I'll concur, I think people get caught up with the assists, and forget that touching the ball on every possession to create an assist does not mean you're a better player.
The other problem with assists is that it takes 2 people to get one. The pass has to be made, but so does the shot. You could also argue that LeBron gets more assists because he has the ball in his hands for what seems like 90% of the game. As far as LeBron goes, he beat up on non-playoff competition in the first 2 rounds and put up huge numbers. Kobe got to deal with Ron Artest and Shane Battier in the 2nd round and still put up some good numbers. And I still don't get the infatuation with LeBron's defense. It's all flash..the steals, the blocks, it's all flash. He's really not that good of a man defender...at all. Unless you're watching a different LeBron James then a whole bunch of other people are watching. Just like you watched a different Cavs team then everyone else did this season, BG7.
Exactly. The best player doesn't always win. When the Pistons would beat the Bulls, that didn't mean that Isiah Thomas was a better player than Michael Jordan. When the Lakers were still playing in the finals, while Jordan was sitting at home, it didn't mean that Magic Johnson was better than Jordan. Same thing in 2004. Lakers lost. But they had probably the best 4 out of the 6 best players in that series (Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Malone, Payton, Billups and Ben Wallace). They didn't have quality depth. They were a four man team. Then when Karl Malone went down, they had a three man team. Although I guess you could make a case for Ben Wallace being the best player in that series and that playoffs, as his defense was entirely dominant. He put up the best D-Rtg in NBA history in the regular season, and then followed it up by putting up the best D-Rtg in the postseason in NBA history. It's all about having the best overall team, and the Lakers seem to have that right now. Kobe is still a top 4 player in the game with Lebron, Wade, and Howard.
Holy Shit....Did you REALLY just write that with a straight face?!?! Did you just Kobe a TOP 4 player and then mentioned Wade and HOWARD?!?! You just mentioned a guy with no offensive moves besides a dunk in the same category as Kobe?!? Wade is nice and all but everybody knows he isnt a Kobe.... Wow, that is some serious hate for Kobe in you. Howard...you gotta be fucking kidding me Top 4...lol...On his worst of worst days you could argue that he is 1B
Yes, how dare someone speak of Kobe in the same breath as Dwyane Wade, who led the league in scoring, was on the All NBA First Team, and was an All Defensive Second Team player. What an insult. And how dare we compare Kobe to Dwight Howard, who is averaging 21 and 15 in the playoffs, who was the defensive player of the year, led the league in blocks and rebounds, who had the best d-rtg in both the regular season and playoffs, and who also is on the All NBA First Team. What an insult. I will try not to insult Kobe by putting him in a group with Lebron, Wade, and Dwight Howard again.
Damn straight....We are talking about THE BEST PLAYER IN THE NBA....not "Some of the best players" If you really think Wade or Dwight are on the same level as Kobe then....start watching a new sport
So a couple things here. First, in 2004, the Lakers only had two of the best players in that series. Payton and Malone were both awful, and Malone wasn't even healthy the entire time. I'd have taken the two guys you mentioned, Billups and Wallace, as well as Rip or Prince or Sheed over either of them. But that's just me, though I don't think I'm alone in that thought process. Also...Kobe is still ahead of Wade and way ahead of Howard. Wade still doesn't have a consistent jumper, though it's much better, and Kobe's also a better defensive player and a more complete offensive player. And Howard, while a great player, shouldn't be in this discussion. He's got very few post moves and relies mostly on his athleticism on offense. Personally, I'd put Chris Paul ahead of him and maybe even 'Melo.
And your point of all this ranting is? Kobe has been scoring champ twice, he's been on the All Defense team 9 times with 7 of those being 1st team selections, he's been an All NBA performer 11 times with 7 of those being 1st team, he's been an MVP, he's scored 81 points in a game, averaged 35.4 ppg over an entire season (which is the 8th best average for a season in NBA history)...I don't think I necessarily need to continue. Dwight Howard really shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence as Kobe. Wade...it's a lot closer than Howard, that's for sure. But Howard is still a guy who gets by based on athletic ability alone. He doesn't have much for offensive moves and if he wasn't such a strong and athletic freak of nature, there's no way he'd put up numbers even close to that. My point of all this is Kobe is still better than both of them and has accomplished more by the age of 30 than what a lot of players will in their entire career. And he still has at least 3 or 4 productive years ahead of him, if not more. Now it's not really an insult to put Kobe in the same sentence as any of these guys...but he's still, at worst, 1b in this league. Dwight might be top 5 and Wade is behind LeBron and Kobe, though I don't foresee him eclipsing either of them any time soon. So it's not an insult, what is an insult though is to think that either of them are ahead of Kobe.
the only player you could argue better than Kobe is Lebron. And even then, i'm leaning 55-45 Kobe-Lebron. I'm not going to waste my time by reiterating what everyone else has already said, but really, you'd take Wade isn't even close to Kobe. And it's not fair to compare Dwight to Kobe, those comparisons never make any sense.
