NBA Sunday Showdown

Posted by Stiletto Jen 312 views

If you haven’t noticed already, I tend to not recap games if my team fails to win. It’s not really intentional, it’s just that when I go to sit down and recap the game, something of extreme importance comes up! Take for example, the Super Bowl. I planned on writing about how fab the Steelers are, but…I had to recap the commercials!

And on Friday, I did sit down to recap the crucial Celtics-Lakers game from the night before that ended in OT (with a questionable no-call foul I must add). I can show you my half drafted piece if you want! But my neighbor called to see if I wanted to catch the mantinee of He’s Just Not That Into You to save some cash and avoid the mad Friday Night Movie Date Night mess that is our movie theaters. And well, I totally wanted to see that movie and saving money is good! It was much more important than recapping a game that already happened, dontcha think?

You know, I had a point. How I was going to get from that point to talking about today’s games…Hmm. That movie was so good it tends to distract me from thinking about anything else!

Well, anyway. There are huge showdowns in the NBA today.

By the time I hit publish on this the Boston Celtics-San Antonio Spurs game will be over. And the final minutes of the game were pretty incredible. The last :09 were intense—and lasted about 15 minutes! The Spurs won 105-99.

Next up is the showdown between the LA Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There has been much whoopi-dee-do about this match up all week. It pits Kobe Bryant against LeBron James. Again. Who is the best?

This week Kobe scored 61 against the NY Knicks; LeBron followed two nights later with 52 points and a triple double (that was later taken away. Don’t ask, it’s one of those really stupid technicalities that makes you just want to hit people. For all intents and purposes of this piece, I’m calling it a triple double. Meaning he had double-digits (10+) in three different categories. In this case, Scoring, Assists, Rebounds). All the talk this week is been all crazy: Who is better? What did the showdown in Madison Square Garden prove?

Um, that the Knicks suck? Well actually no, because neither game was a blowout. The Lakers-Knicks final was 126-117 and the Cavs-Knicks final was 107-102.

There have been thousands of articles about this all week. Kobe is better because he has the championships to back it up. LeBron is better because….well okay I haven’t actually read anything that said he was better but it was hinted about him being more well-rounded, especially after his MSG performance.

So here is their breakdown:

Kobe averages 27.5 points per game
LeBron has 28.5 ppg
Kobe has 5 assists per game
LeBron has 7 per game
LeBron also leads his team with rebounds and steals. Kobe, not so much.
Kobe has like a million championships, gold medals, MVP votes, All-Star Game appearances and what-not

This is tough for me. I am a huge Phil Jackson fan. That said, I’m very anti-Lakers. It is written in stone that you cannot like the Celtics and the Lakers (just like liking the Red Sox and the Yankees). And if you liked the Chicago Bulls through the 90s you are pre-disposed to hate the Lakers. Oh. Ha. Must think before I type. Apparently no one told Phil Jackson about that little pre-disposed rule.

Anyway, I am also very anti-Kobe for the most part. No real reason. Just because. Maybe because of all the hype, which, granted, is well earned. But it irks me.

James has his fair share of hype but to me, it always seems more understated. I’m sure I’ll get backlash on that comment.

Plus I think he is hotter.

It’s also tough for me because the Cavs are the competition for the Celtics for the best in the East and the Lakers are the threat in the West.

But if I am being forced to pick. I like LeBron better and I’d rather see the Cavs win. I will look more into who really is better and report soon!

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About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!