Tag: Kobe Bryant (Page 11 of 30)

      Lakers survive, win Game 3

      May 8, 2010 /

      Despite a Goran Dragic-type effort from Kyle Korver (9-of-10 from the field, 5-for-5 from 3PT, 23 points), the Lakers were able to edge the Jazz, 110-109, and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

      The Lakers got 35-4-7 from Kobe, but it was Ron Artest (20 points, including a surprising 4-of-7 from 3PT) and Derek Fisher (20 points) that kept the Lakers in the game for much of the second half.

      This game featured a great stretch of shooting late in the fourth quarter. Check out this series of shots:

      2:25 Lamar Odom makes 24-foot three point jumper (Lakers lead, 101-100)
      2:10 Paul Millsap makes layup (Jazz lead, 102-101)
      1:43 Kobe Bryant makes 18-foot two point shot (Lakers lead, 103-102)
      1:23 Kyle Korver makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jazz lead, 105-103)
      0:54 Kobe Bryant makes 24-foot three point jumper (tied at 106)
      0:42 Deron Williams makes 18-foot jumper (Jazz lead, 108-106)
      0:28 Derek Fisher makes 24-foot three point jumper (Lakers lead, 109-108)

      If you’re counting, that’s six made jumpshots from 18+ feet to tie or take the lead in less than two minutes. That is some seriously good shooting.

      Unfortunately for the Jazz, that’s where it ended as both Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams missed jumpers that would have given Utah the lead with less than 0:10 to play.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Bill Simmons breaks down the three types of Laker fans

      May 5, 2010 /

      Celtics die-hard (or should I say supposed Celtics die-hard) Bill Simmons attended a Laker playoff game and wrote a typically long column about his experience. Here’s an interesting bit on the three different types of Laker fans:

      The inherent problem with any Lakers game: There are three types of Lakers fans, so the balance of any crowd depends on Type A and Type C overriding Type B. Type A would be the die-hards — mostly middle or lower class, populating the upper levels of the arena as well as the higher corner seats. These are the ones who attend championship parades, stick flags on their cars, wear jerseys to games and defend Kobe to the death. They are my mortal enemies, and I love when they are unhappy … but I respect their passion. Type C would be the wealthy die-hards — upper class, connected, and in many cases, family-owned season-ticket holders since the days of Magic/Kareem or even West/Baylor — only it’s a disproportionately large group compared with any other NBA city except New York. I don’t mind these fans unless they are giving their tickets to Spaulding Smails-type relatives, which happens more than you think. They always return for the playoffs, just one reason why those games are always better.

      The wheels come off with Type B: wannabe die-hards, locals there to be seen, couples showing up late and leaving early, C-list celebrities, agents or producers jabbering with clients and ignoring the game … it’s everything I hate about Los Angeles in a nutshell. Every negative impression of a Lakers fan comes from the Type B’s, who tend to cluster for weekend games and Game 7s — anything that’s a difficult ticket — so instead of “Night of the Living Dead,” it’s “Night of the Living Pseudo-Fan.” The worst possible Lakers crowd? Any Finals game. It’s mostly Hollywoodites who called in favors or paid big bucks; the real fans get shoved into the upper decks or priced out entirely. (Important note: I will always believe that the 2008 Celtics won Game 4 of the Finals because it wasn’t a typical Lakers crowd.) If you want to have a sports experience with a healthy amount of L.A. sprinkled in, you want to attend a Lakers playoff game during the week. You get the highest percentage of real fans that way.

      I live in Newport Beach, so I’ve run into my fair share of Laker fans, but it’s usually at a sports bar. Type B fans are the worst; they’re front runners and extremely annoying. They’re the ones that pop a Laker flag on their window when the team has a shot at the title, but in the post-Shaq years that flag was sitting in the trunk.

      Simmons goes on to discuss why Laker fans are irritating:

      1. The constant gushing over Kobe.
      2. The unwavering collective belief that any time Kobe misses, this absolutely means he was fouled.
      3. The unwavering collective belief that any time Kobe gets whistled for a foul or a turnover, he definitely didn’t do it.
      4. Everyone’s willingness to overlook the two or three times per game when Kobe blatantly shows up one of his teammates or sells them out with a nasty look.

      I witnessed all of these firsthand when I went to the Bucks/Lakers game earlier this year. Plus, the guy behind me wouldn’t shut up. Ridiculous.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, Humor, NBA

      Lakers hold off Jazz to win Game 1, 104-99

      May 2, 2010 /

      The Lakers led by eight heading into the fourth quarter, but with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer out of the game, the Utah reserves took advantage of the Lakers’ bench, going on an 8-1 run to start the period. After Kobe and Gasol returned, the Jazz managed to build a four-point lead with four minutes to play, but the Lakers went on a 15-6 run (featuring 11 of Kobe’s 31 points) to put the game away.

      These two teams actually remind me of the Bucks/Hawks first round matchup. Like the Hawks, the Lakers are more talented, yet they tend to lose focus during (sometimes long) stretches of the game. The Jazz are a more talented version of the Bucks — a team that is going to play its heart out from start to finish. What this means is that the Jazz are probably going to have a chance to steal a game or two in L.A. They almost stole Game 1, but five straight missed shots with under four minutes to play did the Jazz in.

      Like Jeff Van Gundy said, when it gets into crunch time, the Jazz need to double off of Ron Artest and force Kobe to give the ball up. If Utah can put the ball in Artest’s hands, they’ll have a better chance to win. This may go against Jerry Sloan’s straight man-to-man philosophy, but I’d rather see an uncomfortable Artest launching long jumpers than let Kobe go one-on-one with Wes Matthews.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Failed box out costs Thunder Game 6

      May 1, 2010 /

      OKC led 94-93 in the closing moments of Game 6 when Kobe Bryant dribbled up the right side of the floor preparing to attempt a game-winning shot…

      Watch the video again. This time, notice how Nick Collison (charged with covering Pau Gasol) starts to cheat over on Kobe to help on a potential drive to the hoop. This is by design. What’s not by design is how neither Serge Ibaka (#9) nor Jeff Green (#22) rotates down and puts a body on Gasol. The players that they were covering — Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher — were ponderously standing out behind the three-point line, so they weren’t threats on the offensive glass.

      Instead, Ibaka and Green turn and watch Kobe’s shot. After the put-back, Jeff Van Gundy blamed Collison for not rotating back to Gasol, but physically-speaking, it’s tough to ask a guy to help on a Kobe drive and box out Gasol. That duty needs to fall to Ibaka or Green (probably Ibaka).

      Here’s a case where the Thunder’s inexperience really cost them. But it’s not like failed box outs haven’t lost games before. In the 1983 NCAA title game, Hakeem Olajuwon stood and watched the shot go up, allowing NC State’s Lorenzo Charles to sneak in behind him, catch the airball, and dunk it for the win. Here’s another look:

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Video

      Lakers: “Not so fast.”

      April 28, 2010 /

      Much was made, and justifiably so, of the Thunder’s blowout of the Lakers in Game 4. This is a young, talented team that has a chance to become a Western Conference power for years to come. But the Lakers clearly took the loss to heart and turned around and blew out the Thunder, 111-87, in Game 5.

      Did Kobe go for 35-40 points? Nope. He posted 13-3-7 on nine shot attempts, but more importantly, he checked Russell Westbrook for much of the game. Westbrook’s quickness gave Derek Fisher fits in the first four games of the series, so the defensive change makes a lot of sense.

      Pau Gasol (25-11-5) and Andrew Bynum (21-11) dominated down low, combining to hit 18-of-26 shots (69%) from the field. Even Ron Artest had a nice offensive game with 14 points and five dimes.

      The Lakers lead 3-2 and head back to OKC for Game 6 on Friday. Is this series over? Not even close. The Lakers have not played well on the road in this series and if the Thunder can defend their home court yet again, they’ll have a puncher’s chance to win Game 7. It’s going to take a monumental effort to beat the Lakers in L.A. in that scenario, or the Lakers will have to lay an egg. Either way, it would be interesting to see the young Thunder play in their first Game 7.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑