Let the Debate Begin

For the last month all the NBA has done is push this Kobe vs. Lebron thing. They even got Nike to get in on it. Well now each player's team has completed game 1 of their respective conference's finals, and boy was there a smile on my face last night. One of the biggest knocks people always give Kobe when arguing for Lebron is that Kobe never passes and he shoots too much. They always say that his assist numbers are nowhere near Lebron's, and that he has to shoot the ball more to score. Game 1: Lebron scored 49pts on 20-30 shooting, he hit 6-10FTs and has his usual 8 assits. Kobe scored 40pts on 13-28 shooting, he hit 12-13FTs and had only 4 assits. So yes, Lebron had a great game, one of his best shooting percentages of the year. Kobe shot the ball less, scored less, and shot 3 more FTs. Sounds like I'm for Lebron here? Hold on just a second there.....Back to the arguement that Kobe never passes and Lebron makes his team better. 2 points here:

1. When Lebron passes it is a pass to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who is the best outside shooting center in the NBA, Mo Williams/Delonte West/Wally Szczerbiak, all great shooters who were leading scorers on their an NBA team at some point. When Kobe passes to his center, Pau Gasol, he has to be 8-ft and in to score. When he passes to his perimeter, Derek Fisher/Trever Ariza/Luke Walton/Jordan Farmar, they are streaky shooters at best, you dont know what you are gonna get from game to game.

2. This is my favorite. In the Lakers game 1, in the last minute of the game, Kobe did not pass the ball. He took his team, put them on his shoulders, and won that game. Got himself to the FT line, and actually hit freethrows. In the Cav's game 1, in the last minute of the game, Lebron passed the ball on 2 out of 3 possessions. Once to Delonte West who hit a big 3 in the corner, and once on the final play of the game, with his team down by 1, he PASSES the ball to Mo Williams for a corner 3....which he misses game over. Why in the world would a guy who is the MVP, which I think stands for Most VALUABLE Player, let someone else try to win the game.

Oh and I almost forgot the most important stat of this whole thing:

Lakers 1 - Nuggets 0 Magic 1 - Cavs 0