Ok, my turn to criticize the opposite end of hte spectrum. I fail to see how Bryant is demonstrably superior to McGrady or James. You can make the case either way regarding any of those 3 players. Note: I prefer McGrady...mainly because he's taller. That little bit of extra heighth makes it far easier for him to get off his jumpers.
Steve Francis is also a once in a lifetime talent and player but some guys just are not good team players. Kobe does not have good chemistry with teammates.
My thoughts exactly. I've always said the physical talent is probably comperable between Steve Francis and McGrady. But McGrady is a crap load taller. If Stevie were 6 inches taller, he'd be a completely different (i.e. better) player. What sets great players apart is their mental toughness (that's were Steve anti-shines...he fogs up....he corodes.). Kobe does have some toughness. Labron seems to also. I'm waiting to see about TMac. I'm a little discouraged by TMac's passes to Sura with a big game on the line (Suns). I'd rather TMac take those shots or create something for an open jumper to somebody else...but TMac did neither. Hopefully JVG "had a little talk" and he comes out energized for the playoffs.
Bryant is a bit stronger than McGrady, and is able to absorb contact better. He's also more willing to attack the basket and finish, and has considerably better touch and body control close to the bucket. He also has better lateral quickness, and a quicker first step. McGrady has better length and height, and he's a slightly better jumpshooter. But personally, I really prefer Kobe's strong drives to the basket. He very rarely settles for the turnaround fadeaway that T-Mac likes so much.
Bryant brought all of this on himself. He ran Shaq and PJ out of town, and said he wanted the chance to carry a team. Now he has gotten exactly what he asked for, and it isn't as easy as he thought it would be. That team, as presently constituted, is not going anywhere anytime soon. Kobe is not good enough to carry a team, and has been overrated for a long time playing next to Shaq (now Wade is starting to be overrated, and Ginobili has been since arriving in SA). Players look better when playing next to dominant superstars. There is a reason Pippen made the list of 50 greatest players of all time and there is a reason that Kobe Bryant has 3 rings. @krosfyah TMac was doubled and passed out of it. That is the nature of the game. Waiting too long to start the play was the mistake, not passing to Sura.
Didn't every half-brained sportswriter say Kobe was the greatest thing since sliced bread (and TMac is selfish)? Who brought this on himself?
as my roommate once called him, dan le b*stard. so amare, he of the 29-53 suns last year, is a top 10 player now? and nash? uhh, no. even if he is the mvp this year. and kg with cassell and spree isn't even in the playoffs but is great? as haven said, all of this will eventually go away and kobe will recover. one year is a short time in a sports career and memories are often short. assuming the lakers organization doesn't completely screw it up, they'll eventually get some talent around him and talent + kobe will win (not saying they'll win titles, but it would be a nice team). don't put a guy like odom who basically duplicates kobe's abilities but is worse at everything next to kobe and maybe you do better. don't have brian grant playing center with luke walton at pf as they have recently and you do better. keep caron, he doesn't seem all bad, and maybe jumaine jones, but everyone else on that team isn't that good or doesn't fit. it's chic to pile on kobe now (and yes he did ask for his own team so taking his lumps unfairly for a year is probably the price) but eventually it'll get better. he's still easily in the top 6 or 7 with shaq, duncan, tmac, lebron, kg, and dirk (and maybe AI after the year he has had).
Like many of you have said...FAULTY LOGIC. He states that to be an elite player, you must be on a winning team. He says if you look at history not many top 10 players have been on teams with such a horrible record. And he says that Tracy McGrady is a top 10 player. Those three statements contradict each other too damn much for anybody to think this article is a worthy read. McGrady was on a horrible team last year, therefore making him one of Dan Le Batards top 10 players that had WORSE records than Kobe's team this year. I personally think I'd rather have McGrady, but I'd just use different logic to state why...or forget logic at all and just say that Kobe pisses me off, so I'd rather T-Mac.
Nobody's arguing Kobe's a great player. But you know what, all the crap BSPN and TNT come up, it really gets annoying. All the whiney Faker fans whining (as if Kobe doesn't get the calls) get even more annoying. It's not piling it on. It's called back to reality. Like I said, who's fault was it that Shaq, Karla and Phil Jackson left town?
Maybe McGrady learned something from being on such a horrible team last year that Bryant has not yet. Bryant gets **** for it because he is the reason the team sucks right now. Garnett's not going to get harassed too much because he didn't run off Cassell, Spreewell and Saunders on an ego-trip, and because he's injured. McGrady got all kinds of abuse for last year, and has rebounded by playing team-ball on offense and buckling down on defense(when his defensive effort was what one might charitably call erratic in Orlando). And it doesn't help that the player that Bryant ran off has gone an turned a team into a title contender. And also, the rape thing.
You can blame Bryant all you want for running off teammates and coaches, and you'd probably be right. That said, I think it's ridiculous when people question his ability on the court. He's, in my opinion, the second most unguardable (man-to-man) perimeter player in the leage, next to only Iverson.
Doesnt anyone agree with me that Iverson would HAVE to be in the top 10 players today? I mean, he has carried an awefull Sixers side for years now, he is under sized and yet he competes against everyone. Sure he isnt the model fracnhise player, but he is ttop 10 easily. As for T-Mac....the more I see of him the more amazied I am that the media and fans arent going nuts over him. He is a brilliant player!
*shrug* I said it's arguable any way you look at it. McGrady/Bryant debates are pointless. But I do think the existence of at least two other players (and more, if you want to count guys like Pierce, Carter, and Wade) that are of a similar caliber to Bryant means that he's not a "once in a generation" player.
