Then you goto his 35 ppg season, I believe Smush Parker and Kwame brown added to the worst lineup I have ever seen, both those guys are out of the nba or less than 10 minutes per game on any team really, these guys went to the playoffs in teh west and would've been a top 4 seed in the east and were a crazy tim thomas shot from going to the 2nd round even when lebron had the highest useage rate by far from the rest of the nba he could not sniff that, btu yea he is a high volume shooter and statistics show lebron as a more complete player, for me its not just so called intangibles, its if i was a betting man and needed one shot at the end of the game, i jsut ake kobe, for his poise, his determination, his studying of the game, understanding of the xs and o, and that he can miss 20 straight shots and still be deadly on the next one, he is most feared by the opponents for a reason(according to an SI player poll, where lebron was also in the most overrated by fellow playerS) and theres a reason all the execs and GMS agree with the last shot thing year after year regardless of him shooting 45 percent, theres just more to it than the numbers allow to say hes just as likely to hit that shot as michael pietrus or whoever else shoots 45 fg
Yes, that wasn't a great team and Kobe had a tremendous season just to get them to the playoffs. But the truth is that a lot of superstars spend many years on teams as bad as that, and no one defends them when they don't win titles. And the team Kobe lost to, the Suns, were basically Nash+Marion+players who are now scrubs in the league, not that far off from Kobe+Odom+scrubs. This is what the media hype does. Kobe is not that great of a clutch performer. He has hit tons of big shots but he takes almost all of them. His percentages in the 4th quarter and down the stretch are godawful. Clutch performances is one of the few things where stats can actually give a very good reading; why do people choose to ignore them? Because Kobe has a "death stare" and looks so imposing?
Kobe isn't less efficient than LeBron is. Kobe merely shoots more jumpers. According to 82games.com, Kobe's shooting 83% jumpers with .436 efg%. LeBron is shooting 71% jumpers with .415 efg%. Now LeBron makes up the efficiency by going to the hoop more. However, that's a big implication. There are only so many shots under the hoop, in order to get there often, you have to use a shooting big man up high to draw the defense out. Less offensive rebounds can be collected, and good shooting bigman ain't normally good at protecting the paint, and shooting long jumpers is never as efficient as layups. In short, Kobe may be slightly less efficient than LeBron, but he's gonna be more efficient pairing with any quality bigman. Kobe's style makes him very flexible, he can pair up with Shaq who's a dominant bigman that rarely went out of paint. Or Gasol, who's not a dominant 1on1 player but finishes well around the rim, if you can get him the ball there. If you pair him with a face-up big man like Bosh, Kobe can post up and be the pivot down low, as he did when Gasol was missing the beginning of the season last year. Bosh (ala Z) is the only style LeBron can work with, and they are always soft. And how would you ask Bosh to go for offensive board when he has to do pick for LeBron in every possession? He's simply not in a good position.
Barbosa, Diaw, Jones may be scrubs in this league. But Smush and Kwame don't have business in this league now. Scrubs >> Nobody
If your theory were correct, Kobe would have shot a lot more jumpers with Shaq than he does now with Gasol; this is not even close to true. Obviously Kobe is shooting a lot more instead of slashing now because he's lost so much athleticism. And he's not an efficient shooter. The worst part of it is that despite being one of the least efficient players on the Lakers, Kobe continues to "eat first" and take way more shots than anyone else (particularly evident after someone writes an article about how well Gasol is doing).
Knew this thread would turn into a LeBron debate. The article literally has nothing to do with LeBron and here are the same folks debating the same ole ****.
Kobe wasn't as good at doing jumper before he's 25. And Kobe has to eat first because Gasol isn't very efficient if his most points have to come from one on one. So yes, Kobe has to eat first, he commands attention from opposition big and even if he bricks, Gasol is at a good position to put it back. And that's a high % shot.
you can look to Nash and all the players that got paid after leaving Phoenix as well. It definitely happens.
How do we know it's not Gasol making Kobe better? Wasn't Kobe 5-8 in the playoffs and 0-2 trying to get out of the first round in the post-Shaq era before Gasol came along? Didn't Kobe also fail to even make the playoffs one year?
people underestimate the triangle offense so much. look at minnesota and how it has made the game easier for beasley, love, and now freakin' milicic. if you're a skilled big man and has some IQ, your game is going to elevate. see kobe the year without phil jackson. and the guy even complained to re-installed the triangle to end that 04-05 season.
Sure because can't possible be worse than our 3-10 record. According to Rick lovers, it's not his fault...insert any coach they would still have a 3-10 record with this roster.
I'm sorry but only idiots and casual fans called Gasol "Gasoft" when he was still playing in Memphis. Before the thought process was: Gasol=Euro big man=perimeter skillset=Dirk=flopping=lottery team=soft Now its: Gasol=2 rings=tough=due to Kobe Bryant I have a lot of respect for both Woj and Kobe Bryant deserves almost all the accolades he gets (except for fanatics like goodbug calling him better than MJ). Gasol though has been playing the same game he was playing in Memphis. Its not that Kobe made him tough, its just that now he has something to play for, instead of leading the Grizz to another playoff sweep.
Why are Asians always such rabid Kobe nuthuggers? What did he ever do to make that demographic like him so much?? Lots of Asians in LA and cali? Kobe's promotional tours in Asia? New bball fans jumping on the bandwagon of the best team and its leader? Japanese identify with kobe because of rape fetish?
