| 26 April 2009
That was just flat out unfair.
We've often seen Kobe Bryant playing basketball at an unfair level. Whether it's been his 61-point effort against the Knicks this season, his 58 points in just three quarters of play against the Grizzlies years ago, or his 81-point performance against the Raptors, Kobe gets into these modes in which every shot is probably going down no matter how good the defense or how difficult the shot is. And going into the game last night and coming off of a 5-24 shooting performance, the often-maligned gunner was determined to establish his dominance early.
And that's exactly what he did.
Kobe Bryant scored the first 11 points of the game for the Lakers and set the tone early for LA to show that they would be able to rely on him during any lull or stretch of basketball when things weren't working. And it had nothing to do with any type of bad defense or strategy in trying to defend him. He was just hitting everything. Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko mostly had the duties for slowing down Bryant and they both did a really good job of technique in trying to bother his shots. They used their length, quickness, and defensive awareness (it's not just a video game attribute) to stay close to Kobe and challenge his shot but none of that ever mattered. He just hit everything. In Game Three in which Kobe struggled, he was 3-16 for 10 points when Brewer was guarding him. In Game Four Kobe was 11-12 shooting for 23 points when Brewer defended him. That's just unfair.
As for the rest of the game, the Jazz were just terrible defensively in the second and third quarters and they weren't good enough offensively during those periods to make up for it. The Lakers were 14-20 shooting in the second quarter for 40 points and 10-19 from the field for 28 points in the third to go with just 44 points allowed in those two quarters combined. The Lakers even went a stretch of making 10 straight shots from 4:05 left in the second quarter until Trevor Ariza missed a lay-up with 6:58 left in the third. The Jazz just simply weren't effective or efficient enough on offense to make up for the points they gave up during this key stretch of the game when the margin went from +5 for the Jazz at the end of the first quarter to -19 when the fourth quarter started.
Why the Lakers Won This Game
There wasn't much ball movement, which would normally kill a team running a style like the triangle offense, but it was mainly because once the ball got to Kobe it didn't really need to get moved any further. He hit some truly ridiculous jumpers over a smothering Ronnie Brewer and just had it going at a level that validated him to stop running through the options on offense. So the 19 assists on 40 made field goals seem really inefficient for a Phil Jackson team but Kobe was so good that he won it for them in the third quarter with every backbreaking dagger.
Why the Jazz Lost This Game
Kobe Bryant's the reason they loss but if you want to get real technical about it, you can nail it down to two other factors. They gave up over 100 points to the Lakers again thanks to the 51% shooting from LA during this game. Their offense was simply too good, especially in that second and third quarter stretch of play. And second, they missed 10 free throws that denied them chances to add easy points. You can't miss 10 free throws and allow the other team to shoot over 50% in the playoffs ever if you want to win. Not even on your own home floor.
Heading into Game Five
It's seems like this one is ready to be over. The Jazz put up a good fight for what they were facing but haven't played consistent defense at all this post-season. I'd expect the Lakers to put on an offensive display at home. They will try to run the ball down the throats of a Jazz team teetering on the edge of elimination. Kobe will be more of a passer and defer to his teammates early and try to drop the final knockout punch sometime in the third quarter because that's what the Lakers have done this season. Deron Williams will put up a fight like he's done all series but the same can't be said about his teammates.
Prediction: Lakers close out the series in style
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