You failed, Kobe Bryant.

[Banzai]

oic

[mingus]

it doesn't help Kobe's legacy that he will be piggy backing Shannon Brown to every 'chip from this point on.

[Culburn369]

Piggy back away.

Makes me nary a diff. Just keep ringin' that bell!

[Medvedenko]

If MJ were playing today, he would be putting up 40/game in the current environment.

I ask you: would Kobe be as dominant in the 80s and 90s Eastern Conference? Would he have taken the beatings night after night that Boston, Detroit and New York delievered and gotten back up for more? I don't think he would have and I think that goes towards his image as well.

With the exception of this year, I'm not sure Kobe's been a Leader to his team. MJ crapped on his teammates a la Kobe (anyone remember, "dont pass the ball to Bill Cartwright late in the game?") but he knew how to rally the troops and win. And fans responded to that - in a must win, you knew MJ would be there leading his team, taking the last show and accepting the accolades or the criticisms like a man. Is it ever Kobe's fault when they lose?

To this day I'm convinced that the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Knicks was when MJ became The Man. They waltzed through the regular season and the Heat in the first round and then got -slapped, at Chicago Stadium, in game 1 by the Knicks. He had that UNBELIEVABLE layup/dunk over Oakley and Ewing (sending them both to the floor along with Ho. Grant) in the Garden then, in a very un-MJ like way, got in their face and laid it down. And the thing with MJ was, when it was a Game 7, you KNEW he'd put up 40 and lead a route, which is what he did.

And then lets not forget Game 1 of the FInals: 39 points in 34 minutes, 6 of 10 from 3 ("three pointers from Jordan, what in the world is going on!?!"). Nothing I've seen from Kobe would ever lead me to believe he'd take on Ewing and Oakley in that situation, let alone get in Oakley's face at the start of Game 7 then make him his all game.

And that's it for me. MJ knew how to get the best from his support players and how to Lead them to victory. For Kobe, it's me first, me second, then maybe I'll look to pass, but wouldn't it be great if I could just pass it to myself? Plus he's a jerk and lacks MJ's charisma which speaks volumes as to why he's so disliked.

Just quit posting......Kobe would have averaged more than 40 in the 80s easy. Look how many points each team was scoring back then. I recall such great 2 guard defenders back then.............................no zone, it would be so easy for Kobe to get to the line (like MJ) it wouldn't even be funny.

Still different era, different variables all come into play. You probably haven't watched much kobe in the last 13 years other than what ESPN and Fox Sports show you.

[Hornets1]

Just quit posting......Kobe would have averaged more than 40 in the 80s easy. Look how many points each team was scoring back then. I recall such great 2 guard defenders back then.............................no zone, it would be so easy for Kobe to get to the line (like MJ) it wouldn't even be funny.

Still different era, different variables all come into play. You probably haven't watched much kobe in the last 13 years other than what ESPN and Fox Sports show you.

Ok, now back to you, reality.............

[dirk4mvp]

He wasn't going against one of the greatest teams ever assembled or anything.

[IronMexican]

I swear, no one comes close to the stupidity of MH.

[Chieflion]

Alex English hovered around 30 for years. Kobe would have destroyed the 80's. Jordan was nothing more than Bird and Zeke's whipping boy in the 80's. How does someone score 63 and play the game of his life and still lose. Some leader.

He was playing on the fastest team in the 80s and lead the league in total scoring for decades. What was your point? I know Kobe struggled without the triangle in the 2004-2005 season. Besides, there were also hand-checks allowed.