Anyone catch Kobes dirty play on Yao??

[guava_wrench]

my friend and I have a running joke that whenever it's "Kobe Time", you can almost guarantee that Kobe is going to clang a game winning attempt.  I have no idea idea why that guy gets his clutch reputation and comments like, "there is nobody in the world better to have the ball down the stretch". 

A quick look at 2008-2009 "Clutch Stats" from 82games.com with clutch being defined as 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points

Kobe leads the league in points production per 48 minutes of clutch time with 56.7 points per 48 minutes of clutch time. LeBron is second with 55.9, Melo at 54.4, and DWade at 49.2. Closest Celtic is Pierce with 9th at 39.1.

However, I like looking at FG% in clutch situations, and here's where you can see Bryant is fairly overrated to be called the one guy in the league you want with the ball down the stretch. Among NBA players who would have at least 15 attempts statistically per 48 minutes, Bryant shoots 45.7%, good for 37th place among NBA players, behind such late-game luminaries as Quentin Richardson (48.3%), Richard Jefferson (52.2%), and Zach Randolph (60.5%).

Kobe also attempts more then 6 shots per 48 minutes more in clutch situations then the second place guy, D-Wade. Yeah he scores, but give me a million shots and I'll average 20 points per game.

Interesting side note... Amongst players with 15 or more attempts per 48 min in clutch situations, Marrese Speights of Philly has the best FG% at 66.7% with 19.2 attempts per 48 minutes. Didn't see that one coming.

How often does Kobe get to the line in clutch situations, and how often does he find Gasol for an open dunk?

Also, I don't get the attempts per 48 minutes cutoff for clutch stats. Shouldn't the cutoff be clutch situation shot attempts? Otherwise you end up with people who are almost never on the floor during clutch situations getting a high ranking because teammates made a few good passes.

I think we also have to include clutch FTs, clutch assists, and clutch turnovers.

The Speights number -- is that 66.7% just 2 of 3, or is he actually regularly on the floor in clutch situations?

[pearljammer10]

I dont know how kobe's play on yao is even thought to be considered "dirty"...He went to the lane and bumped knees with the big man...Is was clearly not intentional. I hate Kobe as much as the next guy but this shouldnt even warrant a discussion.

Kobes and Vujacicho's plays on Battier however are a different story.

[housecall]

The officials allow a lot of hard fouls on Yao go by them...its nothing new though.Yao probably is fouled every other play when he has ball but its so common to see the officials not calling it,i stop looking for them to call it.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

my friend and I have a running joke that whenever it's "Kobe Time", you can almost guarantee that Kobe is going to clang a game winning attempt.  I have no idea idea why that guy gets his clutch reputation and comments like, "there is nobody in the world better to have the ball down the stretch". 

A quick look at 2008-2009 "Clutch Stats" from 82games.com with clutch being defined as 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points

Kobe leads the league in points production per 48 minutes of clutch time with 56.7 points per 48 minutes of clutch time. LeBron is second with 55.9, Melo at 54.4, and DWade at 49.2. Closest Celtic is Pierce with 9th at 39.1.

However, I like looking at FG% in clutch situations, and here's where you can see Bryant is fairly overrated to be called the one guy in the league you want with the ball down the stretch. Among NBA players who would have at least 15 attempts statistically per 48 minutes, Bryant shoots 45.7%, good for 37th place among NBA players, behind such late-game luminaries as Quentin Richardson (48.3%), Richard Jefferson (52.2%), and Zach Randolph (60.5%).

Kobe also attempts more then 6 shots per 48 minutes more in clutch situations then the second place guy, D-Wade. Yeah he scores, but give me a million shots and I'll average 20 points per game.

Interesting side note... Amongst players with 15 or more attempts per 48 min in clutch situations, Marrese Speights of Philly has the best FG% at 66.7% with 19.2 attempts per 48 minutes. Didn't see that one coming.

How often does Kobe get to the line in clutch situations, and how often does he find Gasol for an open dunk?

Also, I don't get the attempts per 48 minutes cutoff for clutch stats. Shouldn't the cutoff be clutch situation shot attempts? Otherwise you end up with people who are almost never on the floor during clutch situations getting a high ranking because teammates made a few good passes.

I think we also have to include clutch FTs, clutch assists, and clutch turnovers.

The Speights number -- is that 66.7% just 2 of 3, or is he actually regularly on the floor in clutch situations?

[dang it] I had a long response typed out, but my account timed out so screw it here's the cliffnotes version.

The stats are calculated taking the amount of minutes played under that "clutch" scenario, and extrapolating their production over the course of 48 minutes. The point totals at the top end are HUGE, which is why I look at FG% with a minimum of 15 attempts.

Kobe's 18.2 FT attempts is 10th. He hits 92% too, so that's solid.

LeBron James, Deron Williams, Nash, Baron Davis, Chris Paul, Billups, Wade, Calderon, Iverson, Telfair, Barea, Brad Miller, Kidd, Joe Johnson, Rondo, Earl Watson, Russell Westbrook, Jamal Crawford, Duhon, Ridnour, Duncan, Devin Harris, Roy, Alston, Pierce, Mike Miller, Felton, Udrih, Jameer Nelson, Tony Parker all have better assist numbers then Bryant's 5.7 per 49 minutes.

Some are PGs, so it makes sense, and some don't have a ton of late game minutes like Barea or Telfair, so that makes sense too, but some are legit players to compare with Bryant, and the comparison isn't too flattering for Kobe's passing ability or willingness down the stretch.

Kobe averages 3.0 TOs per game, which is pretty big compared with many others. The total list is here:

http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT15.HTM

An extremely partial list of players with better TO numbers then Bryant and get touches late in the game includes:

Bibby, Stojakovic, Amare, Redd, Odom, McGrady, Jamal Crawford, Thad Young, Ray Allen, Sheed, Artest, Antwan Jamison, Carmelo, David West, Turkoglu, Jason Terry, Nowitzki, David Lee, Rudy Gay, Mo Williams, Aaron Brooks, Gerald Wallace, Scola, Shaq, Nate Robinson, Felton, Marion, Josh Howard, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, Kidd, Brandon Roy, Iverson, Pau Gasol, Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Al Thornton, Stephen Jackson, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson

Also, less then half of Gasol's buckets are assisted on late in games. He also shoots over 60%, so Kobe might wanna give it up a little more.

[jdpapa3]

Speights actually played a decent amount of minutes in crunch time to earn those stats.

To me, Pierce and Kobe are similar in the crunch time. Sometimes they can turn it up going into that last 5 minutes of the game, but I feel as if Kobe and Paul are the same players in the last minute as they are during the rest of the game. The moment barely gets to them. Some players (Ray, carmelo) seem to hit more when it's in the last minute.

[LarBrd33]

my friend and I have a running joke that whenever it's "Kobe Time", you can almost guarantee that Kobe is going to clang a game winning attempt.  I have no idea idea why that guy gets his clutch reputation and comments like, "there is nobody in the world better to have the ball down the stretch". 

A quick look at 2008-2009 "Clutch Stats" from 82games.com with clutch being defined as 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points

Kobe leads the league in points production per 48 minutes of clutch time with 56.7 points per 48 minutes of clutch time. LeBron is second with 55.9, Melo at 54.4, and DWade at 49.2. Closest Celtic is Pierce with 9th at 39.1.

However, I like looking at FG% in clutch situations, and here's where you can see Bryant is fairly overrated to be called the one guy in the league you want with the ball down the stretch. Among NBA players who would have at least 15 attempts statistically per 48 minutes, Bryant shoots 45.7%, good for 37th place among NBA players, behind such late-game luminaries as Quentin Richardson (48.3%), Richard Jefferson (52.2%), and Zach Randolph (60.5%).

Kobe also attempts more then 6 shots per 48 minutes more in clutch situations then the second place guy, D-Wade. Yeah he scores, but give me a million shots and I'll average 20 points per game.

Interesting side note... Amongst players with 15 or more attempts per 48 min in clutch situations, Marrese Speights of Philly has the best FG% at 66.7% with 19.2 attempts per 48 minutes. Didn't see that one coming.

How often does Kobe get to the line in clutch situations, and how often does he find Gasol for an open dunk?

Also, I don't get the attempts per 48 minutes cutoff for clutch stats. Shouldn't the cutoff be clutch situation shot attempts? Otherwise you end up with people who are almost never on the floor during clutch situations getting a high ranking because teammates made a few good passes.

I think we also have to include clutch FTs, clutch assists, and clutch turnovers.

The Speights number -- is that 66.7% just 2 of 3, or is he actually regularly on the floor in clutch situations?

[dang it] I had a long response typed out, but my account timed out so screw it here's the cliffnotes version.

The stats are calculated taking the amount of minutes played under that "clutch" scenario, and extrapolating their production over the course of 48 minutes. The point totals at the top end are HUGE, which is why I look at FG% with a minimum of 15 attempts.

Kobe's 18.2 FT attempts is 10th. He hits 92% too, so that's solid.

LeBron James, Deron Williams, Nash, Baron Davis, Chris Paul, Billups, Wade, Calderon, Iverson, Telfair, Barea, Brad Miller, Kidd, Joe Johnson, Rondo, Earl Watson, Russell Westbrook, Jamal Crawford, Duhon, Ridnour, Duncan, Devin Harris, Roy, Alston, Pierce, Mike Miller, Felton, Udrih, Jameer Nelson, Tony Parker all have better assist numbers then Bryant's 5.7 per 49 minutes.

Some are PGs, so it makes sense, and some don't have a ton of late game minutes like Barea or Telfair, so that makes sense too, but some are legit players to compare with Bryant, and the comparison isn't too flattering for Kobe's passing ability or willingness down the stretch.

Kobe averages 3.0 TOs per game, which is pretty big compared with many others. The total list is here:

http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT15.HTM

An extremely partial list of players with better TO numbers then Bryant and get touches late in the game includes:

Bibby, Stojakovic, Amare, Redd, Odom, McGrady, Jamal Crawford, Thad Young, Ray Allen, Sheed, Artest, Antwan Jamison, Carmelo, David West, Turkoglu, Jason Terry, Nowitzki, David Lee, Rudy Gay, Mo Williams, Aaron Brooks, Gerald Wallace, Scola, Shaq, Nate Robinson, Felton, Marion, Josh Howard, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, Kidd, Brandon Roy, Iverson, Pau Gasol, Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Al Thornton, Stephen Jackson, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson

Also, less then half of Gasol's buckets are assisted on late in games. He also shoots over 60%, so Kobe might wanna give it up a little more.

He's not clutch. I can't think of many Kobe "game winners", but every time I flip on a Laker game where he has a chance to be a "hero", he clangs it.  That's all I need to know.  "KOBE TIME!" is a myth. 

Ray Allen on other hand...

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

LB33 that was the conclusion I was getting to haha...

[fairweatherfan]

He's not clutch. I can't think of many Kobe "game winners", but every time I flip on a Laker game where he has a chance to be a "hero", he clangs it.  That's all I need to know.  "KOBE TIME!" is a myth. 

Ray Allen on other hand...

That's very true - I've seen Kobe hit a lot of shots to preserve a lead or fuel a comeback, but the last game winner I can remember him hitting is Game 4 against Phoenix in 06 (and that was only possible after some horrendous officiating).  I suppose you could say his steal at the end of Game 5 of the Finals might count but they were already up and a breakaway dunk isn't exactly a clutch shot.