He's 32 with a TON of mileage. If he isn't healthy in preseason then he will probably be a wreck by midseason. It's surprising to me that people are surprised that he looks so bad. Some of us have noticed his decline for two years. It's just now he is broken down so bad his skills and versatility can no longer hide it even to the most casual fan.
Seriously? After a freakin preseason game? Kobe will be Kobe come playoff time, don't worry about that. The Lakers team is so talented and full of depth that they can handle him being out for 10-15 games and still be the top seed in the conference.
I've known he was well on the decline. But now it is really starting to show even more. Don't draft him in fantasy btw.
He's healthier than last playoff. Though after surgery, it takes some time to rebuild the strength, and his touch won't be as good after a summer. Kobe doesn't break down with a phantom elbow. He'll be OK come regular season.
He's been steadily declining for a few years now, with last year being his most inefficient since he was 21. He has tons of mileage and it is only natural to see this sort of dropoff (since it happens to all players). Unfortunately, because he is so important to the NBA's marketing effort, his many subpar performances are always written off as due to injury, which is BS.
Thing is with Kobe, he's still going to be really good for a couple of more years. Even though he's body's wearing down, he still has the IQ and such to be dominant. If you compare his game from when he was youngeer to now, you'll see that he takes a lot more mid-range and long-range shots and doesn't penetrate as much.
Because he won the champions? You don't need to be 10 times better than the opponents, just just need to win 4 out of 7 games.
Another lie, last year he was on his way to best fg% of his career before he injured the finger. 48%/30 stat line.
http://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/26686037286 Relax. He looked even worse than this in the last month of last year's season and turned it up in the playoffs
Well since he's hasn't fixed the finger, it doesn't really change anything, does it? Keep telling yourself that Kobe will play at a high level indefinitely, even in the face of evidence that shows a steady decline. That's what fanbois do, after all.
Fine, but how does this make his last year most inefficient of his career? His TS%, for example, is still better than 01-02, scored more points too. Sorry, I forget you always BS.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bryanko01.html Down in every advanced statistical category. It's also obvious when you watch the games how much athleticism he's lost, but I know you don't get those in Beijing so I'll let it slide.
