Basketball Statistics Blog

Friday Press Clippings:
Kobe Bryant's All-Star MVP Performance Provides a Flashback
-- and a Possible Playoff Preview

From 20 Second Timeout
By David Friedman
Download source here: ' Kobe Bryant's All-Star MVP Performance Provides a Flashback--and a Possible Playoff Preview ' by David Friedman

"... Bryant showcased his full offensive repertoire but he did most of his damage in the paint, reminiscent of how he played in his younger days; in recent times, Bryant has conserved his legs (and his energy) by relying on his deadly midrange game, much as Michael Jordan did during his second three-peat years (1996-98). ..."

"... Bryant's exploits provided a flashback to the time when he not only singlehandedly outscored a championship-contending team for three quarters but he matched Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor by posting 45-plus points for four straight games and he averaged 43.4 ppg for an entire month, something that had not been done since Chamberlain routinely scored 40-50 ppg in the early 1960s. ..."

"... with the extra time off between playoff games he likely can maintain that per minute production even with increased minutes, so Bryant will probably again average around 30 ppg in the postseason, matching the exceptional, Jordanesque playoff numbers that he has posted during the Lakers' three straight trips to the NBA Finals. ... "

"... Bryant is not going to score 81 points in a game again or average 40-plus ppg for a month but there is no reason to think that he cannot dominate during a 25 game playoff run. ..."

"... Plus/minus numbers contain a lot of noise--particularly in small sample sizes--but if you watched the game you saw that Bryant had a much greater impact at both ends of the court than Durant, who was mainly content to shoot long jumpers. ..."

Read more articles in 20 Second Timeout.

To read today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: ' Análisis de los momentos críticos en Baloncesto ' by Rafael M. Navarro, Alberto Lorenzo and Miguel A. Gómez.

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