Or he will go nose to nose with you and then laugh when the other person tries to shove him and ends up shoving himself off balance. :grin:
I should hope not. Kobe is: - An ******* - Selfish - Alleged rapist I would much rather Harden be like Jerry West TBH or Joe Dumars.
And perhaps the worst locker room guy in the history of the NBA. I mean, he single handedly drove away Howard. Nice job Kobe!!!
Kobe Bryant is probably the second best 2 in the history of the NBA. And if Harden can elevate his game to that level the Rockets will likely win it all, this year.
And how do you define "tough"? I define it as the ability to put away convincingly inferior opponents and fight like hell against everyone else. The days of going all Ron Artest are over.
I don't think we were very tough at the beginning of the season, but the Rockets have become much more mentally tough over the past 4 months. We're not Piston's Bad Boy era tough of course, but that type of physical play would never fly in the modern NBA. Bev is no Mad Max, but he is about as close as you can get in the 21st century NBA.
I put Kobe in the top 5, but I would hardly put him at #2. I would put Jerry West and probably Dominique Wilkins before Kobe. Joe Dumars and Clyde Drexler are arguably comparable as well.
Amen - there's been a lot of rule changes since then that have affected how much contact is allowed, additional enforcement rules of flagrant fouls and new rules on hand-checking.
Toughness has no meaning in basketball. It is a word to give an alternate negative description to something a person already doesn't like but wants to pile on. Its a cop out for people who can't properly articulate their arguments or simply don't have an argument. It has no place in any intelligent basketball conversation.
That notion of tough is hard to determine in today's game. Players are not allowed to be as tough anymore based on the rules and all of the flopping. I consider a "tough team" based on their demeanor, handling business, and the unity they play with through DIFFICULT situations. Hands down, the TOUGHEST team in NBA is the Pacers. That's a brotherhood there. There's no joking around. Each game is completely business (minus a few moments from LoKoLance). A line-up of Paul George, Lance, D-West, Roy and George Hill isn't one of showboating. It's playing smart, playing physically and wearing players down. IMO, David West is the most underrated PF in the game, both in terms of his game and what he brings to a team. He's a boss. Even Scola comes out and does not F around. I think the Rockets have some tough moments, but I think we play more "loose." That's part of the offense, but it's a lot to do with the roster and McHale. Our identity isn't as serious as , say, the Spurs. Our players have a different mentality, as does our coach. It's not a bad thing, but it wouldn't be a bad thing if we had an enforcer on the team once again. Where's RonRon when you need him?
Toughness is a mentality. I find the Rockets get kind of flustered on the road when the other team makes a little run and the crowd gets into it. Mainly against good teams. They start forcing things, getting flustered, and panicking in a sense. They start turning the ball over, throwing up bad shots, etc. Mentally tough teams maintain their composure and focus and know they aren't going to get it all back at once. They will remain calm and play how they play. Rockets aren't mentally tough as a team yet. They get flustered too easily. They come back against bad teams, but lose composure against good teams.
