Kings: Oral History of Kings-Lakers 2002 Conference Finals

[Killakobe81]

Shaq was definitely more important than Kobe during the three-peat but the Lakers wouldn't win the three-peat without Kobe's heroics.

the number of times he ethered the Spurs in the playoffs

abaolutely.
I dont know who would argue otherwise?
Shaq got doubled yep. and the team put their best defender on Kobe that was smart strategy. I donts ee how that is a knock on Kobe. Shaq wa sthe most dominant player in the game.

[ambchang]

Did not say that. I said that they felt good about the matchup. Point being how does this article prove anything ...it's just a great article with first hand biased accounts on an emotional series.

Sure, all quotes points to Shaq being the man, from Sac to Laker players.

Fox: I thought he would end up having a better game, he would go into some hyper-focused mode and pull off some game for the ages. Didn’t go that way and Shaq got quick fouls.

Like I said ...

You mean like how Shaq getting into foul trouble doomed the Lakers? No kidding.

Shaq may have been more important than Kobe during the three-peat but the Lakers wouldn't win the three-peat without Kobe's heroics.

the number of times he ethered the Spurs in the playoffs

Kings can't really cry cheating in Game 6 considering how...
A. They poisoned Kobe's cheeseburger
B. They collectively choked on s in Game 7.

Wow, taking a HoF and top 15 player of all time off a team without replacing him would cost a team games! What an insightful observation! Lakers wouldn't win without Horry either, was it Horry's team? Was that Horry's team? Was he 1c to Shaq's 1a and Kobe's 1b?

[ambchang]

abaolutely.
I dont know who would argue otherwise?
Shaq got doubled yep. and the team put their best defender on Kobe that was smart strategy. I donts ee how that is a knock on Kobe. Shaq wa sthe most dominant player in the game.

Umm .... all of those revisionist history about how Kobe was as important as Shaq in 2002?

[baseline bum]

Horry was a boss. from 96-2005 most significant role player and one of the truly great clutch players in NBA history with the hip check adding to his clutch resume.

05? Horry was huge for the Spurs long after that.

[Killakobe81]

O’Neal: I actually had the 2-pointer to tie up. I tried to get it up there quick so Vlade wouldn’t foul me. Vlade did foul me and I missed.

Shaq admitting he is NOT clutch ...no knock but he didnt want to go to the line late ...Shaq was still the most dominant player in the NBA

[Venti Quattro]

gots from Portland and Cowtown (in collaboration with hypocrite Spurs fans) like to revise history that the Lakers cheated in two WCF's when BOTH teams had a chance to close out the Lakers in a Game 7 but just came up short.

2000 vs POR: Missed 15 straight shots in the 4th
2002 vs SAC: 16-30 from the line + airballs from Peja and Hedo

Yeah the Lakers are cheaters

[Killakobe81]

Umm .... all of those revisionist history about how Kobe was as important as Shaq in 2002?

Depends on what you are talking about.
Shaq was still the #1 option but for the lakers to win a le yes he was just as important.
No way the Lakers could win because the team was not very deep, and shaq was prone to road foul trouble and not reliable in the clutch those are facts.
I still think Shaq was the MVP of that team when in shape and healthy. But by 2002 they were more reliant on Kobe especially in the regular season.
ALso our role players Shaw, Fox etc. were more reliant on shaq to play off his banging inside.

[Venti Quattro]

Wow, taking a HoF and top 15 player of all time off a team without replacing him would cost a team games! What an insightful observation! Lakers wouldn't win without Horry either, was it Horry's team? Was that Horry's team? Was he 1c to Shaq's 1a and Kobe's 1b?

Shut up weak minded got who doesn't even watch Lakers games. Kobe was very important because he led the Lakers on the floor in stretches where Shaq was in foul trouble or the opposing team would resort to Hack-a-Shaq.

Horry and Fisher's daggers were very important but everybody knew who were the team's top dogs

[Killakobe81]

05? Horry was huge for the Spurs long after that.

Yes but last HUGE EPIC shot I remember was against the Pistons ... but Like i said the hip check came after, NO?

[Killakobe81]

Sure, all quotes points to Shaq being the man, from Sac to Laker players.



You mean like how Shaq getting into foul trouble doomed the Lakers? No kidding.



Wow, taking a HoF and top 15 player of all time off a team without replacing him would cost a team games! What an insightful observation! Lakers wouldn't win without Horry either, was it Horry's team? Was that Horry's team? Was he 1c to Shaq's 1a and Kobe's 1b?

Amb just trollin' but if you read the article or actually watched those games his argument is flimsy. he is just cherry picking.

[Killakobe81]

For all the fuss about officiating in this series, Game 5 never gets mentioned enough. As Christie says now, it’s “a game that kind of goes under the radar.” Even though Webber played another superb game (29 points and 13 rebounds) and Mike Bibby (23 points) came through down the stretch, Shaq (just 32 minutes) battled foul trouble the whole game and eventually fouled out; in a relatively astonishing twist, Shaq attempted only one free throw all night.10 And Bibby hit a game-winning jumper with 8.2 seconds left in the middle of a controversial series of plays. First, Webber appeared to knock the ball out of bounds, but officials said it deflected off Robert Horry. Then, Webber appeared to truck over Derek Fisher in handing the ball off to Bibby, freeing him for the game-winning look. On the final play, Bobby Jackson made contact on Kobe Bryant’s attempt at a game winner, but no call was made and Sacramento snuck off with a 92-91 win

LOL conspiracies ...

[baseline bum]

Yes but last HUGE EPIC shot I remember was against the Pistons ... but Like i said the hip check came after, NO?

Rob still came in and hit a couple of big threes in Game 7 in New Orleans in 08 even though he was completely finished by then. ing if Duncan would have passed him the ball at the end of Game 7 in 06 vs Dallas when he had a wide open three to win the series.

[Killakobe81]

O’Neal: I was sleeping, and my little daughter, she was sleeping on me. She was slobbering, I was slobbering, and the phone rang at about 2:30 and it was Kobe. He was like: Big fella, I need you tomorrow. Let’s make history.17

17. O’Neal recounted the telephone call to many reporters after the game.
Phil Jackson: Well, that’s the way Kobe rolls. That’s the way he does things. He doesn’t sleep a lot. I’ve had players very similar to that. Michael Jordan’s another guy that didn’t sleep much during the playoffs. The intensity is so great, your mind’s working overtime. That’s something that Kobe was, I think, effective in doing with his teammates. He didn’t have a buddy-buddy relationship with Shaq, but he had a good professional relationship with him.

What an asshole!!
What a ty team-mate!!!
This settles it Amb, Kobe is a GREAT leader!!!

See the issue with making conclusions off a "oral history"

[Killakobe81]

Rob still came in and hit a couple of big threes in Game 7 in New Orleans in 08 even though he was completely finished by then. ing if Duncan would have passed him the ball at the end of Game 7 in 06 vs Dallas when he had a wide open three to win the series.

I wont lie I do not remember those but I dont dispute it feel free to amend my comment. I thought you guys won Game 7 rather easy but I dont remember much except Paul shrinking late ...

[Michael Jordan.]

Killa is butthurt as .

[Venti Quattro]

ing if Duncan would have passed him the ball at the end of Game 7 in 06 vs Dallas when he had a wide open three to win the series.

You lose some with Rob but most (about 75% I guess) of the time he will make. He has 7 rings off those timely threes.

[Findog]

So we have to wait 11 more years for an oral history of game 6 of the 2013 Finals?

I think the Spurs will definitely be getting their 30 for 30 at some point.

[Findog]

I'd love to read an oral history of the Spurs-Mavs 06 series. That remains probably the best series I've ever watched - just the execution, quality of play, intensity, and the way the two teams went right at each other.

[Venti Quattro]

I think the Spurs will definitely be getting their 30 for 30 at some point.

More on the franchise's dominance, most likely. 6 would get a footnote, at most. You know how these things go. 6 was terrible but it's not like some Spur's vehicle ran through a truck in Germany and got pipped like a soda can

[HemisfairArena]

I've often wondered why no one has gone to Robert Horry and offered him a head coaching job. With teams going after Mark Jackson, JKidd, Steve Kerr, Byron Scott, Derek Fisher,ect,,,,Horry has the best chance at succeeding out of all of them. He has learned under Tomjanovich/Jackson/Popovich,,,he has played with Olajuwon, Shaq/Kobe, and Duncan. He has ice running through his veins and would instill that killer instinct mentality into his team.

[Findog]

More on the franchise's dominance, most likely. 6 would get a footnote, at most. You know how these things go. 6 was terrible but it's not like some Spur's vehicle ran through a truck in Germany and got pipped like a soda can

Definitely the franchise's dominance over such a long span of time. Pop and Duncan went to their first Finals in 99 and made it back 14 years later. That's incredible. And really, just how close they were to pulling off a historic run - you had .04 that prevented a threepeat, the Mavs series in 06 could have really gone either way because the two teams were that close, if the 06 Mavs and 06 Spurs played 100 times it would probably be 50-50 or 51-49. They would have gone on to beat Phoenix and Miami. The Spurs were really inches from potentially five les in a row. Then you had 6. Crazy to think the Spurs could have had three more les in their run.

[Killakobe81]

Killa is butthurt as .

Stay out of this djohn ... me and Amb have history ...

LOL Illard! how is that butthurt? Tolda yall no chance at a le as currently constructed.
And DPG was lock and step with you blokes buying the regular season hype, Spurs would of mercked yall niccas too.

[Killakobe81]

Definitely the franchise's dominance over such a long span of time. Pop and Duncan went to their first Finals in 99 and made it back 14 years later. That's incredible. And really, just how close they were to pulling off a historic run - you had .04 that prevented a threepeat, the Mavs series in 06 could have really gone either way because the two teams were that close, if the 06 Mavs and 06 Spurs played 100 times it would probably be 50-50 or 51-49. They would have gone on to beat Phoenix and Miami. The Spurs were really inches from potentially five les in a row. Then you had 6. Crazy to think the Spurs could have had three more les in their run.

All true. But if they win those they may not win some of the others ..at least you cannot assume that.
Because the Heat are making it look easy sans 2011 and "6" ...
A 3 peat is very hard to especially when you consider Spurs never repeated. but yes their run witgh Pop/duncan is amazing.

[baseline bum]

I wont lie I do not remember those but I dont dispute it feel free to amend my comment. I thought you guys won Game 7 rather easy but I dont remember much except Paul shrinking late ...

Nah, Parker hit a jumper with like 49 seconds left to seal the game. I think the score only ended up what it was because of intentional fouls and desperation shots from New Orleans to end the game. But it was a pretty close game.

Rob also had a game in the 07 Finals where he went nuts blocking shots.

Also, Rob's playoff heroics started in 95 at the latest. I don't remember what he did in 94, but in 95 he hit the game-winner of Game 1 of the WCF with maybe 6 or 7 seconds left to steal the win for Houston in a game it looked like the Spurs were going to eek out. God damn Dennis Rodman for leaving him open so he could run to the basket and try to stat-pad his rebounding totals. Speaking of that shot, I think it broke Rodman that series. Game 2 that got came out and started jacking up threes in the first quarter and got his ass benched.

He also had a huge three to seal Game 3 of the Finals that year.

[ambchang]

gots from Portland and Cowtown (in collaboration with hypocrite Spurs fans) like to revise history that the Lakers cheated in two WCF's when BOTH teams had a chance to close out the Lakers in a Game 7 but just came up short.

2000 vs POR: Missed 15 straight shots in the 4th
2002 vs SAC: 16-30 from the line + airballs from Peja and Hedo

Yeah the Lakers are cheaters

Lakers never shot 20FTA in the 4th quarter alone in elimination games in either case. No other team even had ONE game like that in the last 15 years, and yet the Lakers had 3.

Shut up weak minded got who doesn't even watch Lakers games. Kobe was very important because he led the Lakers on the floor in stretches where Shaq was in foul trouble or the opposing team would resort to Hack-a-Shaq.

Horry and Fisher's daggers were very important but everybody knew who were the team's top dogs

Everybody as in Horry, Christie stating that it was Shaq's team?

Total strawman argument in saying that not saying it was Kobe's team = saying the Lakers can still win without Kobe. Those are two different concepts.

People who were involved consistently said that it was Shaq's team, even in 2002, yet Kobe fans kept saying Kobe and Shaq shared equal billing. No, they did not. Even 2002 was clearly Shaq's team.