Ya i guess you could also say that Kobe gets "more chances" against higher winning teams since he is in the west? But one has to admit if the cavs were int the west, they would have at least 5 more losses. I think.
Maybe, but it's hard to say. The Lakers are 35-7 against the West, and the Cavs are 22-4 against them. Pretty similar, in terms of win%.
Kobe can consistently kill you from both outside and inside. If you take away the lane away from LeBron (a la Rockets), his jumper is too inconsistent. Kobe can win you games from 15 feet and out. LeBron will lose you games 15 feet and out. Just because LeBron finishes with a dunk almost every time doesn't mean Kobe can't finish just as well with lay ins, floaters, etc... Although driving to the basket is a big part of the game, you can't always do it on every possession so Kobe's jumper gives him a huge advantage over James' entire game.
Against some teams, maybe. But against the league, LeBron has done quite well. Consider the clutch time stats (end of games, score within 5 points) for LeBron and Kobe at 82games.com, for instance. Per 48 minutes, Kobe scores 59 points on .54 eFG% from the field, and LeBron scores 53 points on .59 eFG% from the field. Further, LeBron draws more fouls because he's attacking (26% of his shot attempts. versus only 9% for Kobe). And moreover, LeBron also gets twice as many assists -- 12.5 versus 6.1.
Lakers CAN win without Kobe, Cavs cannot. It is like LeBron is 90% of Cleveland. Mo Williams is a great player but they live and die on LeBron's game.
bron is MVP. BUT, lebron is the best overall player. kobe is the best finisher. can't go wrong with neither. dwade is up there with those 2. 46, 9, 8, 3, 2 right now v. jazz. deron 30, 13. man, league has so many great players now
Hmm... This post is three days old. See, this is what happens when you post a bazzillion posts per day, you start to contradict yourself. Anyway, LOL at the thread starter. Things like "looking better" and unsubstantiated claims of clutchness is all Kobe fans have left to go by when constructing their "arguments" about Kobe being better. Your friend is right.
kobe, lebron and even mcgrady have had seasons like this where they've gone off and lead bad teams to the playoffs and never finished more than top 4 in MVP kobe 35, 5, 5 a few season a go lebron 31, 8, 7 2 years ago tmac, 32, 7, 6 in 02-03 wade 30, 6, 8 is similar to those. he won't win b/c his team isn't as good.
i think lebron is gonna win mvp simply because numbers and that nobody really expected them to be this good all season. but we knew the lakers were gonna be the best team in the west. but really..what about dwayne wade! come on he's doing the most with the least. he leads the league in scoring and has been on a rampage this whole month! and without dwayne on the heat..the heat are NOTHING!!! rest my case..
Kobe has more moves. Lebron is either 3 point shot or dunk. Kobe has a move or two for every shot on the floor. As Shane and Ron showed if you take away Lebron's drive and his jumper isn't on you can neutralize him. Kobe will take you in the post or face you up at the elbow and find a way to get a good shot. Kobe also has a stronger will. You won't catch him giving you the McGrady "my shot didn't fall tonight" limp as he walks off the court with his spirit broken. For 48 minutes Lebron is the better player most nights. In the last 2 minutes of close, important games I'll take Kobe.
There is precedence for Wade's season, and none of those players EVER win MVP. For the MVP, you just have to be on a great team.
Seriously, how can you prove that? Win with who on that team? I can make a claim too. The Lakers would be fighting for the 8th seed without Kobe. See what I did there.
I'm glad here's a thread on James. Over on a Chinese board they're talking about how much traveling James gets away with. Ridiculous!
All I have seen in this thread is talk about Kobe vs Lebron's offensive game. And IMO that is a pretty balanced argument (even though I would probably take Kobe in the last few mins of a game) but what you guys fail to see is that Lebron does way more than kobe with his assists and rebounds. Lebron has amazing court vision and is one of the best play makers in the NBA. The same can not be said about Kobe. Lebron also rebounds like a mad man consistently while Kobe will only do it once in a while. Basically what I am trying to say is that Lebron does everything EVERY NIGHT while Kobe is capable of doing everything Lebron can, but only does it sporadically. This is a pretty interesting article talking about how Lebron's PER this sesaon is higher than Micheal Jordan's ever was. Also it talks about how Kobe's peak PER is not even close to MJs or Lebrons. I will post the article here but make sure to click the link because it has a graph too. http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/kobe-and-lebron-on-the-path-toward-jordan/ Kobe-LeBron: The Path Towards Jordan As we lead up to Monday's showdown between the Cavaliers and Lakers, we focus our attentions on LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. My feelings on the State of the NBA Superstars has been published 'round here before. Through my eyes, LeBron is clearly the best player in the world (and, ahem, Kobe's not even #2 right now). But at this late stage (Thursday night, to be exact), big-name analysts like Kenny Smith still name Kobe number one. That's fine -- you're entitled to your opinion, Kenny Smith. But I'm entitled to call that opinion ridiculous. So, um: that opinion is ridiculous. Follow me down the rabbit hole, from whence we shall never return. Again, I've been hip deep in this muck plenty before. I named LeBron the best player in the NBA this summer; I hear he donated the prize of 500 ZillerBucks to charity. To me, it's clear-cut. To science, it seems pretty clear cut. But for whatever reason, Kenny Smith and some of you -- all good people, I trust -- argue the opposite. John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is the best summary measure we've got ... and it's damn good. Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal own the top 10 list of highest PER seasons -- this isn't some crackpot measure that counts Dennis Rodman as the finest player in modern history or Allen Iverson as just another scrub. PER mixes the right level of unexpected surprise with a grounded, "smell test" accuracy. Almost every analyst working for a team these days knows and respects PER as a measurement of individual player performance. MJ has the best career PER, and the top four PER seasons of the modern era. He's the Greatest of All Time for a reason, that reason being that he is the Greatest of All Time. And of course, Kobe and 'Bron are inextricably linked to His Airness as potential usurpers to the throne. Kobe's been the Second Coming since '96, and James has settled into that spot over the past five seasons. But what I don't get is that if Kobe is a potential G.O.A.T., and if LeBron is a potential G.O.A.T., and Kobe is much older than LeBron ... shouldn't their performances to date at least be in the same stratosphere? Because they aren't. (GRAPH) LeBron -- who just turned 24 -- has already had two full seasons statistically better than the peak of Kobe (who is now age 30). This season for LeBron looks to break MJ's high standard -- and Kobe's peak is a mile back. The realist's premonitions of LeBron's reign over Kobe date back to '06, when a 21-year-old 'Bron matched Kobe's season shot for shot, box score for box score, win for win. Last season, LeBron officially broke away from Bryant. The comparison was not close last year. This season, the gulf is much, much larger. And Kenny Smith is still arguing that Kobe's the best player in the world. It's absolutely hilarious. I'm not sure what LeBron needs to do in order to prove his mettle -- I imagine Kobephiles will point to his rings, but no one's arguing Kobe circa 2002 is the G.O.A.T. -- and I'm positive he doesn't care what Smith or I or you say. But for the good of the world, for the good of the children ... can we please take our heads out of [the sand] and admit reality? LeBron is the best player on this or any world, and there is no question. Come on, you can do it. Say it slowly, if you must. LeBron ... is ... the best.
lol anyone's game can be so much better off if they could take an extra two steps per drive to the basket
Lol, can you imagine the nba if they changed the rules to 3 steps instead of 2? Right now, only one person can do it in the nba.
