Nellie says Kobe's the best in the league without a doubt

Who else thinks we need a division realignment? - Houstons just as close to the Alantic as it is to the Pacific!

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jordan averaged 28.8 in his first season. Kobe is nowhere near mj in the playmaking area, Mj played point guard for a whole season and exceled(3rd or 4th season). He isnt as good a defender either. In my opinion he doesnt have the heart that mj had that won him at least 3 of the 6 championships that he won.

I wouldnt give Kobe the best in the league quite yet. There's still that guy on his team, the big aristotle.

Here are a group of players that IMHO are some of the best no particular order)

Shaq
Payton
Duncan
Garnett
Kobe
Webber
Jones


[This message has been edited by vj23k (edited December 23, 2000).]

 

If Kobe didn't have Shaq under the basket constantly, he would always have to battle double and triple teams. Thanks to Shaq, Kobe is usually defended one-on-one. That makes it much easier for him to score. If Shaq was not playing, Kobe would NOT average 29 a game. I actually feel that teams should try to shut down Kobe, rather than Shaq. You can always foul Shaq if he's having a good game. Teams should play Shaq one-on-one, and double Kobe.

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"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."

 

How long before Shaq gets jealous ?

I think Kobe is a premier player, and I would take him over Carter.

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"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence ?

 

I think Nellie is just impressed with the fact Kobe knows Italian.

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Even if he wasn't playing with O'neal, Bryant would still get 15 free throw attempts per game. No once can check that guy, plus he's got a jumper now.

The NBA sucks, but Bryant is the best there is now.

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If Kobe didn't have Shaq playing with him, he might average even more points a game. His field goal percentage would go down, but there would be no one worth passing to.

Plus, when you compare Kobe and Michael, consider that Michael played his early years during the 80's, when defenses where not nearly as good as they are now.

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He also played when hand-checking was allowed and using your forearm to stop someone from backing you down was allowed. Imagine Michael playing without anyone being able to lay a hand on him as he makes his initial move... if he was damn-near unstoppable then, I think Michael at his best today would've been even "more unstoppable".

When people talk about who is the MJ of today, one thing that they fail to realize is that there are very few people in this league that combine everything that Michael had. There were probably scorers back then equal to Michael if not better. A few I can think of were Dominique, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson (if he were ever unleashed and decided to be selfish), and Bernard King. A healthy Bernard King was every bit as explosive as Michael on offense, well, sans the dunks. But none of them played defense anywhere near on the level Michael did.

Who in the game today is a great on-the-ball defender, team defender, explosive on offense, on-the-court leader, and has great athleticism?

I can only think of one person that comes close to Michael in that respect and it's Kobe. Vince hasn't figured defense out yet. That being said, Kobe isn't 75% of Michael, but the more I watch him, the better he's getting. When all is said and done, I think Kobe will regarded as one of the best all-around players to play the game.

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I use smilies and I LOL -- I'm your worst nightmare.

 

Well said, Dr. As someone who was a Lakers fan during Kobe's first few years and who also lived in Chicago for awhile (during MJ's comeback seasons), I can see two areas where Kobe falls short of Jordan:

* Kobe doesn't have MJ's explosiveness -- Jordan's FG% was so consistently high because when he was Kobe's age, even if you triple-teamed him, you couldn't keep him from getting to the rim.

* Kobe comes out determined to beat you every night. Jordan came out determined to humiliate you every night.

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Swopa,

That second comment you stated nailed a good point. I don't know of too many people who took losing quite like MJ did. It was an obsession for him to win. That was another characteristic that other players just don't have. Barkley had all kinds of talent, tenacity, and the hatred for losing on the court that Michael did, but unlike Michael, once Barkley stepped off the court, I don't think he gave a damn. Michael worked on his jump shot because he knew he couldn't survive getting hammered in the land of the giants repeatedly as his career went on. He also knew his leaping ability wouldn't always stay with him. The result? His turnaround fadeaway from 15-20 feet became deadly.

I just don't see a combination of all these things from any player in the league today. I don't think Kobe has gotten to the point where defenses are designed with the sole purpose of stopping him.

Michael, in essence, was the representation of the complete basketball player. Kobe's not there yet; not by any stretch.

Also, regarding your first comment, I remember when MJ came into the league everyone was saying "yeah, he dunked on people in college, but will he be able to dunk on the big men in the NBA?"

Another guy to keep your eyes on in the "Next MJ" contest is Tracy McGrady. He has the offense, has the defense, has the athleticism, etc., but I haven't watched much of his game to know what kind of floor leader he is and what kind of basketball mind he has.

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I use smilies and I LOL -- I'm your worst nightmare.

[This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited December 24, 2000).]

 

I hope thats not Eddie Jones u are refering to. Cause I can name quite a few players that are head and shoulders above Eddie "mommy I suck in the playoffs" Jones.


And who cares what Nellie thinks. He would probably trade Kobe if he had him on his team anyways.

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SUCK POLICE!!!!!!

To point out individuals or teams that have managed to reach the pinnacle of SUCKINESS!!!!!
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Rudy T SUCKS! The man needs to figure out:
-That its okay to play Shandon in clutch situations.
-Mobes doesn't have to get the ball every single time at the end of the game.
-That its okay to actually give the ball to Steve or Mo at the end of the game.

 

Eddie is not anywhere close to Kobe. Eddie once might have been considered a better defender, but now Kobe is the better defender. Eddie is a better team player then Kobe (but then who isnt ) but thats the only thing he has over Kobe.

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SUCK POLICE!!!!!!

To point out individuals or teams that have managed to reach the pinnacle of SUCKINESS!!!!!
-----
Rudy T SUCKS! The man needs to figure out:
-That its okay to play Shandon in clutch situations.
-Mobes doesn't have to get the ball every single time at the end of the game.
-That its okay to actually give the ball to Steve or Mo at the end of the game.

 

I know Nellie must have taken ill in an interview with Costas, but I didn't know that Costas was infectious right through the TV.

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RealGM
Rockets Draft Obligations Summary
http://www.gaffordstudios.cjb.net/

 

IMHO, eddie is still the better defender. From what I have seen Kobe plays too close to the man he is guarding. If he had to guard a bigger or quicker player they would blow right past him.

Eddie gives him space but not too much. Just enough i think.

 

Yes i am speaking of eddie jones.

He might not be in the same group that those guys are in. but he isn't far behind.

Eddie started ahead of Kobe in LA, Because then he was the BETTER player.

He has kobe's athleticism, his shot, his post up game, and better defense.