Kobe is in the zone and he is playing in a strata that maybe only Wilt and Jordan ever played at on a scoring level and his team is winning while he's doing it. That said, his team is still not a serious contender even if they get Odom and Walton back for the playoffs. T-mac is just not sturdy enough to attack relentlessly like that right now.
TMac isn't the same level as kobe from a couple year ago. Maybe five year ago they are at the same level. But one goes downhill and the other goup, the difference will be bigger everyday from now. TMac is a top 20 player in the league (?), but Kobe is top 3 for sure. See the difference?
Indeed. One would be hard pressed to find the depth needed for a tadpole, much less a ship of the line.
huh? how did a top 20 player manage to keep a team w/o yao that has worse overall talent than the lakers outside of yao 21-10? and kobe can't even keep them above .500 and he has the best coach? so is redd a top 5 player b/c his scoring ppg is 27? . it aint about points bro. kobe doesn't pass if u watch this stretch. odom shot 8-11 yesterday and hat's 72% and guess how many shots kobe took => 33. and he shot under 50%. . u want that guy on ur team when yao is doing well and he sitll jacks up 30+ shots? tmac may not be as efficient b/c he won't get to the ft line as much, but he impacs the game more than his scoring. look at how tmac paced himself yesterday v. the hornets and controlling the game w/ his passing when he entered the 4th b4 scoring. tmac is a different type of beast. kobe is simply a SCORING beast. and again, can kobe do this v. a good team and win? the lakers have been playing bad teams so he can afford to do this. but during the process, he's alienating his teammates.
All you guys can talk about is scoring scoring scoring. No other player in the league has had a career as backwards as Kobe's The guy has a monster on his team who is unstoppable and he doesn't want him because he's "tired of being a sidekick" and because he want's to prove to his peers he didn't need Shaq to win. I mean, all of the players in the league, their mentality is to win games with their teams, not trying to continue to go on individual bursts just because people were calling me a dirty player", or someone trying to prove they are the best in the league and they still have a mediocre team. You don't do that crap as you get older, you are supposed to mature and learn how to respect your teammates enough to not ignore them when you fell like it becaue you want to prove a point. This team since Shaq daddy left has been squat with Kobe as the leader, and the worst part is, the fans don't even care. Right now he hasn't changed as a player one bit. He's become a chucker that cannot lead his team anywhere and Phil looks more and more like MJ and Shaq had most of everything to do with his teams advancing like they did. It's funny how the clueless say MJ didn't win until Phil convinced him to play with his teammates, then turn around and say Phil is telling Kobe to chuck up 40 shots a game. Cheer the guy on. He won't ever win an MVP, or a playoff series at this rate. When they win, people say it was him, when they lose, oh his team sucks. The same guys who took PHX to 7 games before he quit on them in the 2nd half. What a bunch of agendas to have and never get called out for it.
and u know why tmac isn't kobe? he was ON FIRE in teh first and yet still called plays for yao to get him going throughout the game. if that was kobe, he would tell JVG to stay in the game, take 9 shots PER quarter from then on b/c he had so good a half. but tmac took 12 shots the rest of the game after taking 8 in the first. yao had more shots and good shots. tmac was spreading it out brother. he's a TEAM player, a dominant TEAM player. theres a reason why when tmac sat on the bench yesterday in the 4th and we can't score. tmac comes back and his first 2 passes to head and battier => buckets his presence = confidence to the team. that's why he's still a top 5 player.
Again, top 3 for what? Team wins? MVP's? Is that not the real goal? Then what's the use to pumping up a player over points? Was Agent 0 the best player in the league dropping 50 and 60 point games in December?
look guys, kobe will not pass the first round ever again at this rate. he still doesn't know how to use his teammates. odom is that DAMN good. but odom shoots 8-11 and ONLY takes 11 shots? how does that work? he scored 24 pts b/c of his effiency and gtting offensive rebounds => 19. kobe had no assists and took 33 shots when he didn't shoot as well like normal over 50% lakers can win. they won when kobe scored 26-27 pts earlier in the season beating "good" teams in the mavs, spurs, jazz.... so he HAS team but he doesn't use it.
I miss those good old days when the question all around the world was, T-mac or Kobe. It was a never ending debate about who was better. Now few people might try and debate T-mac is a better player, but the majority would choose Kobe because of his huge scoring nights. T-mac can put up a lot of points every so often, but Kobe is far more consistant with it. T-mac just dosen't score like that any more. So when it comes down to scoring, it's Kobe, but then again, you can't compare anyone to Kobe's scoring abiltiy.
Gilbert Arenas went 60/8/8 against the Lakers he said he... wanted to drop 50 on the Suns.He went out dropped 54 in an effort that ended thier 15 game win streak. Then when he exploded for 51 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, as the Wizards edged the red hot Utah Jazz. Shows me there isn't much value in just chucking up shots so Who would you rather have, the flashy guy who doesn't respect or trust his teammates, and will quit on them in a crucial game 7, or the guy who will make the right play night in and out, sacrificing POINTS?
pts are flashy and will get u attention, but usually to do what kobe is doing right now, ur not getting ur teammates involved. like i said, odom has been shooting 65% plus the last 3 games and averages what? 12 shots? that's unacceptable. kobe needs to let it go and go back to being a team guy when they were pretty good earlier in the season. now they're barely squeaking by the bad teams.
Im sure T-Mac could score like that if he really wanted too but hes unselfish. and I dont think stats matter to him as long as the rox win
Kobe successfully attacks the basket on a regular basis, T-Mac doesn't. To be a great scorer you need to be a finisher around the basket and consistently get to the free throw line.
y u gotta do that? kobe's a great player and an all-timer brother. tmac just fits this team better. and i think yao won't benefit from kobe's arrogance and overwhelming presence, which would stunt his growth mentally. tmac wants yao to grow.
