The truth about Kobe Bryant in the clutch.

[DannyColtsBro]

http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-bryant-in-crunch-time

What do you guys think bout this?

 

[buzzy]

Haven't read it yet, but heard Abbott talk about it on TBJ yesterday, and I think one point is most certainly true.
Many coaches just give it to their superstar player and run an iso because if he misses it he can say "Hey, I gave it to Kobe Bryant, what else do you want?", while if the coaches who actually run a play in crunch time so that his team can get the best look possible, no matter who takes the shot, they are the scapegoat if the play fails to produce a score and win the game.

 

[cruzg24]

I read it, it is very interesting. And stats show that Melo is the most clutch player in the NBA! lol. Cp3 is #2 which is pretty sick as well.

 

[Mexi]

i'd much rather have shawn marion shooting the last shot instead of kobe

i mean honestly, would you guys really want all those guys shooting the last shot over kobe?

it's not like kobe gets close and chokes either. 5 titles, defending back to back champ speaks for itself.

this is all because kobe is regarded the most clutch player in the league. if you guys want to say kobe isnt clutch, go right ahead. im not going to sit here and fight.

you win some and lose some with kobe, but more times than not you win. back to back titles, right?

 

[buzzy]

Kobe did NOT win them the 2010 chip.


I probably wouldn't want many players on that list shooting it ahead of Kobe, but the stats don't lie. He missed almost 80 shots in crunch time. The thing is that Kobe used to be such a ballhog (still kind of is) that even if he got triple teamed, he still woulnd't give it up the an open team mate.

That's pretty easy to defend when you KNOW who is taking the final shot. Just read the passage about Phil's book.

I'd rather have a Boston motion offense where they run a play through Rondo, Garnett and maybe Perk setting screens, Ray coming off a screen and Pierce curling through or whatever.

 

[Mexi]

you want bynum, odom, artest, fisher shooting the last shot?
i'd rather he just chuck

and of course kobe didnt win them the title, but they obviously dont win without him. he got MVP for a reason. even when he goes 6-24 in game 7, he's still grabbing 15 rebounds. i dont care if perk didnt play. kg, sheed, and baby were playing

 

[ZigZag]

I think in cases like this stats can be very misleading. Like buzzy and the writer pointed out, everyone knows he's taking the shot and he'll take it if he triple teamed or whatever so degree of difficulty should be taken into account.

 

[Elite]

I think in cases like this stats can be very misleading. Like buzzy and the writer pointed out, everyone knows he's taking the shot and he'll take it if he triple teamed or whatever so degree of difficulty should be taken into account.

The fact that he's chucking it up if he's triple teamed is reason enough to consider him unclutch.

 

[Mexi]

^would you rather walton, smush, kwame, artest, soft ass pau, hit or miss Odom take the last shot?

to say he's unclutch is ridiculous.

 

[Elite]

If they're open, yes I would

 

[cruzg24]

^would you rather walton, smush, kwame, artest, soft ass pau, hit or miss Odom take the last shot?

to say he's unclutch is ridiculous.

Yes, I would if they are open. Its illogical for Kobe to be triple teamed and for him to take the last shot. Idc who it is, thats what also made Jordan so great, he kicked it out to his teammates a lot of times when he wasnt open for the shot. MJ always found Paxson, Kerr, and Pippen for the win. Lets be real, Kobe is a good player under pressure, but the best clutch player I dont think so.

 

[Mexi]

i dont even know what we're talking about anymore lol

i think kobe could do a better job sometimes in the clutch, but like i said earlier, you win some with kobe and you lose some.
it's not like he chokes every year when it counts. he's pretty accomplished. this is a stupid article

 

[Elite]

It's a stupid article because you don't like the facts that it provides.

Kobe is far from clutch. When you shoot 31% in crunch time, I don't see how that could be refuted

 

[buzzy]

I think this argument starts with the question what is considered as clutch? Scoring in the closing moments of the game, I guess. With Kobe, a guy averaging 25 points over his career, you cannot go wrong giving the rock to him. The point is, that defenders approach him differently in crunch time than in the course of regulation.
When the Lakers run their offense, you're aware of the outside shooting and Pau's presence, but in crunch time, when defenders know it will go through Kobe, and Kobe only, it's easier to guard, so it's only logical that his field goal precentage drops.

He's still one of the best scorers in history and the factor of clutch gets overrated in this article in my opinion. If he's open or guarded carelessly, yeah of course Kobe is clutch, simply because he's a great scorer.