Good Game but dont get ya hopes up

[Chaplin]

You guys need to stop banging people for their grammar, seriously, when Gee is out there busting on Lakerfans too.

Glass houses people. It's not like this place is a Harvard english class.

Looks like someone is out of ammunition...

 

[Treesquid PhD]

You guys need to stop banging people for their grammar, seriously, when Gee is out there busting on Lakerfans too.

Glass houses people. It's not like this place is a Harvard english class.

I found this kind of appropriate too.

 

[TheHopToad]

You guys need to stop banging people for their grammar, seriously, when Gee is out there busting on Lakerfans too.

Glass houses people. It's not like this place is a Harvard english class.

FYI: "English" should be capitalized, it is a proper adjective.

 

[F-Dog]

{I was going to make a Cardinals joke here, but thought better of it at the last moment.}

 

[Joe Mama]

There's obviously no way to prove this, but it is a fun argument. I actually think that if you swapped Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash and Phoenix Suns would be every bit as good as they are now. It's possible they would be better. Kobe Bryant could easily average 8+ assists on this team.

Joe

 

[slinslin]

Kobe Bryant COULD average 8+ assists on the Lakers probably also.. That's not the argument.

This team would probably crumble under Bryant's ego.

 

[Cheesebeef]

There's obviously no way to prove this, but it is a fun argument. I actually think that if you swapped Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash and Phoenix Suns would be every bit as good as they are now. It's possible they would be better. Kobe Bryant could easily average 8+ assists on this team.

Joe

I kind of agree - people forget that when Kobe had talent, he was the facilitator for 3 title teams that were all damn near unbeatable. They wouldn't run this offense, but Jax, with Kobe, Amare, Marion, and Barbosa would kill people.

that being said, you put Nash on the Lakers and that team is a lot better IMO.

oh, and good lord, Big Game James was just KILLING Kobe Bryant on LA TV just now - pretty funny.

 

[F-Dog]

I kind of agree - people forget that when Kobe had talent, he was the facilitator for 3 title teams that were all damn near unbeatable. They wouldn't run this offense, but Jax, with Kobe, Amare, Marion, and Barbosa would kill people.

I think you mean, "when Shaq had talent, Kobe was the facilitator..."


I wouldn't guarantee that the Suns would be better or worse with Kobe, but IMO it's pretty clear the Lakers would be better with Nash. Hell, they'd even be better defensively, since they wouldn't have to carry Luke Walton as their starting SF with Nash distributing.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think you mean, "when Shaq had talent, Kobe was the facilitator..."

does it really matter? Bottom line, when Kobe played with talented players he could trust, he did and he was the playmaker on a team that dominated. No one was calling Kobe selfish as he was dishing to Fisher, Horry and Fox and giving the ball up to Shaq as Shaq dominated. I really think Kobe gets a bad rap - not that he doesn't deserve a lot of it, but the guy HAS shown the ability to be a team player during his career.

that being said, I'm pretty damn happy Kupcake still has a job and has no clue how to put talent around him. Let him play one on one until the end of his career for all I care.

 

[Espo]

This is game 1 of the series. I not worried about losing the first game of the sereis.

"The winner of the first game in a series ultimately takes the series 79% of the time."
I'll take the Suns odds over the Lakers right now.

 

[azirish]

I was opposed to signing Kobe then because I felt he would never co-exist with Amare. Nothing has happened to change my mind.

Back to the subject...

Even if the Suns lost today, I'd still pick the Suns to win it. However, it would probably take seven games. IMHO, the game was close because Kobe went unconscious for a long period and the Suns shooting was just awful. Both teams are likely to show improvement in game two, but is it reasonable to assume the Lakers will have a huge improvement and the Suns will continue to play badly?

In statistics, there is a concept called "regression to the mean". What it means is that while individual events may be exceptionally high or exceptionally low, there is a tendency to return to the normal percentages. For example, if a 250 hitter gets hot for a couple of weeks and raises his average, you would predict he will follow it with a cold period unless there is some reason to believe he's made major changes in his swing.

Regession to the mean is why there are so few major upsets over seven game series in the NBA but lots of them in the NCAA tournament. Over seven games, the better team is extremely likely to win.

Are the Lakers the better team? Forget the woulda, coulda, shoulda stuff. Are they the better team? If they aren't, their chances of winning the series becomes even lower than the standard "78% of teams winning the first game go on to win the series" stuff.

It seems likely the Lakers will win a game, but nothing I've read ore seen convinces me they are the better team.

 

[Chaplin]

I was opposed to signing Kobe then because I felt he would never co-exist with Amare. Nothing has happened to change my mind.

Well, the last time Kobe was paired with a dominant big man, what happened? Oh, he won 3 championships.

It seems likely the Lakers will win a game, but nothing I've read ore seen convinces me they are the better team.

Tell that to Luke Walton, who after the loss said the Lakers were the better team.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Kobe Bryant COULD average 8+ assists on the Lakers probably also.. That's not the argument.

This team would probably crumble under Bryant's ego.

Probably, but Bryant is not a PG and his role is to put the ball in the basket. Kobe is a shooting guard and there are no SG's in basketball that get that many assists (Kobe leads the NBA in assists by a SG by the way) because offensively they're out there to score.

And the last point is pure speculation. Kobe was on some pretty damn good teams for the better part of a decade and never brought them down. Bryant's last few teams have crumbled due to a lack of talent. This team would be just as dominant with Kobe instead of Nash, anyone who believes differently is looking at things through purple-tinted glasses.

 

[F-Dog]

does it really matter?

Of course it does. If you ask, "why didn't Nash play like this back in Dallas?", a big reason is that it wasn't his team.

I don't think you can use "second-banana Kobe" to prove very much about current Kobe.

 

[TheHopToad]

"The winner of the first game in a series ultimately takes the series 79% of the time."

We can only hope this follows through in the rest of the Western Conference series...

 

[Errntknght]

I'd guess if you swapped Nash and Kobe both teams would be considerably worse - Nash wouldn't be able to do his thing in PJ's triangle and Kobe would destroy the Suns chemistry.

 

[dodie53]

imo,

the suns would be much stronger if kobe was there instead of nash..

and the lamar will be an all-star because of nash

 

[pokerface]

I almost feel sorry for the Laker dude.....he seems to be buying heavily into some Kobe carisma messiah complex.

Guys be gentle on the poor fellow....after the Suns sweep he may not be on this earth much longer.

Drink my son...drink...

 

[scotsman13]

Well, the last time Kobe was paired with a dominant big man, what happened? Oh, he won 3 championships.

here i thought that the last time kobe was paired with a dominant big man in shaq, malone and payton he started this me first game and the lakers choked in the finals to the pistons. but maybe i am wrong

 

[dreamcastrocks]

here i thought that the last time kobe was paired with a dominant big man in shaq, malone and payton he started this me first game and the lakers choked in the finals to the pistons. but maybe i am wrong

The Lakers choked away that series when because Malone was hurt. With a healthy Malone, they win that series, IMO.

 

[phillycard]

This post makes me laugh. I don't know why.

 

[D-Dogg]

The Lakers choked away that series when because Malone was hurt. With a healthy Malone, they win that series, IMO.

You are correct. Malone was the engine of that team. When he was out, they were not elite. And Payton sucked out loud in the Tri.

 

[F-Dog]

I'd guess if you swapped Nash and Kobe both teams would be considerably worse - Nash wouldn't be able to do his thing in PJ's triangle and Kobe would destroy the Suns chemistry.

If Phil Jackson can't build an offense around Steve Nash, he needs to turn in his Hall of Fame credential, don't you think?

 

[nathan]

Good game today. But watch out we are gonna pull an upset over you guys and win the series. Kobe did everything he could to win the game today but when his teamates step up we are gonna be rollin.

Thanks for the tip! I was planning on a decisive series victory for the Suns until I read your post. Now I know not to get my hopes up and will be better prepared for the bitterness of defeat that will come when Lakers win the series.

 

[arthurracoon]

Thanks for the tip! I was planning on a decisive series victory for the Suns until I read your post. Now I know not to get my hopes up and will be better prepared for the bitterness of defeat that will come when Lakers win the series.