Yeah a guy who knows that Kobe is an ego maniac, and will read the papers..... LOL - what else is he going to say? The eyebrow raise says more.... DD
It's ok to admit that Kobe is as good as we've ever seen at hitting difficult shots 18+ away from the basket.
I don't think that is overrated at all. In fact, for a 2-3 stretch T-Mac matched Kobe's skill set and had a much better court vision. Even his first season w/ the Rockets, T-Mac played amazing. But once again, its that desire/killer instinct element we are talking about. In Toronto, T-Mac was more focused on his defense and contributions to the team whereas as Kobe even in his first few season with the Lakers wanted to be the main guy. W/ T-Mac's skill set, court vision, and willingness to share the ball, I would argue that he could have been as good if he had a strong supporting cast in Orlando. But in Houston, injuries took the best of him. However, he was always missing that desire to be THE BEST! And you just can't make up for that.
To be fair, Kobe is probably the best at hitting difficult buzzer beater shots. That said, this bank shot was clearly a lucky one. It's not the best shot you would want to use to prove Kobe's greatness. Also, comparing Kobe with Jordan on this, you have to factor in the fact that Jordan is far more likely than Kobe to pass to an open teammate at the end of a game. That might account for the volume of Kobe's miraculous shots. That doesn't diminish Kobe's amazing ability. Just saying that the sheer volume might have something to do with why he has so many. On the record, I really don't like either Jordan or Kobe as a person.
Any buzzer beater requires a bit of luck because the entire defense (in this case Bryant) is locked in on you. Wade was ALL OVER him. I don't think he has a shot to make that UNLESS he's fading away. Furthermore, he was drifting so heavily to his left. Even if it's a bank shot, it is extremely difficult to line it up to the rim while drifting like that. I don't think ANYONE else on the Lakers could hit that shot even with a bit of luck.
Why do you keep doing this? We've seen him hit PLENTY of buzzer beaters in all ways, styles and fashion. This point is moot! And if you don't think it took any skill to make that shot, I suggest you go to your local YMCA with your buddy's, have one chase you while you are running, drifting left and fading at the same time and yes BANK it.
it still takes skill to get a shot like that off with the time remaining with a hand in your face. A little bit of luck and skill and the shot goes down. Cmon give credit where credit is due...
That's right. Luck is always a part of any shot making. The skill is in narrowing the probability gap of it going in. Maybe Kobe only hits that shot 3 or 4 out of 10 times. For most players, it would be more like 2 out of 10.
Exactly, I mean sure this one was one of the more 'lucky' ones but this guy hits so many 'lucky' shots that it can't be all about luck.
Ummmm.... no he is not. You do realize that Jordan played in one of the most physical defensive eras? Give Jordan today's defensive rules hed average near 40.
Now I know there is a lot of animosity towards T-Mac lately and a lot of people (including myself) have grown tired of his antics and are ready to ship his ass out of here, but lets not bury our heads in the sand and pretend like the guy didn't have the skills he possessed. If you clarify your reply a bit more, then we can debate whether T-Mac can could any of those superstars' jocks. But I am really not clear what jocks is an analogy for. Does jocks = skills? Or does jocks = killer instinct/desire to be the best? If it is the former, I will have to completely disagree w/ you, but it is the latter, then I will wholeheartedly agree w/ you. I think it requires a little skill to do something like this because pure luck won't get the job done. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nfurCV1FDpM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nfurCV1FDpM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> With that said, T-Mac's career (as it stands right now and not speculating on his ability or career moving forward) is always going to be a debate about T-Mac apologist arguing that injuries and lack of teams did him in against T-Mac opponents who are going to argue that he was too mentally weak and lazy to get the job done. I think its a combination of the two, but when you really think about it, the whole debate is sad b/c the man had some amazing skills. Instead of taking control of his legacy on the court, he has tarnished it off the court w/ stupid comments about lack of a big man, teammates, prima-dona antics, etc. Add T-Mac to the list of "what-if" superstars.
