Shaq wouldn't be considered the best without Kobe? A frontcourt of Bynum/Gasol/Odom wouldn't be considered the best without Kobe? Sure.....
Since when Gasol was a top 3 player? Dude barely made NBA 3rd team twice, and it's only because he joined Lakers and won, never had top 5 MVP voting.
We saw how Shaq beat that front lineup by himself twice in the regular season. Too bad Cavs didn't have "quality support" to make finals.
It's just how the league is today. The major difference with those 80s era teams is the fact that most of those teams got to be that good because they grew together. Pippen/Grant were in the same draft and grew with Chicago's team. A few wheel and deals to get some supporting cast players and that was it. It's one thing to want to play together. It's a completely different thing to hold your team hostage while you make a spectacle out of it. Generally, you deal with your team and your team makes your trad-able future for you. If you are not happy, then you end things and you declare yourself a FA. Bosh did just that for the most part. He listened to offers. The only thing about Bosh is that he mentioned all his criteria, but he ended up taking an offer that seemingly contradicted just that (playing center, money, etc.) LBJ, on the other hand, was either confused or he really craved the attention. It's hard to not think that it's the latter, with the 1 hour special and all. (It's also a throw-in that ESPN loved every minute of it) However, he either lacked the maturity or the care in the world to realize what it does to the place he continues to call home. The team he was in had the best record for 2 consecutive years. They were beat by teams that were prepared to play against him. I'd say that the Cavaliers team was very similar in terms of where the Bulls were against the Pistons in the late 80s. It would probably have meant more if he broke through in those terms. Instead, it left a bad taste in the mouth for a lot of people.
The Bulls teams in the late 1980s were young and improving. The Cavs were filled with old role players and were eliminated earlier in the playoffs this year than in two of the previous three seasons.
The 80's Lakers, Celtics and Sixers did not grow together. Our 95 Rockets didn't either. Neither did the 99 Spurs, the 06 Heat, the 08 Celtics or the Lakers of the past 3 years. All those teams turned studly with instant additions of top notch talent. I look at the league today and see a few superpower squads and 75% of the league has no shot to win. It looks just like it did in the 80's, 90's and 00's. Does it not leave a bad taste in your mouth when teams do the same thing to players? Do you think Landry or David knew they were getting traded? Ariza is here because LA suddenly didn't want him once Ron became available. Etc.
WTF?? are you kidding? Kobe needed Shaq to wins those rings! and I think Shaq was the better player on those teams, so Kobe was the 2nd player in those years. Now without Gasol and Shaq - Only 1st round With Gasol - championships Hakeem didnt need a top player to win a title (in 94)
Ummm, Right after Shaq left and before they picked up Gasol, what was the Lakers record with Kobe by himself??? And why did Kobe threaten to leave in that time period?? Answer the question.
Lol Shaq needed Kobe just as bad. Gasol w/o Kobe - 0 playoff wins W/ Kobe 2 championships Gasol w/o Kobe - Not recognized by many W/ Kobe Top PF in the game, defense/will to win is there because of Kobe's passion wearing off on him Hakeem is the exception. Magic needed Kareem, Bird-Mchale, Jordan-Pippen, Shaq-Guard, Kobe-Bigman. LeBrons situation is different because he wasn't far off from a ship.. but he definitely tarnished his legacy with the decision - in the manner, style, and outcome it occurred
I always wonder why people act like those Shaq led Laker teams would have won if Kobe wasn't on them.
they wouldn't. but they would have gone deep in the playoffs. the lakers had a 66% winning percentage or something close in games kobe missed. i'm sure they would still get a higher seed. but you're right, they would most likely not win a championship b/c kobe was their 4th quarter guy for the most part.
The Rockets would not have won titles without Horry on the team. That doesn't mean we can't recognize the man powering the engine.
The way I look at it, if the Lakers didn't have Kobe, they would've kept Eddie Jones, and Jones was good enough that the Lakers would've still won titles.
i didn't look at it like that. you're right, they would still win with eddie jones. however, they needed phil jackson to coach shaq. would phil come to the lakers with jones? good observation.
The difference is nobody is going around saying Horry wouldn't have titles without Hakeem. But it's been said plenty of times about Kobe winning his with Shaq. It's pointless to bring it out because they needed each other.
I think you could have replaced Kobe with some other wings and LA would still win. I don't think you could have replaced Shaq with anyone and still have won those titles. Possibly Duncan, but he really isn't the dominant scorer that Shaq was at his peak.
Kobe w/o Gasol - Lottery team, 0 playoff wins W/ Gasol 2 championships Kobe w/o Gasol - Whiny loser demanding to be traded passion and will to win does not "rub off on teammates", W/ Gasol no more crying and whining because Gasol is top tier player Kobe whined for.
