Should Kobe have won finals mvp in 2004 for single handedly sinking the Lakers?

[Hit_Em]

Big Kobe fan here but that tank job in 04 was epic I didnt even watch the NBA that year cause i was so sure the lakers would roll over and win a ring that year.The stackness of that team is very underrated they were the original "cHEAT"

Even with a hurt Karl they should of won easily by just giving the ball to shaq and kobe getting his scottie pippen esk 20 ppg as the robin to shaq's superman

[Coach Eddie]

He threw that series away. If he defers even a little, he gets another ring without FMVP, but that is better than neither.

[Hit_Em]

His obsession to be Batman costed him so many rings...damn shame he could of been the goat

http://redsarmy.typepad.com/.a/6a01156f2c3287970c0168e8864e6e970c-600wihttp://i42.tinypic.com/3zrjd.jpg

[imdaman99]

He won the Lakers game 2 when they should have gotten swept... so no. Lebron however, did give up Finals MVPs to the guy he guarded the last 2 years. 2 guys who were otherwise role players.

[Combat Wombat]

:rolleyes:

It truly was a sad day when OP managed to find his way out of the abortion bucket.

[ImKobe]

There was an article where Billups said their game plan defensively was to allow Shaq get easy looks at the rim while focusing on Kobe....making sure he couldn't get too many chances to score in the paint.

Plus, Kobe's the reason they didn't get swept, and everyone shot the ball horribly, team lacked the shooters to space the floor, hence why all the guys outside of Shaq had terrible efficiency. Pistons had a GOAT-level defense.

[swagga]

There was an article where Billups said their game plan defensively was to allow Shaq get easy looks at the rim while focusing on Kobe....making sure he couldn't get too many chances to score in the paint.

Plus, Kobe's the reason they didn't get swept, and everyone shot the ball horribly, team lacked the shooters to space the floor, hence why all the guys outside of Shaq had terrible efficiency. Pistons had a GOAT-level defense.

shaq's 27 ppg on 64% ... horrible shooting :lol

but kobe's 22 ppg on 38% is the reason they weren't swept. :lol :lol :lol

[AirFederer]

I`ll say yes.

http://i.imgur.com/RqicV.gif%20

[Rake2204]

There was an article where Billups said their game plan defensively was to allow Shaq get easy looks at the rim while focusing on Kobe....making sure he couldn't get too many chances to score in the paint.

Plus, Kobe's the reason they didn't get swept, and everyone shot the ball horribly, team lacked the shooters to space the floor, hence why all the guys outside of Shaq had terrible efficiency. Pistons had a GOAT-level defense.The Kobe Bryant-focus thing isn't entirely accurate, at least when it comes to quoting Chauncey Billups. It was more along the lines of knowing Bryant wouldn't be able to handle Shaquille O'Neal getting the bulk of the shots early on:


Billups: Our game plan was very calculated. We knew we were going to play Shaq straight-up. We knew there was no way we could stop Shaq straight-up. And there was also no way we could stop Kobe straight-up. But, if we’re going to play Shaq straight-up, [the Lakers'] eyes are going to get big, which means they’re going to keep throwing it down there. We’re telling Ben the whole time, "Take fouls when you need to, but don’t get yourself into foul trouble. You need to give up a layup, cool, we’re going to get what we want on the other side." But what’s going to happen is Mr. Bryant is going to get a little discouraged with getting no touches and now the second half comes around…now he’s pressing. He’s going to start coming down and just breaking the offense. When you do that, you’re done—you’re playing right into our hands. Even if you start making those shots, you’re finished.http://detroitsportsnation.com/detroit-nba/rake2204/new-report-reveals-lakers-knew-pistons-domination-was-imminent-in-04/36862/

[20Four]

Big Kobe fan here but that tank job in 04 was epic I didnt even watch the NBA that year cause i was so sure the lakers would roll over and win a ring that year.The stackness of that team is very underrated they were the original "cHEAT"

Even with a hurt Karl they should of won easily by just giving the ball to shaq and kobe getting his scottie pippen esk 20 ppg as the robin to shaq's superman
And you wonder why you never achieved anything in life? Dude, get out your house for once and get your life together...your not tired of cleaning toilets or flippin burgers for a living?

[20Four]

Big Kobe fan here but that tank job in 04 was epic I didnt even watch the NBA that year cause i was so sure the lakers would roll over and win a ring that year.The stackness of that team is very underrated they were the original "cHEAT"

Even with a hurt Karl they should of won easily by just giving the ball to shaq and kobe getting his scottie pippen esk 20 ppg as the robin to shaq's superman

And you said you didn't watch the NBA that year....so why the fvck are you commenting on something you didnt even see? You fvcking stupid mother fvcker

[sportjames23]

I`ll say yes.

http://i.imgur.com/RqicV.gif%20


:roll: :roll: :roll:

[ImKobe]

The Kobe Bryant-focus thing isn't entirely accurate, at least when it comes to quoting Chauncey Billups. It was more along the lines of knowing Bryant wouldn't be able to handle Shaquille O'Neal getting the bulk of the shots early on:

http://detroitsportsnation.com/detroit-nba/rake2204/new-report-reveals-lakers-knew-pistons-domination-was-imminent-in-04/36862/

That was the point of that quote though...you give Shaq single coverage and let him get his points, Phil/Lakers will be running more plays for Shaq so he could get his points, not allowing Kobe to go off. This was the time when Kobe and Shaq beef was at it's peak, obviously that would throw Kobe off, and he did sabotage the Lakers in a way by not adjusting to their game plan.

And this was not prime Kobe, he was coming off knee surgery and had just re-injured his shoulder the previous series on that classic reverse dunk + going to court during the POs, Shaq was not prime Shaq either, he was out of shape.

Point is, Kobe did not cost the Lakers the series. Pistons were simply the better team, Larry Brown had the right tactic and their roster was simply more healthier and had better chemistry.

[J Shuttlesworth]

He won the Lakers game 2 when they should have gotten swept... so no. Lebron however, did give up Finals MVPs to the guy he guarded the last 2 years. 2 guys who were otherwise role players.
Lol so insecure. Thread is clearly about 04 Lakers and you had to bring LeBron into it because you can't make a post here without it being about LeBron:lol

[ShawkFactory]

He won the Lakers game 2 when they should have gotten swept... so no. Lebron however, did give up Finals MVPs to the guy he guarded the last 2 years. 2 guys who were otherwise role players.
:biggums:

[AintNoSunshine]

shaq's 27 ppg on 64% ... horrible shooting :lol

but kobe's 22 ppg on 38% is the reason they weren't swept. :lol :lol :lol
:roll: :roll: It's like Kobe stans have no shame at all

[PistonsFan#21]

Should Kobe have won finals mvp in 2004 for single handedly sinking the Lakers?


Lebron however...

Kobe stans :applause:

[macpierce]

The Detroit Pistons played Kobe's ego, they knew they could contain him if he played like a selfish asshole.

And the Pistons won.

[HighFlyer23]

The plan was to let Shaq AND Kobe get their own

I don't think you can ask Shaq to do more than what he did with the amount of touches he got ... 27 ppg on 64% on 84 FGA

Thats roughly 75% of the FGA he should've gotten if you compare it to the 2001 Finals which also went 5 games (84 FGA in 2004 vs 110 FGA in 2001) ... He actually shot 84 times from the field in the 2002 Finals which were a 4 game sweep.

The fact that Shaq didn't average more than 30 ppg is also a testament to Kobe keeping the ball from him

And the bottom line is when Kobe tried to get his own he ended up shooting a sub 40 FG percentage while taking 29 more shots than Shaq. There is no way on earth someone who is shooting 38% should take roughly 6 more shots a game than someone shooting 64 % and collapsing the defense. That is bad basketball and you will lose every time like that.

So yes, it falls on Kobe. He tried to usurp Shaq and failed in the process which cost them the series. Had he stayed in his role as the #2 man, they would've won.

This series is called the 5 game sweep ... you are telling me that the Detroit Pistons were good enough to beat the LA Lakers with a 31 year old Shaquille O'Neal and a 25 year old Kobe Bryant? Both were still in their primes and had 2 other fading stars on their team.

[TheBigVeto]

This is the only FMVP that Kobe deserved.