OK this may be semi-off-topic but what was the point of the Arena's 60pt line...it had nothing to do with this game because no games carry over in this long of a span (I can understand gameplay from playoff game to playoff game). Those numbers are irrelevant. If I wanted to be irrelevant I would've needed to ask Laker fans (or other people depending on their extensive knowledge) about which game stats of Kobes I could've posted as well (For example the statline for the 81pt game?) Ok I'm tired...Disneyland burns calories, all that walking...goodnight.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He didn't reply to Kobe before he said that his numbers are blowing Kobe out of his out the water. He didn't get anything handed to him. If the Wizards had won with Kobe and Arenas scoring the same amount of points, would you have still said Kobe served Arenas? The Wizards played poorly tonight, not getting anything going offensively like they had in the first quarter, careless turnovers leading to easy buckets and a few open 3's that hurt us. But uh, I guess Kobe's 39 totally served Arenas who just only scored 37... .</div> Point is, Gilbert had a lot to do with the Wizards playing poorly. One major reason they lost is because he could never get it going from the field (9/29), so your point above (bolded) doesn't really hold here. If both players had the same stats on the night and the Lakers lost, yes, saying that Kobe served him would be justifiable.
<div class="quote_poster">yodawgsup Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Point is, Gilbert had a lot to do with the Wizards playing poorly. The Wizards playing the way they did has a lot to do with his poor shooting, so your point above (bolded) doesn't really hold here.</div> Well, the Wizards kept it in single digits until Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant was subbed out in the middle of the 3rd quarter, so then from there on that's where the sloppiness of the Wizards started to come in. Caron Butler had a poor offensive night, compared to where he'd usually be able to knock down his shots and easy buckets. Different players from the Wizards made terrible passes that led to easy fastbreak points for the Lakers, and all that just concluded to a bigger lead for LA. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If both players had the same stats on the night and the Lakers lost, yes, saying that Kobe served him would be justifiable.</div> But yet again, Kobe only scored 2 more points than Arenas did.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Well, the Wizards kept it in single digits until Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant was subbed out in the middle of the 3rd quarter, so then from there on that's where the sloppiness of the Wizards started to come in. Caron Butler had a poor offensive night, compared to where he'd usually be able to knock down his shots and easy buckets. Different players from the Wizards made terrible passes that led to easy fastbreak points for the Lakers, and all that just concluded to a bigger lead for LA.</div> If that's true, why wasn't Gilbert able to lower the deficit once he was subbed back in? In fact, after both players were subbed back in, the lead expanded for the Lakers. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">But yet again, Kobe only scored 2 more points than Arenas did.</div> Having a better night is about more than just points. True, he only had 2 more points, but he shot much, much better, had more rebounds and assists, AND, most importantly, he played within the offense. You'd be deluding yourself if you don't think Kobe could've blown Gilbert out of the water if he wanted to.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">But yet again, Kobe only scored 2 more points than Arenas did.</div>Points are only part of the story in this game. First and foremost, the Lakers won. And if you go and look at the statline, you would see that Kobe thoroughly outplayed Gilbert tonight. Kobe went for 39/6/6 tonight, Arenas 37/5/4, and while the statlines look similar, they're far from it. Kobe was FAR more efficient tonight, hitting 14/26 from the floor, whereas Arenas was 9/29 and shot 3/15 from the arc. That alone shows who played more within the offense. I realize Jamison was out and Butler struggled, but there is no excuse to be shooting 15 treys when you're not on, it's only hurting your teams shot at winning. In fact, if it wasn't for Arenas' 16/17 from the line, his statline wouldn't even look close to decent. Arenas got completely outplayed today, you just have to look past points to realize it.
<div class="quote_poster">yodawgsup Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">If that's true, why wasn't Gilbert able to lower the deficit once he was subbed back in? In fact, after both players were subbed back in, the lead expanded for the Lakers.</div> He didn't get the ball as much as he did in the first half now that the team was trying to get out of the whole "Kobe vs. Arenas" stage, and realized "Damn, we're down". Guys like DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler took shots and were able to hit some of them and when Arenas got his share, he was able to narrow the margin. The 4 point play over Kobe, and the 3 point play on Odom, and many trips to the line. Our defense played pretty bad also, but not just to Kobe. He made a lot of plays for guys like Parker and Odom that burned us and kept the lead up, so it was pretty much a see-saw battle from there on. Bench production and role players not stepping up hurt us when Arenas and Kobe sat out. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Having a better night is about more than just points. True, he only had 2 more points, but he shot much, much better, had more rebounds and assists, AND, most importantly, he played within the offense. You'd be deluding yourself if you don't think Kobe could've blown Gilbert out of the water if he wanted to.</div> Yeah I know, but when people hype up "Kobe vs Arenas" like they did here tonight, all they really look at are points. Arenas didn't get a lot of acknowledgement with the 8 rebounds and 8 assists he had in the first meeting to add to his 60 points. Kobe had a better night overall, but you can make an argument that Arenas had a better scoring night, against Kobe at least. ie. The crossover on Kobe, the 4 point play, another 3 pointer, and I can't remember what else.
<div class="quote_poster">Moo2K4 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I realize Jamison was out and Butler struggled, but there is no excuse to be shooting 15 treys when you're not on, it's only hurting your teams shot at winning. In fact, if it wasn't for Arenas' 16/17 from the line, his statline wouldn't even look close to decent. Arenas got completely outplayed today, you just have to look past points to realize it.</div> Arenas and the entire team just got caught up with the hype building around this matchup. You can easily tell how selfish Arenas was in the first half, like one time he easily passed up an open Andray Blatche behind the perimeter, for a missed jumper. Here's some things Arenas said after the game: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I have to stop doing that serious thing before a game. I have to be my goofy self. Tonight I was too serious, and that is why I struggled early."</div> The way he played changed during the second half when they found themselves an uphill to climb though, Arenas was playing smarter, trying to generate fouls and made smart passes. Kobe had a better game, but what I was really talking about before was scoring comparisons between these two.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He didn't get the ball as much as he did in the first half now that the team was trying to get out of the whole "Kobe vs. Arenas" stage, and realized "Damn, we're down". Guys like DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler took shots and were able to hit some of them and when Arenas got his share, he was able to narrow the margin. The 4 point play over Kobe, and the 3 point play on Odom, and many trips to the line. Our defense played pretty bad also, but not just to Kobe. He made a lot of plays for guys like Parker and Odom that burned us and kept the lead up, so it was pretty much a see-saw battle from there on. Bench production and role players not stepping up hurt us when Arenas and Kobe sat out.</div> Wait, so the guys were struggling before Arenas went back in, right, because they let the lead expand? So after substituting him back in, the coaching staff decided it was better to continue to let the guys try to figure things out and let Arenas sputter? Is that what you're saying? That's funny, because I've suspected for a while now that Eddie Jordan wasn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen. You know what though? I don't buy it. I think you're full of it. After he was substituted back in, Arenas continued to throw up terrible shots while the rest of the team seemed bewildered. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah I know, but when people hype up "Kobe vs Arenas" like they did here tonight, all they really look at are points. Arenas didn't get a lot of acknowledgement with the 8 rebounds and 8 assists he had in the first meeting to add to his 60 points. Kobe had a better night overall, but you can make an argument that Arenas had a better scoring night, against Kobe at least. ie. The crossover on Kobe, the 4 point play, another 3 pointer, and I can't remember what else.</div> I don't think you can make that argument without coming across as foolish.
<div class="quote_poster">yodawgsup Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Wait, so the guys were struggling before Arenas went back in, right, because they let the lead expand? So after substituting him back in, the coaching staff decided it was better to continue to let the guys try to figure things out and let Arenas sputter?</div> What do you mean figure things out? Besides the turnovers that guys like Taylor, Thomas, and Blatche committed, they've just had a hard time executing like they've been normally doing. There was a stretch in the second half where the Wizards had only made 6 of their last 25, I believe in the 3rd quarter. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">After he was substituted back in, Arenas continued to throw up terrible shots while the rest of the team seemed bewildered.</div> Nope, I actually taped the game and as I'm watching it right now when Arenas enters back in the game at nearly the 9 minute mark, here's how he performs in the rest of the game: 1st Arenas Play: Arenas drives in and draws a reach in foul on Kobe with 8:08 left. 2nd Arenas Play: Arenas shoots over Radmanovic and misses with 8:02 left. (Good look though) 3rd Arenas Play: Drives in, kicks back to open Songalia and misses shot with 6:53 remaining. 4th Arenas Play: 4 point play, with 5:59 remaining. 5th Arenas Play: Drives in on Bynum, lays it up, it goes in and out, but should've been a foul, as he falls onto the ground, with 5:21 remaining. 6th Arenas Play: Misses a 3 pointer with 4:26 remaining. (I'll give you that one yodawgsup) 7th Arenas Play: Creates blocking foul on Odom and sinks both free throws. with 3:17 remaining That was pretty much it. Arenas only jacked up 1 one shot.
Oh man, what is all this arguing about? lol, Lakers won, that's all that matters. Money in the bank tonight, they pulled through for me, which I knew they would. I realy needed that $255 bucks, I owed my friend $300
What a game ! Lakers won by 16. Finally something really GOOD. And yes, Kobe outplayed Gilbert this time. I'm not talking about 39 > 37. But just look at Gilbert's shooting numbers: FG M/A 9-29 3PT M/A 3-15 FT M/A 16-17. His freethrow attempts and percent was great. But 9/29 and 3-15... On the other hand, Kobe shot 14-26, 2-5 and 9-10. Only 3PT % wasn't over 50%, but 2-5 ain't so bad. Kobe also got 6 boards, 6 dimes and 2 steals. Gil had a steal, 4 assists and 5 rebounds. BTW! Kobe's 360 was sweeeet. Our other guys were great, too. Especially SMUSH ! 20 points again. Wow. Radman 12 points, 5 boards and 4 assists. Odom had a solid double-double including 19 points and 11 boards. AND, BYNUM had 12 points, 13 rebounds, a block, a steal and 2 assists. Great game by the Lakers.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He didn't reply to Kobe before he said that his numbers are blowing Kobe out of his out the water. He didn't get anything handed to him. If the Wizards had won with Kobe and Arenas scoring the same amount of points, would you have still said Kobe served Arenas? The Wizards played poorly tonight, not getting anything going offensively like they had in the first quarter, careless turnovers leading to easy buckets and a few open 3's that hurt us. But uh, I guess Kobe's 39 totally served Arenas who just only scored 37... .</div> Arenas shot 31% for the game and went 3-15 from 3 point land. That is nothing to brag about, especially the 15 three point attempts. Kobe scored at 54%.
Yep. I tried to say the same thing, that those +2 points doesn't mean sh*t. But shooting % says it all... Last time, when Kobe said that Arenas took bad shots. Everybody were gasped in amazement and thought that Kobe is mean etc. But this time, he made the same bad shots and they didn't fall. Kobe didn't talk bulls**t last time.
<div class="quote_poster">Flow Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">But this time, he made the same bad shots and they didn't fall. Kobe didn't talk bulls**t last time.</div> I don't know... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I have to stop doing that serious thing before a game. I have to be my goofy self. Tonight I was too serious, and that is why I struggled early."</div> Gilbert's known to have off-nights, and he was often double-teamed when he got the ball unlike Kobe.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I don't know... Gilbert's known to have off-nights, and he was often double-teamed when he got the ball unlike Kobe.</div> So it was an "off night" huh? Fellow, he was also jacking up shots, I don't know why you're so embarrassed to admit that. It's just one game, everyone knows Arenas is still great. What Kobe said before is true though, people shouldn't have been freaking out about it.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I don't know... Gilbert's known to have off-nights, and he was often double-teamed when he got the ball unlike Kobe.</div> Surely you'd pass the ball if your getting double teamed, not shoot 15 3-pointers with two men guarding you. Just admit that Arenas got outplayed this time and move on. Even Arenas himself admitted he had a poor game.
<div class="quote_poster">Laker_fan Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Surely you'd pass the ball if your getting double teamed, not shoot 15 3-pointers with two men guarding you. Just admit that Arenas got outplayed this time and move on. Even Arenas himself admitted he had a poor game.</div> He had a bad shooting night, but that's all he had. He still scored 37 points, and he's not really the reason why the Wizards lost. I mentioned this before, the Wizards didn't value the ball, which led to easy turnovers and points for LA, Caron Butler whose always been consistent this season had a rough scoring night, and without Jamison, they couldn't rely on anyone else to rely on for scoring.
<div class="quote_poster">Will637 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He had a bad shooting night, but that's all he had. He still scored 37 points, and he's not really the reason why the Wizards lost. I mentioned this before, the Wizards didn't value the ball, which led to easy turnovers and points for LA, Caron Butler whose always been consistent this season had a rough scoring night, and without Jamison, they couldn't rely on anyone else to rely on for scoring.</div> Fair enough he had a bad shooting night but do you shoot 15 3-pointers when you know you are out of rhythm? Surely after he missed 7 he realised that it wasn't his day? It's not fair to pin all the blame on Arenas but to say "it wasn't really the reason" is a huge understatement. Yes he wasn't the only reason the Wizards lost but he was definitley a part of the reason why the Wizards lost.
<div class="quote_poster">Laker_fan Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Fair enough he had a bad shooting night but do you shoot 15 3-pointers when you know you are out of rhythm? Surely after he missed 7 he realised that it wasn't his day? It's not fair to pin all the blame on Arenas but to say "it wasn't really the reason" is a huge understatement. Yes he wasn't the only reason the Wizards lost but he was definitley a part of the reason why the Wizards lost.</div> You can say he was part of the reason the Wizards lost, but how do you explain the Lakers expanding their lead to double digits after Arenas sat out? In the first half, the game was neck to neck, even with Arenas jacking up shots then, but he still made the key plays and got the line to make all that up. It just wasn't his day, he was playing seriously coming into this game, and not goofy like he usually is, and the hype just got caught up with the Wizards.
everybody has off-night except wade+official Kobe just had a bad night b4 this game. Maybe he wanna focus on the duel against Arenas. Anyways, Arenas is still one of the best scorers in the league.
