Kobe Finds a Way | Laker Film Room (4th Quarter Breakdown, Game 7 2010 NBA Finals)

Kobe Finds a Way | Laker Film Room (4th Quarter Breakdown, Game 7 2010 NBA Finals)

The Lakers had just 55 points with less than 9 minutes to play but Kobe would kick off a 28 point flurry over the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds by going to a move that he used several times going down the stretch Boston’s game plan against Kobe

Was to ball pressure him while sending him to his left where help Defenders were waiting that’s why Ray Allen is all over Kobe’s right shoulder here instead of being squarely between him and the basket he’s inviting Kobe to drive left where Davis and Nate Robinson await but

By the fourth quarter Kobe was beating this alignment by using triple threat moves to break Allen’s contain it began in the right corner with Kobe getting lower than Allen while in Triple Threat position and watch how he uses his head quite literally to create space between

Allen’s body and his by doing this it means that when Allan gives him this arm bar it’s extended away enough from his body to be vulnerable to a rip through and back in 2010 this action led to three free throws so after trailing by as much as 13 in the third quarter the

Lakers were now down by just one the huge Derek fiser 3 tied it up a couple of minutes later and and that’s when Kobe really began to dominate on the defensive glass Kobe started this play on Rondo but the Lakers were switching a lot by this point of the game so Kobe

Passes Rondo off to Pal who gets a great contest on the floater as this is happening Kobe has to peel off switch and get under kg to earn inside position and not give up the offensive rebound he does just that and then Soares into the air to grab the rebound and Davis

Crashes into it Rondo flips it up that won’t go and with both teams out of fouls the sent Kobe to the line giving the Lakers their first lead since the second quarter Allen missed an offscreen jumper and Kobe grabbed another rebound and on the next possession Kobe goes back to his

Triple Threat attack on Allen Allen swipes up at the ball but misses causing his weight to lean forward for just a split second that’s all the time Kobe needs to capitalize on the mistake and he uses another quick rip through to shake free and sticks the elbow pull up

Lakers up by four timeout Celtics fourpoint Laker lead their largest of the game then the Lakers had another great defensive possession coming out of the timeout they did a great job of blitzing and recovering during this stretch but it’s very difficult to rebound when you’re scrambling around

The perimeter like this so it was Kobe’s job to Zone up on the interior while his teammates flew around on the perimeter and then clean up the boards once the shot goes up next time down Kobe looks to attack Allen again but this time it’s off of a live dribble meaning that Kobe

Can’t use the same Triple Threat skills that he did on the previous two plays he dribbles into a post up as Paul Pierce helps it the nail and then Sheed comes over as a third Defender but pal sweeps the Baseline and as Kobe gets into his turnaround jumper he spots pal and gives

It to him kg tries to recover but closes out too hard and runs into pal drawing two more free throws pal makes them both and what was once a three-point lead just four minutes ago was now a six-point Lakers lead thanks to a game-changing 90 run and Kobe played a

Crucial role in every play of it the next time down Allen broke free on a pick and roll but missed the underhanded scoop and Kobe came flying in to secure the rebound that’s four straight defensive stops that Kobe closed out with a rebound and it makes it 15 boards

On the game for him but the Celtics wouldn’t go away quietly Pierce would come off of a screen and drill this mid-range jumper cutting the lead to four so the Lakers go back to the triple threat attack on Allen drawing two more free throws Kobe splits them and the

Lakers go up five after a pair of Paul Pierce free throws cut the lead to four pal made a pair of huge plays first blocking Pierce as he attacked the rim and then hitting one of the great shots in Lakers history to put them up six with 90 seconds left Wallis on

G that’s in spins safe shot it’s go Gasol got it to go time out Celtics but that was followed by a huge three by Wallace over Kobe’s flying closeout and now the lead is back down to three so the Lakers went back to Kobe and this time when Sheed

Came over to double kg picked up Po’s flash cut into the paint so Kobe had to dribble out of the double team to look for the open man he spotted meow one pass away that’s a three and the rest is history Lakers by six from a minute to

Play but with the game teetering in the balance Boston hits yet another three as the Lakers help off of Ray Allen and it’s back to a one possession game so this is a critical possession the Lakers are up three and are in the tricky position of wanting to run the clock a

Little but very much needing to score but something happens at the beginning of the play that doesn’t seem like much but is crucial to its outcome as Lamar pushes it up the floor Rondo goes for the steel and Lamar avoids it but as this is happening fish flares out to the

Weak side corner and Rondo stays behind leaving him with a size mismatch on Lamar so instead of doubling Kobe KGI has to recover back to fish and the Lakers look to attack with a Kobe and pow pick and roll Rondo then switches on to pow as pow comes up to set the screen

And this is where kobby makes a crucial decision rather than using the screen Kobe rejects it and shoots the quick pull up three had he used the screen Ronda would have almost certainly switched on to him and the Lakers would have been up against the shot clock with

No Advantage created but by rejecting the screen Kobe set up a situation where the two most likely outcomes were both in the Lakers favor one of them is that he makes the shot but if he doesn’t not only does po have a huge size advantage over Rondo he also has inside position

So the likelihood of getting an offensive rebound is high that’s exactly what happens and pal tracks down the rebound and kicks it back out to Kobe who attacks the rim with force and gets there before sheep could get into legal guarding position Kobe then makes both free throws going seven for eight from

The line in the fourth Lakers up five B Rondo got it back on the next possession he came up with the rebound as it pinballed the round after Allen’s jumper grazed the front of the rim and drilled the corner three that cut the lead back down to two after two free throws by

Sasha vuic Boston Drew up a play to either get Ray Allen the ball coming off of an elevator screen at the top of the key or pierce the ball in the corner which can then flow into a pick and roll going to his dominant hand but Kobe

Reads this the whole way he starts on Allen but the Lakers are switching so he’s warning his teammates to be ready for Allen to come off of that El elevat Kobe then switches on to pierce he plays ball Denial on his cut to the corner so Pierce heads up the sideline to receive

The inbounds pass it’s extremely important here that Kobe sends Pierce back toward his help which is Lamar and Kobe Sprints to beat Pierce to the spot that funnels him back toward Lamar who’s helping off of Rondo leaving him open in the corner but Lamar’s agility and length allow him to recover and force

Rondo into the side step three pal tracks down the rebound and the Lakers are champions oh throws it aead the Lakers repeat backto back titles the fourth quarter of game seven was only the second time the entire series that the Lakers scored 30 points in a quarter

Kobe generated 17 of those all of them in the last 9 minutes while dominating the defensive class so despite his earlier shooting struggles Kobe Drew upon his expertise in other aspects of the game to find other ways to reach his goal and that’s why he reached his goal

Of winning an NBA championship more times than any other NBA player this century

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