no_free_baskets

yeah, and kobe also has the reputation of forcing up ill-advised shot even when hes doubled...

to not even attempt doubling him was stupid...i mean, how mitchell attempted to defend him last night, worked so well, right?

arcade_rida

Why would be upset things happen. Kobe had a great game and if you saw even when we fouled him and held his hands and tugged him he still got and 1. So we had to stop that and start playing hard 1 on 1 defense then he shreaded that. Then we had to go to the 2 on 1 and then he passed it to Odom and he hit a 3 pointer. Basically what happend. Have you played basketball in a league? DO you know what happends when someone is hot? Everyone starts running leaving some else open. So then we tried to avoid that which lead to Kobe killing us.

arcade_rida

2nd of all seeing history doesnt really get you mad. How are you suppose to be mad after MJ makes that sick fadeway or scores 60. You cant get mad because the player must be really good to score 81. I mean put 2 and 2 together the Raptors werent just allowing him to go uncontested. 3rd of all again on the history part. Im sure everyone was happy that they got to see such a good game. I mean the Raptors held the rest of the Lakers to 40 points and the Raptors had 100+ points. Wouldnt you think thats a good game? Kobe just exploded what can you do about it.

Rhubarb

Well, here's the transcript of the Post Game Interview:

"Well, I mean, the tough thing about it was, he hit some tough shots. I mean, you look at that 3rd quarter, I thought my guys were there. We had two guys on him at that time. We doubled him, he split 'em. We played zone, and he shot the ball from the half mark. We played box and one - I hadn't played a box and one since my college days. We played box and one, played four guys in a zone and had one guy chase him, he caught it, took a dribble, pulled up for a three. I mean, without a doubt, he's a great player - that's the most amazing thing about him, he's relentless. Look, we played as good a first half as we could play. And we, man to man, zone, box and one, we tried to not put smaller guys on him to deny him, but when he gets it going like that...I saw the game against Dallas where he had 62, and what can you say? You can't say much"

__________________
Tim Duncan: "People should stop talking about Bosh as a future force. He's already a force, right here and now."

"I don't really look at guys and memorize players, but (Bosh) is very impressive. He can shoot, he has an inside game, physical at times, he's pretty good...he's more than holding his own." - Shaq

"I really like him...to me he's already pretty special," Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said after continually getting beat to the basket by Bosh. "He's going to be a great player in this league."

"Chris Bosh really has emerged to be a star in this league. There are more than the top three (in the 2003 draft)." - Dwyane Wade

I love everything about him, I love his game, I love his work ethic. He definitely has my approval - Kobe Bryant"

Team Mao

Just finished watching the game.

Agreed, I just finished watching the game and I don't recall seeing too many double teams in the second half. Occasionally, there would be someone cheating on a bit on their man but too far away from Bryant to really do much. Sam and the players mailed this in after about the 8 minute mark in the 3rd quarter.

Jesus, at least try to do something different. Try to stop him. What do teams do with us when Bosh gets the ball down low? They collapse and double and triple team him knowing that the other players on the floor don't have much scoring ability (sorry, I'm a Raps fan, but it's true). The Lakers are the same, they've got one uber-talented guy, a decent, overrated player (Odom), and a bunch of scrubs. So let the scrubs take their shots, they're not going to get hot like Kobe can.

This loss goes on the coaching staff. Whose strategy was to 'let Kobe get his' (to quote Jim Todd talking to Nohma). You've got to think that maybe our team's not going to continue to shoot 62% all game and that your half time lead could be a bit misleading. Well, Sam and Jim's strategy worked, Kobe got his and the Raptors are started to look more and more like players in the ping-pong ball rally.

MjM2xtreMe

Sportsnetnews had a small tribute to Kobe's 81-point game and showed his stat compared to Wilt. The they compared Araujo-Kobe stats:

Kobe : 81 points (sunday's game)
Araujo: 80 points (2006 season)

lol

no_free_baskets

yeah, if i was mitchell, i would embelish the truth too, after that debacle...nice example of coach 101 media spin....ok, but forget for a sec. about mitchell's post game interview...what did you see with your own eyes against the lakers? can you honestly say you saw an aggresive double team coming at kobe anytime before late in the 4th quarter with sow and calderon, because if you did, you saw a completely different game then i did...

jwall02@uoguelph.ca

a) yes this could have been avoided
b) the raptors fans ARE upset
c) kobe bryant is NOT the best player
d) gilbert arenas or vince carter or dirk nowitski or dwyane wade or kevin garnett could all potentially score 81, he's not that special, if i was on a roll and never saw double teams and various other defensive rotations, i think I could score 181 personally, and so could you
e) i think this feat accomplished vs. Toronto has set off several bombs and landmines and we are about to witness a Toronto Franchise filled with tons of drama and suspense


SO STAY TUNED FANS BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME SH*T WE NEVER THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN!!!!

__________________
dj frontz: the time is now, the time is here. toronto basketball and baseball are back.

no_free_baskets

apparently, mike james saw the same things i did...i'll let you decide who is the more impartial party... a vet like james, who knows the implication of calling out your coach in the media, or mitchell, an inexperienced coach looking to save his rep. after his team just got humiliated...

from yesterday's globe and mail:

"You can't point fingers at anyone, but at the end of the day, when a person's that hot, you can't allow somebody to be on a deserted island," James said in an interview on Sirius Satellite Radio's Full Court Press. "And we kept our players on an island the whole night trying to play him one-on-one and now he's so aggressive and the referees are giving him every call."

"I felt like we should have been double-teaming. Let Lamar [Odom], let Smush [Parker], let anybody else get 30, but he can't score another basket. And I just think there really wasn't a scheme."


"You got to do something to let him know it ain't going to be this easy," James said. "I think some of the guys found themselves watching also and I think even the coaching staff almost got mesmerized by it because after a while it just became a fiasco. It became like a little sideshow and that was the most frustrating thing about it."