Friday, June 18, 2010

Other DBSF Closing Thoughts on Game 7 and the Finals


Way not to be too bitter Kobe: When asked about what this fifth title meant to him, Kobe (6-24 shooting, yes that equals 25%) exclaimed "Just got one more than Shaq." It's good to see that Kobe's matured personally and emotionally, and that he doesn't hold grudges anymore. No comment of 'I want to thank my teammates/ family/ fans.' No, no Kobe just wants us to remember (presumably in the event that we lack the finger digits necessary to add to four or five) that he has one more ring than Shaquille O' Neal.

Ron Artest establishes himself as an all-time DBSFer: Most people will remember Artest's 20 points, 5 steal game 7 as a high-light of his career. DBSF, however, revels more in Artest's comments and personality. Artest was already on his way to an all-time DBSFer when a few seasons ago with the Bulls he announced that he would occasionally drink liquor at half-time of games (he was playing in). Last night he solidified his position after the game when he thanked his psychiatrist.

Another memorable Artest post-game quote from game 7: “Late in the second half, [Kobe] started to move the ball and attack and pass. He trusted us . . . and he passed me the ball. He never passes me the ball, and he passed me the ball. . . You can hear him in your head, ‘Ron, don’t shoot . . . don’t shoot.” Not only does this make DBSF like Artest more but it increases DBSF's hate for (the non-playing) Kobe.


Lamar Odom's +/-: Kobe did it! Fifth Championship! He's Jordan! That last statement is not only categorically untrue but it bothers the nether regions of DBSF's conscience about as deeply as USC's Pete Carrol acting surprised over the recent allegations that he ran essentially a professional NCAA football team for almost 10 years. Look at the +/- stats over the last 10 playoff games for the Lakers (so the Celts' series plus the last three from the Suns' series). Bryant is third on the team in +/- with 29.

The leaders are Artest (48) and Odom (43). And, Odom leads all Lakers with a +/- per minute with 0.143 (Kobe is less than half--half!!--at 0.69). This means for every minute Odom plays the Lakers gain a lead at twice the rate they do when Bryant is on the floor. For all of the Kobe-love that all the sportswriters with one-week memories will heep on Bryant, keep in mind that--at least in terms of his team's scoring (that is still the primary measure of "winning" in basketball, isn't it?)--Odom was a critical factor coming off the bench in this series.

7 comments:

  1. DBSF is a wonderful blog - but this last +/- shit is kinda ridiculous. All that +/- shit means is that Kobe plays better with Lamar on the floor than without. Is the argument here that Lamar or Artest are more valuable?? I just don't get it.

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  2. Depends on a lot of factors. Probably the biggest one that skews the difference for Kobe and Odom is that Odom plays againts bench players and Kobe plays against starters (who are presumably better and more difficult to score on . . .so we might expect Odom to have a higher +/-). The big thing with the +/- is that it indicates if a player's team is winning when he is on the floor. If we just look at points or rebounds we ignore intangibles (like ability to play help defense, or to make a great pass that sets up an assist) that conventional statistics ignore but are critical in deterimining if a team wins or not.

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  3. Please break down the +/- in relation to Vanessa Bryant and that big dude Odom is married to.

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  4. that chick's had stretch marks since she was 10

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  5. I think Kardashian sister #3 is actually Bruce Jenner in a wig.

    True story. I don't watch the show (I swear), but one of the cats left it on and the girls were checking in on their store ("DASH-MIAMI).

    Semi hot sister: What is this stain in the changing room.

    DASH girl: Somebody took a dump in the changing room. It was a huge pile and it sprayed up and down the wall. It really stunk.

    SHS: But why is it still on the wall.

    DASH girl: ????????

    It's not the Cosby Show, but I call that Must See TV.

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  6. Artistically speaking, the Kardashians have done for reality TV what Citizen Kane did for cinema.

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