Ballin’: How Dirty Was Kobe’s Elbow to Battier?
NBA May 5th. 2009, 10:00am
Houston 100, LA Lakers 92: Surprise, surprise. Biggest shocker of the playoffs so far? The Rockets led virtually wire-to-wire and stole homecourt advantage from the heavily-favored Lakers, who shot a woeful 2-for-17 from three. Even worse? Kobe’s cheap-shot elbow to Shane Battier in the first quarter, as seen here. (Mentioned in this column, via here.)
We fully expect Lakers fans to chirp about the whistles today (26 fouls on LA, 14 on Houston). We also expect a dissection of Andrew Bynum, who can’t play more than 15 minutes because he’s consistently in foul trouble, which allows Yao to feast (28 points, 10-for-10 FTs) on Gasol inside. Kobe finished with 32 points on 31 shots.
If you’re wondering what was up with Ron Artest’s mohawk – he lost a bet.
Orlando 95, Boston 90: Entertaining, if not comical 2nd half. Yes, we know the Magic averaged the 2nd most three-point attempts per game in the regular season, but when you lead by 28 on the road in the second half against the defending champs, and that is trimmed in half, you don’t keep jacking three’s. Unless you want to lose, which is what nearly happened.
Cause for concern if you’re a Magic fan: Dwight Howard took a mere 12 shots, while Alston jacked 11 and Pietrus, who was hot in the first half, took 13. This would be like Derek Fisher and Devean George taking more shots than Shaq during his heyday with the Lakers. Orlando has a severe mismatch with Rappaport attempting to defend Rashard Lewis on the wing – why not play the two-man game between he and Howard?
(Quick word on JJ Redick, who drilled two three’s in the midst of a huge Orlando run to push the lead to 28: How long does he take to style that faux-hawk? He was definitely the only player on the court last night with product in his hair.)
Rondo and Ray Allen shot a combined 4-for-24. Rondo, who has been a different player (read: a worse one) since jacking Brad Miller at the end of game five, and who rarely turned the ball over against the Bulls, committed seven last night.
74 Responses to “Ballin’: How Dirty Was Kobe’s Elbow to Battier?”
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May 5th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
This is going to be fun.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Kobe doesnt drive. Lakers were given a few charity FT attempts to try and keep the game close.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:04 AM
How long does he take to style that faux-hawk?
not as long as Jesse Palmer
GO MAGIC
Buck Foston
May 5th, 2009 at 10:05 AM
It’s pretty obvious that Kobe would rather lose dirty than win clean.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:06 AM
I don’t think the “elbow” was that dirty. It’s more him leaning on Battier trying to provoke a response.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Biggest shocker of the playoffs so far?
Chuck Norris begs to differ
May 5th, 2009 at 10:09 AM
There was a 2 minute stretch where the Lakers were hacking the shit out of Houston players. It ended with 1/3 of Battiers blood ending up on the court.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:09 AM
I HATE Kobe but who cares about the cheap elbow?! Let’s suspend Rondo, Howard, Kobe and Yao just for fun. It’s the fucking playoffs!!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Irish, did you soil yourself during the 4th quarter meltdown? please explain to me why they kept jacking 3’s. and if you say that’s their game, well, dont be surprised if they get bounced by Boston
May 5th, 2009 at 10:10 AM
I think the knee was dirtier than the elbow. I could barely stay awake for the end of that boston game, so i really shouldn’t be commenting, though. This game came on late.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Lakers shot like shit and Odom played like poo. Yao was fire last night.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Artest on discussing his hair “yeah my man from orlando Boogie came up”. Artest is awesome.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Irish- you guys are the better team with KG out, but hopefully the lack of a true PG won’t comeback to haunt you in this series.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:12 AM
@TBL- 1-0 Orlando. all that matters
May 5th, 2009 at 10:12 AM
cheap elbows are permitted in the playoffs? good to know.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED
May 5th, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Yao is awesome. Anyone who doesnt think Kobe goes at his knee next game?
May 5th, 2009 at 10:18 AM
The Lakers had the ins and outs yesterday, I wouldn’t read too much into the loss. Even Artest said afterwards that Kobe could have easily had 40+.
But where were all his teammates yesterday? Odom, Gasol, Fisher were all horrendous. And Bynum can’t stay on the floor.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Sure, let’s let Houston take care of the punishment.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:19 AM
Lakers looked really out of snyc last night missed alot of wide open shots. Rockets played well though and didn’t fold when the Lakers tried to make a run.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Damn Celtics doing the same thing they did against Orlando in regular season. Spotting them a HUGE lead, then coming back with too little too late. It’s all up to Rondo in this series.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:23 AM
If he’s going to take 32 shots, I’d hope he got a lot more than 40.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:23 AM
ARTEST!!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:24 AM
there is no reason why he shouldn’t have better numbers in this series than he did in the Chicago series.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:24 AM
yao showed me something last night
May 5th, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Can anyone watch that game and not tell me that Boston is plain outmanned yesterday… I’m gonna seem very around the hornish, but Magic in 4 seems very certain. Just not enough bodies for the Boston, Orlando had a layup line in the 1st quarter going on.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Irish- you are a coach who is clearly better than SVG (I’m sorry, he sucks, he really sucks, like, Kendra WIlkinson sucks) from being elite imho. The fact that he hasn’t figured out that he has the most phiysically imposing and athletic big man in the league who should be touching the ball 40 times a game, especially down the stretch is appalling.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Houston beat a very good Blazers team, and they showed last night they belong. They’re not intimidated. I don’t think they win the series though… LA will fight back and win in 6 or 7.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Well his teammates weren’t doing anything for him (he could have easily had 8-10 assists). So he had to bail them out constantly. His teammates were useless and kept giving Kobe the ball at the end of the shot clock for him to bail them out. That’s something I notice you never take into consideration. Is he supposed to pass the ball with the shot clock going off? Or just dribble until it expires?
They would have lost by 30 without him last night.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:42 AM
The fact that he hasn’t figured out that he has the most phiysically imposing and athletic big man in the league who should be touching the ball 40 times a game, especially down the stretch is appalling.
I disagree. He’s still far too raw to be getting the ball that much in the paint. I actually think they’re pretty efficient with the amount of touches he gets. You’ll start to see diminishing returns the more you pound the ball into a guy with limited post moves..the offense will get stagnant and the shooters start to get out of a rhythm.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:42 AM
i dunno if you can simply write off the lakers loss as a fluke, cursed.
that was a pretty heady win by the rockets last night and there’s no way derek fisher is gonna be able to stay in front of aaron brooks. i still expect the lake-show to win handily, but it’s going to be a bloodbath. i was extremely impressed by the rockets.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Kobe’s elbow was no doubt intentional. But he always plays like that. Not saying he throws ‘bows and shit, but he’s always fucking jacked out of his mind. And with that pest Battier sticking his hand an inche from Kobe’s face every time he shoots it probably pisses him off.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:45 AM
I didn’t say it was a fluke Spence. But I’d be surprised if the Lakers get nothing out of Gasol and Odom again, while Ron Artest is hitting every jumper.
But they are a formidable test, there’s no doubt. Phil Jackson was not making adjustments again last night (how do you not put Kobe on Artest). He finally benched Fish, but it was far too late.
Although I agree, I was impressed by the Rockets. I actually wrote on my blog today (crickets), that I think the Rockets might actually match up better with the Cavs than the Lakers do.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:48 AM
You are right. But, here is the depth chart for the Boston Celtics, look at those big men they have there. This should be a relatively easy series for the big man. They have 3, maybe 4 bodies (forget even big men) bodies they can throw at Howard. This should be easy pickins.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Lakers looked so sloppy last night. While some of that was the Rockets defense, some was just the Lakers typical “turn it on” and “turn it off” attitude. Now that they’ve lost game 1 and were embarrassed in front of their fans, they will respond with a blowout win tomorrow night. They’re angry and there’s no way Artest shoots like that every game.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:48 AM
just think, if McGrady were healthy, we’d be talking about Oden and Bynum fouling at historic rates within the same series
May 5th, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Someones gotta cut the head off the black mamba!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:50 AM
fluke was probably too extreme a word to use.
but im loving the rockets…except for their uniforms which are straight up hideous.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Spence, I referenced Cleveland’s Quail Hollow this weekend after your comment the other day on my site. You never came back. Ass.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Hawks in 6.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:54 AM
cursed…my sincere apologies. ive been a bit scatterbrained lately.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Chalk it up to spring fever, spence.r
May 5th, 2009 at 10:58 AM
irish can try to dismiss it all he wants, but that was a horrible 2nd half performance from the Magic. You’re leading by 20+ points in a playoff game against a team that is physically spent and you let them back into the game??!
That’s not a good omen for Orlando’s chances. It’s amazing to say this but: they gotta tighten their defense!
As for Lakers v Rockets…this is a 6-7 game series. And for Houston to have any chance they had to win at least once in La-La Land. Game 1 was the easiest game to steal from the Lakers given that they’ve been sitting and waiting for almost a week.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:59 AM
A CursedCleveland visitor not sticking around for banter? Well, I never…
May 5th, 2009 at 11:01 AM
irish can try to dismiss it all he wants
Do i need to comment on everything Bffredo? cmon now. If i had a $ for everytime someone mentioned my name on here, i would be loaded
Rookie sensation Courtney Lee is expected to play Game 3
May 5th, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Lakers needed a wake up call so they don’t think they can waltz through the Western Conference. They need to have a fighters mentality. They’re lucky to get the wake up call against Houston (who they should be able to rebound against and win the series) rather than Denver, which reminds me of the 2004 Detroit team that everyone thought the Lakers would sweep and they didn’t win a single game.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:07 AM
Let’s see if the LeBron-led Cavs can join LAL and Bos in losing game 1 at home. Or at least by playing a game within 10 points.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:09 AM
This conversation is cray-zay!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:09 AM
i thought they won game 2 in OT..
May 5th, 2009 at 11:12 AM
i wouldn’t hold your breath. houston and orlando are talented and well coached…atlanta? not so much.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:12 AM
does boston get a mental ‘win’ for the huge rally? i think everyone walked away from that game thinking boston was the story, not orlando.
can’t get a read on game 2 yet. will boston see what worked in the 2nd half and win, or will orlando play like it did in the first half?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:13 AM
lakers didnt get swept in 04.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:14 AM
L.A. is a great road team, So Houston winning game 1 only ensures that the Lakers won’t sweep them! Now if Yao & Ron-Ron can win both games in Houston then I’ll get on the L.A. losing Home-Court advantage bandwagon.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:16 AM
5 game sweep! whatever the hell that means.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:18 AM
what “worked” for boston was to play like garbage early, get blown out of the gym and then rely on orlando jacking 3’s early in the shot clock to have any chance to make it close. i would bet they would want to avoid that recipie for success.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Boston and Orlando will not win this years NBA title…
They can’t beat L.A. or Denver or Houston in a 7 game series IMO
May 5th, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Enjoyed the Rockets implementing Adelman’s D: Don’t let Kobe near the basket without a crowd and let Ariza shoot 3’s. I think even Phil realized that a good series from Ariza (shot way above his season average), Brown, etc against the porous Utah D isn’t a great barometer for this series.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Yea, they do… that a nickel will by them a now’n'later at the store. They are thinnnnn on the bench. If Orlando comes out nice and aggressive for the next couple games, this will be over early.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Not unlike the Cavs six game sweep of the Pistons two years ago.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:24 AM
they couldn’t even win the east…cavs have the beastern on lockdown.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Even before last night I thought the Rockets had a good chance to win this series. Yao & Scola > Any combo of Lakers soft big men. They have 2 great defenders to send at Kobe all night long, which is what caused his frustration dirty elbow. This is going to be a very good series.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Atlanta is the best team the Cavs will play until the Finals. I think Atlanta can make it a 7 game series.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Do i need to comment on everything Bffredo? cmon now. If i had a $ for everytime someone mentioned my name on here, i would be loaded
On everything? No. Just on everything Magic-related: The Orlando Magic…Magic Johnson…Magic the Gathering…Magic the rapper…
May 5th, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Nicely done.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:29 AM
If Orlando comes out nice and aggressive for the next couple games, this will be over early.
IF? SVG is usually apoplectic when things are going well. I can’t imagine the practice drills he’s having his players run today.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:34 AM
“If you’re wondering what was up with Ron Artest’s mohawk – he lost a bet”
Actually he *won* the bet… sort of. He said he’d get a haircut like Von Wafer’s if the Rockets made it to the 2nd round.
Oh, and I’ve been telling you guys all year the Rockets are kinda sorta good at this basketball thing.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:42 AM
@spence
Agree, the ONLY significant-upset in this years playoffs would be Cleveland not making it to the NBA Finals !!!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:48 AM
No mental wins for the C’s. They lost. They played Magic four times during the year already, so they knew what they were getting, and they came out flat. It’s real simple… This series is all up to Rondo. If he stays aggressive, they win. If not, they watch the rest of the playoffs.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:08 PM
HA How dare you doubt the lakers. Game 2 Kobe will treat houston like they are from Colorado.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Is there no video of the Kobe-Battier elbow?
Would love to see Houston knock them out. Am rooting for the Magic.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Your basketball analysis is a joke. We’re in the WCSF and the only thing you mention about the game is a elbow Kobe grazed Battier with when they were tangled up? If this was College Basketball, that would’ve been a Tyler Hansbourogh “intensity” elbow, showing how much he’s into the game.
What the fuck does that even mean? If you’re writing playoff recaps for a Cavs message board, great job. Otherwise, why not have someone write a recap who, I don’t know, actually watched the game.
….still pissed from last night, that was pathetic…
May 5th, 2009 at 2:06 PM
If you’re writing playoff recaps for a Cavs message board, great job. Otherwise, why not have someone write a recap who, I don’t know, actually watched the game
good to see you back commenting Quin Snyder
May 5th, 2009 at 2:08 PM
+1. I was sure people in New Orleans forgot about him.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:12 PM
Yea, I would more if he would do some NBA posts later on in the day when I’m around.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:13 PM
different than the Spurs… 4 game sweep of the Cavs two years ago?