Injuries happen with age and are the primary reason players decline over time. This is why fatigue (games played) is a bigger factor than age. Kobe is a perfect example of this-- he has never fixed his "broken" finger so it is effectively a factor in his future production. To assume that he will suddenly revert back to pre-broken-finger days is asinine.
He already has...it's right there. Kobe's 2010 Playoff run was one of his greatest EVER...maybe Top 5 and that includes his 20's without a broken finger.
i hate kobe as much as the next non-laker fan but he is still the best player in basketball , maybe not physically but mentally. he's a leader of his team and is a winner. Two NBA Finals MVP!! that being said, lets take the lakers and kobe down. :grin:
Cant put him into the ground career wise until he proves it during the season. Every year same arguments. Lets wait and see. Anyways we just traded one dictator for three new ones probably in the East even if he falls off. What we need is more Superstars and less talk about other teams superstars.
Kobe has a bumped knee last playoff, it occurs to him about once every 3-4 years. Sure he's older and he may get such injury faster. But it's not like he's injury-prone. As long as he's more healthy than last playoff, it's good enough to reverse the trend. It's not like he's relying on athleticism to make play to begin with.
As someone who dislikes Kobe very strongly, I agree with you. The silly talk in this thread is laughable.
Kobe himself mentioned recently that his knee is about 60%. Add that to a seriously jacked-up finger last year, some arthritis, etcetera... If the Lakers want to (barf, here's hoping they don't) 3-peat, they'll have to do so with a consistently-broken down Bynum (who might earn "Yao-like minutes", according to Phil Jackson) and Kobe finally having to concede some time to recuperate in the regular season.
Actually, MJ never had to play a game 7 in the Finals. He only had to play one game 7 in all his championship years.
Kobe has probably dropped out of the top five players in the NBA due to his age-related decline. This is nothing new. I've been saying it for a year.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1996_finals.html Take MJ's entire 96 series, or game 6, it's safe to say Kobe has at least on par or better numbers.
You do realize that finger is permanently damaged right? Choosing to forgo his surgery cost him from recovering 100% from that injury.
Agreed, but the closest person we have to a superstar is so brittle that a slight breeze could cause his knee to give
