Kobe: "I haven’t even played in third gear yet"

Uh oh...

http://www.columbian.com/article/20090104/SPORTS01/701059968

 

I like what I hear

Oh yeah...and Phil obviously sucks

 

You mean to tell me that even against Boston he only played in '2nd gear'? LOL... Bring on the Cavs!!! LOL

 

Nah I don't buy it, but I love him. We look fucking great at least.

 

How many gears does he have?

 

Ask his wife..she is the one with his stick in her hands

 

Probably 6.

 

C'mon Kobe. Let's try and cut the ego for a second.

No great NBA player doesn't give it their all every night, that would be insane.

 

Thing is, when he gets to six gear, he'll just say he isn't in the seventh gear...

This gear thing is BS. Kobe's playing same gear every game. Basketball isn't about "gears."

 

But enduring a NBA season is

 

In translation, it means he hasn't played at his full capacity yet.

Which is true. Check out his past. He doesn't really "turn it on" until after the allstar break. Right now he's just cruising along.

 

What I was trying to say is that capacity is a variable. What Kobe thinks is his capacity is different from our view of his capacity.

To be honest, I don't think he can play at a higher capacity, unless it involves a ton more shot attempts and inevitably a higher PPG average. However, that'll just be more scoring, while not necessarily his full capacity, unless he originally meant scoring as part of the "gear" system.

 

What the hell are you talking about with this "gear" system. "Capacity is a variable?" Calm down. He's just using it metaphorically in an interview, stop breaking it down and interpreting it so literally. Like I said, basically what it means is, he isn't playing at his full capacity. And you'd be foolish to think otherwise. If you actually watch most of the Laker games this season, you'd know he's just cruising along. His minutes are down dramatically, and when he is playing, he usually doesn't try to score unless he absolutely has to. That's the "other gear" he is referring to. He hasn't even touched on it yet this season.

 

I broke my calm by saying capacity is a variable? Perhaps you should spend more time studying empathy rather than trying to figure out what Kobe means by his gear system.

Of course I realize his minutes are down but when he is playing, I don't see him playing at a higher capacity than he is right now, unless he starts to shoot more, and if he does that, other facets of his game will decrease.

 

Well you've obviously not watched many Laker games.

Ask any Laker fan here. Ask them about Kobe's focus level this season and how it compares to past seasons. The entire forum was pretty much criticizing him for a good part of this season because he was continually getting beat defensively because he was lazy. Not to mention the amount of stupid turnovers he's been committing.

So yes, Kobe does have another gear that he can turn on. That gear is focus and intensity. And besides the big games this season (like Boston), Kobe hasn't been as focused or motivated to play this year.

 

I've watched a fair amount of Laker games, missing only about 3 or 4 due to basketball practice. From what I've seen, Kobe's focus, as you pointed out, may be slightly lacking as compared to previous years, but when we look at the way he chose to express "gear," it seemed as though he could perform better in terms of skill, and not just the intensity.

I hope Kobe can prove me wrong in stepping up into that gear, as we would all hope he doesn't do so too late.

 

You know interviews are spur of the moment type things, right? So why are you taking this so literally. He says he can improve his play, which he definitely can. As I already pointed out, he's not focused and hasn't really been trying defensively. Obviously if he focuses, and steps up defensively, that's another "gear" to his game. He mentions the team having plenty more gears to go, which means we still have plenty of areas to work on and improve. Which we do.

"I hope Kobe can prove me wrong in stepping up into that gear, as we would all hope he doesn't do so too late."

Let's see, the Lakers are firmly atop of the Western Conference. We have the #1 record in the league. This doesn't concern me at all. Kobe can step into his "gear" whenever he wants. He plays harder and is more focused in big games (like Christmas). Kobe has stepped up plenty of times in his career, so he doesn't have to prove anything.

 

Damn, too many people are taking this literally!!! LOL.

Its a metaphor as mentioned earlier. Kobe is known to start of slow and heat up as it approaches the playoffs. The guy has the best work ethic in the league. Leave him be.

 

I think it's amazing, how Kobe focuses when it's needed the most. The Olympics final was a great example, where he totally took over in the second half. So yes, I'm positive, that he can turn into next gear.

 

I think that 3rd Qtr was 3rd gear ... wow, that's as good as I've seen Kobe ...