JGC wrote:Finwë wrote:JGC wrote:Hero: Duhon
Zero: Kobe. Sorry but 18 shots at halftime is a recipe for disaster. Taking 40% of your team's field goals is just raising the middle finger at the team concept.
Dwight gets a very, VERY close second. Toney Douglas got more offensive boards than he did cmon! But Kobe is the leader and he sets the tone for this team. And tonight, he set the wrong tone and we lost as a result.
I mostly agree with your comments on his decisions and "tone", but I wouldn't say we lost as a result of that. We were up around 10 and Kobe was sitting on the bench.. The unit to start the 4th was horrendus, and the Rockets started to cut the lead. Then Kobe & Dwight came in, only to be welcomed by an effective hack-a-dwight that let them come back and take the lead.
Kobe did take more shots than any of us wanted him to, and he did suck on D, but IMO in no way was the loss on him or because of him.
I'd say it was mostly D'Antoni's coaching (4th quarter time). Howard's FTs bricking, the 2nd unit turning the ball over, being unable to get stops were all huge too. Despite kobe's "chucking" we were up pretty big the whole game. it was a 4th quarter collapse, and it wasn't on him.
When the team concept it employed throughout the course of the game, we don't have 4th quarter collapses.
When we go in to hero ball mode, that's when we seem to have collapses. There's a correlation there IMO.
Kobe's chucking doesn't help the team get into sync offensively, and it doesn't help the team play better defensively. If these games are supposed to be our time to "gel" and form our identity as a team, then this game was a wasted opportunity to do that.
Even if that was an actual, real tendency, that's not what happened tonight.. We were leading comfortably throughout the game, and that was when Kobe's "chucking" was happening.. Role players were actually playing pretty well. Jamison had a nice rythm, Duhon was making great plays, Hill was hustling, Meeks hit a couple of shots.. The collapse started with Kobe on the bench, when Mike stuck with a unit full of bench players (something that should NOT happen in the 4th quarter) and Houston's guys started to get some rythm.
Kobe and Dwight came back in at the 6:00 mark of the 4th, way too late IMO considering what I just mentioned. The lead was 7.
Jamison turnover (kobe didn't touch it in that possession btw) -> he fouls Smith who converts a lay up and hits a FT in an and-1 play. Lead down to 4.
Kobe hits a jumper. Lead at 6.
Harden hits a layup, lead is 4.
MWP turns it over, Duhon fouls Harden who hits 1 of 2 from the line. Lead at 3.
Kobe misses a shot. The Rockets don't convert on the other end. Kobe is fouled, makes 1 of 2.
Lead at 4.
Rockets miss, Kobe gets a lay up. Lead at 6.
MWP fouls Smitih shooting, hits both. Lead at 4.
HACK-A-DWIGHT begins.
Goes 0/2 from the line. Harden hits 2 FTs. Lead at 2.
Goes 1/2 from the line. Smith gets a lay up (and is fouled. misses FT) TIE GAME.
Goes 1/2 from the line. Douglas 3. Houston leads by 1.
Goes 1/2 from the line. HOU misses. Tied game.
Goes 2/2 from the line. The rockets get 3 shots at the basket (offensive rebounds), convert on the last one. Tied game.
END OF HACK-A-DWIGHT.
Let me ask you this:
if, as you say, Kobe taking many shots takes his teammates out of sync or something like that, what do you think the effect of NOT EVEN RUNNING AN OFFENSE 5 STRAIGHT POSSESSIONS because of intentional fouls on an exceptionally bad FT shooter is? If players not getting the ball a couple of times while the best offensive player in the team takes shots is bad, how bad is players not even crossing half court before the opposing team fouls your worst FT shooter and he bricks them?
I think it's pretty clear which one's (way) worse, and there's been EVIDENCE of it the last 2 games.
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= Ron (great d on Harden)
= Kobe (when the other starters shoot 50% FG, you shouldn't be dominating the ball like that. Defense wasn't much better) 