Kobe's 2010 Game 7 REEVALUATED: Mamba Redemption

[EricForman]

Aside from one key bucket where he grabbed an offensive board and jammed it in, Pau wasn't any more exceptional than Kobe down the stretch. They both scored and grabbed boards to build up the lead once Fisher Hit the 3 with Artest contributing some key buckets as well. I'd hesitate to anoint a player of the second half. If anything I'd give it to Kobe simply because he controlled his impulses in the final stretch. He was frustratingly idiotic in the first half. ;)

Gasol's impact was more noticeable, I think. In addition to that jam, Gasol also had that put back (where replays showed he actually traveled because he landed before he released the shot).

There's also a few blocks on the Celtics and that crucial offensive rebound over Rondo in the final minutes. Everytime the Celtics cut the lead to 2 or 3, it was Gasol who did something to bump it back up in the final quarter.

I'm not saying Kobe didn't contribute, but Gasol and Artest had better games that night. Kobe's still the best player on the team and still the best overall performer through the playoffs, but not in game 7.

(waiting for the Kobe fans to ignore all that bit I said about Kobe being the best overall and through the playoffs, and only focus on the last line about him not being the best in game 7, followed by UMAD? 81! FIVE RINGS and a bunch of stupid photos)

[gengiskhan]

6/24






25%FG





for god's sake, Give Finals MVP to Gasol or Artest for hitting the 3-pointer.



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[AlphaWolf24]

Yes, even though I wrote post earlier defending Kobe against those who said his game 7 stunk, I'm "just mad".

Sorry, I evaluate games/players maturely. I'm not a Kobe hater who thinks he's trash but I'm not a stan like you. He's top 10 all time, but in the bottom 10. He hasn't been better than Lebron in a couple of years and his game 7 wasn't horrible but definitely wasn't good.

Those are facts. I know, I know, people who can analyze the game and not take extreme sides is rare here, and such an idea may be hard for you to grasp, but one day, you may understand it.

Yes his Game 7 was not the "perfect" game....but he played great and played his heart out.....he did everything except make a bunch of shots...but he came through in the clutch and lead his team in the series and won a championship....like he has done 5 outta 7 times in 11 years as a starter...

and the Fact is by Acclamation he was Voted by a Landslide as the Greatest player of his generation and Top 5 - 6 alltime.....



so you can be silly a say your "rational" and I'm just a stan...but the Fact is....the Greatest player for over a decade is Kobe Bryant.....and he is Top 5 alltime....and he played his heart out and helped lead his team to win the series...call me a stan if you want.....

but the truf is..I recognize game when it's in my face.......you don't














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[shadow]

Gasol's impact was more noticeable, I think. In addition to that jam, Gasol also had that put back (where replays showed he actually traveled because he landed before he released the shot).

There's also a few blocks on the Celtics and that crucial offensive rebound over Rondo in the final minutes. Everytime the Celtics cut the lead to 2 or 3, it was Gasol who did something to bump it back up in the final quarter.

I'm not saying Kobe didn't contribute, but Gasol and Artest had better games that night. Kobe's still the best player on the team and still the best overall performer through the playoffs, but not in game 7.

(waiting for the Kobe fans to ignore all that bit I said about Kobe being the best overall and through the playoffs, and only focus on the last line about him not being the best in game 7, followed by UMAD? 81! FIVE RINGS and a bunch of stupid photos)

Fair enough. I think Pau's contribs get overhyped, not that they weren't key but just too much hype like Fisher's 3 but usually it's Kobe whose exploits get the hype while others are ignored so I guess in that sense it's almost karmaic.
I think overall it's hard to deny Pau had a better game than Kobe.

[amfirst]

Don't know whats the big deal. It was a bad game for everyone.

[knightfall88]

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2...in-perspective

[Big#50]

AnotherStan added to my ignore list. Kobe played about 30 feet from Rondo. Makes it pretty easy to catch the rebounds that land in your hands. The Celtics missing their main pivot made it harder to box out Bynum/Gasol. While they were busy battling the biggest frontline in the league, Kobe had easy access to boards. Kobe choked in this game. Showed he doesn't belong amongst the MJ/Magic/Bird/KAJ/Duncan/Shaq/Hakeem's of the world. Just outside of them is a fair ranking.

[raptorfan_dr07]

it was a terrible performance in game 7, where as the rest of his series was great. looking at it 100 times wont make it a great game 7.

It really wasn't. He disappeared in the 4th quarter of every close game in that series. Don't believe me, here are the numbers:

Game 1 was already a blowout by the time the 4th rolled around.

Game 2: Boston had a two point lead(74-72) going into the 4th. Kobe shoots 3-8(38%) and LA loses.

Game 3: Lakers had a six point lead(67-61) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 1-6(17% ) yet LA STILL wins behind Derek Fisher's clutch performance.

Game 4: Lakers had a two point lead(62-60) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 2-6(33%) and LA loses.

Game 5: Boston had a six point lead(73-67) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 2-6(33%), blowing his load too early in the 3rd quarter(as has been custom for Bryant over his career), and LA loses.

Game 6 was already decided by the time the 4th rolled around, LA cruises to win.

Game 7: Boston had a two point lead(57-55) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 1-4(25%) and LA STILL wins behind clutch play from Ron Artest and Pau Gasol.

Not to mention, Kobe had a myriad of turnovers in the 4th of these games as well.

but the Fact is....the Greatest player for over a decade is Kobe Bryant.....and he is Top 5 alltime

Not fact, OPINION, one that can be easily shot down and has been numerous times on this forum. I've been saying good things about Kobe Bryant to people this summer since he showed up at the Drew, but these jack@$$es(alphawolf, Jacks3, Legend24, zay24, TheLogo, Mr. Im So Rad, Heavencent, Nick Young, Iron Fist, etc....) are making me regret and take back anything good I said about Kobe Bryant. He's nothing but an overrated scumbag who's been incredibly lucky and fortunate to have been handed everything on a silver spoon since he was drafted. Opportunities that numerous other players throughout history have not had the luxury of having. Stick him in Charlotte where he SHOULD have been and he's nothing more than a slightly more glorified Allen Iverson.

[DMAVS41]

It really wasn't. He disappeared in the 4th quarter of every close game in that series. Don't believe me, here are the numbers:

Game 1 was already a blowout by the time the 4th rolled around.

Game 2: Boston had a two point lead(74-72) going into the 4th. Kobe shoots 3-8(38%) and LA loses.

Game 3: Lakers had a six point lead(67-61) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 1-6(17% ) yet LA STILL wins behind Derek Fisher's clutch performance.

Game 4: Lakers had a two point lead(62-60) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 2-6(33%) and LA loses.

Game 5: Boston had a six point lead(73-67) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 2-6(33%), blowing his load too early in the 3rd quarter(as has been custom for Bryant over his career), and LA loses.

Game 6 was already decided by the time the 4th rolled around, LA cruises to win.

Game 7: Boston had a two point lead(57-55) going into the 4th. Kobe goes 1-4(25%) and LA STILL wins behind clutch play from Ron Artest and Pau Gasol.

Not to mention, Kobe had a myriad of turnovers in the 4th of these games as well.



Not fact, OPINION, one that can be easily shot down and has been numerous times on this forum. I've been saying good things about Kobe Bryant to people this summer since he showed up at the Drew, but these jack@$$es(alphawolf, Jacks3, Legend24, zay24, TheLogo, Mr. Im So Rad, Heavencent, Nick Young, Iron Fist, etc....) are making me regret and take back anything good I said about Kobe Bryant. He's nothing but an overrated scumbag who's been incredibly lucky and fortunate to have been handed everything on a silver spoon since he was drafted. Opportunities that numerous other players throughout history have not had the luxury of having. Stick him in Charlotte where he SHOULD have been and he's nothing more than a slightly more glorified Allen Iverson.

Only in the world of a Kobe stan is that a great series....but at least they are consistent. I had some moronic Kobe stan tell me that Kobe's series against the Suns in 06 was one of the 10 to 15 best series of all time by any player.

So with lower than low standards, of course the finals last year was "great".....

[Doranku]

^Don't know about the rest of your numbers, but Kobe made back-to-back jumpers in the 4th quarter of game 7 to put his team up 68-64 so that 1-4 can't be right. And hey, what happened to your thread about never watching basketball again? Why are you still posting here, f@ggot?

Props to EricForman for being the only rational Kobe hater in this thread.

[Doranku]

Only in the world of a Kobe stan is that a great series....but at least they are consistent. I had some moronic Kobe stan tell me that Kobe's series against the Suns in 06 was one of the 10 to 15 best series of all time by any player.

So with lower than low standards, of course the finals last year was "great".....

It wasn't a great series, but it was a good series and more than deserving of the Finals MVP that he won.

Also, I love how he completely ignores the fact that Games 1 and 6 were blowouts in large part due to Kobe's stellar play in those respective games.

[32MJ32]

At what point would Kobe's FG% have been palatable for you mopes? If he had made 3 more shots, 4 more? Would 10-for-24 meant it was "okay" for him to be lauded for his efforts, which were spectacular?

Bill Simmons, in his book, heaps praise on Mike and Scottie for crashing the boards and "doing whatever it took to win" in Game 7 of 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. Mike went 9 for 25 with 9 boards that game. Pip went 6 for 18 and had 12 boards. In case you've been living in a cave, he's been making 6 for 24 jokes for the last 2 years.

This has very little to do with the actual game Kobe played - it's about how you see him, how you will remember him and how you want him to be remembered.

Simmons goes on to say, in that same book, that he wanted to "light himself on fire" when his favourite player of all time, Bird, said that Kobe was his current favourite player.

Explains everything.

[EricForman]

At what point would Kobe's FG% have been palatable for you mopes? If he had made 3 more shots, 4 more? Would 10-for-24 meant it was "okay" for him to be lauded for his efforts, which were spectacular?

Bill Simmons, in his book, heaps praise on Mike and Scottie for crashing the boards and "doing whatever it took to win" in Game 7 of 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. Mike went 9 for 25 with 9 boards that game. Pip went 6 for 18 and had 12 boards. In case you've been living in a cave, he's been making 6 for 24 jokes for the last 2 years.

This has very little to do with the actual game Kobe played - it's about how you see him, how you will remember him and how you want him to be remembered.

Simmons goes on to say, in that same book, that he wanted to "light himself on fire" when his favourite player of all time, Bird, said that Kobe was his current favourite player.

Explains everything.

Simmons is like me, anti-Kobe on the surface, but the jokes/digs is mostly to play at the obsessive kobe fans. Simmons, like me, respects Kobe and gives him credit when credit is due.

When people are slightly biased/homer, it makes for good basketball discussions. But you know, the Kobe vs Lebron or Kobe vs Jordan guys lose sense of that and lean completely to one extreme.

But to be completely honest, many of Kobe's boards did come from long rebounds that kinda went in his direction as he was roaming around the midrange area. If you think of all the game-changing, momentum-driving CRUCIAL rebounds, I only remember Gasol, who had that one over Rondo late in the game and several throughout the 4th.

[All Net]

The most important thing in game 7 was the lakers won the game and the title

Kobe did have a poor shooting performance and in no way was it a great performance but he did have 15 rebounds, hit two huge jumpers late in the 4th and 4 big free-throws to stay ahead. He did make up for his terrible play through most of the game.

Luckily the D was so strong that even with guys shooting poorly they stayed in and came back to win the game.

[32MJ32]

If we're differentiating between "normal rebounds" and "crucial rebounds" now, we're going to have to spend a long time re-writing every boxscore in the history of the NBA

I'm not saying Kobe played his best game, but given the circumstances, he played well. His shot was off, he was being defended well and he willed himself to the line - which if it was Mike/Bird/Magic would be remembered as "MIKE'S/BIRD's/MAGIC'S KILLER INSTINCT IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY"

It's also not his fault that Rondo can't shoot. I'd be hovering around the foul line if I was checking him, too. A lazier player would have taken that time to rest on D, instead of helping his team control the glass. Boston outrebounded the Lakers in all 3 games they won that series. Kobe picked up the slack in Game 6 and 7, and funnily enough, the Lakers won the title.

People need to let the 6-for-24 thing go. Mike went 6-for-22 in Game 6 of the 1996 Finals and won the MVP for that series. You know why? If a the best player in the series has one bad shooting night, it doesn't mean he's not the best player in the series