Kobe's ability as a "closer" needs to be called out

Thats a fair point.

Its such a hard argument / discussion to have when supporting casts are brought in to the conversation.

 

Lebron and Carmelo, just to name two.

 

No I got the 25-30 number from that epic commercial he did for Nike a few years back in which he narrates. It was re-posted recently in one of the Jordan threads -- I looked for it so that I could post the clip in my first response but could not find it.

Plus, I'm from Chicago so when it comes to Jordan, I know. :grin:

 

I'm not really using the supporting cast as an argument for or against his abilities as a closer - which is solely dependent on the player. I'm simply saying that public PERCEPTION of the ability of a closer is heavily tied to the number of championships he wins. No one will remember the greatest closer in history if he doesn't win championships (could be due to a myriad reasons not related to his closing ability), but everyone will remember a lesser closer if he does win championships.

 

Some writer (I wish I remember which one) I follow on Twitter mentioned this exact thing last night. Their averages in their respective Boston series are very close (something like Kobe with 3 more pts, Lebron with 2 more rebounds, 3 more assists). The media has painted a very different picture of the two: someone needs to help Kobe, Lebron isn't doing enough.

Unfortunately Lebron's demeanor, whether it matters or not, did him in.

 

as far as kobe and lebron's portrayal, the media especially espn glorifies lebron far more, even in the most subtle way I have seen articles where they write with him with art almost as they describe him (i:e number 23 stares in the mirror with his broad shoulders before leading his team to battle) just that attention and presentation he gets they talk him up.

and as for kobe, he had two offensive performances straight that could be ground breaking, and when lebron does that and his teammates don't show up its all thers only so much one player can do, he is a winner and his teammates are losers, but those performances were close to great ones in finals history and didn't get much of a mention just a casual kobe got hot but it wasnt enough....just the presentation you can see a subtle difference in the two players.

Plus as far as kobe's ability as a closer, the guy made a record breaking 6-7 game winneres in one season, not all shots are going to go in and there wil be colder nights, jordan had em, all closers had em, ray allen could shoot ever ball on target, sometimes bounces just don't gi the way, it the nature of the game, so he has struggled, but you can't take away what he has done and why he earned his right as a closer, as mj the greatest closer said he's missed much more game winners than he has made, so he has had his own nights. unfortunately to the people who love him he can do no wrong, to the people who hate kobe, he can do no right, hes not the GOAT of all time, but hes one of th great talents in history and overall its just a pleasure to wtach his dedication commitment and work ethic towards the game and see it come to play, hopefully itll be more appreciated when hes out of this league and we have our best player who is simpy more concerned with stats and marketing image rather than the guy who spends his offseason doing 6 hour workouts and learning from the greats to improve

 

that would still be his fault, because if you're taking those kinds of shots, that means you're not running the offense effectively (which can be as simple as throwing it to gasol in the post, who is vastly underused).

 

Not if being better requires making an outside shot or a free throw.

 

Being better means getting the ball in the hoop any way possible.

 

emphasis mine.

Bingo. He's moderately controversial, so media types love talking about him.

David.

 

he has 2 more games to do his thing.

 

The funny thing about what you wrote in bold is Kobe has the better supporting cast and better coach.

 

**** Kobe and the Lakers.....

Boston is going to win tonight!

 

It's called defense.

I think it's safe to say he's one of the best closers in the game.

see 'championships' and all those kobe game winners regular and playoff.

i bet if you had a highlight of all the kobe clutch moment it would be longer than 35 seconds.

 

Bryant: "Yes. That’s when she said no. That’s when she said no. That’s when she said, no.'"
Detective Dan Loya: "So what did, what did you say?"
Detective Doug Winters: "What did you say, how did that, how did that come about?"
Bryant: "Um, you know, that’s when I asked if I could ..., she said no."
Detective Loya: "So you like to ... ?"
Bryant: "That’s my thing, not always, I mean, so I stopped."

 

See: Shaq & Gasol and what playoff game winners?

 

u should post more

 

Ray Allen is a good defender.

 

Tracy's teammates took him to the second round of the playoffs, while sitting on the bench and rooting for the Lakers.

 

True, it's not just your stats in the 4th. It what you do in big games and when everything is on the line. Kobe has done time and time again, resulting inn multiple championships. When Lebron wins more championships and builds a better record maybe the tide will change. Until then Kobe is still the best closer.