<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">He has way more talent and AI plays in a weaker conference.</div> Obviously. That's just talent. Talent wise there are quite a few big man that's more surperior than Duncan but we all know overall know of them come close to Duncan. And when speaking overall with AI and Kobe the difference is on the defensive side of the ball like shape mentioned and the fact that Kobe has more of a winning attitude off the court. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe is the best guard in the NBA but certainly not the best overall player.</div> You're right. But I just wanted to make it clear that AI is RIGHT behind him and is not as far away as some people may think.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">Nonsense. Kobe Bryant does in fact make his teammates better by simply stepping on the court. Kobe is drawing triple and double teams every game. He's creating WIDE OPEN looks for his teammates, but they just aren't taking advantage of it. The only player who's cashing in on these shots is Brian Cook. He's shooting over 50% from the field and behind the arc since Odom got injured. He was the second leading scorer on the team for the month of February. Now ask yourself, if Brian Cook was the second option on any other team, do you think that team would do much better than a .500 record? Raja Bell has always been a high % shooter in the league. Playing with the Suns just gives him more opportunities to shoot the basketball. Anyone who scouted Boris Diaw already knew he was a good player. The Hawks just didn't have any idea how to use him and he was always behind the glut of forwards in Atlanta. James Jones was a lights out shooter in Indiana. Steve Nash creates wide open looks for these players, just like Kobe does for his teammates. The difference is the Suns players actually make their wide open looks, and Kobe's teammates brick them. It's not Kobe's fault if his players can't convert on the wide open looks he sets them up for. The talent on the Lakers is NBDL quality right now. If you give Kobe a teammate like Shawn Marion who consistently gets you 20/10 the Lakers would be right in the hunt for the Pacific Division title. Instead, Kobe has to rely on the career underacheiver, Lamar Odom, who shows up 1 out of every 5 games for the Lakers.</div> I follow fantasy stats religiously, and Kobe has been having big assist games lately. I distinctly remember 9 assists, and 7 assists. He surpassed Lebron James in fantasy value. . . trust me, I know, I had to trade Lebron James and couldn't get Kobe
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Chuck:</div><div class="quote_post">I follow fantasy stats religiously, and Kobe has been having big assist games lately. I distinctly remember 9 assists, and 7 assists. He surpassed Lebron James in fantasy value. . . trust me, I know, I had to trade Lebron James and couldn't get Kobe </div> The fact is, it only happens every now and then. He could average around 7 to 8 assists a game if it wasn't for poor shooting by the teammates. A couple of "good" shooting games by the Lakers doesn't mean that it happens on a regular basis. Just look at the ASG, he had 8 assists in 26 minutes. The shooting wasn't that great either, but it was better than what he has to deal with night in night out.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">Nonsense. Kobe Bryant does in fact make his teammates better by simply stepping on the court. Kobe is drawing triple and double teams every game. He's creating WIDE OPEN looks for his teammates, but they just aren't taking advantage of it. The only player who's cashing in on these shots is Brian Cook. He's shooting over 50% from the field and behind the arc since Odom got injured. He was the second leading scorer on the team for the month of February. Now ask yourself, if Brian Cook was the second option on any other team, do you think that team would do much better than a .500 record? Raja Bell has always been a high % shooter in the league. Playing with the Suns just gives him more opportunities to shoot the basketball. Anyone who scouted Boris Diaw already knew he was a good player. The Hawks just didn't have any idea how to use him and he was always behind the glut of forwards in Atlanta. James Jones was a lights out shooter in Indiana. Steve Nash creates wide open looks for these players, just like Kobe does for his teammates. The difference is the Suns players actually make their wide open looks, and Kobe's teammates brick them. It's not Kobe's fault if his players can't convert on the wide open looks he sets them up for. The talent on the Lakers is NBDL quality right now. If you give Kobe a teammate like Shawn Marion who consistently gets you 20/10 the Lakers would be right in the hunt for the Pacific Division title. Instead, Kobe has to rely on the career underacheiver, Lamar Odom, who shows up 1 out of every 5 games for the Lakers.</div> I agree with you 100% Wade is a great player but he is not in the same level as Kobe. Maybe when he develops a consistant outside shot he is already clutch like Kobe though. As for LeBron he is a good offensive player but thats where it ends, he struggles at the end of close games. He is not as confident as Wade or Kobe when taking the game winning shot. He would rather pass up the shot then take it himself.
Kobe has elevated his game to a whole new level and I have been absolutely stunned at what he has been able to do in the first half of this season. Every aspect of his game has improved and on the court he is close to flawless. In my opinion, he has been the most talented player this season and has made a case as the best all around player in the league. He has become close to unstoppable and what he is doing for the Lakers right now is showing why Jerry Buss chose Bryant over Shaquille O?Neal two years ago. So far this year, Kobe has been dominating defenses and shattering records on his way to leading the league in points per game (35.0 PPG). I have found myself watching the Lakers whenever I get the chance and I have been very impressed with what I have seen from Kobe. For all of you guys out there who hate Kobe and think I am just an avid fan of his who has a biased opinion, you?re wrong. I have never been a Kobe fan or a Lakers fan up until this year. Kobe has shown me what he is capable of this season and that has been enough to shift my thoughts about him. I went from being a Kobe hater to someone who is supporting him on a daily basis. In my mind, he deserves a lot more respect then he gets. I used to be the guy who said, ?Oh, Kobe is a horrible teammate who likes to hog the ball.? Or, ?Kobe is just a criminal who should be locked up in jail.? These are all things I have said that are way off based and if I had done some research, I would have seen that these statements are inaccurate. Kobe may have had some disagreements with his teammates, but it is unfair to say he is a bad teammate in general. All of the players he has fought with (Shaq, Malone, Payton) all have huge egos so who knows who started these fights? Also, Kobe was never convicted of rape and he should not be treated like a criminal. He was innocent until proven guilty, and he never was proven guilty. Therefore he is still innocent and should be treated like a regular person. This is my post to apologize for everything I have said about Kobe that was wrong or disrespectful. I have now hopped onto the Kobe bandwagon and he has converted me from a critic to a fan.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting xclutchx:</div><div class="quote_post"> As for LeBron he is a good offensive player but thats where it ends, he struggles at the end of close games. He is not as confident as Wade or Kobe when taking the game winning shot. He would rather pass up the shot then take it himself.</div> I've said this so many times I feel like a broken record, but LeBron is actually EVEN BETTER in the closing minutes of close games. He specifically has struggled converting on last possession shots when he has a chance to tie or put his team ahead. But one could actually say the same thing about other players with a rep for being clutch (like Billups and Kobe). See here for details. I'd like to see LeBron make more of an effort to get to the basket in end of the game situations. But I don't think it would be fair to criticize him for passing the ball to an open teammate rather than taking a contested perimeter jumper. Too many star players are unwilling to make that unselfish pass, and I think a case can be made that in many instances it's to the detriment of their team.
I love Dwayne Wade but Kobe is the best in the game. I think Wade is top 5 the way he is splaying but Kobe and Duncan are clearly on a level of their own. Duncan is the best at making others around him better and I agree Kobe has a bad supporting cast in the palyoffs.
