^ Either way he's going down hill from now on, I expect another year maybe two of Lakers competing for title, then it'll be strictly teams that have LeBron, Wade, Carmelo and Durant.
Only good news if he fixes his finger(s) too. But yeah, him and Pau need a break this summer. Glad to hear they will both be out of the tournament.
I honestly think Kobe can play at a high level for another 3 years, at least. He keeps himself in great shape and has learned how to pace himself a lot better throughout his career. If anyone can do it, he can.
Oh, and for the record, I'm glad he's getting this surgery done. Now he just needs to get surgery on the finger as well.
This could be the wear and tear of coming straight out of HS finally catching up to him. Look at other former HS guys that made the jump: Jermaine O'Neal, T-Mac, KG, and I'm sure there are more, they all started to get knee injuries that have limited their talent into a shell of what it use to be.
If he comes back from knee surgery better than ever, I will start to suspect that when he moved to Italy, his father had him turned into a cyborg or some shit. But anyhow, great news!
This is Kobe Bryant we are talking about. I expect him to be around for another 4-5 years and play at a high level. The Lakers still have a nice window of opportunity for titles. I think he understands that his body cant do the same things it once did, and he'll adjust his game accordingly.
once again, thank-you captain obvious. And just to let you know, KG is still pretty fucking good at basketball, and he' older than kobe, and he is like 7 foot tall, same with JO (except the part about till being good). When KG joined ray allen, pierce and rondo he knew, as well as any other person who knows anything about Basketball, that his stats would go down, that his team's need for him would not be as great. Oh and tmac got fucked by back issues as well as knee issues, he was always a ticking time bomb, and without the multi-dimensional game that kobe has. Kobe Bryant is in a different situation to these players, he is still the focal point of his teams offense, he has developed his game to a point that if you stop him one way, he will beat you in another in a split second. this is what jordan did as he grew older, he knew that his body couldn't out-run and out-jump his opponents anymore, so he started to play a lot smarter. kobe is, i believe on another level of smartness on the court. of course jordan paved the way for bryant, but considering all the factors in bryants case, and his ability to overcome them to continue such a dominant performance is not seen too often. my point is that kobe can adapt as well as any other player in history, and as his physical ability limits him more, his adaptability will only grow, then he will most likely be the very best in history at adapting to his changing surroundings and challenges. he is the smartest, most talented player in the game by far, perhaps not the best performer, which is lebron, but none the less he is the leagues best leader, the best teammate and has the highest basketball IQ. just watch some of the behind the scenes footage of game 1, kobe tells everybody what to do, and they all nod and say "okay, will do" and they do, even pau. without kobe this team would struggle to make the playoffs, let alone make it to the finals. if a player can do all that with all the ailments, the aging, the loss of speed and vertical leap, then rest assured when things start to appear worse, that player is going to change and adapt to retain his position as top dog. the day lebron, wade and melo take over is the day that kobe bryant retires.
The first couple of years when you're just out of high school, I don't see that being a huge factor. These guys don't always see the court or don't make deep playoff runs.
That's my thoughts too. And really, he's already adjusted his body. He works a lot more in the post and he extended his range well beyond the three point line, which are really two things you need to stay effective when you get older. He knows he doesn't have the explosiveness he used to going to the hoop, so he's added to his game to accommodate him not just now, but later down the line.
Kobe rarely relies on his athleticism anymore, so that won't be an issue. I doubt we'll see any significant dropoff in his play. The only area where I see him slowing down is dealing with fatigue. His body will start to wear down quicker with age and he may not have the same lift on his jumpshots. That's why next year we should really look to limiting his minutes and saving him for the postseason. I expect Kobe to be an elite player in the league for the duration of his contract.
