kobe shot 40%. gasol shot 48%. and you clearly forgot gasol's 2.6 blocks, and he clearly slowed down KG (who was very good v. the cavs v. jamison) and blocked numerous rondo's shots and limited his game (he's best at penetration). kobe and paul were on par overall in their value in the boston's series.
Man I just shake my head at you...Fisher...? WOW As for MJ calling Kobe better, sure whatever. I like both players. They're both great at what they do. But Kobe's got more rings...for now...well that and the fact that Gasol was pretty much labelled a soft loser and borderline all-star befoer he came to the Lakers. Now, he's still stoft, but he is a winner. This basically validifies the fact that Kobe didn't need a TOP player (or two) to win, but just one decent player and a good team (Odom is hella inconsistent btw). I think people now look at that trade as rigged not because of the Lakers getting Gasol, but of who they gave up for him...namely Kwame. As for the LeBron situation, for some reason nobody is looking at that trade with the same bitter scrunity, which says something about the fans- at least the ones on this board. If LeBron wins, it simply won't be as much of a boost for is legacy as him winning as the CLEAR top dog on the team (and some of you delusional ppl who think Wade, ability-wise, is inferior to LeBron, you need to STFU and actually watch the games). Basically what I'm saying is that while I like both Kobe and Bron, Kobe has the clear edge right to the claim of Greater/ more accomplished player, and some of you should really appreciate his dominance with bball skill instead of pure athletesism. LeBron is still young...and you all should let him win a ring before putting him on some podium of warship.
I skimmed the thread. Has anyone found out where this video was shot? I have a friend who is a big time kobe fan, he posted this crap on Facebook. My guess is that this is somewhere in California or in an pro L.A. Laker city or state. Besides some shady nba roster moves, mj is a good business man. I feel that he was playing to the crowd. Before July 8th he would of said lebron if in Cleveland. He knows how to tell an audience what they wanna hear. I'm sure he tells lebron he is the best when he wants lebron to re-up his Nike deal.
I lived in LA during that time period and was watching Laker games regularly. Yes the addition of Fisher did help make them relevant again. That was also the year Bynum emerged as a legitimate center (always showed glimpses). Look at the team in 2006-2007: Sasha Vujacic Jordan Farmar Smush Parker Aaron McKie Shammond Williams Kobe Bryant Maurice Evans Luke Walton Vladimir Radmanovic Lamar Odom Brian Cook Ronny Turiaf Chris Mihm Andrew Bynum Kwame Brown Look at the team on opening day of 2007-2008 (when they had that great start): Sasha Vujacic Javaris Crittenton (traded midseason to Memphis) Derek Fisher Jordan Farmar Coby Karl Kobe Bryant Luke Walton Vladimir Radmanovic Maurice Evans (traded midseason to Orlando) Brian Cook (traded midseason to Orlando) Ira Newble Lamar Odom Ronny Turiaf Chris Mihm Didier Ilunga-Mbenga Kwame Brown (traded midseason to Memphis) Andrew Bynum I bolded everybody in the first roster who were not there the next year and everybody who was there the next year that were not the previous year. Only real addition was Fisher. And Bynum emerging as a real center. Those were the two things which took them from barely over 500 to contender. Then Bynum went down and they went out and got Pau for cheap. This made them what they are today. He may be a **** defender and mediocre playmakrer BUT he is a really good leader. His toughness can't be deined and he is HEAD AND SHOULDERS greater than Smush Parker.
Kobe has at least 3 guys that are all better than anyone other than lebron on the cavs. Kobe has a blessed situation. I'd say that Hakeem was the only guy to do it with the kind of talent Lebron has had around him.
That is a fair statement. Detroit's only All-Star was Big Ben when they won it all but they were obviously a very deep team and Billups clearly emerged as a star that year.
LeBron's magical 2007 run included playoff victories against: The Washington Wizards The New Jersey Nets The Detroit Pistons He didn't exactly have the hardest road in the playoffs. As evidenced by the drubbing the Cavs received at the hands of the Spurs.
nash basically won b/c he made his teammates better and his success was fairly unexpected. he wasn't out of this world putting up some historic #s. that's one way to win an MVP. lebron won his MVPs in landslide margins, while putting up historic numbers. he was absolutely the most dominant player in those 2 years without question. there was a debate whether nash deserved his MVPs. there is NO debate on lebron's MVPs.
so the pistons were an easy team to beat? wiz and nets, sure. pistons were still the best defensive team that year and they still had all of their guys. the cavs needed lebron's magical game 5 to seal the series.
How is Lebron better? Let alone "clearly". Every year it's another excuse why Lebron cant get the hump. How can you give the man all the glory when his team wins 60+ games in the regular season, but blame everybody BUT him when he fails in the playoffs
Lebron shoots better than Kobe every year despite having worse footwork and less moves, so who really gives a ****? Not to mention Lebron is a better passer, rebounder, and defender. The only thing Kobe does better is have better teammates, but not anymore.
Um, no. Jamison is VERY good. Mo Williams is a VERY good, and Anthony Parker is solid as they come. Varejal is a great defender, and Big Z is solid coming off the bench. The Cavs had a VERY all around great team which is why I laugh when Lebron fans pretend like Lebron has never had a team lol. It's not his teammates fault he became passive in the clutch against Bostol
