Revisiting 2004 Finals: Shaquille O'neal's sheer dominance

[Rico2016]

ANY SG will do.

So true, in the 2000 Finals Bryant was on fire, with a stat line of

15-4-4 on 36% Blazing hot

Any 15 and 4 on 36% will do

[imdaman99]

I was a Laker hater at that point (mostly because of Shaq) so I was thankful for Kobe throwing this series and shipping Shaq out. That's as alpha as it gets

[warriorfan]

you really gonna defend 2004 kobe bryant in finals? its the same s*it what happened 2011 to lebron

Wow. Lowest iq of all time. Way to expose yourself as a dumb shit from a 3rd world country that doesn

[Gotterdammerung]

And Duncan won the FMVP the following year by averaging less points than Kobe on almost identical efficiency.

Well stated counter-argument to the usual narrative that Kobe lost the series to the Pistons, but you didn't finish strong. Duncan won the FMVP in 2005 because he was far more than just a Kobe-like inefficient chucker. There are other ways of winning basketball games, for what it is worth.

Not only did Duncan actually perform better than Bryant, he also put up a stronger stat line:
20.6 ppg, 14.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, and 2.1 blocks.

He led the Spurs in minutes (40.7) and Game Score (15.9).

Whereas Bryant against the same roster averaged the following:
22.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.4 apg. He did lead the Lakers in minutes (46.2) but his Game Score was a lousy (11.6) compared to Shaq's (18.7).

In the 2005 Western Conference Finals, the Spurs faced a tougher opponent in the Suns, but while they swarmed Duncan, he was content to win the series by not forcing the action by going back at a red-hot Amare Stoudemire. They won easily, 4-1.

Bottom Line: The Pistons relied on Bryant's rampant narcissism to succeed that they're still bragging about it for years. What an Achilles' heel!

[kennethgriffen]

its funny how lebron fans scream to everyone about how finals appearances are accomplishments in themselves and dismiss their idols failures


then they pick kobes 2004 finals like lebron didn't wet the bed in 2007, 2011, 2013 ( prior to the ray allen shot, 2014 vs an air conditioner, 2015 beyond 5 feet vs a role player, 2016 in the last 4 minutes of game 7, 2017 in a pivitol game 3 that cost them the series. then game 1 of OT, game 3 and quitting game 4 in 2018


for every one kobe failure theres a plethora of lebron choke jobs. FOH




do i need to bring up the multipla bronze medals and failed #1 seeds ontop of all of this?

[Rico2016]

Well stated counter-argument to the usual narrative that Kobe lost the series to the Pistons, but you didn't finish strong. Duncan won the FMVP in 2005 because he was far more than just a Kobe-like inefficient chucker. There are other ways of winning basketball games, for what it is worth.

Not only did Duncan actually perform better than Bryant, he also put up a stronger stat line:
20.6 ppg, 14.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, and 2.1 blocks.

He led the Spurs in minutes (40.7) and Game Score (15.9).

Whereas Bryant against the same roster averaged the following:
22.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.4 apg. He did lead the Lakers in minutes (46.2) but his Game Score was a lousy (11.6) compared to Shaq's (18.7).

In the 2005 Western Conference Finals, the Spurs faced a tougher opponent in the Suns, but while they swarmed Duncan, he was content to win the series by not forcing the action by going back at a red-hot Amare Stoudemire. They won easily, 4-1.

Bottom Line: The Pistons relied on Bryant's rampant narcissism to succeed that they're still bragging about it for years. What an Achilles' heel!

This is a critical blow to all Kobe fan boys.

[Rico2016]

its funny how lebron fans scream to everyone about how finals appearances are accomplishments in themselves and dismiss their idols failures


then they pick kobes 2004 finals like lebron didn't wet the bed in 2007, 2011, 2013 ( prior to the ray allen shot, 2014 vs an air conditioner, 2015 beyond 5 feet vs a role player, 2016 in the last 4 minutes of game 7, 2017 in a pivitol game 3 that cost them the series. then game 1 of OT, game 3 and quitting game 4 in 2018


for every one kobe failure theres a plethora of lebron choke jobs. FOH

How many rings did LeBron win while doing 15-4-4 on 36%?

I'll wait

[LAmbruh]

Good, original thread idea.

That said, it's quite remarkable how a team of what were essentially role players were able to overcome the great Shaquille O'Neal. I think the outcome would have been different if one of the Lakers' role players stepped up to the task, but unfortunately none of them were able to really solidify themselves as the second star of the team. It was O'Neal against the world. As great as he was, as can be seen with him 3-peating on his own, even he had his limits.

Good to see everyone is on page with MDE's pure brilliancy despite Larry Brown and his cast of only 1 all-star knowing full well there was nothing they could to stop MDE whether they tripled or single covered him


"let Shaq's role guys shoot them out the game", absolute masterpiece and it worked to a T

[warriorfan]

Good to see everyone is on page with MDE's pure brilliancy despite Larry Brown and his cast of only 1 all-star knowing full well there was nothing they could to stop MDE whether they tripled or single covered him


"let Shaq's role guys shoot them out the game", absolute masterpiece and it worked to a T

The 2004 Pistons were a great team. They only had one all star but that might not mean a whole lot, I mean LeBron James got outscored by a non all star in the Finals while even playing more minutes.

[bison]

Imagine starting a thread about Kobe circa 2004 fifteen years later

[Uncle Drew]

Taking a look at some of Lakers efficiency that Finals


Shaquille O'neal - 61.5 TS%.
Rick Fox - 57.1 TS%

Luke Walton - 46.8 TS%
Devean George - 48.7 TS%
Luke Walton - 46.8 TS%
Kobe Bryant - 45.6 TS%
Stanislav Medvedenko - 43.9 TS%

Good for Fox for stepping up! The other four role players you mentioned, however, not so much. They let O'Neal and the Laker fanbase down.

[LAmbruh]

^^ had to repost it because whoops I marked Luke twice, lets recap



Taking a look at some of Lakers efficiency that Finals


Shaquille O'neal - 61.5 TS%.
Rick Fox - 57.1 TS%

Devean George - 48.7 TS%
Luke Walton - 46.8 TS%
Kobe Bryant - 45.6 TS%
Stanislav Medvedenko - 43.9 TS%

[LAmbruh]

We should also note only did Shaq kill it on offense, but in defense as well.

Him and Mailman holding Sheed 11ppg and Ben 12ppg collectively

It was Lakers backcourt that took the brunt of Pistons offense for the 5 game series backdoor sweep

Billups - 21.4, 3.2, 5.2 apg
Rip - 21 ppg, 5 reb, 4 apg

[ImKobe]

We should also note only did Shaq kill it on offense, but in defense as well.

Him and Mailman holding Sheed 11ppg and Ben 12ppg collectively

It was Lakers backcourt that took the brunt of Pistons offense for the 5 game series backdoor sweep

Billups - 21.4, 3.2, 5.2 apg
Rip - 21 ppg, 5 reb, 4 apg

You don't know how P&R defense works, right? Why else do you think Billups was able to destroy the Lakers' defense? Shaq was garbage on defense.

[LAmbruh]

Well stated counter-argument to the usual narrative that Kobe lost the series to the Pistons, but you didn't finish strong. Duncan won the FMVP in 2005 because he was far more than just a Kobe-like inefficient chucker. There are other ways of winning basketball games, for what it is worth.

Not only did Duncan actually perform better than Bryant, he also put up a stronger stat line:
20.6 ppg, 14.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, and 2.1 blocks.

He led the Spurs in minutes (40.7) and Game Score (15.9).

Whereas Bryant against the same roster averaged the following:
22.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.4 apg. He did lead the Lakers in minutes (46.2) but his Game Score was a lousy (11.6) compared to Shaq's (18.7).

In the 2005 Western Conference Finals, the Spurs faced a tougher opponent in the Suns, but while they swarmed Duncan, he was content to win the series by not forcing the action by going back at a red-hot Amare Stoudemire. They won easily, 4-1.

Bottom Line: The Pistons relied on Bryant's rampant narcissism to succeed that they're still bragging about it for years. What an Achilles' heel!

Well said, agreed 100%