I don't think Kobe could do that, and against teams with good defensive philosophy, I don't think he can run them over with 81, 65, etc. I don't know how he dropped 62 on the Mavs but they weren't as good last season when he played them as they are now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not True at all This Season (against teams with good defenses or great defenders) Jan 17 @ SAS W 100-96 1 36:12 12 19 63.2 0 2 0.0 10 11 90.9 0 6 6 8 7 1 0 2 34 pts. Jan 4 @ SAC W 132-128 1 48:07 11 21 52.4 3 5 60.0 17 20 85.0 3 7 10 9 4 0 0 5 42 pts. Dec 15 HOU W 112-101 1 54:01 17 38 44.7 5 8 62.5 14 16 87.5 0 10 10 8 5 2 1 1 53 pts. Dec 10 SAS W 106-99 1 39:25 13 25 52.0 4 5 80.0 4 4 100.0 2 6 8 1 4 3 0 2 34 pts. Nov 30 UTH W 132-102 1 34:21 19 26 73.1 2 3 66.7 12 15 80.0 0 4 4 3 1 0 1 5 52 pts. Last Year Season Mar 19 @ CLE L 95-96 1 45:00 15 33 45.5 1 4 25.0 7 7 100.0 0 6 6 5 3 3 1 4 38 pts. Next 5 happened over a one week period below Mar 10 @ SAS W 100-92 1 43:13 11 29 37.9 1 5 20.0 6 7 85.7 0 4 4 4 2 2 0 1 29 pts. Mar 8 @ NOK W 113-107 1 43:56 12 33 36.4 2 6 33.3 14 16 87.5 4 2 6 1 2 3 1 2 40 pts. Mar 6 SAS L 96-103 1 40:56 17 32 53.1 3 8 37.5 6 6 100.0 0 6 6 3 2 0 0 2 43 pts. Mar 4 DET W 105-94 1 36:10 13 26 50.0 1 3 33.3 13 13 100.0 0 5 5 4 2 0 0 3 40 pts. Mar 3 @ GSW W 106-94 1 41:54 11 29 37.9 4 8 50.0 16 18 88.9 0 4 4 5 6 3 0 3 42 pts. Jan 29 @ DET L 93-102 1 42:25 12 28 42.9 3 11 27.3 12 14 85.7 0 6 6 3 3 1 0 3 39 pts. Jan 9 IND W 96-90 1 44:50 14 32 43.8 2 6 33.3 15 21 71.4 1 9 10 5 2 1 0 4 45 pts. Dec 20 DAL W 112-90 1 32:53 18 31 58.1 4 10 40.0 22 25 88.0 3 5 8 0 2 3 0 3 62 Dec 16 WAS W 97-91 1 36:54 14 24 58.3 2 3 66.7 11 14 78.6 2 6 8 4 1 1 1 5 41 pts. Dec 14 @ MEM W 94-79 1 31:18 10 17 58.8 2 4 50.0 5 8 62.5 2 6 8 3 3 1 0 2 27 pts. They had Mike Miller and Eddie Jones Dec 12 @ DAL W 109-106 1 43:15 15 33 45.5 3 9 33.3 10 12 83.3 2 3 5 2 2 4 1 3 43 pts. Nov 20 CHI L 93-96 1 46:06 17 34 50.0 1 4 25.0 8 12 66.7 1 5 6 3 3 2 0 3 43 pts. (courtesy of Yahoo! Sports)
LOL! I think Wade is the best guard in the game, but I would have to give Duncan the nod as the best in the game. There isn't a single player in the NBA I would rather build a team around. Big men are almost always more valuable franchise players than backcourt players. Jordan was by and large the exception, but outside of him the NBA has always been a big man's league (and still is, in case you're wondering; check our who won the past seven championships...the only constants are Shaq and Duncan).
It USED to be a big man's league, but not anymore with the rule changes. It is more like the college game now, with zones and no touching on the perimeter. DD
Bull! I am not buying into the hype. It's still a big man's league, although the rules were modified to make it tougher on the inside players. Duncan and Shaq have combined for the last seven championships in the NBA, until that is no longer the case I won't change my mind. I am not saying you don't need a superstar swingman, but I am saying that having that dominant inside presence is still the best formula for getting that ring. I am also not dismissing the possibility that a team lacking a dominant inside force can win it all, I am just saying it would be far more challenging to do so.
detroit won one of the last 7 titles. but they're the exception to the superstar rule, not the big man rule. dwade absolutely going off in the finals (and against detroit) was the exception to the big man rule. the heat played better with zo than with shaq in the finals and shaq was the 3rd leading scorer. there is no way to paint him as the reason for that title.
You're right about Detroit winning one, and they had the Wallace twins leading them there (mainly with their defense). And I am not trying to take anything away from Wade because his performance was 'Jordan-esque', but Miami wouldn't get to the Finals without Shaq carrying them through the Bulls and Wade wouldn't see single coverage without Shaq getting a lot of defensive attention. Besides Wade's heroics, I think Miami won last year against the Mavs because of 'unsung heroes' like Posey or Walker or Zo carrying a lot of slack to help Wade and Shaq get the title. It's still a team sport afterall. But I wouldn't readily dismiss Shaq's impact on the Heat's title run, you would be making a huge mistake if all you do is look at his personal stats to reflect his impact. Just ask your boy Kobe...
thank you. Telethon.. I mean D wade is a great player, but if you just need evidence of Shaq's importance to the Heat, look at the record this season with and without him. Without a post presence it is damn near impossible to win a title. Outside of MJ teams. The Lakers just don't have enough around Kobe. Now he is Tmac in Orlando. In my opinion, the Lakers have played above their heads all season and it's finally caught up to them. Not that they are this bad, but for one to think they were 31-18 good. Over 82 games, you get to see how good a team really is.
Guess what was ailing Lakers was Kobe underachieving... he was averaging less than 30 a night when he could/should have been scoring 50+.
It would be cool if Kobe can average 50 ppg the rest of the way. He wants some MVP consideration damn it!
I wonder if Kobe taking over the scoring lead will cause Melo to play more selfishly. I got the impression he really wanted the scoring title this season.
Melo has no chance! No one in the entire league can match Kobe's selfishness and determination to get noticed. I am enjoying it.
Oh he's great alright, but he's selfish as hell. I don't mind it, because that's really a big part of why he's great. But that's classic "Kobe being Kobe"...
THIS is the Kobe that you can say is the best player in the game. Not the one who let his team drop 7. He's dropping 60 like it's nothing now...
We can all worship Kobe OR... We can all laugh at the fact that Kobe dropped 60 and Memphis still almost forced overtime. I'm doing the latter right now :/. ...Yes, I am a cold-hearted man. Whoo!
