Duncan-Kobe contrast is hard to ignore

hmmm, not posted yet???


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...l?eref=mostpop

The 2007-08 season tipped off Tuesday night, and so far, so good. Unlike the Heat a year ago, the Spurs didn't forget to play a basketball game after picking up their championship rings. And Kobe Bryant actually strapped it up and played like he cared in the Lakers' 95-93 loss to the Rockets.

So what did we learn from the night's festivities? Well, it's only one game, but a few things stand out:

Manu Ginobili looks fresher than ever (perhaps due to his decision not to play for his native Argentina during the summer).

LaMarcus Aldridge is going to have a breakout season.

The Rockets are not going to turn into Rick Adelman's old Kings overnight.

And the Lakers ... well, let's just say they showed why Kobe wants out of L.A. At least they did until the final 1:36 or so, when they suddenly turned into the 2001 Lakers and erased a 12-point deficit to tie the game.

But the big story Wednesday will be how Kobe shook off the trade rumors and scored 45 points (18 in the fourth) to help his undermanned team (no Lamar Odom) almost pull out a miracle comeback win over Houston.

For those who thought Bryant might stage a sit-down strike, or even just play without his usual gusto (as Phil Jackson said about his preseason efforts), they were disappointed. Kobe was on the attack all night. He even got to the free-throw line for a career-high 27 attempts.

It wasn't a perfect night for Bryant, however. He fell into his pattern of trying to do too much himself instead of trusting his teammates. Also, he missed nine of those 27 freebies. OK, so maybe the last one was intentional -- and almost worked to perfection, giving him a chance to sink a game-tying bucket before Rafer Alston poked the ball away from behind at the final horn -- but Kobe's uncharacteristic sloppiness from the stripe did seem to indicate a little bit of a lack of focus.

But while Bryant might have been the main focus Tuesday night, he wasn't the only superstar meriting the spotlight on the TNT doubleheader.

Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that the Spurs and Tim Duncan had agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract extension that would keep the two-time MVP in San Antonio through the 2011-12 season. He even took less money so that the Spurs would have the means to put players around him to keep winning. Duncan might have left as much as $11 million on the table, according to reports.

Contrast that with Bryant, who took every penny from the Lakers three years ago (which was his right and the American thing to do) but now can't understand why his supporting cast is not good enough to contend for a title.

Given the context of these two news stories, it was an interesting coincidence that Duncan and Bryant tipped off the season.

Two great players. Two fierce competitors. Two guys with championship rings.

But two guys who approach things in totally different ways.

Duncan stayed in college four years. Bryant jumped right out of high school.

Duncan embraced playing with David Robinson. Kobe couldn't get along with Shaquille O'Neal.

Duncan has played 10 years in the NBA without a sniff of scandal. Kobe is only now repairing his image after his incident in Colorado.

This isn't to bash Bryant. He wants to win. He's stuck on a subpar team, and it has to be frustrating.

But everybody wants to win. It's how you go about it that counts.

Kobe could have left the Lakers three years ago for greener pastures when he was a free agent. Instead, he chose to accept the Lakers' maximum contract offer and cast his lot with the purple-and-gold. He should have known at the time that the team's salary-cap situation would not allow it to go out and surround him with a bunch of other big-money free agents.

Keep in mind, too, that Kobe had a pretty good thing going with Shaq when they combined to win those three titles. Maybe Kobe had nothing to do with Shaq's departure, as he claims. Maybe the Lakers didn't want to make the financial commitment to their aging center anyway, and so they would have traded him to the Heat regardless.

But Kobe's fractured relationship with Shaq had to come into play in the Lakers' thinking. Faced with the choice of keeping a younger Kobe or an older Shaq, they wisely chose the former. Even Magic Johnson said during Tuesday night's halftime show that Kobe didn't want to keep Shaq around.

In other words, Kobe helped create the situation in which he now finds himself.

Meanwhile, Duncan agreed to sign for less money in an effort to prevent any such disaster.

Two great players. Two guys with rings. Two different approaches.

Come to think of it, maybe that's the most interesting thing we learned from Tuesday's opening night.

thank you..somebody gets it.

He says this article isn't to bash Kobe, but it makes Kobe look like shit compared to Tim.

Nice article.

Kobe's a great player.
Duncan is a great player and a great man off the court.

I feel for Kobe, he is stuck on a subpar team. But he does hold some of the responsibility for that. Partly because he took the max, partly because he couldn't get along with Shaq, and partly because he really is an "I" player.

Duncan is a "team" player.
And he showed us who he is and what he's about again yesterday (or whenever the deal was done, we got the news yesterday.)

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Originally Posted by E20

He says this article isn't to bash Kobe, but it makes Kobe look like shit compared to Tim.

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Totally right.

Not a mention about Timmy's play last night though, which would have only strengthened the article.

Then he says: "maybe that's the most interesting thing we learned from Tuesday's opening night."

---- as if I hasn't been obvious to anybody by now. :rolleyes

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Originally Posted by E20

but it makes Kobe look like shit compared to Tim.

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Well he is isn't he??

Magic punked Kobe out in the pre-game to Kenny. Basically he said that the problems in lala are NOT the organizations fault but Kobe's fault alone. I really couldn't believe that kind of candor and honesty from a team exec, even Magic.

I love the way Kobe plays most of the time. There are times where he does try to do too much and I get it. He feels the players around him aren't capable of helping the team win.

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Originally Posted by Lebowski Brickowski

Magic punked Kobe out in the pre-game to Kenny. Basically he said that the problems in lala are NOT the organizations fault but Kobe's fault alone. I really couldn't believe that kind of candor and honesty from a team exec, even Magic.

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Yeah he was candid about all of that stuff, even saying at the end of the game they needed to make a call on Kobe one way or the other because it showed on the teams body Language that it is on their minds.

PPL say Kobe is the best in the league. Best at skills I guess but watching that LA game last night was horrible!

1 vs 5-----KOBE gets his OWN offensive rebound-------then 1 vs 5 again!

Horrible!

Great article. It was completely on target with the Kobe situation.

If Tim had been drafted by a crappy team, he would have been long gone. If the Spurs sucked, he'd want out as much as Kobe wants out of LA.

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Originally Posted by ploto

If Tim had been drafted by a crappy team, he would have been long gone. If the Spurs sucked, he'd want out as much as Kobe wants out of LA.

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u obviously don't know Duncan.

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Originally Posted by 1Parker1

Great article. It was completely on target with the Kobe situation.

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Also, I think the blame is 50-50 between Kobe and the Lakers mgt. Kobe shouldn't have gone to the media and annouced he wanted a trade and then he didn't want one, etc. He also needs to realize that his max contract isn't allowing the mgt to sign decent players.

Mgt messed up by Buss, Phil, and even Magic continueing to talk about it and putting blame on Kobe. They should say no comment and work it out amongst themselves, not the media. Also, Kobe's right in that they havent done a good enough job with building a good team around Kobe. Trading away Shaq and not even getting a single all star in return???? What kind of trade was that? And spending their money on the likes of Kwame Brown and Radmonovic?? You can't expect to continue winning and selling tickets with those guys.

MVTim

The box score provides some contrast as well.

TDuncan, 36 min, 24 pts on 10-15. 4-7FTs. 13 rebounds. Helped his teammates so much that his excellent box score totals were almost overlooked during the game.

Kobe: 43 min, 45 pts on 13-32. 18-27 FTs 8 rebounds. Tried hard to put the team on his back and win the game by himself.

Kobe's definitely more fun to watch since he's talent with flash. Tim's a good contrast argument for being more effective in the long run.

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Originally Posted by Lebowski Brickowski

Magic punked Kobe out in the pre-game to Kenny. Basically he said that the problems in lala are NOT the organizations fault but Kobe's fault alone. I really couldn't believe that kind of candor and honesty from a team exec, even Magic.

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I found it kind of ironic as he said that part of the problem in LA was that there were "too many voices" coming from the organization who were all saying different things to the media. He then turned around and became yet another voice, and this one was laying it on Kobe.

Yeah, Magic really dissapointed me with his comments. Keep quiet and handle it in house...what does he do...blame Kobe and try to exonerate the FO....fuck that....They are both to blame, Kobe was promised help and talent, didn't get it, shitty injuries messed up chemistry last year, and we are in this mess. Trade Kobe now, or get him help, like JO and get rid of Bynum. I love Bynum, but if you want Kobe and help, trade the potential.

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Originally Posted by Medvedenko

Yeah, Magic really dissapointed me with his comments. Keep quiet and handle it in house...what does he do...blame Kobe and try to exonerate the FO....fuck that....They are both to blame, Kobe was promised help and talent, didn't get it, shitty injuries messed up chemistry last year, and we are in this mess. Trade Kobe now, or get him help, like JO and get rid of Bynum. I love Bynum, but if you want Kobe and help, trade the potential.

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Why should Magic be any different than Kobe, Phil, Mitch or the three Buss stooges. The who place is a circus full of clowns. Stern must be thrilled that the two marquee franchises, New York and LA, are jokes. and the NBA entertainment value borders on soap opera.

Perfectly outlined. Great summation.

That is the true description of selfish versus selfishness

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Originally Posted by nkdlunch

u obviously don't know Duncan.

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Actually, I do...

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Originally Posted by ploto

If Tim had been drafted by a crappy team, he would have been long gone. If the Spurs sucked, he'd want out as much as Kobe wants out of LA.

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The thing is, any team with TD on it is by definition a "good team" and will make the playoffs.

How many times have Tim, Shaq, Magic, Larry or Mike missed the playoffs? Guys who winge about GM's "wasting their talent" and "not providing enough help" are not truly GREAT players.

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In other words, Kobe helped create the situation in which he now finds himself.

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And hey, so did Tim. :smokin

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Originally Posted by 1Parker1

Great article. It was completely on target with the Kobe situation.

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Wow. That's a first from Ms. Kobe Lover.

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Originally Posted by ShoogarBear

Wow. That's a first from Ms. Kobe Lover.

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:lol Whatever Mr. Shaq Lover.

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Originally Posted by ploto

If Tim had been drafted by a crappy team, he would have been long gone. If the Spurs sucked, he'd want out as much as Kobe wants out of LA.

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Well, Tim hasn't driven Manu and TP out of town because his ego is so large that he wants to be the only thing in town, until he discovers that he can't win with a bunch of scrubs. The Spurs have a good supporting cast in large part due to TD. He could have been a bitch like Kobe if he wanted to, but the Spurs wouldn't be winning jack shit if he were.

Funny how the more humble and accomodating star gets the better players around him to make winning possible.

What I don't ever hear anyone mentioning is just the huge amount of disrespect and ego that Kobe showed towards the league by basically thinking he could run his hall of fame center out of town, collect max dollars, and still beat the rest of the league by himself. What a dumb ass.

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Originally Posted by BeerIsGood!

What I don't ever hear anyone mentioning is just the huge amount of disrespect and ego that Kobe showed towards the league by basically thinking he could run his hall of fame center out of town, collect max dollars, and still beat the rest of the league by himself. What a dumb ass.

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That was not lost on me as well. Actually, some of these signs were in evidence as early as the 2000 Finals. I didn't see it at the time, but watching the games now, I do pick up on some of Bryant's passive-aggressive behavior (pouting, sitting away from the team, etc.) He was hurt in that series, but I think it's deeper than that.

To be honest, I can't be objective about the guy. I've always had it in for him, even before Colorado. Even when I try to be fair (I'm sure I would say some pretty assinine things eventually if people kept shoving microphones in my face), it's obvious to me that Bryant has the emotional maturity of an adolescent. It's almost as if he stopped developing as a human being when it became obvious he would be a basketball star. I won't bore everyone with a recap of his greatest embarassments, but they share common characteristics.