Any defender who uses this new tactic of putting a hand in the face of the shooter...

[RIMMER]

All kobe needed to do was not fade away on a few of those and Battier would have fouled him. So, start out with a few fade aways to get Battier extending further, then go straight up or even forward and battier hits him in the face and gets called for it. People used to do this to Karl Malone, so he started kicking his foot out.

Easier said than done. There's no reason for Kobe to change his shot for the sole purpose of getting his defender into foul trouble. In fact, I think that would throw him off even more. I think Battier has watched enough Kobe footage and has played him 1v1 enough times to have a concrete grasp on his offensive tendencies and the viable adjustments to be made.

But as I said before, if Kobe gets hot, there is absolutely nothing Battier can do to stop him.

[vert48]

Easier said than done. There's no reason for Kobe to change his shot for the sole purpose of getting his defender into foul trouble. In fact, I think that would throw him off even more. I think Battier has watched enough Kobe footage and has played him 1v1 enough times to have a concrete grasp on his offensive tendencies and the viable adjustments to be made.

But as I said before, if Kobe gets hot, there is absolutely nothing Battier can do to stop him.

I am not saying that he change all of his shots, just that he throw in a Crazy Ivan every once in awhile, especially when Battier was really in the groove and playing tight defense.
When I am holding the ball, looking to pass and a defender who plays me really tight is jumping all over the place trying to swat at the ball, constantly hitting me in the arms, I just step through on him. I only need to do it once, and the problem is solved.

[RIMMER]

Some funny stuff from the Clutch BBS:

[dejordan]

Easier said than done. There's no reason for Kobe to change his shot for the sole purpose of getting his defender into foul trouble. In fact, I think that would throw him off even more. I think Battier has watched enough Kobe footage and has played him 1v1 enough times to have a concrete grasp on his offensive tendencies and the viable adjustments to be made.

But as I said before, if Kobe gets hot, there is absolutely nothing Battier can do to stop him.

you always have the best avatars. by far.

anyway, i think what the rockets did that made the faceguarding work so well yesterday was to fight kobe off the ball so that he got it and didn't have time to make a lot of moves. when he tried to take battier off the dribble, he met with a lot of success as far as getting into the paint, but he didn't get to make a lot of moves because the d was smothering without the ball, and when he did make moves, the team rotated really well. he missed some pressiured shots inside and made some passes to guys in spots that bynum or gasol would have easily converted.

[GOBB]

Some funny stuff from the Clutch BBS:

He's not allowed to do that tho. Thats a foul

[vert48]

p.s. What are peoples' opinions on yelling out something before someone goes up for a shot? I'm all for it, with moderation of course:P Usually do it when a guy's in close with an easy one.

Be careful with that. Do that to the wrong guy and you will be picking your teeth out of his elbow next time down the floor.

[chains5000]

Did he really get banned?

He changed his "Lebron troll..." stuff to "Banned" so he can leave for a few days till everyday forgets this thread and what an ***hole he is.
Pretty clever.

[sweetmoney]

lame post.

disrupting the shooter's view of the rim is better than nothing.

[fishysmiles13]

And how exactly is this puss?

[fishysmiles13]

I am not saying that he change all of his shots, just that he throw in a Crazy Ivan every once in awhile, especially when Battier was really in the groove and playing tight defense.
When I am holding the ball, looking to pass and a defender who plays me really tight is jumping all over the place trying to swat at the ball, constantly hitting me in the arms, I just step through on him. I only need to do it once, and the problem is solved.

How is the problem solved if you get one foul on your defender? Not only will it disrupt your shot and your offensive flow, it might not even be called a foul; not all defenders will fall for that. :)

[Da KO King]

I didn't get to see all of the game but one thing that I noticed that played into Houston's hand was Phil Jackson kept running side pick and rolls for Kobe on the left wing even though Houston was "blue'ing" the screen. LA should have flipped those to the right wing and see if it would force Houston's hand.

[Loki]

Crazy thing is...Battier does this EVERYtime he guards Kobe. It just happened to "work" a little better in this particular game. For a guy as talented as Kobe, a hand in the face wont even matter if he gets hot. Like those other games where Kobe dropped 50 on the Rockets. He did it with Battier's hand literally 1 inch from his face. Shane is an incredible defender, and that makes Kobe's offense that much more impressive.

Neither of Kobe's 50 point games vs. Houston last season were particularly impressive, and one of them was downright poor as far as 50 point games go. So Battier has had an effect even when Kobe has ended up with big point totals.

[XxNeXuSxX]

He changed his "Lebron troll..." stuff to "Banned" so he can leave for a few days till everyday forgets this thread and what an ***hole he is.
Pretty clever.

heh, you actually made me look that up, you bastard.

[RIMMER]

Neither of Kobe's 50 point games vs. Houston last season were particularly impressive, and one of them was downright poor as far as 50 point games go. So Battier has had an effect even when Kobe has ended up with big point totals.

I was at one of those 50 point games. Staples Center, game on ESPN, went into OT. Kobe heated up in the fourth and got his own miss off a free throw to hit a fade-away three, falling out of bounds, to send the game into overtime. Didnt matter what Battier did once Kobe got hot, even though he guarded him EXTREMELY well through the first three quarters.

Lakers lost in OT, but regardless, Kobe had a pretty damn impressive 50 point outting.

[hotsizzle]

Any other new tactics out there ?