I love Tmac and all that, but honestly Kobe is a better player, 1. he has that killer mentality, when he smells blood, he will come at you no stop. 2. Tmac has back issues, you just never know when it will come up again and cause us a season. Now, whether the chemistry with Yao will work out or not, that's a different story..
And he is doing it in a great efficiency, check out his FG% and FT%. He is also doing it for the team, or else Lakers might fall out of the playoffs.
It seems like the difference in their skills is paid back with Tmac being a better teammate. As for that "killer mentality", anyone with championship experience can get it too. Bottom line, don't sell him short.
He was doubled during the finals. Brown decided to cover single cover Shaq and double Kobe. That was the winning forumula.
Big Ben on Shaq and Karl Malone's injury is what made that such a dominating winning formula. After game 3, I knew the Lakers would lose the next 2. It was a great feeling.
TMac is as skilled or close to Kobe talent wise. However, he lacks Kobe's will (and it's either something you have or you don't. Name a player that developed what Jodan, Kobe, Brady, ect.....have after playing in the league for like 8 years). TMac is a better teammate but Kobe has improved a great deal. You can't honestly tell me you wouldn't trade TMac for Kobe.
Kobe has a better mindset than T-Mac in the regular season, I don't know about the playoffs cause T-Mac hasn't been there a whole lot. Kobe has a more consistent jumper, and a much better offensive arsenal. T-Mac's shot isn't very consistent, and don't talk to be about free throws.
What about Yao? What makes our team go is that we have two superstars who play so well together. I dont think Kobe and Yao would be as good together, seeing as Kobe couldnt get along with Shaq despite the fact they had won 3 championships together.
The funny thing is, Tmac is acctually better then Kobe in the playoffs. Granted he hasnt played anywhere near the amount of games or had team success, but as an individual, he has the second highest scoring average ever (behind MJ). This is the first time he has the team around him to complement his skills, now its up to him to show what he can do.
Some would say Kobe has matured, now only cares about winning and would welcome another franchise player on the Lakers.
Even looking at this season, Kobe scores about 5 more points per game then Tmac (counting the whole season, its a lot closer if you count from when TMac got heathy), but Tmac is getting 1 more assists per game, which is about 2.5 more points for the team. So even with all of Kobe's offensive arsenal, his overall contribution to the offensive output of the team is 2 ppoints higher then McGrady's, and close to equal since Tmac got healthy. Factor in the team dynamic, in which Tmac has clearly excelled in playing with Yao and getting the most out of his team mates (while Kobe has not gotten anything close to the best out of Odem), and I still say Tmac is the best fit for our TEAM, and would not trade him for anyone.
I think this version of Kobe would kill to have Yao and they'd work fine. Read what you just wrote, "Kobe couldn't get along with Shaq except the 3 championships." I think we'd take 3 rings in a second and Yao doesn't have an ego that would clash with Kobe. Yao loves to learn and appreciates his teammates. Shaq and Kobe just couldn't coexist b/c of a ton of factors. You wouldn't hear Yao taking shots at Kobe in the media or vice versa
No, what I wrote was that even after getting 3 championships, Kobe couldn't get along with Shaq. They had experianced the most successful streak since MJ's Bulls, yet he coudlnt stand being second fiddle. Would Yao be at this point in his career if he had a "me-first" superstar like Kobe instead of Tmac? I doubt it.
Ho hum been there done that wore the tshirt AI has a higher ppg and overall scoring average than Kobe for his career. Big deal. Tmac has had better teams each year, in and out. Sorry, but you wont get anything from the lakers but another 1st round bounce out. Kobe hasn't matured, he just does what he wants and his teammates get blamed for all of the bad. HE has alot of homer fans so there is an excuse for everything he does. Everything. Don't tell me he wants to win when he had Shaq and didn't want him anymore. In the finals Kobe was as selfish as they come, shooting 33% using of 35%+ of the teams shots, not passing the ball to a guy going 60+%fg was the most selfish display in this generation. Kobe only cares about winning if he does the winning, not the team, and the fickle fans in LA are the same way. They don't care about the team as much as they do about seeing him jack up shots for points. Magic would've never taken a guy like this on his team.
I'm not even a Kobe supporter, let alone homer fan. I lie TMac 100 times more then Kobe. However, he has changed. It's haters who won't acknowledge his greatness. Do I like Kobe, no. Do I respect him as the best player in the NBA, absolutely. Magic jocks Kobe as hard as anyone, I don't know where you've been. If your honestly going to tell me you wouldn't trade TMac for Kobe then i don't know what to say.
Yes, Kobe Bryant is the only player in the entire world who can score 50 points or more in 4 straight NBA games. And Yes, his team is still medicore.
that's because Shaq's ego was too big, he couldn't or wasn't willing to accept that he was past his prime. He only accepted as a 2nd option after he moved to Miami. I don't think Yao has that kind of personality.
his team is winning now. first you guys (generally speaking) say Kobe isn't a leader when his team was struggling and he wasn't scoring. now he takes it upon himself to score and the his team wins. yet, people still want to hate on him. i'll say this again, if it were t-mac doing it, you guys would be creaming in your pants.
