KOBE TALK (Your one-stop shop for everything Kobe!)

[GloveGuy]

(On his play before GS:)

In the games before Sacramento, Kobe was already hurting the team. 9-23, 5-23, 9-26. They were all losses. Yes, the Lakers play depends on Kobe's shooting, but it's not if he shoots at all; it's if he shoots well. Had Kobe thought of shooting at Sacramento, there would've been a good chance that he would continue his slump and the Lakers would still lose.

The fact is, Kobe didn't show up against the Kings. He turned the ball over three times and when he even started to shoot, he missed(3-13). The Lakers don't win when Kobe shoots; they win when he shoots well.

[magius]

and add the fact that shaq got into early foul troube (charges i think?) which probably frustrated him out of his game with the amount of abuse he probably gets. the foul trouble also probably made him play more tentatively on both ends

[Fresh8]

Wat the Lake Show needs to do is "Play D," as Rick Fox says. Kobe HAS to pass the ball to his teammates if he ain't feeling it plus the rest of the team needs to make their shots.... I just hope they get their team chemistry right.

Apparently Jax has given up on Kobe now.... Malone is serious about retirement and Payton and half of the roster want to leave.

Plus: Kobe and Fisher want to move to the clippers... but it's just a rumour!

In order to win he Pacific and be the 2nd Seed- Lakers need to win and for Sactown to lose:

Right now: 6:41 in the 3rd (Lakers 49 at Portland 55)
And : Halftime (Sacramento 39 at Golden State 46)

Both are close games...just hope Lakers can start to dominate!

[.]

Karl Malone twisted his ankle, wont return to the game, George sprained a calf...dunno about him.

I hope this injury thing that the Lakers had mostly this season wont bother them in the playoffs, they need every player on his fullest, specially Karl Malone

[.]

OMFG.....Kobe made a 3-pointer with 1 second left to tie the game to 87, if the Lakers pull out a win tonight and Warriors defeat the kings (who lead by 9 with about 5 mins left) that means that the Kings will go to the 4th seed and face the Mavericks in the playoffs while the Lakers go on and take on the Rockets in the 2nd seed

[Fresh8]

YES! I'm so freakin happy right now!

With about 1 1/2 minutes left in the game (regulation) Lakers were 5 behind....then with 0:08 left they were 3 behind. I noticed that Kobe was 1/6 from 3 point...and I was dreading the worst...but KOBE HIT A 26 FT 3 pt SHOT!!!! OH YEAH BABY...LAKERS HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO CLAIM SEED 2 IN THE WEST!

BTW...Sacramento was trailing Golden State at 3rd Qtr. Time! GO U GOOD THINGS! DO SOMETHIN THE LAKERS DIDN'T!

[.]

YES! I'm so freakin happy right now!

Dont be 2 happy, the Blazers have the ball with about 10 secs left with a tie score, we will probably go to a second OT, but its very possible they make a shot before the buzzer....I hope not, well see

edit:

The Warriors defeat the Kings, which means if the Lakers win this double OT match, they will face the Rockets next, should be fun...Yao vs Shaq

edit:

Stoudemire made a layup with 2 seconds left to give the Blazers a 2 point lead in double OT, come one Kobe!!!

[magius]

wow, the refs seem to really hate portland....... the lakers were given second chance after second chance to beat a non-playoff team.

i'm bitter

[Fresh8]

Lakers clinch Number 2 seed! With instant replay supporting Kobe Bryant's shot! Even though Shaq fouled out... he did however keep the Lakers alive by blocking Ratliff at the end of the first overtime...but Kobe scored twice...at the end of regulation and again to wrap up the game!

By the way: Yao has taken full responsibility for taking his team through the playoffs! I hope he does well against Lakers... but 'm not happy cause I was hoping they would do good (Rockets) and now that two teams I like need to face each other...I have to go or one of them...it'd be easier if Yao went to LA!

[.]

I cant believe what I just saw, this is the biggest cluth performance I have ever seen on live tv....I have no words to explain how I feel

[magius]

even though i dont like kobe it was a nice shot but i think you're forgetting the jordan shot that beat utah for the championship, eh? or reggie hitting all those clutch shots to tie up a playoff game? those are just off the top of my head, this was a nice, but i'll certainly forget it in a week or earlier by which time the real action begins i personally found the baron davis schooling of kobe much more entertaining, but thats obviously bias so disregard it

i know you kobe fans are going to hate me for this, but la shouldnt have needed 2 ots to beat a non-playoff team, and i think the reason was because kobe forced shots during the earlier parts of the game. luckily, he redeemed himself, but you cant count on that happening all the time and i think thats what phil jackson and the kobe critics (not haters as you call them, but open minded people) dislike and still dislike about his game no matter how many clutch shots he hits against mediocore opponents. i'm not saying he's a bad player, but the only time he should be forcing shots is with 10 seconds left -- maybe if that was the case he wouldnt have to be clutch at all.

[PRoPuLsiOnDJ]

but la shouldnt have needed 2 ots to beat a non-playoff team

portland would've been a playoff contender if they had the players they have now at the beginning of the season.


btw ... this is one of the greatest clutch performances i've ever seen.
but the number 1 of all time is horry's 3 pointer against sac town in game 4. that shot was for the ages!!
if only he had made that 3 point shot against the spurs last year ... lakers might be going for 5 peat this year.

but nonetheless, lakers needed this boost at the end of the year. they needed it badly!

[Fresh8]

If he had made a shot last year and Lakers went on to beat the Spurs...Malone would not have joined LA and maybe Payton wouldn't have either.... and Malone could have gone to another Western Team!

[magius]

we'll never know anyway, the playoffs are starting!!! its going to be exciting in the west methinks

[air gordon]

lakers needed this boost at the end of the year. they needed it badly!

they sure will need it. in all likelihood they will face the spurs in the 2nd round

[PRoPuLsiOnDJ]

yeah that's gonna be an exciting series to watch.
i want to see a lakers - kings rematch in the western championship game (hopefully).

[Fresh8]

Spurs vs. Memphis
Lakers vs. Houston

and

Minny vs. Denver
Sactown vs. Dallas

Very good teams in the first round. I'm sure Memphis will be hard for the Spurs and Houston is tipped to may provide a difficult task to LA.... Dallas and Sacramento in a shootout1 And we'll see if Melo and his crew can lift their Game against Minny

I think the West may go like this:

Spurs beat Memphis 4-3 and go to play Lakers who won 4-2 against Rockets

Minny beats Denver 4-2 and plays Sacramento who sweeps Dallas

Lakers beat Spurs 4-2 (courtesy of home-court advantage) while Sacramento beats Minnesota 4-3

Lakers plays in a Western Conference Final which I think will go to Game 7!

But it's a long road for any West team this post season...compared to the East!

[Jackal]

i know you kobe fans are going to hate me for this, but la shouldnt have needed 2 ots to beat a non-playoff team, and i think the reason was because kobe forced shots during the earlier parts of the game. luckily, he redeemed himself, but you cant count on that happening all the time and i think thats what phil jackson and the kobe critics (not haters as you call them, but open minded people) dislike and still dislike about his game no matter how many clutch shots he hits against mediocore opponents. i'm not saying he's a bad player, but the only time he should be forcing shots is with 10 seconds left -- maybe if that was the case he wouldnt have to be clutch at all.

Magius, You're a genius.

[.]

I agree he forces hard shots at some times, but you cant blame this lucky dubble OT win on him because he was forcing, there were more factors then that.

He wouldnt have to be clutch if:

Shaq came back on defense if he misses a shot
Slava found out hes not a superstar
George would stop shooting bricks
Fisher would go for an easy basket in the break instead of jumpshots
The TEAM would play defense

Once again, I do agree he forces shots, but dont blame the lucky win on him, but the entire team

[PRoPuLsiOnDJ]

i ddint get to catch the game ... does anybody know a link where i could see highlights of that game? except for nba.com.
i remember someone had a link for kobe's performance against orlando ... i was wondering if there is one for this.

thanx

[Ruff Ryder]

i ddint get to catch the game ... does anybody know a link where i could see highlights of that game? except for nba.com.
i remember someone had a link for kobe's performance against orlando ... i was wondering if there is one for this.

thanx

http://kobebryant888.free.fr/Highlights ... er0414.mpg

Courtasy of Homer.

[Jackal]

Bryant MVP? Not according to poll

Kobe Bryant adroitly navigated legal troubles, injuries and nearly nonstop controversy this season, and in its final hours, lifted the Lakers to the Pacific Division title with his offensive creativity and sheer will.

It was among Bryant's most brilliant and memorable seasons, and certainly the most tumultuous. But the impressive balancing act will not earn him the MVP award, nor is Bryant likely to finish in the top three, based on the results of an informal poll.

Minnesota's Kevin Garnett will be the landslide winner this season, according to a poll of MVP voters conducted by the Press- Telegram this week. Bryant appears likely to finish fourth or fifth. The lack of support stems mostly from on-court issues, and not from the sexual-assault charge he faces in Colorado.

Fifty-three of 127 MVP voters responded to the poll via e-mail, and all 53 listed Garnett as their probable No. 1 pick.

Among voters who responded, 36 said they would include Bryant on their ballot, with three listing him as high as No. 2. Seventeen indicated Bryant would not appear on their ballot at all but only two cited his legal case as the reason. Six others put Bryant on their ballot, but said the case influenced them.

"I would not have voted Kobe No. 1, regardless of how good a season he had. I guess you could say that was a symbolic gesture toward his off-court troubles,' said Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who put Bryant third. "I think voting him No. 1 would send the wrong message.'

The chief knock on Bryant was that he missed too many games (17). Some voters also downgraded Bryant's season because he did not perform at a high level until after the All-Star break, he is surrounded by three future Hall-of- Famers, his sometimes selfish play, his criticism of coach Phil Jackson, and his public spat with Shaquille O'Neal.

Yay KG...as if that was being doubted.

Source.

[PRoPuLsiOnDJ]

thanx ruffryder8 .... i really appreciate it

[magius]

Seriously, have you been following this fiasco in L.A.? Kobe Bryant, already a ridiculously complicated figure, supposedly sabotages his teammates last Sunday when he intentionally forgoes shots he would normally not hesitate to take to prove a point to his teammates as they go down in roaring flames against the archrival Sacramento Kings, whose own bad boy, Chris Webber, only aspires to such chaos and calamity.


One of Bryant's teammates then anonymously tells the Los Angeles Times, "I don't know if we can forgive him."


Bryant then confronts every one of his teammates and asks them if they were the anonymous player, each of whom denied being the Deep Throat -- though we did hear that Shaq started calling himself the Big Source.


Then Bryant goes on the radio and vehemently denies that he sabotaged the game, saying he loves the game too much to ever do a thing like that -- though that then elicits memories of Phil Jackson saying he once was told Bryant used to allow his Lower Merion High School team to intentionally fall behind so he could bring them back in the fourth quarters of games and look like a hero, which makes one wonder if Bryant's love of the game has grown so much greater since his prep school days that sabotaging games is no longer an option, or perhaps it has become passe.

[Jackal]

Not a great game by Bryant.