those guys aren't coachable, they are stars in the cloud who want the ball in their hands. Rick has an intricate system, both of these guys have shown that they ignore coaches and run their own plays
Yeah, I think LBJ and Shaq are certainly the same, both of them are the most talented players to ever play but I think both of them love the spotlight more than the game. Kobe is really the best of both worlds, not only is he talented but he's also driven and methodical in his approach. But when you compare the two players, IMHO LBJ's talent simply dwarfs whatever output Kobe has. When Kobe wasn't playing with an all-world big man all he could was a 0.500 record (and that's in his prime and with Lamar Odom). When LBJ was all alone he got the Cavs into the finals. He's also shooting at a higher clip and with more efficiency than Kobe even with the defenses focused on him. Its too bad that LBJ wasn't as dedicated, he probably would have been GOAT by now.
RA system can't work without dead eye shooters. How can you get back door cuts and easy dunks when nobody on your team except for LBJ can hit open 3 pointers and provide spacing? This had been the problem with the Heat last season. No amount of coaching can solve that, they need a Fisher clone who can pass the ball and shoot open 3 pointers. Mike Miller was supposed to be that guy but he suddenly played like crap.
You do realize Kobe was playing with Smush Parker and Kwame brown, luke walton in the starting line up. Those guys don't even crack rotations or make teams in the league. You are comparing that too the guys cavs had who are no studs, but all really solid role players that complimented lebron and spread the court to bring the best out of the team and very similar to how 76ers did with larry brown and perfect roll defensive players for allen iverson, that was in no means a bad team. Also, before Kobe got pau. That season, BEFORE the trade they were number one in the west with a 20 year old bynum, and kobe was doing everything. Pau is good and one of the most skilled post men, but he still was just a 19-9 guy before who was not good enough to be the no one option on a winner, since they won, everyone is saying he is the greatest thing and even putting him in the s ame world as shaq which is just ridiculous. Simply people overlooking how much kobe attention let his game flourish too. Comparing statistics the way you did is just not comparing apples to apples. useage rate, offensive system all come into play to determine statistics. You have to remember kobe plays in an equal opportunity triangle which minimizes assists and is just a different system where lebron was a drive and kick offense which will inflate stats. He played great, but comparing stats and trying to get an easy answer is just a flawed, elementary way to look at hoops
How many dead eye shooters did portland have in the 80's? Rick is a great coach who can adapt to his talent, not the other way around.
While Rick is famous for the offense of backdoor cuts, high post, etc. He has proven in the past to be able to adapt to the talent he has. See JAson williams, terry porter, etc. He doesn't make them play one way or another, rather to play their game and works the offense around with tweak. I think Minesota will be the surprise of the year after the first month of learning Rick's offense
