Double Standard Now Standard For Kobe And LeBron

Thank you shape! Thank you RIC!

 

Good job. Lebron is the NBA "golden child", i dont' expect him to get as much criticism if he blows up Game 7 compare to Kobe.

 

Exactly where i think the MJ comparisons have to stop.
Because everyone who is a MJ like athlete should know when to stop shooting and start passing. Or change the places you shoot from.

*Not trying to flam like in the thread u closed wasn't aimed @ flaming*

I'm simply saying the same thing this guy said. It's just so tough for me as a NBA/Laker fan to see these things and keep my mouth shut.

Like Dennis Rodman/Ron Artest.. I think Ron Artest was punished way to severely just because the League hates his ass for being to hard or whatever..

Now the league just keeps pushing us people they love and no one is to say anything bad about that

Ofcours James is a great player..to be 21 and do those things is absolutely amazing,but that is about it this game 7 just showed the entire country how immature and inexperienced he is when he cant hit, start passing or just stop forcing shots because the shots he took weren't normal eithere fade away 3s, fade to the left hanging to the right shots with one hand.

He could've taken smarter shots, or just simply pass the damn ball..I remember watching the game with some friends and all us were stunned when the first other player to touch the ball slammed it through in the 4th. IF he done that, the Cavs would've had a bigger chance of winning, instead of trying to be the hero and with none of the commentators saying what was wrong with his play makes me angry because everyone knows the commenting on Kobe's performance

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobe4life:</div><div class="quote_post">Good job. Lebron is the NBA "golden child", i dont' expect him to get as much criticism if he blows up Game 7 compare to Kobe.</div>Haha ! Of course, what did you excepct, then ?;D

 

Ric Bucher tells it like it is.

 

Ric Bucher always writes positve articles for the Lakers when no one else does.

 

I disagree wth Bucher. The Pistons were much more aggressive defensively, and LeBron wasn't as passive as Kobe was. Yes, LeBron didn't play well in the second half, but he did look to be trying. No one on the team hit a jumper.

It's about a difference in expectation. Most people didn't expect LeBron and the Cavs to win game 7. It's a young team, and this is LeBron's first playoffs. The expectations are quite low, so when LeBron is able to maintain a high level of play in the postseason and his team are successful, the media is going to heap the praise. But losing a game 7 to the Pistons -- how could anyone really fault him for that?

With Kobe and the Lakers, it's different. They are a more experienced team. They lead the series 3 game to 1 against Phoenix. And people expect Kobe, if not the Lakers, to be great because of his track record. Furthermore, he's facing an opponent that can't stop him (unlike the Pistons, a great defensive team against whom LeBron has struggled most of the season).

You take all this into account, and it's clear that this is far from a "double standard".

 

I agree with Durvasa.

This is Lebron's first playoff run, he doesn't have any rings/experience, and he was going up against a team that actually plays good defense.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's a young team</div>

But I disagree with this. Lebron has experienced players in Eric Snow, Damon Jones, Larry Hughes, Flip Murray.

This is the main problem that I have with what Kobe did in game 7: the day before in an interview he said "I don't want to take away from what he (Raja Bell) does defensively.....but I feel that I can score on him anytime that I want to." Why make comments like that, and then not shoot? I don't care what your team's strategy was. Smush, Sasha, Luke, and Kwame are not going to score unless Kobe takes some of the defensive attention away, which means he needs to shoot the ball.

 

i thought lakers is a younger team??? only kobe is experienced....

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">he's facing an opponent that can't stop him </div>
But Phoenix can't be stopped neither...who were shooting over 60% most of the time in the series (100+ pts a game) and Pistons were shooting just over 40% in game 7.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TopLake:</div><div class="quote_post">i thought lakers is a younger team??? only kobe is experienced....


But Phoenix can't be stopped neither...who were shooting over 60% most of the time in the series (100+ pts a game) and Pistons were shooting just over 40% in game 7.</div>

"Young team" was wrong. I meant inexperienced team.

The Cavs had a rookie head coach, and they're most important player is in the playoffs for the first time. The Lakers have Phil and Kobe.

The only Cav with extensive playoff experience was Eric Snow. And he's not expected to do a whole lot.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">"Young team" was wrong. I meant inexperienced team.

The Cavs had a rookie head coach, and they're most important player is in the playoffs for the first time. The Lakers have Phil and Kobe.

The only Cav with extensive playoff experience was Eric Snow. And he's not expected to do a whole lot.</div>

The Lakers are just about as inexperienced as the Cavs. Who has any real playoff experience besides Kobe and Devan George? George was not expected to do alot. He's a bench guy like Snow.

With the exception of Kobe, I think the Lakers are about equal in experience to the young cavs team. Their starting center is Kwame Brown. Lamar Odom only experience in the playoffs was a single season with Miami. Smush was a walk in. Walton. eh? So So I guess. There is a edge of experience over the Cavs, but not by too much.

As for expectations. At the beginning of the season, not many critics expected the Lakers to even be in the playoff hunt much less push a 2nd seed Suns to to the brink of elimination.

 

Lebron was playing vs the best defense in the league.
Kobe was playing vs the Suns

Lebron took 9 shots in the second half
Kobe took 3

This is Lebron's first trip to the playoffs
Kobe has 3 rings and a few close calls



I see nothing wrong with critizising Kobe's 2nd half game 7 play. He talked big about Raja and his ability to score at will...then he doesnt even seem to try in the second half of a huge game. I dont care about going along with the game plan...i'm sure the game plan didnt say "Kobe you're not allowed to try to score". It probably was more like "kobe try to get others involved"

Kobe's a terrific player, Lebrons a terrific player. Kobe's performance in the Suns series does hurt his rep a little, but end of the day he'll come through and he'll have a terrific career. Lebron's performance doesnt hurt his rep, because he has abit more room for people to give excuses (he's 21 and this is his first playoffs), and because he at least tried. He was beaten by the Pistons defense. Kobe was beaten by.....i'm not sure really, but it wasnt the defense.

 

^ did you watch the game at all? in the second half of game 7 kobe was double teamed and triple teamed. if he shot a lot in the second half, then most of his shots would have been bricks, thus leading him into more critisizm as to how he is selfish and ect. kobe shoots, hes selfish. kobe passes, he is giving up.

 

It's not just getting only 3 shots. It's the way he played in the 2nd half. He just wasn't aggressive at all. He's normally taking it to the rack and making things happen, in Game 7, he just kinda held the ball outside and didn't really even try. I don't blame him for not trying, just because his team was playing horrible, but for the first time ever, he was probably a liability on the court.

You don't think that Lebron was getting double/tripled teamed?

This isn't really a double standard, they were in completely different circumstances.

Oh well, we will actually get to hear about basketball and about the other 2 MVP candidates as they advance and you never hear anything about them(well compared to Lebron/Kobe)

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 02civic:</div><div class="quote_post">Lebron was playing vs the best defense in the league.
Kobe was playing vs the Suns
</div>
This is another point I hate being brought up. The suns were the #1 offense in the league this year. Their offense is their defense. When they score over 100 points they almost always win. They shot a blistering 60% from the field that day, and even when the Lakers got open looks they were missing in the paint.

You cant critisize Kobe for sticking to the gameplan. You live or die by it. I like the fact that KOBE PUT ASIDE HIS EGO and stuck to playing teamball even when the game was out of reach. IF JACKSON told him to take over, he probrably would have. I dont think JACKSON told him too. The Lakers knew the only way they could win in the playoffs was to play a team game. Not a Kobe Bryant game. So it was never a question.

Kobe is always critisized for shooting too much and not getting his teammates involved. He gave his teammates many open looks. Shots were just not falling. The suns were also shooting extremely well.

 

i agree with trench, phonix was on fire and didnt barbosa have like 20 some points. How can u expect a team like the lakers to score that much. And on expectations, 1 vs 4 seed or 2 vs 7. which is more likely to have the upset? The only people who gave LA a chance were LA fans

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trench:</div><div class="quote_post">This is another point I hate being brought up. The suns were the #1 offense in the league this year. Their offense is their defense. When they score over 100 points they almost always win. They shot a blistering 60% from the field that day, and even when the Lakers got open looks they were missing in the paint.

You cant critisize Kobe for sticking to the gameplan. You live or die by it. I like the fact that KOBE PUT ASIDE HIS EGO and stuck to playing teamball even when the game was out of reach. IF JACKSON told him to take over, he probrably would have. I dont think JACKSON told him too. The Lakers knew the only way they could win in the playoffs was to play a team game. Not a Kobe Bryant game. So it was never a question.

Kobe is always critisized for shooting too much and not getting his teammates involved. He gave his teammates many open looks. Shots were just not falling. The suns were also shooting extremely well.</div>


I understand that, but it's just the way that Game 6 and Game 7 went. If Kobe passed more in Game 6, I believe they woulld have won, in Game 7 Kobe had to take over to give them any shot at winning the game.

I don't think any of us are blaming Kobe for losing the game, because it definetely wasn't Kobe's fault. When the Suns are shooting that good, you just can't beat them(ask the Clippers as well) We are saying that Kobe looked like he just didn't care out there. He didn't really show his normal effort in the 2nd half, which makes most people believe that he gave up. Lebron actually at least tried to win the game. Believe me, I don't favor either, I'm a neutral party when comparing both of them.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GatorsowntheNCAA:</div><div class="quote_post">He didn't really show his normal effort in the 2nd half, which makes most people believe that he gave up. Lebron actually at least tried to win the game. Believe me, I don't favor either, I'm a neutral party when comparing both of them.</div>

How can you say Kobe didn't try? He was following the game plan. I can guarentee that if it were up to Kobe, he would have taken almost every shot in the second half of game seven. It must have been hard trying to contain himself from letting the shots fly. For somebody like Kobe, it's harder not to shoot than it is to shoot.