Kobe will guard Rip

[msc]

I've read through several posts where many are stating that Phil won't put Kobe on Rip.  My question to those people is:  are you on dope?!?!?  Kobe will guard Rip and will do an excellent job in doing so, as he has for his ENTIRE career going back to high school.  In their two matchups this year, I think Rip is averaging something like 10 pts. per game.  I look at it this way.  Any lost offensive production from Kobe is well worth it if he can shut down Rip.  Rip is Detroit’s only consistent scoring threat.  Billups has proven he is capable of putting up big #'s against the Lakers, but he's inconsistent at best.  The Lakers actually have a couple of other guys on the floor that can put the ball in the basket.  

On the other end of the court, Rip can't handle Kobe.  I'll give Rip props on his improved D over the past couple of seasons, but a defensive juggernaut he is not.  Prince is long and athletic but he can't hold Kobe's jock on the defensive end.  Prince is a great help defender and has made some nice block coming from the week side, but a steller one-on-one defender .... maybe in a couple of years.  Bowen and Hassell are two of the best Kobe defenders in the league and they both did a pretty good job of containing him and Kobe still had somewhere around 24/game.

I think the series goes 6, only b/c you can count on this Laker squad to sleepwalk through at least one game and Detroit will get one close one at home riding the crowd and pure hustle.  If this Laker team had any kind of an attention span they'd return the favor to the Pistons from the last time they met in the finals.  

The other thing I find hiliarious is all of the talk about the Laker egos.  Do these guys have huge egos?  YES.  Does every top-tier athlete/performer/anything .... YES.  With these large and fragile egos on this team it's anywonder this squad was able to win the Pacific division with half of the roster battling significant injuries all season long.  How'd they make it to the finals?  How are they about to win 4 titles in 5 years?  Egos .... please ... if that's all the Pistons, or anyone who is picking them win, has to hang their hat on ... they're up the creek with a turd for a paddle.
 

[Guest_Randy]

Here is Kobe against Rip:  

Game 1 this year - Detroit vs. LA (with Kobe guarding Rip):
27 min. 3-7 fg 0-0 ft 0-0 3pt 3 reb 5 ass 0 stl 0 blk 4 TO 3 pf 6 pts.

Game 2 this yera - Detroit vs. LA (with Kobe guarding Rip):
32 min 6-11 fg 0-1 ft 2-2 3pt 0 reb 0 ass 1 stl 0 blk 2 TO 4 pf 14 pts.

I didn't post Kobe's stats but Prince did a decent job on him -- I believe Kobe scored 14 and 16 respectfully -- shot well in one game and didn't the other.  The difference -- Kobe can guard Rip -- Rip can't guard Kobe.  

[msc]

Randy, can you remeber if they doubled Kobe at all in the reg season meetings?  

[WayOutWest]

I heard the Pistons are going to put Rasheed on Shaq.  IMO that's a very good move.  It will allow Big Ben to help weakside and patrol the paint.  Rasheed has been playing excellent defense in the playoffs.

[Guest_Randy]

I heard the Pistons are going to put Rasheed on Shaq.  IMO that's a very good move.  It will allow Big Ben to help weakside and patrol the paint.  Rasheed has been playing excellent defense in the playoffs.

This a good move if you are only concerned about Shaq but it's a bad move, IMO, when you consider how good Malone is at moving the ball.  PJ will adjust to this move and make them VERY sorry that they make this adjustment -- Malone will pull Big Ben away from the basket and they will use Malone at the top of the key and allow him to distribute the ball to slashers going to the basket (something that GP, Kobe and George are all very good at).  If Brown wants to stick with Sheed against Shaq, he isn't going to play Big Ben many minutes, IMO, and that doesn't bode well for Detroit and controlling the boards.  Sheed has never been a great rebounder and Campbell is the only other decent rebounder that the Pistons have.

[Joe Vancil]

Okur's actually a decent rebounder, Randy, at about .266/minute through the season and .263 throughout the playoffs.  That's not stellar, but it's not bad.  (29th in the league - tied with Elton Brand.)  In contrast, Elden Campbell is only at .234 (.210 for the playoffs).  (.300 is my "really good" cut-off - there are 12 folks above that:  Dampier, Garnett, Duncan, Camby, Boozer, Ben Wallace, David West, Reggie Evans, Shaq, Jeff Foster, Chris Mihm, and Magloire.  "Impressive" is .360 - only Dampier did that (.369).  Russell and Chamberlain were .53 and .50 - I forget which was which.)

But I don't think putting Rasheed on Shaq is a good move.  The only way that will work is if Shaq then wants to guard Rasheed on the other end - which would be STUPID.  I think the only thing that putting Rasheed on Shaq does is open up Malone to play a team game.  This move looks like Detroit surrendering the low-post to the Lakers.  That's suicide.

 

[Derek Bodner]

all of these people dogging okur i don't think have seen him play very much.  He's not your typical softy euro, there's a reason he will be in very high demand this offseason.  he CAN rebound, he CAN play defense and he WILL throw his size (and he's fairly strong) around in the post.  

[jn]

Since Sheed showed up even his most ardent fans haven't seen him play very much.  

[Derek Bodner]

not discounting that.

that doesn't make him a poor rebounder or weak in the post.

and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a fair amount of minutes this series.