Who scored 31 pts on 99% TS in the closeout game to carry the Cavs to the 07' Finals?

[ImKobe]

The 2004 Lakers also had a significantly better team than the '07 Cavs.

#1. LeBron wouldn't completely shut out Shaq.

#2. Shaq was still a monster and pairing him with a great and willing passer in LeBron would've changed their entire game plan.

#3. The entire '07 Cavs team (outside LeBron) did not have the same impact as Shaq did by himself.

#4. Kobe took 29 shots more than Shaq to score 20 fewer points than him. Shaq shot 63%, BTW.

#5. Replace '04 Kobe with '07 LeBron and the Lakers win the title in 6.

Not that much better, they weren't as good defensively and obviously had chemistry issues & Malone got injured, no depth either.

Kobe didn't "shut out" Shaq, this is bullshit. Shaq scored more in the Finals than he had all year, he just wasn't in good enough shape to score like he did the previous seasons and they abused him on the defensive end, their worst loss was when Kobe only took 13 shots. Kobe took more FGA but Shaq had 30 more FTA, their usage rate is nearly the same (28 for Shaq vs 30 for Kobe), he had a bigger role on offense compared to other series (20 ppg 13.1 FGA first 3 rounds, 26.6 ppg 16.8 FGA Finals) and it still didn't matter as the team outside Shaq & Kobe was historically bad in terms of scoring in that series.

Even if you put '07 Lebron on the team, they do not win the series. We saw what the '07 Spurs did to him in the Finals, now make him play under the old rules against a much better defense and what do you think is going to happen? The Pistons team Lebron played against was not nearly as good defensively, and he struggled scoring for the most of that series.

[aj1987]

Not that much better, they weren't as good defensively and obviously had chemistry issues & Malone got injured, no depth either.

LeBron would improve every single facet of their deficiencies. Malone got injured, but he was like 40 years old and LeBron is/was a much better player than Kobe.

Kobe didn't "shut out" Shaq, this is bullshit. Shaq scored more in the Finals than he had all year, he just wasn't in good enough shape to score like he did the previous seasons and they abused him on the defensive end, their worst loss was when Kobe only took 13 shots. Kobe took more FGA but Shaq had 30 more FTA, their usage rate is nearly the same (28 for Shaq vs 30 for Kobe), he had a bigger role on offense compared to other series (20 ppg 13.1 FGA first 3 rounds, 26.6 ppg 16.8 FGA Finals) and it still didn't matter as the team outside Shaq & Kobe was historically bad in terms of scoring in that series.

LMAO. Kobe stans really out here trying to rewrite history.

Shaq had a TS% of 61.5%.

Kobe had a TS% of 45.6%.

That's absolutely atrocious, especially when you consider the fact that he was barely doing anything outside trying to chuck the ball every single opportunity he got (2.8 rebounds lmao). Not to mention the fact that he was beyond garbage defensively. Stop making shit about about Shaq. We all saw the games and they're still available online to watch. The team was also so shit at scoring, because Kobe was hogging the ball and barely let anyone else take a shot. LeBron would've been much better at setting up teammates and helping them get better looks.

Even if you put '07 Lebron on the team, they do not win the series. We saw what the '07 Spurs did to him in the Finals, now make him play under the old rules against a much better defense and what do you think is going to happen? The Pistons team Lebron played against was not nearly as good defensively, and he struggled scoring for the most of that series.

Kobe had PRIME Shaq and LeBron had Boobie Gibson, my dude. I know for a FACT that LeBron would average more than 2.8 rebounds a game (Lakers out out rebounded by 8 RPG). I know for a FACT that LeBron wouldn't be as bad as Kobe defensively. I know for a FACT that LeBron would involve Shaq more in the offense and give him the ball more, making the offense better. Face it, dude. Kobe lost them that series and LeBron is a significantly better player than Kobe.

[tontoz]

I remember that Finals. The Pistons made a game plan to take advantage of Kobe's selfishness. They let Ben Wallace guard Shaq 1 on 1 without help even though they knew Wallace couldn't handle him. They were betting that Kobe wouldn't give up the ball enough to make them pay for it.