Anyone who thinks that Kobe was the best player on the Lakers Three-peat teams (like how you're implying here) needs to reevaluate the beast that was Shaquille O'Neal. Kobe was Shaq's sidekick. Shaq knew it, Phil Jackson knew it, everyone knew it. Hell, Kobe would probably admit it now that he was second fiddle to Shaq back then. Why do you think it was so important for Kobe to win it all last year? He had very good players playing along side of him in Gasol and Odom but it's the first championship where KOBE was the best player on the team. *scratches head* Are you saying that Jordan was never outscored by an opponent in the playoffs/finals EVER? Check again Or are you saying that Jordan was never outscored by a teammate in the playoffs/finals EVER? Check again. Oh wait, THAT'S IN THE SAME GAME. This is just one example I found and, even if it's the ONLY example, it's proof that Jordan's mythos/legend/fabrications sometimes blanket facts.
Lebron had the single greatest statistical postseason in NBA history last season. Lebron took a garbage and I mean garbage cavs team to the final a few years ago. Lebron is hands down a better player.
No, I'm saying he was never outscored in a playoff series. Meaning no one in any playoff series ever averaged more than him. No other player can say that. And no I was not implying that Kobe was the best on the Lakers. It was clearly Shaq. He finished 1st, 3rd and 3rd in MVP voting while leading the team in scoring, PER and win shares nearly every time. Kobe didn't really start leading in those on the team until 2003 and 2004 and by then the Lakers weren't winning.
How did he have the best postseason ever when he lost while having the best record in the league and the HCA? If his postseason was the greatest ever he would have won the title and not lost while having the best record in the league. And no the Cavs weren't garbage. They actually had another star, had a top 4 team in offensive and defensive efficiency. Won by more ppg than any other team. Had the highest SRS rating. Set a record by winning it's first 8 playoff games by 10+ points. Cavs were upset by a team that was missing it's 2nd best player in Jameer Nelson. If the Cavs lost to a healthy Boston team then you could make a case, but Orlando was a team that had proved nothing and could barely beat a KG less Celtics team.
What the hell are you talking about? There wasn't a travel anywhere on that play... His pivot foot was his left.... From the video I stared at his left foot... Didn't see a travel.
What's your point, why not check Pippen's stats in 91 and 98 and compare to Gasol last year? All star isn't a good measure.
Actually Kobe led those team in 01 and 02 playoff run until finals. He scored way more than Shaq in those western series until they play midgets in east. He's always the best performer against Spurs, their primary rivalry those years.
Did you even watch the Cavs Magic series? What else could LBJ have done, defend Howard 1 on 1? MJ lost vs. the Celtics in 86, he must have had a terrible series. Put any other player on that Cavs team and guess what their regular season record is. Put Michael Jordan in his prime on that Cavs team and they still get beat by Orlando. Who is the other 'star' on the Cavs? Mo Williams? That guy is an average starting pg, I can name 10 other PG I'd rather have than him.
Yeah I watched it. Lebron held the ball every possession and only passed off when he couldn't score. Mo isn't a spot up shooter, he needs the ball in his hands. Don't be dumb. MJ lost to the Celtics as they had HCA. MJ never lost any series with HCA and never lost any series with the same record or better in any playoff series. Lebron not only lost with HCA but lost as the #1 seed and the #1 record in the league. Lebron not once scored 50 ppg in that series and he didn't even average 40 ppg. Cavs lost because they lost with HCA and fell behind in that series. It's amazing Orlando won with that backcourt and won missing it's 2nd best player. I thought Orlando would lose in 4 or 5 with how good Cleveland was doing and how much Orlando struggled with Philly and a KG less Celtics. I thought Orlando only had a chance to take it 7 with a healthy Jameer. Orlando made the finals with the worst backcourt of all time. How the hell do you make the finals with Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee (a rookie) as your starting backcourt? I don't what hear about someone not having a good supporting cast when they had the best record in the league and broke a record in the playoffs winning it's first 8 games by 10+ points each game. Hell Jerry West averaged 37.9 ppg in the finals in 1969 and he and Wilt get the blame for losing to the Celtics because the were heavy favorites in that series. http://webuns.chez-alice.fr/finals/1969.htm# In the end though, this is all that matters to Lebron Source: ESPN http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/matchup/_/teams/magic-cavaliers Source: Yahoosports Source: ESPN
So Cleveland lost because Lebron held the ball? I thought Cleveland lost because their defense turned Dwight Howard into Hakeem Olajuwon and the Magic got hot from 3. You keep saying how Orlando struggled against Philly and Boston, was that because Philly and Boston didn't hold the ball? It was because those teams had guys that could defend Dwight Howard, even Pau Gasol did a good job on Howard, Howard turned Ilgauskis/Ben Wallace/Varejao into his personal b****es in the Cleveland series. Lebron was the top performer in the series, but Howard was almost as dominant, Hedo and R. Lewis were better than anyone the Cavs had. You keep saying that Mo Williams is a good player and putting down Rafer. Rafer did have a couple of really bad games, he also outplayed Mo Williams a couple of time held his own in the other 2 game. The point is if you take away the best player from both teams, the Magic are a much more talented team than the Cavs.
not to insult anyone, but if you pick kobe, i have to say i'm not sure you understand what you're watching.
The point is that Lebron has never allowed another player to be co-star. Every potential co-star was asked to get out of the way for Lebron. Hughes was forced to be a spot up shooter when he needed the ball to be effective. Shaq is now asked to do a lot of high P&R that he never managed 17 years in the league. Mo has some create ability but he doesn't have many chances to do it when LBJ's in the line up. Hold the ball for every possession and you'll get many assists. But that doesn't make you a team player. Roles need to touch the ball (not necessarily shoot) to stay focused in the game, on both sides. Lebron will never be the best player in the until either 1. Elevate roles and make at least one teammate a deserving all star Or 2. Win a championship by himself if he doesn't need the team concept.
When has Kobe done this? When he had a team full of role players the Lakers either missed the playoffs or got bounced in the first round. Only when he was surrounded by arguably the most talented supporting cast in the league did he make it past round 1. Lebron took one of the least talented squads to the NBA Finals in only his 3rd year in the league. If you took Kobe and Lebron and swapped them the Lakers would be even better and the Cavs would get worse. You could probably do the same with Kobe and Wade and get similar results since we're on the subject.
When Cavs won 66 in regular season and 8 in a row in playoff, was anyone talking about they didn't have talent in the team at all? They gave all the credit to LBJ and when they lost it in ECF, LBJ deserved the blame, simple as that. Every championship team has some talent, and more than 1 talents. Kobe led a team to champion as the best player, that's all it matters. You can lead 4 NBDL players to playoff and that doesn't make you a legend. The ring is the thing. You continue to talk about how a team is bad without someone, and in reality, it's LBJ couldn't make his teammates better by being a ballhog. Lakers also had No.1 record in the west, before Bynum's injured and Gasol's arrival. Now LBJ beat two teams that wouldn't even make playoff in west. Had Lakers were in east those years, they'd have 4th best record and past first round, just saying. And no, if LBJ is forced to shoot mid-range out 80% of the time, I doubt he can even shoot 45%. The ability to allow other players shine in the system is what LBJ is lacking.
Lebron's basketball skills are not as good as his athleticism Kobe will always be better than Lebron MJ will always be better than Kobe not hard
dude i could talk to your forever I'm a bron bron hater! well not really a hater, a bron bron media hater
Kobe is still the deadliest and most feared player inside two minutes, but for the other 96% of the game LeBron is the best player in basketball blindfolded. So yeah, I'll stick with "the numbers" on this one.
