Kobe not a superstar and/or truly dominant player? Anyone who believes that should lose their hoops talking privileges.
These threads are becoming annoying. I seem to remember the Paul George crowd claiming how much better he was than Harden and we all saw how that turned out. Harden finished 5th in MVP voting this year(arguably the third best player in the league last year). He matched up against a team in the playoffs that had two elite defensive wings and a major interior presence. He struggled. Oh well.
Kobe IS NOT a consensus top 10 player of all time. Not to derail and in no order but the following are clearly ahead of him on the all time list: Dream, Shaq, Wilt, Russell, KAJ, Magic, MJ, Duncan, LBJ, Bird Then you have people like Big O etc.
It is really hard to judge who should be where in these top 10 of all time rankings. How do you rank players? Was Michael overrated? I could make an argument. His team was really good without him. Is Kobe the "best" shot maker of all time? I could certainly make an argument. Barkley never won a championship, but the guy was incredible. Hakeem is consistently undervalued, but how? He was the best defensive presence this game has ever seen all while having the most dominant playoff stretch on both ends in two consecutive seasons. I really value guys like Kevin Garnett, who were so good defensively, that they could guard the point guard and center effectively(Yes Hakeem, you too). All while dominating a basketball game offensively. Shaq was the most dominant player with a basketball in his hands within 15 feet from the paint. This will always be a great argument, because nobody is right.
I think last years disappearance in the playoffs set him back to All-Star status. Remember he disappeared for the Thunder in the Finals, so it's something we should be somewhat concerned about. It scares because he just kept chuckin. Yes shooters should shoot to get out of slumps, but Howard should have been give me the F$_/#/&& ball.
Harden has to learn to not rely on the officiating. His age showed in the playoffs, and I feel that it is something that he will grow out of.
I've said this for two years now. Harden's biggest weakness is that he can be neutralized by the referees way too easily. If they start swallowing the whistle he is a negative on the court. Too much of his offense is designed to draw a foul instead of actually finishing.
McHale would have been smart to let Daniels have more of Harden's minutes, and transform in to a 2009 Orlando magic circa. They tried that for one half in Houston, but the wings for Portland kept scoring. This team improved when Chandler was replaced with Ariza. Good basketball minds have pointed this out.
Funny. I've been seeing LeBron James top 5 all time everywhere with Kobe nowhere to be seen on a top 10 list. Kobe is a great player, he is a great scorer. But outside of scoring he really isn't all that great. Jordan was a great scorer that did everything else well. LeBron is not as good a scorer but his all around game is legend status. The only reason people are heralding him as one of the greatest is because he piggybacked Shaq for two rings and had to wait on Gasol before he was a legit contender again. Imagine if Durant was able to piggyback on somebody (like prime Dwight) and win two chips? He'd be considered a better player than LeBron.
Sounds like you have Kobe confused with Allen Iverson. Are you trying to say Kobe doesn't bring it on defense?
Will post this here for everyone to remember what have you done for me lately... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWSLzx5t1_g Not sure if posted, but didn't want to create another thread. anyways Harden's 100 top plays...SuperSTAR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWSLzx5t1_g
