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balefire88 · 07-15-2004, 01:59 PM

Without Shaq, I think the Lakers are headed for a 6-7 seeding in the playoffs, (at best). Kobe remains the best 1-on-1 player in the league, but he only got to play 1-on-1 because you couldn't afford to double him and Shaq at the same time.

However, in the Finals, Prince did a fine job on him, and the Pistons collapsed on every one of his drives. If you watched the games, you'd notice that every piston player had their eyes on kobe, and whenever he drove, they'd clog the lane to help defend on him, knowing that he would not pass the ball much. They rarely doubled Shaq, because there was no need to. He was not the dominant force he used to be, where he would drop 40 points on 1-on-1 coverage from any center. However, the rest of the team didn't shoot very well at all, so passing might not have helped a lot. Still, passing to the open man, which will atleast force a rotation by the defense, could have given Shaq better position under the basket as well as some mis-matches. The triangle was totally dropped in that series.

The Glove has declined to a marginal player who can't even beat a healthy Fisher. He excercised his option to stay in LA because of the $5 million he's getting there, and won't get anywhere else. The Mailman has a lot of heart, and good baseketball sense, but he's old, he's hurting and he's not sure he's coming back, especially with Shaq gone.

Shaq is also declining, but I feel that he will come back next year in the best shape of the past 2-3 years because he has something to prove now. He has to show that the Lakers made a mistake trading him. And in the East, he won't be subjected to the same punishment during the regular season that he would take in the West.

Kobe is not MJ at his prime. Perhaps if we compare the MJ of 25, and the Kobe of 25, Kobe might have the better game overall, but what I feel everyone misses is that MJ could drive and dunk way better than Kobe seems capable off. Watch some past games of MJ, and you will see him dunking over Olajuwan (probably spelt wrong) multiple times in one game. MJ did this without any real big man to help draw away centers, and Kobe only seems to be able to dunk on break-aways. Next year will be the defining seasno for Kobe. He has had to live under high expectations, and we shall find out if he can actually carry a team without the 'most dominant' player in the league.

The two times a year that LA plays Miami, it'll hurt as a Laker fan to be watching the spanking probably awaiting the Lakers.

07-15-2004, 01:59 PM	#17 (permalink)
balefire88 Tilted	Without Shaq, I think the Lakers are headed for a 6-7 seeding in the playoffs, (at best). Kobe remains the best 1-on-1 player in the league, but he only got to play 1-on-1 because you couldn't afford to double him and Shaq at the same time. However, in the Finals, Prince did a fine job on him, and the Pistons collapsed on every one of his drives. If you watched the games, you'd notice that every piston player had their eyes on kobe, and whenever he drove, they'd clog the lane to help defend on him, knowing that he would not pass the ball much. They rarely doubled Shaq, because there was no need to. He was not the dominant force he used to be, where he would drop 40 points on 1-on-1 coverage from any center. However, the rest of the team didn't shoot very well at all, so passing might not have helped a lot. Still, passing to the open man, which will atleast force a rotation by the defense, could have given Shaq better position under the basket as well as some mis-matches. The triangle was totally dropped in that series. The Glove has declined to a marginal player who can't even beat a healthy Fisher. He excercised his option to stay in LA because of the $5 million he's getting there, and won't get anywhere else. The Mailman has a lot of heart, and good baseketball sense, but he's old, he's hurting and he's not sure he's coming back, especially with Shaq gone. Shaq is also declining, but I feel that he will come back next year in the best shape of the past 2-3 years because he has something to prove now. He has to show that the Lakers made a mistake trading him. And in the East, he won't be subjected to the same punishment during the regular season that he would take in the West. Kobe is not MJ at his prime. Perhaps if we compare the MJ of 25, and the Kobe of 25, Kobe might have the better game overall, but what I feel everyone misses is that MJ could drive and dunk way better than Kobe seems capable off. Watch some past games of MJ, and you will see him dunking over Olajuwan (probably spelt wrong) multiple times in one game. MJ did this without any real big man to help draw away centers, and Kobe only seems to be able to dunk on break-aways. Next year will be the defining seasno for Kobe. He has had to live under high expectations, and we shall find out if he can actually carry a team without the 'most dominant' player in the league. The two times a year that LA plays Miami, it'll hurt as a Laker fan to be watching the spanking probably awaiting the Lakers.