<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Black Mamba @ Mar 8 2008, 04:39 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Realistically, the Lakers have a shot at 60-62 wins.</div> I see us getting at least 58 wins. The only real bump in the road for us seems to be later in March when we play four solid Western teams in a row on the road (March 14-March 20).
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Dream @ Mar 7 2008, 11:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>and yes I think he's better on the defensive end, but not by much. When Lebron decides to lock into a guy he can irritate him on the defensive end (just look at the game a few weeks back when he locked down Kobe in the 4th period).</div> That's rather ludicrous. There is a reason why Kobe defends the best player on the other team, while LeBron is never asked to. It's not even close. And it seems you probably didn't watch the Cavs/Lakers game closely if you think LeBron 'locked down Kobe'. They doubled teamed Kobe, and while i'm not going to hold it against Lebron for needing a double team to defend kobe (phil was dumb not to help kobe by doubling Lebron on the other end IMO), it is a bit of a stretch to suggest that he deserves all the credit for containing Kobe when it was a team efffort. If you want to take it to a further point, on Team USA where Kobe and Lebron are in the lineup together, who is asked to defend the other team's best player?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Black Mamba @ Mar 8 2008, 04:39 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Realistically, the Lakers have a shot at 60-62 wins.</div> they would have to go 18-2 the rest of the way to get to 62 wins. They have a pretty tough schedule ahead of them with most of their games against playoff teams, so I dont really think that's realistic at all. Best case scenario is 60 wins, and as the poster above me said, 58 is a reasonable expectation
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (notmuchgame @ Mar 8 2008, 06:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Dream @ Mar 7 2008, 11:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>and yes I think he's better on the defensive end, but not by much. When Lebron decides to lock into a guy he can irritate him on the defensive end (just look at the game a few weeks back when he locked down Kobe in the 4th period).</div> That's rather ludicrous. There is a reason why Kobe defends the best player on the other team, while LeBron is never asked to. It's not even close. And it seems you probably didn't watch the Cavs/Lakers game closely if you think LeBron 'locked down Kobe'. They doubled teamed Kobe, and while i'm not going to hold it against Lebron for needing a double team to defend kobe (phil was dumb not to help kobe by doubling Lebron on the other end IMO), it is a bit of a stretch to suggest that he deserves all the credit for containing Kobe when it was a team efffort. If you want to take it to a further point, on Team USA where Kobe and Lebron are in the lineup together, who is asked to defend the other team's best player? </div> Agreed, it wasn't really a one on one situation at all defensively for LeBron against Kobe. Websites like Yahoo and other posters here just like to jump to conclusions. What a ridiculous verbal flourish.
Everyone knows that song you say Po-tae-toes I say Po-ta-toes. Well Kobe = Po-tae-toes, Lebron = Po-ta-toes Both are top players along with JKidd, these 3 will probably continue to the best for another 5 years and although they bring a little different styles, but on any given day given any crew of players around them it could go either way. If this was a 1 on 1 sport then it would be a lot easier saying player A > player B, but it's not.
Did you just throw LeBron in Kobe's realm? Did you just throw Kidd in Kobe's realm? Did you just throw Kidd in Lebron's realm? Kidd is no where near the player that Kobe and LeBron are.
Kidd is a top tier PG, but not a top tier overall NBA player. He doesn't belong in the same sentence as Kobe or LeBron.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Moo2K4 @ Mar 9 2008, 11:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Kidd is a top tier PG, but not a top tier overall NBA player. He doesn't belong in the same sentence as Kobe or LeBron.</div> Are you objecting to me or Mamba, because Mamba mentioned him in the same sentence as Kobe and Lebron. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Black Mamba @ Mar 8 2008, 06:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Kidd is no where near the player that Kobe and LeBron are.</div> Well everyone is praising Chris Paul and considering him a top MVP contender, and Kidd is a better all around player (rebounding, more selfless), and has proved himself for longer. Nash won a couple of MVP trophies, therefore deeming him most valuable player, and hasn't Kidd's performance this year been more impressive than those two years Nash had?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Lavalamp @ Mar 9 2008, 03:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Nash won a couple of MVP trophies, therefore deeming him most valuable player, and hasn't Kidd's performance this year been more impressive than those two years Nash had?</div> no, not really. Kidd is shooting 38% from the field this year, and was accused of tanking it for most of the season while with the Nets.
I would agree that Kobe is a great player, but Lebron is the better player this year. He's just more of a complete package and he's younger and has less mileage on his body than Kobe. If I were to start a team from scratch and could pick one or the other to start with, it would be Lebron hands down.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (xCLAVEx @ Mar 10 2008, 06:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I would agree that Kobe is a great player, but Lebron is the better player this year. He's just more of a complete package and he's younger and has less mileage on his body than Kobe. If I were to start a team from scratch and could pick one or the other to start with, it would be Lebron hands down.</div> The award isn't about stats, it doesn't matter. Kobe's also on a winning team, thus his stats are less impressive, like KG's for example. He can't control the ball like he used to and LeBron's rebounding numbers are also skewed. Taking that into consideration, they're both empirically similar and because of the history of the MVP Kobe should win.
