<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan...</div> Source If Kobe's recent performance hasn't changed your perspective, this article will!
okay I stopped in the middle but <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe is just as good a defender. His killer instinct is just as pronounced. He can shoot, finish and explode. And just like Jordan, the more he's pissed off, the more unstoppable he is. </div> MJ > Kobe defensively...actually no contest here MJ's Killer Instinct > Kobe....would MJ only take a couple of shots in the 2nd half of an elimination game? MJ > Kobe when it comes to scoring....the 37.1 avg a game proves this....I think Kobe might be more "skilled" offensively but Jordan was smarter and took it to the basket more. Listen Kobe is a great player (possibly the best in the game today), but he still has a lot to prove before we can include him with the likes of MJ,Bird,Magic,Hakeem,Kareem,Wilt,Oscar,etc.... people are getting to caught up in this scoring frenzy <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing will be among the best centers ever, but none of them affected the league the way Shaq and Tim Duncan have</div> this b!#ch did it now....Hakeem didn't affect the league?....Hakeem was better defensively than all the men listed here and he beat all of them and quite frankly outplayed all of them (with the exception of Duncan) when he met them in the playoffs.....this is what happens when you let women write about sports. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Jordan was guarded by the likes of John Starks and Joe Dumars, who were fine players but weren't nearly as skilled or physically imposing as LeBron, D-Wade, Tracy McGrady or even Vince Carter. </div> BUT Joe Dumars is one of the best if not the best perimeter defender to ever play the game....Maxwell and Starks weren't bad either, plus defensively and all around teams were better back then....don't forget about Michael Cooper, Drexler, or Wilkins either....God this lady sucks at journalism. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The NBA is tougher now. </div> LMAO....that's all.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">okay I stopped in the middle but MJ > Kobe defensively...actually no contest here MJ's Killer Instinct > Kobe....would MJ only take a couple of shots in the 2nd half of an elimination game? MJ > Kobe when it comes to scoring....the 37.1 avg a game proves this....I think Kobe might be more "skilled" offensively but Jordan was smarter and took it to the basket more. Listen Kobe is a great player (possibly the best in the game today), but he still has a lot to prove before we can include him with the likes of MJ,Bird,Magic,Hakeem,Kareem,Wilt,Oscar,etc.... people are getting to caught up in this scoring frenzy this b!#ch did it now....Hakeem didn't affect the league?....Hakeem was better defensively than all the men listed here and he beat all of them and quite frankly outplayed all of them (with the exception of Duncan) when he met them in the playoffs.....this is what happens when you let women write about sports. BUT Joe Dumars is one of the best if not the best perimeter defender to ever play the game....Maxwell and Starks weren't bad either, plus defensively and all around teams were better back then....don't forget about Michael Cooper, Drexler, or Wilkins either....God this lady sucks at journalism. LMAO....that's all.</div> Probably a good thing you stopped, or else you woulda saw this.. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing will be among the best centers ever, but none of them affected the league the way Shaq and Tim Duncan have.</div>
While this article is somewhat of a reach, I do think Kobe is the best player in the league today and he is the closest player to Jordan's level. He can score at will and he has the shutdown defense to go with it. He's extremely athletic, has proven to be clutch, has a swagger similar to Jordan's, and an insane work ethic/desire to win.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He can score at will and he has the shutdown defense to go with it.</div> I have to disagree with this, "shutdown" defenders don't get 50 (Redd), 60 (Arenas), 40 (Wade) dropped on them in the same season.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I have to disagree with this, "shutdown" defenders don't get 50 (Redd), 60 (Arenas), 40 (Wade) dropped on them in the same season.</div> Keep in mind, Kobe isn't usually covering the other team's best player for long stretches because he has to conserve his energy for offense so most of those points by Arenas, Redd, and Wade were probably scored on other Lakers. Usually Phil Jackson matches Kobe up against those guys as a last resort. I remember in the book The Last Season, Kobe was begging Phil to let him cover Tracy McGrady throughout the first round of the playoff when Los Angeles squared off against Houston but Jackson didn't let him until they absolutely needed him to shutdown T-Mac. When Kobe is assigned to shutdown a man on defense, I don't think there are many players who can do a better job than he does.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Keep in mind, Kobe isn't usually covering the other team's best player for long stretches because he has to conserve his energy for offense so most of those points by Arenas, Redd, and Wade were probably scored on other Lakers. Usually Phil Jackson matches Kobe up against those guys as a last resort. I remember in the book The Last Season, Kobe was begging Phil to let him cover Tracy McGrady throughout the first round of the playoff when Los Angeles squared off against Houston but Jackson didn't let him until they absolutely needed him to shutdown T-Mac. When Kobe is assigned to shutdown a man on defense, I don't think there are many players who can do a better job than he does. </div> The Lakers have never played the rockets in the playoffs with Tmac on the squad...I think you need to re-read that, lol...and Kobe didn't guard the men I listed every single possesion, but he still gets the role of guarding the opposing teams best player on several occassions throughout the game.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers have never played the rockets in the playoffs with Tmac on the squad...I think you need to re-read that, lol...and Kobe didn't guard the men I listed every single possesion, but he still gets the role of guarding the opposing teams best player on several occassions throughout the game.</div> My bad, I meant Steve Francis because he was scoring a lot during that series. But still, you can't say Kobe isn't a shutdown player just because those guys scored that many points. Like you said, he covered those players on several occasions, not the entire game. Kobe could have held those players scoreless in his time covering them while they racked up tons of points against other defenders. You can't simply look at a box score and determine that Kobe isn't a shutdown defender.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">My bad, I meant Steve Francis because he was scoring a lot during that series. But still, you can't say Kobe isn't a shutdown player just because those guys scored that many points. Like you said, he covered those players on several occasions, not the entire game. Kobe could have held those players scoreless in his time covering them while they racked up tons of points against other defenders. You can't simply look at a box score and determine that Kobe isn't a shutdown defender.</div> You're right, but I actually watched those games and those guys could and did score on Kobe when he guarded them. I think the term "shutdown" defender is overused in basketball, because I've never seen anyone "shutdown" a great player...it just doesn't happen. Kobe has always been a good defender imo, but I think some people take it too far when they say "he was as good as MJ" defensively or "the best perimeter defender" today. The Lakers are weak defensively this year.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers have never played the rockets in the playoffs with Tmac on the squad...I think you need to re-read that, lol...and Kobe didn't guard the men I listed every single possesion, but he still gets the role of guarding the opposing teams best player on several occassions throughout the game.</div> There isn't a coach of NBA player in the league who doesn't think Kobe can play shut down defense on their best players. Its whether or not he has license to do it or it makes sense to do it. Having Kobe chase down Dwayne Wade or Match up against Lebron an entire game does nothing for the Lakers most of the time because the other guys end up abusiing the other Laker players and the Lakers suffer on offense because Kobe has used up so much energy on defense. But we have seen time and time again, in a must win playoff situation, Kobe completely shut down some of the leagues best stars. The difference here is that Jordan had the athletic superiority to defend the best two guards of his time with minimal energy being expended. Can you image if Jordan had to expend his energy guarding a Lebron or D Wade or even chase down a RIP Hamilton through screen after screen? Why do you think Jordan left the guarding of Reggie Miller to other assignments on a talented defensive Bulls team?
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You're right, but I actually watched those games and those guys could and did score on Kobe when he guarded them. I think the term "shutdown" defender is overused in basketball, because I've never seen anyone "shutdown" a great player...it just doesn't happen. Kobe has always been a good defender imo, but I think some people take it too far when they say "he was as good as MJ" defensively or "the best perimeter defender" today. The Lakers are weak defensively this year.</div> Yeah, the term is used pretty loosely and I guess that's not a great description for Kobe's defense since most of the time he is conserving his energy for offense. Someone like Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest are shutdown guys. However, I do feel that Kobe is a better defender than some other superstars such as Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, or Michael Redd. At least he can step up and contribute on both sides of the court if needed.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You're right, but I actually watched those games and those guys could and did score on Kobe when he guarded them. I think the term "shutdown" defender is overused in basketball, because I've never seen anyone "shutdown" a great player...it just doesn't happen. Kobe has always been a good defender imo, but I think some people take it too far when they say "he was as good as MJ" defensively or "the best perimeter defender" today. The Lakers are weak defensively this year.</div> The Lakers are weak on team defense. And you are right... after knee surgery Kobe started off being very bad defensively because he couldn't move laterally. As the season has gone on he has slowly recovered from that and has gotten better. But any coach and any NBA player will tell you that Kobe can dominate a game with perimeter defense if thats what is needed.
<div class="quote_poster">Swish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, the term is used pretty loosely and I guess that's not a great description for Kobe's defense since most of the time he is conserving his energy for offense. Someone like Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest are shutdown guys. However, I do feel that Kobe is a better defender than some other superstars such as Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, or Michael Redd. At least he can step up and contribute on both sides of the court if needed.</div> Not only that... but if he is singularly focused on stopping another player (which is rare) then he is as good as a Ron Artest or a Bruce Bowen.
<div class="quote_poster">Fiyah Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Not only that... but if he is singularly focused on stopping another player (which is rare) then he is as good as a Ron Artest or a Bruce Bowen.</div> That's what I was saying in my earlier posts. Here is what I said: "When Kobe is assigned to shutdown a man on defense, I don't think there are many players who can do a better job than he does."
<div class="quote_poster">Swish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">That's what I was saying in my earlier posts. Here is what I said: "When Kobe is assigned to shutdown a man on defense, I don't think there are many players who can do a better job than he does."</div> And you are absolutely right. Unfortunately the Lakers can rarely afford to do that these days. But there are many examples of Kobe doing that back when the Lakers squad was deeper and had Shaq to go to on offense. Kobe would then regularly go after the other teams best player and though it went unnoticed by many fans he made defensive teams and helped them win championships because of it.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I have to disagree with this, "shutdown" defenders don't get 50 (Redd), 60 (Arenas), 40 (Wade) dropped on them in the same season.</div> He played with five fouls in the fourth quarter and OT against Arenas. And the other games were earlier in the season were they not (when he was much less productive offensively and overall)? He didn't give up 50 to Redd either it was 45 just for the record. Btw, Michael Redd got 10 points against the Lakers in their last game... Jordan is better defensively but he wouldn't be able to handcheck anymore.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He played with five fouls in the fourth quarter and OT against Arenas. And the other games were earlier in the season were they not (when he was much less productive offensively and overall)? He didn't give up 50 to Redd either it was 45 just for the record. Btw, Michael Redd got 10 points against the Lakers in their last game... </div> Wade lit him up on Christmas and Kobe seemed pretty "back" to me, and Arenas lit him up also. He's a good defender I just don't know if he's what I'd call "the best perimeter" defender in todays game. I'd say Shane Battier gets that title. But my main point is that I don't think we should get too wrapped up in this scoring streak (although it's amazing and fun to watch) because Kobe still has a lot to prove being the "guy" on his team.
its a columnist for BSpn. enough said. THE DREAM wrote: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">this b!#ch did it now....Hakeem didn't affect the league?....Hakeem was better defensively than all the men listed here and he beat all of them and quite frankly outplayed all of them (with the exception of Duncan) when he met them in the playoffs.....this is what happens when you let women write about sports.</div> Get her..!!!
