Scott Tibbs
blog post
June 7th, 2004

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The 2004 NBA Finals

Last night, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 87-75. The numbers tell the story: Shaquille O'Neal hit 13 of 16 from the field and 8 of 12 from the free throw line for 34 points. Kobe Bryant hit only 10 of 27 shots and finished with 25 points. Bryant also missed two three-pointers during a crucial L.A. rally.

The problem here is obvious. Kobe is a ball hog. I understand that Kobe is a great player, offensively and defensively. But when Shaq is having the kind of game he has last night, it is insane for Kobe to put up shot after shot, especially when he is shooting 37% from the floor while O'Neal is shooting 81% from the field. Even O'Neal's free throw shooting was significantly better than usual.


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The Detroit Pistons won Game 4 of the NBA Finals, putting them up three games to one and within one victory of an NBA championship. As in Game 1, the numbers tell the story: Shaquille O'Neal hit 16 of 21 shots while Kobe Bryant hit 8 of 25. O'Neal's field goal percentage is 76% while Bryant's was an anemic 32%.

One would think that Kobe would learn from past mistakes and stop firing shot after shot when O'Neal is so dominating the Pistons front line. Detroit has no one who can stop Shaq or even slow him down.

Barring a minor miracle, the Lakers will lose this series, and the majority of the blame for that falls on Kobe Bryant.