Simply put, ask MJ and some of the greats about how important the mental part of basketball is to winning. PER simply can't measure the mental impact and intentions. Not only is kobe more mentally in tuned to the sport with his obsessive training and watching more video than any play, but also even on his off nights he creats so much attention bc he has that always strike and if he missed 8, he very well can take and hit the next dagger no questions asked. This is an important measure that just can't be overlooked and which is why kobe has lasted longer and been more successful than an arguably more gifted tracy mcgrady.
The video shows why most of us were excited about the trade at the time. Had McGrady and Yao stayed healthy, we would have eventually become a contending team, in my opinion. That didn't happen, and McGrady would have had to reach the level of LeBron James to leave on worse terms than he did. To paraphrase the late, great Ray Charles, if it wasn't for bad luck, the Rockets would have no luck at all.
Lamar Odom >>>>>>. Drew Gooden Kwame (YES!!!) > Andrew DeClerq Phil Jackson >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Doc Who? And he lost in a playoffs against Steve Nash and guys that were all over his neck mentally and statistically Nice try.
Marion was the only guy on that team that was able to play really good without 7 seconds or less system.
The tears of Steve Nash: And there you have it: <object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xnWGXKA0I_Q?version=3&hl=ru_RU"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xnWGXKA0I_Q?version=3&hl=ru_RU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Watching this -- what probably should have been a private moment -- hurt me more than anything else, even more than seeing a team I hate beat a team I love. Nash finished with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go along with 5 defensive rebounds -- 3 more than Stoudemire! -- and 9 assists (with only 2 turnovers). Once again, he gave his all. Once again, it wasn't enough. He is still the person who has appeared in the most playoff games in NBA history without making the NBA Finals. Ignorant, petty people will continue to use this as a slight against him, even now, after a season in which he led the Suns much, much farther than anybody thought he could...perhaps farther than they ever should have gotten. I mean, really, who thought the Suns could replace Shaq with Channing Frye and lean so heavily on guys like Jared Dudley, Goran Dragic and Louis Amundson and still come within a crazy offensive rebound by Ron Artest from maybe taking this series. Don't laugh. It could have happened. But it didn't. Early in the season, there was a great post on ESPN's Daily Dime that dissected Nash's decision to re-sign with the Suns rather than chase a championship elsewhere. His response to questions was that, for him, the journey is more important than the destination. That the chance to lead and teach young players is more important than chasing around a championship. Someone related this to Kobe and his response was "**** that. Better him than me." No, really. That's what he said. Because chasing a championship is the only thing that matters to Kobe. This might lead you to think that a title means nothing to Nash. Well, those tears say differently. It matters. Nash has sacrificed an awful lot. I always bring up the fact that he plays -- and in fact has played well enough to take his place among history's great point guards -- despite a chronic, incurable back ailment. He's had teeth knocked out, his face mangled on multiple occasions, and yet he never complains, goes out, gives his all, plays great against whatever odds...with relatively little fanfare. (I say "relatively" because, if Kobe or LeBron broke and reset their nose mid-game, minstrels would be singing about it for the next hundred years.) There are people who are going to dis and mock him because he's never won a championship, never made the Finals. Those people are ignorant. How far do you suppose Kobe would have made with this year's Suns team? Do you think he would have inspired guys like Frye, Dudley and Amundson, or do you think he would have threatened and intimidated him, maybe even demanded a trade? Would LeBron have led this squad to a title? Heck, even Nash's talented teams had flaws. Bad coaching (D'Antoni not trusting his bench comes to mind). Teammates who looked a helluva lot better alongside Nash than they do on their own (look at what guys like Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, Quentin Richardson have "accomplished" on their own, and that's what Amar''''''e is in store for if and when he leaves Phoenix). Remember back when the Lakers pushed the Suns to seven games in 2006 and everybody was freaking out about how Kobe led a squad of scrubs against this amazingly talented Suns team that featured a starting lineup of Nash, Marion, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and James Jones? When STATUE wasn't even playing and Tim Thomas was one of their most important bench players? How that those players have migrated elsewhere and we've gotten additional evidence, tell me again how "talented" that team was. Go on. Tell me. Nash turns **** into salsa...but will probably forever be the whipping boy of people who can't see beyond titles even though those are team and organizational accomplishments. But whatever. Am I disappointed the Suns lost? Yep. Am I bitter? Nope. A year ago, I might have been. But, like Nash says, the journey is more important than the destination. Heck, the dude is even teaching me.
Doc and Thibs? Maybe. It was more about Pierce over Radmanovic than Doc over Phil Actually, Doc in Orlando wasn't the same kind of coach. Doc shouldn't actually coached that Celtics squad and Ainge gave him a chance not because of his talent or beautiful mind. Doc was just close to youngsters, Rondo and Perkins. That's why he hired Thibs as an insurance Try again later
You forget it's eastern conference, check TMac's stats when he's in west, playing with the best bigman in the league too. The very same year when TMac had his career stats, Kobe was able to string 9 consecutive 40 points games, and 13 consecutive 35 points games. We all knew he could easily get the scoring title if he wanted to back that time.
I dont understand why folks even bother with Kobe vs McGrady. It's just embarrassing. Years from now one will be talked about as one of the biggest winners in NBA history. The other will be known as one of the biggest losers in the NBA history. Those are facts. No amount of regular-season game highlight videos will change the outcome. It is inevitable.
TMAC never reached his prime. He was only 23 years old in 02-03. Very unfortunate ending to what could have been a top 5 all time type of career. sighs.
McGrady winning the scoring title = because of bad teammates. McGrady losing in the first round = all his fault.
He still has his jumper but he doesn't have much lift in it anymore. I hope he comes back to at least 60% of what he used to be.
CRAZY and a young Lebron James in audience at the 6:22 marks is shocked as well <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gW1MqKr0fxo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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