Or even if Lebron could show me something like this..where he snakes the baseline...i think this was against the one on one defense of Latrell Sprewell who was also a very good and hardnosed defender...
Listen Spur fan..lets be honest than a bunch of muther ers and lay our cards on the table...
There is a huge difference in being physically dominant and being the best player....Shaq like Lebron are physical specimens...the most physically dominant we've ever seen....bigger and stronger than most at their respective positions....but fact is they were not more athletic nor skilled than Kobe and Tim....
Think about it....sure strength is a form of athleticism but its not the crowning jewel...Lebron is not only one dimensional but hard basic dunks is all he can do....there's a reason he never entered the slam dunk compeition....and if yo go back to his high school dunk compe ion it was the same thing just a basic hard dunk to wow the crowd..they robbed Shannon Brown during his high school dunk compe ion vs.Lebron..
But back to my point...Kobe and Tim could do so much more with the ball....Kobe could do al ll kinds of trick dunks in game...,he could dribble off his knees an assortment of fade-aways he could easily split multiple defenders. He had an aasortment of reverse layups...and the deadliest mid range and post game since MJ..even Hakeem Olajuwon acknowledged that...
Lebron simply doesn't have those moves...I've never seen him take someone baseline for a reservse one or two handed flush in mid-air...I've never seen him shake 2 defenders and finish over the top of a 7 footer like Kobe baptized Dwight...my point is sure he's bigger and stronger than Kobe but No way in is he better or more atheletic...and to the stats and analytic nerds....stats are empty when the stregnth of compe ion is missing. Over the years Kobe has faced many great on ball and 1 on 1 defenders but they could never stop him...the only time Lebron faced a decent defender was in Kiwi and he looks horrible against Kiwi...imagine if Lebron played in the West and had to face Kiwi all the time...but to my point...Lebron has not played to the same level of compe ion as MJ and Kobe so it all but renders his stats meaningless in my book.....
Now lets compare Duncan and Shaq..since Duncan played the 5 spot many times vs Shaq....Shaq was a beast down low..but I do not think he was more skilled or more athletic than Duncan..same criteria I used for Kobe vs. Lebron...Duncan could do way more in the post and from mid-range...Shaq couldnt come close to that...Shaq could only score within 1-3 feet from the basket.....so when people say Lebron is this and Lebron is that he's the best..not in my view...till this day I have not seen Lebron do anything offensively or defensively that I can look at and say wow I've never seen Kobe do that....
Lebron is not even close to Kobe as a pure basketball player in my view....and if he's not close to Kobe you shouldnt even be mentioning him and MJ in the same sentence...are you enamored with Lebrons passing skills? Ok fine...but then say that...outside of that he's brought nothing to this game that we havent seen before...I for one will never be on that media hype machine....I dont care how many media awards the media gives him....until Lebron can do something like this I dont want to hear it..
Last edited by Koolaid_Man; 06-07-2015 at 07:44 AM.
Or even if Lebron could show me something like this..where he snakes the baseline...i think this was against the one on one defense of Latrell Sprewell who was also a very good and hardnosed defender...
Or if you can show me a Lebron dunk like this...athleticism at it's pure finest..against the Nuggets...
why do people refuse to admit that Lebron James is a flawed athlete?
I'm not even talking about his mentality or lack of compe ive spirit. I'm talking pure and simple mechanically he's a flawed athlete, especially for basketball. Lebron James is probably one of the fastest player in the league when he's at full stride in top speed, but his acceleration or first step is pedestrian at best. This kid needed a pick and roll as soon as he got into the league because he never had the blow by first step of a guy like Kobe. Kobe in his 13th season in the league relied less on pick and rolls than Lebron in his first.
Lebron also has a blocky and bulky bodytype similiar to Dwight Howard. Both lack the natural fluidity and coordination of someone like Kobe or MJ. If you watch this kid's footwork when he's in iso, it's literally like he's shuffling them and trying to remember which step to take like he's in Salsa Dancing for beginners. This is why every jumper he takes he seems to be off balance and he's never been able to have a effective pull up game.
I just never have been impressed by his athleticism. He's also a terrible two foot leaper that's why he never wanted to participate in the dunk contest
guy is a bull ruining what was an aesthete game
Lebron does not have a quick first step
A lot of observers conflate top speed and first step.
Lebron is probably one of the fastest player in the league when he's at full stride in top speed, but his acceleration or first step is pedestrian at best. This kid needed a pick and roll as soon as he got into the league because he never had the blow by first step of a guy like Kobe.
a lot of guys have both attributes. but u also have guys on opposite end of spectrum like Jeremy Lin, who has great acceleration from standstill but definitely below average in speed.
This is the difference between quickness and raw speed. You can spot the difference pretty easily.
Quickness/elite first step:
Power/speed:
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^"I'm talking pure and simple mechanically he's a flawed athlete, especially for basketball."
Cowherd talked about this at length about a month ago. I was shocked. I mean sure he rehabilitated him after the initial inquiry, but, he examined it.
In turn, that means Shaq is better than Kobe.
Cowherd constantly jumps fences back and forth to make sure he's always right.
Without a doubt.
Lol anyone who says Duncan is better than Shaq.
Shaq on the Suns and Celtics was brutal
- Defense was underwhelming given his size
- The free throw failures
- Questionable work ethic
Shaq was on the clear decline by then. His prime is wayyyy better than Duncan's.
While I agree Shaq was TOP 5 most dominant in one small time period. It's mostly because of his size which diminishes his overall greatness in my eyes
Furthermore how did Shaq manage 1 single regular season MVP?
Well Tim certainty had the superior career and his individual accomplishments are equal if not superior
Yep. Duncan is a more skilled player. Shaq was all brute force.
Agreed. It's shameless.
I still can't figure out Kool's in' statement. It's 8 hours old and I've driven myself close to tears over it. I'm goin' to What-a-burger & get a patty melt.
He was 35 with the Suns and a terrible fit for their roster anyway. He was actually pretty good individually for them, but it came at the expense of the offensive system and they weren't winning.
By his Celtics days, he was pushing 40 and completely done. No amount of "work ethic" in the world was going to extend his career any further at that point. He was injured half the time and could barely move even when he was playing. He was just brutal to watch in that Heat series, especially Game 4.
Duncan easily wins the longevity debate against Shaq, but Shaq wins the peak argument. I'd rank Shaq over Duncan, but it's extremely close and I can understand why people would argue otherwise.
check your PM
Duncan was a better 4 but not a better 5![]()
Shaq's peak was greater than Duncan's, no contest. Shaq would score on triple teams. He was that dominant.
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