Just because a player wins rings doesn't mean he has no flaws. It doesn't even mean he doesn't have glaring flaws. Shaq won four rings, yet all the Kobe fanboys rely on the fact that he couldn't play the last few minutes of close games because of his poor free throw shooting as proof that Kobe was the "true closer."
Hey whatever makes you happy. Kobe's gonna keep racking up rings and those discrediting him would only look like a fool. Winning is a huge part of greatness, no ring you're not in the league of the greats
The Lakers were actually dominant enough through much of the playoffs (especially in 01) that they didn't have to close out close games.
My post wasn't saying anything bad about Kobe. It was pointing out that just because he has rings, doesn't mean his game is flawless, which you implied. Plenty of players with flaws in their games have won rings, even as the best player on their teams.
What about the 2000 playoffs though? I don't like Kobe at all but if the Lakers didn't have him during their playoff runs, I'm fairly certain they wouldn't have gotten a 3peat. The only actually year they were truly dominant was the 2001 playoffs where they steamrolled everybody. Anyways, that's all the Kobe defending I would ever do in a day.
really? in 2000 playoffs: kobe averaged 21.1 points on 44% shooting. shaq averaged 30.7 points and 15.4 rebounds. 1st round - kobe led the lakers in scoring 3 times, they lost 2 of those games. in decisive game 5 v. kings, shaq was the leading scorer w/ 32 points. 2nd round - won 4-1, shaq was leading scorer in 4 of the 5 games. kobe led game 5 w/ 17 points 3rd round - won 4-3, shaq led the lakers in scoring 5 of the 7 games. kobe did lead them in scoring in game 7. but as we all know, brian shaw was the real hero in that game b/c the lakers looked dead for most of the game until he made 3 3s. finals - ALL shaq. he averaged 36 points in that series. in one game where shaq fouled out, kobe did help them close it out. but they were gonna beat the pacers regardless even if they lost that game. they had no answer for shaq. so i don't know what you saw in the 00 playoffs that made you think otherwise. kobe played at an all-star level player (20, 5, 5) in that run though.
Shaq without Kobe didn't even make the Finals. As soon as Kobe became a Starter, they made the Finals. Shaq got swept in Orlando with Penny Shaq couldn't carry the team, he NEEDED Kobe.
That goes to show Kobe never actually wanted to leave. He just wanted his team to improve over Smush Parker, Kwame Brown and Luke Walton. Not unreasonable. Lebron left a 60 Win team...60. Has any Great player ever left a 60 win team to be LeRobin? I don't think so. There's nothing wrong with wanting to play with great players. Jordan wanted to get rid of Bill Wennington. Kobe wanted to get rid of Kwame Brown. Same difference, except Jordan already had the greatest sidekick of all time. The difference was that Lebron had a 60 win team. You don't get to 60 wins unless your team is very good. Heck they won so much Lebron sat at the end of the season and they kept winning. The 2004 Lakers weren't a 60 win team. The 2009 AND 2010 Cavs were a 60 win team. Even Lebron jockers know he sucked against Boston. His mysterious elbow "injury" came and went and even the doctors couldn't figure it out. h If Lebron won 2-3 rings on his own, sure. But now that he's become LeRobin, he'll need 7 or 8 to top Kobe and Jordan. If you look at the drop in production between BOTH West and Lebron during the Finals, it's a very big "coincidence?"
Shaq carried the Magic to the Finals before he became a Laker Shaq carried the Lakers to the Finals when he was a Laker Shaq carried the Heat to the Finals after he was a Laker Kobe with Shaq = 3 rings Kobe by himself = 0 rings Kobe (after whining like a snivling b****) with Gasol = 2 rings Kobe = C-O-A-T-T-A-I-L-R-I-D-E-R
Shaq NEVER carried the Lakers to the Finals without Kobe Shaq had Penny in Orlando Shaq had Wade in Miami Shaq without Kobe starting for the Lakers = nowhere Shaq with Kobe as a Starter for the Lakers = Finals + 3 Rings Shaq couldn't carry a team by himself. SHAQ = C-O-A-T-T-A-I-L-R-I-D-E-R
First, you're contradicting yourself. Shaq didn't make the Finals without Kobe... yet Shaq got swept in the Finals while Kobe was still in high school? Second, you keep mentioning Kobe becoming the starter as if that's what transformed them into a championship team. False. Kobe was the starter in '99 when they were getting swept by the Spurs. The Lakers became a championship team because of Phil Jackson. The refs handing them game 7 against Portland, and Tim Duncan missing the playoffs in 2000 probably helped as well.
Do you have any evidence that Penny wasn't only considered a top player because of Shaq? No, you don't. Because Penny's career went off track as soon as Shaq left Orlando. The injuries were a big part of it, but we'll never know if Penny was a Wade/Kobe type player.
After Shaq left, Penny scored 40 points in back to back Playoff games. Something neither Wade or Kobe have done. Yeah, he was a very good player. His knee injury in 1997 killed his career. [youtube]JGgrF8uCIFQ[/youtube]
This is Penny in the Playoffs AFTER the big Coat-Tailer left town: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGgrF8uCIFQ Don't know how to put in Youtube, sorry.
lol <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y7RGEVoHGMw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y7RGEVoHGMw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
Lol. Even Shaq knows greatness. "Kobe will probably go down as the Greatest Laker ever." http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2010-06-17/shaq-says-la-title-makes-kobe-greatest-laker
So you're saying that after Shaq left town, Penny had two great playoff games then his career was done? We still have no idea if Penny was really going to become an all-time great or just another good player who had a couple very good seasons.
What if Shaq had a massive injury, we wouldn't know if he would have been a great player. How great would Yao have been if he had not been injured? What if Bill Walton didn't have bad wheels? Injuries can derail a player's career. Too many What Ifs to play that game.
And you know why? Because Kobe had higher win share than Shaq for the entire playoff. He killed Spurs and Queens with ridiculous stats. The 76ers were a lesser competition although they managed to win 1 game.
