Kobe scored 61 points and he played 9 less minutes than LeBron. And he was much more efficient also. I'll give him the edge between the two.
I'll take Hakeem's quadruple double over that. However, LeBron's triple double was the most since the merger of the ABA/NBA. that's beyond amazing. What Kobe broke was a MSG record, what Lebron did is an NBA RECORD.
Yes...but this is real basketball. Shawn Marion playing for Phoenix doesn't equate to a top 3 player in REAL life. Like I said, I'd give Lebron the edge - simply a mind-boggling game. But Kobe's was extremely close - especially considering his percentages and the fact that he played 15% fewer minutes. Pro-rate that to match Lebron's 44 minutes and you have 70 points.
how can you pick kobes game over lebron? Sure he shot the lights out and set the scoring record at MSG, but lebron did EVERYTHING and had one of the best triple doubles in history..and what's even more spectacular is that he did it on demand the night after Kobe. That's impressive
Yes. And we're talking about STAT LINES... not "real basketball" The question was not "Who was better at the game of basketball" the question was who had the best stat line. Fantasy Basketball is based on stat lines in case you didn't know. Lebron had the better line. End of discussion. Anyone who doesn't appreciate Lebron's 50-11-10, doesn't know how difficult it is to achieve. There hasn't been one since the merger. How many basketball games have been played since then? Roughly 48,000. That means this was a 1 in 48,000 occurrence.
Plus the Cavs/Knicks game was pretty close so he was still scoring because he had too. Lakers had that Knicks game wrapped up going into the 4th.
the kobe vs lebron debate is interesting because we all know how good kobe is, but we don't know how good lebron could be his game has improved every year and physically he's unstoppable
moes...I'm agreeing with you - Lebron had the better line. But you look ridiculous acting like Kobe's performance wasn't even close. If you want to make this a pure stat-line matchup... Kobe wins points Kobe wins FG% Kobe wins FT% Kobe wins 3 pointers made Kobe wins turnovers Lebron wins rebounds Lebron wins assists Lebron wins blocks Tied in steals But you're right, a 50 point triple double is absolutely insane, which is why I too give him the edge. But acting like they aren't even close is utterly stupid. Give Kobe 7 more minutes to match Lebron and he had a 70 point night. While there may not have been another 50 point triple double since the merger, there have only been three 70 point games since the merger - 1 of them being Kobe's 81. Again, I know he didn't get 70...but his stat-line was still out of this world. Yes, Lebron wins...but stop discounting Kobe's performance. P.S. - The Lakers outrebounded NY 52-41, the Cavaliers were outrebounded by the Knicks 44-42. Maybe Bron-Bron's teammates were trying to pad his stats? P.S.S. - Lebron was a +7, Kobe a +19.
I think Lebron is the better all-around player. But in the last 5 minutes of the game if you ask most NBA players/teams who they fear they would probably say Kobe. Right now I still think Kobe is better than Lebron. Lebron has closed the gap this year though.
I don't know what the score was when Kobe got back in, but he didn't start out the 4th qt. I know the Lakers were up by like 14 while he was on the bench. I'm not sure what the official score was when Kobe got in. But from watching the game you didn't feel like the Knicks could get back in the game. They looked deflated.
Kobe scored, scored and scored and it was impressive because he did it without taking 40+ shots. Lebron scored 52 points while directly contributing to 11 baskets and grabbing 10 rebounds. His teammates are trying to pad his stats? LOL. Yes thats a likely scenario. "Listen guys, I really need to one up Kobe tonight, so if you could all please let me get most of the rebounds that would be super fantastic." Stop reaching. I never said Kobe's performance wasn't impressive. I said it wasn't nearly as impressive.
After I said "I'd go with Lebron's stat line, but it's close: And then... Sorry moes, I have no idea where I may have had the strange belief that you were downplaying Kobe's performance... And... Not as unlikely as you might think. I was watching the game and the entire offense ran through James much more than usual - and if there were two Cavs on the rebound it always went to Lebron. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/paul_forrester/02/05/lebron.msg/index.html "I don't go out there for the numbers," James said after the game. "I play my game. You saw every phase of my game tonight; the scoring, the rebounds, the assists and the defense. If a [triple-double] happens, then great, but I never look at it that way." James' dive for a final, and triple-double-clinching rebound (before which James admitted a teammate had told him would secure the feat), would seem to speak otherwise, especially to a rival he is scheduled to meet Sunday as the Cavs put their perfect home record on the line against the Lakers. I'm not saying Kobe's was more impressive. It wasn't. But it was close.
I don't know about that. When I think of the last two postseasons from an individual player point of view, nothing sticks out more than Lebron putting up 40+ to almost beat the 08 champs in game 7, or how he went bonkers in the 07 playoffs while leading the Cavs to the Finals.
Forcing your teammates to be one dimensional jumpshooters or Forcing your teammates to be one dimensional passers, to one guy? Or forcing your teammates to get all the rebounds cuz its "their job" even when your star center is out You've played ball. You dont want to continuously pour in effort effort to one guy's scoring total. Having to grab all the boards AND pass him the ball to never had it come back to you. Lebron didnt D up, Kobe didnt board up. Vlad Radmonovic played 6 minutes and got a rebound.
yah gotta agree with that. lebron tops kobe overall even though kobe has a higher ceiling as a scorer lebron is truly the king of the league people forget that last time in NYK he also got 50 points and 10 assists and 8 rebounds or something like that, which was first time since 1975 any1 had done it. they were talking on sportscenter which one was better and if you count each assist as at least 2 points (could be 3) then lebron's other game in the garden was also better than kobe's this year so lebron has bested kobe twice in the garden. lebron is like magic johnson on steroids and we all know magic is best all around player ever so imagine lebron being that much a better scorer and more physically dominant than magic lebron every day of the week and twice on sunday
Anybody who plays basketball knows that's ridiculous. While each assist leads to 2 or 3 points, it hardly "counts" as points. Missed shots off great passes and good shots off terrible passes make "assists" a very debatable statistic. Plus, if you're the focal point of the offense with the ball in your hand every play, you're bound to get assists. The fact is, the Cavaliers were working through LeBron much more than the Lakers were going to Kobe. Does that take anything away from Lebron's game? No...but it explains his statistics. Besides, the Lakers were using Pau Gasol in the post a lot. And if you understand posting a player up, you know it often takes away the assist since the basket is hardly ever a result of the pass, but rather the post move. I wasn't paying close attention, but I'd assume Kobe passed it into Gasol for a basket plenty of times, he just didn't get the assist since the points were not a direct result of his pass.
