But they weren't playing through him. Kobe averaged 45ppg against the Suns in the regular season and the Lakers got blown out every time. In the playoffs he only averaged 27ppg (and that is with a 50 point game included) and they forced it to 7 games. In fact, when the Lakers were up 3-1, Kobe was averaging less than 25ppg in the series.
Lakers were successful because they posted up Odom, Kwame, and Walton every play. They slowed the game down to a crawl. And then in the 4th quarter relied on Kobe to close it out. That is how they were able to compete with the Suns. It wasn't because Kobe was playing like a man possesed. That style doesn't work against a team like the Suns that like to score. The only way to beat a team like that is to stop them defensively. And you stop teams that like to push the pace by having them not get fast break points and having to inbound the ball rather than running from a long miss.
Yes 3 beats 2 every time. But if you score 2 from the inside you reduce the chance the other team hits 3s by slowing the pace and helping your defense.
Just know that a basketball mind like Phil Jackson agrees with me and not you.
STOP IT
He'll get it together.
for him.
I smell KG and Marbury all over again, someones gonna leave
