<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Admittedly, Kobe Bryant doesn't throw up praise toward his opponents as frequently as he does jump shots. But when the topic of the Utah Jazz's 23-year-old point guard, Deron Williams, comes up, the L-word starts to flow. "I love him," Bryant recently said of Williams. "He's one of my favorite players in the league. "I love his toughness. I love his competitiveness. I love his skill. I don't throw accolades around too frequently. I really love him as a basketball player." It's a mutual admiration society dating from last summer, when the two spent three weeks as teammates on the USA basketball team that won gold in the FIBA Americas championship and qualified for this summer's Olympics in Beijing. Each is the cog that revs his team's engine: Bryant, 29, the Lakers' superstar and the league's most valuable player with a knack for big shots and stellar play, and Williams, a young point guard who seamlessly fit into Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan's pick-and-roll scheme with forward Carlos Boozer. And great players play even better in the playoffs. In the Western Conference semifinal series that pits them against each other, Bryant is posting a team-high 33 points and 7.4 assists, up from his MVP regular-season averages of 28.3 and 5.4. Williams, who is seemingly improving from game to game in this series, is averaging team highs of 22.6 points and 11 assists, compared with 18.8 and 10.5 in the regular season. When informed of Bryant's comments, Williams sent them right back. "I have a lot of respect for his game. He's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen," Williams said. "He's just a great competitor. . . . Just seeing how he works every day, it's inspiring." Williams said he had always heard about Bryant's relentlessly competitive nature, but seeing it as a USA teammate offered a different perspective. Meanwhile, Bryant liked the energy and natural playmaking abilities that Williams brought to the court over the summer. He witnessed Williams' dishing and delivering to his teammates, picking up an assist almost every couple of minutes he was on the court. Williams saw a veteran player at the top of his game with an insatiable appetite to stay there. He noted that Bryant arrived a day before the rest of the USA team in Las Vegas to begin his routines in preparation for the games. "Until you see it up close and personal, you never really know," Williams said. "Any time a guy was scoring on an opposing team, he wanted to guard him. He always wanted the toughest assignment. That's just his nature." Bryant described Williams in a similar way. "He enjoys pressure as much as I do," Bryant said. It's still uncertain whether the two will be teammates again in Beijing. Williams is expected to be fighting for a spot against three other talented USA point guards: New Orleans' Chris Paul, Detroit's Chauncey Billups and Dallas' Jason Kidd. It's a crowded race, and a tough personnel decision looms for U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, but as Williams said with a smile, "I've never been cut from a team before." Bryant and Williams may be teammates again in the near future, but in tonight's Game 6 in Utah, with the Lakers up 3-2, they will certainly revert to foes. Said Williams: "I've got friends across this league, but if you step on the court, we're enemies for those 48 minutes."</div> http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bryant...0,7538792.story It's nice to see how much they respect each other. I really like Deron Williams, he is a straight up baller. It's too bad he has to play for Utah, or else I'd probably root for him. But he has a bright future ahead of him, he's going to be a very scary player one day. The Jazz have a great future ahead of them
Yeah, I love watching Deron Williams play. Paul and Williams is going to be a great rivalry in the future.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ May 15 2008, 11:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Admittedly, Kobe Bryant doesn't throw up praise toward his opponents as frequently as he does jump shots. But when the topic of the Utah Jazz's 23-year-old point guard, Deron Williams, comes up, the L-word starts to flow. "I love him," Bryant recently said of Williams. "He's one of my favorite players in the league. "I love his toughness. I love his competitiveness. I love his skill. I don't throw accolades around too frequently. I really love him as a basketball player." It's a mutual admiration society dating from last summer, when the two spent three weeks as teammates on the USA basketball team that won gold in the FIBA Americas championship and qualified for this summer's Olympics in Beijing. Each is the cog that revs his team's engine: Bryant, 29, the Lakers' superstar and the league's most valuable player with a knack for big shots and stellar play, and Williams, a young point guard who seamlessly fit into Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan's pick-and-roll scheme with forward Carlos Boozer. And great players play even better in the playoffs. In the Western Conference semifinal series that pits them against each other, Bryant is posting a team-high 33 points and 7.4 assists, up from his MVP regular-season averages of 28.3 and 5.4. Williams, who is seemingly improving from game to game in this series, is averaging team highs of 22.6 points and 11 assists, compared with 18.8 and 10.5 in the regular season. When informed of Bryant's comments, Williams sent them right back. "I have a lot of respect for his game. He's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen," Williams said. "He's just a great competitor. . . . Just seeing how he works every day, it's inspiring." Williams said he had always heard about Bryant's relentlessly competitive nature, but seeing it as a USA teammate offered a different perspective. Meanwhile, Bryant liked the energy and natural playmaking abilities that Williams brought to the court over the summer. He witnessed Williams' dishing and delivering to his teammates, picking up an assist almost every couple of minutes he was on the court. Williams saw a veteran player at the top of his game with an insatiable appetite to stay there. He noted that Bryant arrived a day before the rest of the USA team in Las Vegas to begin his routines in preparation for the games. "Until you see it up close and personal, you never really know," Williams said. "Any time a guy was scoring on an opposing team, he wanted to guard him. He always wanted the toughest assignment. That's just his nature." Bryant described Williams in a similar way. "He enjoys pressure as much as I do," Bryant said. It's still uncertain whether the two will be teammates again in Beijing. Williams is expected to be fighting for a spot against three other talented USA point guards: New Orleans' Chris Paul, Detroit's Chauncey Billups and Dallas' Jason Kidd. It's a crowded race, and a tough personnel decision looms for U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, but as Williams said with a smile, "I've never been cut from a team before." Bryant and Williams may be teammates again in the near future, but in tonight's Game 6 in Utah, with the Lakers up 3-2, they will certainly revert to foes. Said Williams: "I've got friends across this league, but if you step on the court, we're enemies for those 48 minutes."</div> http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bryant...0,7538792.story It's nice to see how much they respect each other. I really like Deron Williams, he is a straight up baller. It's too bad he has to play for Utah, or else I'd probably root for him. But he has a bright future ahead of him, he's going to be a very scary player one day. The Jazz have a great future ahead of them </div> We should cut Chauncey from the team! LOL D - Will is arguably a better player now than Mr. Big Shot
before I even saw this thread, I've always told people I LOVE Deron williams, that this dude is mad legit, and is gonna be a (not that he isn't already) a stud one day. Before the 2nd half of the season, everyone was comparing him and CP3 and it was a toss up on who they thought was better. I still give the notch to D Will believe it or not, he IS a better player in my opinion. I just think Paul does a better of job of controlling his team and making sure EVERYTHING goes through him, where D Will doesn't seem to assert himself that much. If you put D Will in New Orleans offense, it will be the same thing. His ball handling skills are second to none also, top 3 or 5 in the league. Give him a few more years, he'll be unbelievable.
Deron's cool, but I'm not taking him over CP. He beats Deron by practically all statistical measures if I'm not mistaken.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (huevonkiller @ May 16 2008, 02:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Deron's cool, but I'm not taking him over CP. He beats Deron by practically all statistical measures if I'm not mistaken.</div> Except the head-to-head one. Deron outplays him every time.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ May 17 2008, 12:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Kobe also had a lot of praise for AK47.</div> Come on Shape, don't be like that. =) D Will is sick, he will surpass CP3.
I think Paul is the better pure PG, but Deron is the better PG overall. His offensive game is just so sick and he's so big and strong. I'd rather build around him than CP3.
I totally disagree but I don't feel like defending CP. Scumbag's (joke, you softies) kind of our rival right now, after all.
