Wes at end

[Markusquette]

Anyone see Wes nail the three and then steal from Kobe at the end?  I mean it's not like the Jazz are gonna win but again he is coming up big.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Anyone see the background when the camera panned Kirilenko in street clothes?   

[77ncaachamps]

Wes is not backing down from Kobe. Gotta love that.

But Kobe's got a lot of tricks and tons of skill to use Wes at times.

On ESPN's front page:




But that three towards the end was big. If he had made the other one that DWill set up for him, that would have be monumental.

[buckchuckler]

Anyone see the background when the camera panned Kirilenko in street clothes?   

Yes. 

[T-Bone]

Poor AK.
He'd cheer up if he just turned his head a little more.

[Mobot]

It took me awhile to notice that AK was even in the picture.   

[MU B2002]

Poor AK.
He'd cheer up if he just turned his head a little more.

He doesn't need the temptation, as he has already used his "get out of jail free" card this year.

[willie warrior]

Poor AK.
He'd cheer up if he just turned his head a little more.

Yes he would. he could drink from the straw--or the preferred nipple!

[79Warrior]

Wes is not backing down from Kobe. Gotta love that.

But Kobe's got a lot of tricks and tons of skill to use Wes at times.

On ESPN's front page:




But that three towards the end was big. If he had made the other one that DWill set up for him, that would have be monumental.

Kobe still had 30 points.

[cheebs09]

Kobe puts up 30 with regularity though on some of the best. To be honest I think if Kobe scored less than 25 it would say a lot more about Wesley's defense than it would that he's giving up 30+. As long as Kobe isn't going for 40+ then I don't think it makes Wesley look like a bad defender. I watched some of the first game and he was in his face whenever he guarded him, Kobe just hit some unbelievable shots that Kobe makes look almost routine.

[MUfan12]

Kobe puts up 30 with regularity though on some of the best. To be honest I think if Kobe scored less than 25 it would say a lot more about Wesley's defense than it would that he's giving up 30+. As long as Kobe isn't going for 40+ then I don't think it makes Wesley look like a bad defender. I watched some of the first game and he was in his face whenever he guarded him, Kobe just hit some unbelievable shots that Kobe makes look almost routine.

That, and they were using Miles, and even Millsap a couple of times on him. It wasn't like Wes covered him the entire game. In fact, the stretch where Kobe got going was when he was on the bench.

[bamamarquettefan]

Kobe burnt Wes badly twice, once with that ridiculous long pivot toward the baseline then back toward the basket as the 24 seconds expired.  Wes was only human to think there was no way he had time to pivot back with no time left.  The second time Wes did make a mistake and just tried a routine fadeway with Kobe all over him and got rejected.

However, no question he is in Kobe's grill and doing a better job than anyone else against him.  The great part of picking Kobe was that Kobe got frustrated again and fouled him.  4 for 6 on three-pointers, 3 more steals, 5 rebounds - couldn't ask for more from Wesley.

[MerrittsMustache]

Wes has done a phenomonal job defending Kobe, especially when you consider how blatantly NBA officials cater to star players...not to mention that Stern would never allow the NBA's current marquee franchise to get knocked out of the playoffs by some small market team.

[bartmiller#1]

Right, because "big market" teams like Orlando, San Antonio, Cleveland etc. are given free passes to advance. 

You'd be on more stable footing if you made the "Stern only lets superstars advance" argument.  But they're all fallacies.  Teams like the Jazz in the late '90s and the Spurs and Pistons throughout '00-10 advanced deep into the playoffs despite the fact that they weren't particularly popular teams-- and they certainly weren't from big markets.  The Spurs played the Pistons and the Cavs in the finals in the last decade.  Not exactly Lakers v. Celtics. 

The best teams almost always win and advance.  It's not fixed.   

[MerrittsMustache]

Right, because "big market" teams like Orlando, San Antonio, Cleveland etc. are given free passes to advance. 

You'd be on more stable footing if you made the "Stern only lets superstars advance" argument.  But they're all fallacies.  Teams like the Jazz in the late '90s and the Spurs and Pistons throughout '00-10 advanced deep into the playoffs despite the fact that they weren't particularly popular teams-- and they certainly weren't from big markets.  The Spurs played the Pistons and the Cavs in the finals in the last decade.  Not exactly Lakers v. Celtics. 

The best teams almost always win and advance.  It's not fixed.   

I never said anyone was given a "free pass" or that only big market teams win championships. I actually believe that it's more impressive when a team like the Spurs or Pistons wins the Championship considering the league would prefer they didn't even make the Finals. It's a testament to just how good those team were when they are able to overcome the factors working against them.

The NBA prefers to have big name teams and/or big name players advance (like any other league) but the difference is that the NBA does what they can to help out the bigger name or to prolong a series ('93 Finals, Game 3 comes to mind) or sometimes both. Stern and the commisioner's office knows which refs are homers and which prefer to be the bad guy. He also knows which refs have ill feelings towards certain teams and that knowledge is used when assigning officials to specific games.

Watch a replay of the 4th quarter of the 2002 Western Conference Finals and tell me there was nothing fishy about that.

[Hards Alumni]

2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

I rest my case.

[MUBurrow]

dont forget that Tim Donaghy made a ton of money simply betting with the referee's bias against particular teams.  no matter what you think of the guy, the results of his methods speak for themselves.  given some of the phantom calls and continuing trends this year (vs the mavericks, etc) its not like those biases have gone anywhere.

[mosarsour]

2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

I rest my case.

+1

[MerrittsMustache]

2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

I rest my case.

Didn't the Bucks get jobbed in the Conf Finals, not the Semis? Either way, I suppose the point stands.

[GOMU1104]

It was the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Philadelphia.

-Scott Williams Suspended.
-No foul call on Ray Allen as hes horse collard to the ground going up for a dunk.
-Big Dog missing a 6-footer to ice the series.

[Hards Alumni]

oh, yes, i mistyped it, my mistake.

[Doctor V]

It was the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Philadelphia.

-Scott Williams Suspended.
-No foul call on Ray Allen as hes horse collard to the ground going up for a dunk.
-Big Dog missing a 6-footer to ice the series.

Fear the Deer fans never forget

[MedicineHatSpanker]

He doesn't need the temptation, as he has already used his "get out of jail free" card this year.

That game's gotta be in LA. Those ain't Mormon Mams!

[YoungMUFan4]

Fear the Deer fans never forget

http://assets.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2001/2001/0531/1208098.html

http://youtube.com/watch?v=48hBvprymgs

[Hards Alumni]

I will never forget that pile of crap series.  It took me almost 10 years to forgive the NBA.