched them man

  • Drig

    You serious??? I’m assuming you must’ve accounted for a coaching change, new players, injuries to KEY players ( Wade, Bosh,Noah, whoever is the 2nd cog ).Haven’t you seen how Howard’s play has been ALL OVER THE PLACE SO FAR THIS SEASON? Have you not seen the Lakers problems with D, Kobe included?? Do you know that Noah has been the better defensive C this season? Sigh. It’s like people just take the names and assume he’s playing at his peak………Only Vino does that ;)

  • Drig

    Pretty foolish to say Kobe’s not faced higher levels of criticism and scrutiny compared to said individuals. Plus, he’s played games injured. And not regular injuries. I mean injuries that sideline players. And he played on without skipping a beat. How many players can do that exactly?? I can count them on one hand. It’s not just the talent or skill that Kobe fans claim when they say Kobe has the biggest heart. It’s his willingness to go the extra mile when he doesn’t have to. For the sake of the team. ( and his legacy )

  • Drig

    Hard to say that when Kobe was surrounded with scrubs in his prime and went to the Finals once decent help arrived. Kinda like LeBron. Except Kobe’s teams sucked a bit more and the Lakers placed in the West, which at that point was ( and still is IMO ) a much tougher conference to play in.

    BTW, could anyone tell me the names of any other star wing players who had bad teams in their prime but proceeded to have a better team at the tail end of it???? I would like to see how it compares to Kobe’s :)

  • Drig

    I meant statistically. LeBron’s the more versatile defender. However, Kobe in his prime could be very solid defensively and blow anybody out on O. Anybody. It’s kinda like LeBron’s 85att 85def while Kobe’s 88att 82 def if that makes sense :)

  • Happy

    Yes. I’ve seen all of those things. I’ve seen Dwight still being able to produce, albeit below expectations, when he is passed the ball. That’s something Kobe has been doing for less than half the season.

    I’ve seen the so-called leader in Kobe refuse to lead by example by not attempting to play defense most nights. And while Noah may be the better defensive player this season, Dwight still leads the league in rebounding and is top 5 in blocks. Go ahead and try to act like Dwight is a total scrub, but nothing excuses the Lakers season. They sucked with Brown, and they are mediocre with D’Antoni. Injuries are part of the season. No excuse for the Lakers being what they are, which is a 9th place team.

  • Happy

    It was a Kobe fan who brought this convo up. You should be asking your fellow Kobe groupies why they can’t just enjoy the performance and leave it at that.

    And if you want to talk about Messi/Ronaldo, Messi=Lebron. Ronaldo=Kobe. It’s not a matter of either being a wrong choice, it’s a matter of who is simply the best.

  • Drig

    Wait……you’re claiming Dwight is able to produce when he is passed the ball while Kobe’s been doing that for less than half the season? I’ll give you one more chance to correct that sentence before I call you a fool.

    Kobe has gone on the record to say Dwight will be handling the defensive duties, right? Plus, Kobe’s 34. It’s not like he’s in his prime, has a great team around him but still refuses to play D.

    You’re one of those guys that would’ve picked Ibaka over Chandler last season for DPOY right? Stats can be misinterpreted. Dwight’s effort on D has been LACKING. A LOT. That’s down to his attitude issues and his recovery. He’s been rebounding well but he hasn’t been defending well, which is what the lakers hoped for when they signed Howard.

    I never said Dwight was a total scrub. I also never disagreed that it’s possible for Rose, Durant or LeBron to lead this Lakers team better than a 34 year old Kobe can to a better record. However, I’m saying its idiotic to not consider the various factors that put the Lakers in that predicament in the first place. Injuries are a part of the game?? Sure. Just tell me which other superstar’s teams has an ailing 2nd option who is recovering, has their 2nd best player off the bench out for the season, has had their 3rd and 4th best players out for significant portions of the season. Dime a dozen right?

    These Lakers might be mediocre even when fully healthy but fact of the matter is that they never were fully healthy i.e. they never had a fair chance. This might sound like an excuse since I was calling us a contender at the start of the season but I was expecting Dwight to be back to Dwight levels by Jan and the rest of the team not be hit so badly by injuries :( .

  • Drig

    You’re an idiot if you think Dwight has been producing more than Kobe per possession on O. I don’t know what the stats tell but these Lakers are dependent on Kobe to score.

    Kobe’s 34. Show me other defensive leaders who have to carry the sort of offensive burden Kobe does who are anywhere close to being near his age. Plus, he went on record to say that Dwight would take care of the team’s D. You’re barking up teh wrong tree here.

    Never said Dwight sucked on D. Said he hasn’t been consistent at all this season. Which is true. It might not reflect in the stats but I’m pretty sure everyone else will vouch for me on that.

    Never said Dwight was a scrub, did I? Just said it’s idiotic to think of this Howard as being anywhere close to the Howard we imagine when we think of Dwight. Injuries are a part of the season? Sure. It sure would’ve been nice if they weren’t the only contender who

    has their 2nd best player recovering throughout the season from an ailing back,

    their best and ONLY serviceable backup big out for the season,

    their breakout rookie ( he’s effectively a rookie ) getting an injury just when he was getting into a great rhythm,

    their first option backup PG out for almost half the season and

    their 3rd and 4th best players out for significant parts of the season with injuries and playing the remaining while being limited. This on the back of a coaching change mid-season with new players and radically different O.

    Such cases are a dime a dozen right……..My bad.

    You may be right. These Lakers might be mediocre even when they’re fully healthy. But they haven’t been fortunate enough with the injuries. I’d reserve my judgement till I see them once they’re relatively healthy if I were you. Sadly, it seems like it’ll only happen next season which is a bummer for me.

  • Happy

    Your first sentence was enough for me to dismiss the rest of your comment because you had to make up a point I never made in order to find something to say. Who the f said “Dwight has been producing more than Kobe per possession on O”? Who said that? Is English your first language?

    Who said Dwight was at his best? If you can’t address actual points made why argue? Kobe fanatics seem to want to defend every little FACT, and in doing so make themselves look bad because you literally haven’t addressed a single thing anyone here has said with distorting or adding your own parts just to have something to say. They aren’t title contenders, and it’s not because of a lack of talent or injuries. And I don’t care what reasons you give to defend Kobe’s lack of effort on D, because he gets no pass for that just like the rest of the team gets no pass for it. They are underachievers despite Kobe’s stats for his age. They are mediocre at best and nothing you said excuses it.

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    Every NBA player ever could have had more assists if their teammates made more open shots. Saying it as if Kobe’s the only guy whose teammates missed open shots is hilarious to me.

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    Scrutiny and criticism means nothing here. Talent has nothing to do with heart so it’s pretty idiotic to mention them in the same sentence. When someone says that a player has more heart and will than everyone else, it’s a pretty ignorant statement to make. When a guy who no one thinks will be in the NBA makes it and creates a spot for himself, that’s a lot of heart. What Kobe has more than most is talent, skill and work ethic. But there are plenty of guys with heart and it’s tough to say that one guy has more heart than everyone else.

  • KevinJohnsonFan

    ….Kobe needed Gasol to get to the Finals after Shaq left. LeBron needed…Larry Hughes and rookie Boobie Gibson lol. Don’t try to compare the two with that. He won with Wade and Bosh, but he got to the Finals with guys like Drew Gooden and Ilgauskas.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Junior-Taylor/100003121138419 Junior Taylor

    When people say that Kobe has “carried” his team to victories the past 2 games, they do realize that Howard has put up 20/15/3/4 and 24/13/3/5 in those games.

  • Max

    And Jennings and Ellis lol.

  • Max

    Dude, give up, it are Kobe fans.

  • Caboose

    With STELLAR defense. Give Kobe his due though, he really came through in the end (of two games that should NEVER have been close).

  • Max

    Damn, 98% of Lakers fans are ruhtuwded.

  • Caboose

    Note how you conveniently left turnovers out of that Kobe stat line. Just saying Kobe has been fantastic lately. But so has Dwight (especially with regards to defense). Kobe hasn’t won these games “by himself,” but he has won the last 2 minutes of those games BY HIMSELF.

  • Caboose

    Rounding down.

  • Caboose

    Define “more skilled.”
    LeBron is better at:
    -Ball-handling
    -Perimeter Defense
    -Post Defense
    -Help Defense
    -Play-making
    -Finishing
    -Post Scoring
    -Post Passing
    -Driving
    -Efficiency
    -Helping Teammates
    Kobe is better at:
    -Mid-Range Scoring
    -Mid/Long-Range Shooting
    -Game Winning/Momentum Shots
    -Breaking Double Teams

    So please, enlighten me.

  • RKJ92

    I agree with everything but the long range shooting.. LeBron is shooting the 3 at a 0.404 clip to > Kobe’s 0.343 shooting

  • Caboose

    -whispers- I was being generous.

  • Mars

    Cocaine and Steroids. Kobe is an amazing. one-dimensional NBA athlete

  • RKJ92

    wait wait wait… are you saying Kobe’s team sucked more then LeBron’s team AND went further in the playoffs? ummm..

  • RKJ92

    lol awww god bless you, god bless you on your act of kindness!! :D

  • mtobi

    and that will be… ?

  • Mars

    Best team Defense Ever. At least he earned the other 39

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Junior-Taylor/100003121138419 Junior Taylor

    When did I not? Just pointing out that Howard is starting to regain his form which is a great sign for the Lakers.

  • Caboose

    Very true. Kobe fans can say what they want, but the Lakers get to the Playoffs based on how Dwight plays.

  • Happy

    Those skills aren’t as important to Kobe fans as being able to take contested fadeaway threes over multiple defenders, with four teammates open.

    I guess what they mean by Kobe being more skilled is that his game, though often inefficient, appears to have a more smooth finesse to it. I do agree there. I prefer Lebron as a player, but Kobe’s game is prettier to watch when he’s on. Still doesn’t change the fact that Lebron is better.

  • Caboose

    I wouldn’t necessarily call it “prettier.” What some people see as selfishness, I’m sure many see as “dominance.”

    Kobe is the most ball-dominant player in the league and has been for a while. As a result, much of the team’s success appears to all derive from him. Since he will always be doing the most on the court at any given time (good or bad, doesn’t matter), what people remember in the aftermath is that Kobe did SOMETHING. And since the Lakers win, the natural positive feel of the win ebbs down to the one who was most active, which, 95% of the time, is Kobe, regardless of his individual performance.

    So it’s a VERY strange dichotomy: Kobe’s ball dominance on the court means that team results are attributed to him and generally, said team result is ascribed to Kobe’s individual performance. Basically, this practice follows a series of checkpoints, assuming the Lakers, let’s say, shot well in a win:

    1. What happened: Lakers shot well. If Kobe shot well, logical chain ends here. If he didn’t continue on.
    2. If Kobe shot poorly, he must have passed well. If he has a lot of assists, logic ends here. If not, continue.
    3. If he doesn’t have a lot of assists, he created plays. Here we have reached subjectivity, which CANNOT be proved nor disproved.

    No matter what Kobe’s performance was, it is possible to justify and ascribe the team’s success to him, simply by virtue of his activity (positive or negative) on the court. Such a logical chain happens for most circumstances of the Lakers. It really is a FASCINATING phenomenon that goes on.

  • Happy

    If you have to ask you shouldn’t be apart of this discussion. The four Ballon d’Ors in a row say enough.

  • Conor

    Are you illiterate? When do you see him dribbling the full length of the court when pressured? Never. Wade, Chalmers, and Cole handle those duties because he can’t. Halfcourt is a different story.

  • Conor

    You may not understand this, but there are countries other than America.

  • Conor

    Once again, America isn’t the only country in the world.

  • Conor

    A crippled Dwight Howard who only one week ago made one shot in an entire game. Fantastic analysis.

  • The Fury

    I don’t feel ya on the post-scoring thing man. I think Kobe’s better than Lebron on that aspect.

  • MrGee

    Post scoring? When did LeBron develope an offensive arsenal in the post? Jasb steps…pivots..fakes…fadeaways…bank shots…….He is clearly NOT more skilled offensively in the post. And your list is fluffed up and redundant…Driving…finishing…what good is one without the other? passing…playmaking…helping teamates….ditto.

    Kobe is more skilled offensively, LeBron is more efficient.

    There are many examples to illustrate this fact.

  • Conor

    I stopped reading at “Dribbling”. You are a comedian.

  • Caboose

    Dribbling is NOWHERE IN MY POST. My god, you really are dumb. I mean honestly, let the people who are over 13 talk now. We tend to know the things we discuss.

  • Caboose

    What on earth does “more skilled offensively” mean? That he “can do” more? Yeah, Jamal Crawford is “more skilled offensively” than Westbrook, but which one is a better offensive player?

  • Caboose

    Here’s the thing: Kobe can post up 1′s and smaller 2′s. LeBron can post up 1′s, 2′s, 3′s, and MOST 4′s. Kobe may have more moves down there, but again, LeBron’s is far more effective.

  • Caboose

    That’s such a lie.

  • Caboose

    Honestly, it’s comments like what I’ve seen today that just make me want to leave. Props to LakeShow for not joining in this group circle jerk.

  • Caboose

    Didn’t you realize you had so many NBA players in your contact list. Say hi to them for me.

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