Haha. So, you're saying that Kobe is a spot-up shooter then? Drexler, in his Houston years, got much more open shots than Kobe has thus far playing with Shaq. Kobe is not a spot-up shooter. He is a one-on-one player. To think that you think that Kobe just sits his ass on the 3 pt line to shoot 3s, is pretty funny.
I don't think Stevie was saying that Kobe gets open (as in nobody guarding him) as a result of Shaq, implying he is a spot-up shooter. He is merely saying that Kobe gets single coverage (as opposed to double and triple coverage) infinitely more often than Drexler did when he was with Portland. Opposing teams must double and triple Shaq, so they can't concentrate on guarding Kobe like they did Clyde, who didn't have an iside presence. A valid point. It is impossible to predict what their stats would be if their situations were switched. However, the fact remains that LA still only has one top-tier rebounder (Shaq). Even when Kobe does hang back to get a rebound, he just stands there waiting for the ball instead of boxing out. Assuming their jumping is about equal, I still believe Clyde was the better boarder because he was physically stronger and he boxed out far more often.
Drexler in his later years lost his lateral quickness after being hampered with injuries, and his numbers showed it. He could still play the open floor, but (with Houston) didn't use his height well enough and settled with way too many outside shots. His cutting meant an easy scoring option for Hakeem, and he could easily dish out of traffic to spot-up shooters. His man defense, which was never very good, got even worse. Clyde, in his prime, played in spurts on offense and wasn't always consistent - but always played well off the dribble and could hit from 15 feet. Also, his team had at least five other players who could score in double figures, so he could defer to them. On defense, he played the passing lanes very well but couldn't fight through screens very well and would often lose his man - but Buck Williams was always there for the defensive stop. He fit extremely well into the Trailblazer system, better than Bryant would've. Pippen was the ideal sidekick to Michael Jordan. He could shut down opponents so Jordan didn't have to - and could create easy transitions. He could then run the floor with defenses focused on Jordan, though even single coverage could frustrate him into taking ill-advised shots, and without the threat of Pippen, Kerr, Kukoc and all the other spot-up shooters could be denied the corners. Bryant isn't a good comparison.
It's a better comparison in that both Scottie and Kobe were/are complements to the most dominant player in the game. As a result, they both did/do not bear the brunt of the opposition's defense. Clyde Drexler in his prime had to night in and night out. Therefore, Scottie Pippen is a better comparison for Bryant in a situational sense. They do have quite a few similar facets in their games as well. Both Scottie and Bryant are terrific defenders, although Scottie never had a dominant post presence backing him up. Both have the tendency to be very streaky in their shooting, although Bryant's gotten a little more consistent the past year. Neither's a very good 3-point shooter. Both have the ability to play some point guard, and are good passers for their position. And Pippen in his prime was quite an athlete, just as Kobe is now...although Kobe has a definitive edge.
Clyde couldn't Glide without his large hands. Man, I wish Kobe has MJ's or even Clyde's hands then I really think he'd be the best that ever played. I'm not gonna compare the two because I didn't see enough of Clyde as I do of Kobe. I was too young to watch bball when Clyde was in him prime.
Methinks Glide would be Shaq's sidekick as well on the same team, just like his being a sidekick to Hakeem. However Hakeem had won a ring before Glide's arrival, while Shaq couldn't win until Kobe arrived.
Clyde is the second best SG in the 80s and early 90s...he's a hall of famer when he becomes eligible, a top 50 player of all time, lead the Blazers to the play-offs year in, year out...and in the 92 play-offs he average 29 ppg, 7 rpg and 7 apg... He was the Man in Portland...until Kobe stands on his own i.e. no Shaq no watch his back, then I say Clyde is better than him.
