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If you could put Kobe's heart in Kawhi's chest.....
As I see it, when you're the clear-cut best player on the team you need to act like it. That doesn't mean you need to have at ude off-court or make bad plays on the court, but I think we need him to start establishing some authority and not just playing fiddle to every one of Pop's decisions.
When Manu was at his peak he was unguaradable 1on1 and he wasn't afraid to let Pop know that and to play accordingly. Kawhi is almost at that level now. Different style but right now he's a top5 offensive player in the league.
At some point he has to stand up and DEMAND that ball on the post. He's a humble guy who thinks team first, but at this point in time, putting himself first is best for the team.
Full credit to him as being the team's greatest player on both ends and a total turning point for the Spurs since his drafting. His humility and willingness to work hard have made him a calibre of player beyond our wildest imaginings but at this point in his career that's not what the team or Kawhi needs. In the words of Pop, "I want some nasty!"
Bring the nasty Kawhi.
If you could put Kobe's heart in Kawhi's chest.....
He's in a pretty unconventional situation, tbh, with 3 HOF players that need to get their touches, too, along with Aldridge..not to mention Pop being the alpha on the team from a personality perspective, and doesn't strike me as the type that would enjoy players asking for touches or showing ego
His ego has developed. You can have an ego without being arrogant. I think his overall performance on both ends speaks for itself.
he has a beta personality... this has clearly been established and a point of worry for those of us who aren't player fans. he wants to be the 2nd banana at best, just like the admiral, tbh. it's okay, you need a 2nd banana, that's why PAFTO brought LMA into the fold...
Free advice from a veteran(PM me if you want more tips, too, btw): if you're going to continue going this route, use Parker as your example of "alpha", since he has a Finals MVP, rings, etc..not Lamarcus ing Aldridge
ego.. stay real kawhi.
last thing we need is a kobe got
I agree with you that the last thing we need is a Kobe got, but that's not what I'm asking for either.
Kawhi needs to be the guy we go to down the stretch for plays, just like true championship players in the past have done in their primes. MJ, Duncan, Wade, Lebron, Shaq, Garnett. None of those guys would shy away from being the go-to guy and put up 20+ FGA when it really counted.
Kawhi is no different to any of those guys. He can't be guarded 1on1 and if there's a double he can pass out of it and give us options to score. No other player on this team right now is the kind of threat that Kawhi is. Dude's gotta realise that and start asserting himself in crunch time, even over Pop.
Imagine if there was 10 seconds left, 1 point down and Phil drew up a play for Pippen to make an Iso play instead of MJ. wouldn't fly. MJ would demand the ball and dare anyone to defy him. That doesn't mean MJ would take the shot, but he should always be the one making the initial play.
Kawhi no different at this point in time.
Pop said the same thing about kawhi. He needs to have an ego to make the bigger jump.
He just needs to be a bit less reserved.
Its not so much ego, just needs to have a bigger, stronger presence.
He has to become the alpha dog. When Kobe was 22-23 years old he became the alpha on the Lakers over Shaq.... think about that.... There aren't a lot of guys who could ever alpha Shaq and he did it at 22-23. Either way, Kawhi is a great player and we are lucky to have him but at the same time it would be nice if he could become THE GUY. Since so few can, I could never hold it against him.He's in a pretty unconventional situation, tbh, with 3 HOF players that need to get their touches, too, along with Aldridge..not to mention Pop being the alpha on the team from a personality perspective, and doesn't strike me as the type that would enjoy players asking for touches or showing ego
Kobe wanted Shaq out because he was still his sidekick, bro, Phil Jackson said it in his book
The coach, who deliberately run the offense through Parker/LMA PnR and doesn't call Kawhi number for entire quarters in last games, is saying he should have a big ego...Nice.
Phil Jackson had an ax to grind with Kobe... you are right about that. But to say he was the side kick is ridiculous. I would put Kobe 1A and Shaq 1B on those teams. Point I was making is that even young players can take the reigns and be the man even when they are playing along side legends if they have the heart and will.Kobe wanted Shaq out because he was still his sidekick, bro, Phil Jackson said it in his book
You can't have ego on this team. Well atleast the players, pop on the other hand seems to have one of an ego.
I agree that in some situations Kawhi need to be more aggressive, specially in crunch time. How could you excel at something if you don't practice and confront that fear of failure?
What's ego next to hunger? Ego tells you to skip practice. Hunger tells you to practice late. Ego tells you you deserve victory. Hunger tells you to dive after a loose ball. KL is the definition of a hungry player. Duncan, too. I'll take that over ego any day.
Duncan never had an ego, but was the man anyway. Maybe that's what we're all talking about.
I think he and the team need to impose him more when possible/necessary.
He looked like he was still sick last night, but he seemed to still have a good shooting night.
I wonder what would have happened if he had started taking a more prominent role, or at least taking some shots he was passing on in the last minutes of the game.
Always knew Tony Parker fans were all Kobe fans too. Stupid people love their heroballers. Bet you were one of those gots that used to come to the AT&T Center in a Kobe jersey before the Lakers became irrelevant
Manu is Manu and Kawhi is Kawhi. I just want Kawhi to be the best version of Kawhi Kawhi can be. What is that? A player who is solid in all three phases of the game and that should be enough. He can continue to improve and think he will for years to come but being a natural scorer is in your DNA or not. In a way Kawhi is more like Duncan in that its not all about scoring though, unlike Duncan, plays a position that demands scoring to be very important. It is what it is though and really LMA needs to pick up the slack in scoring, thats who HE is.
Having said that Kawhi will bring the nasty in the playoffs like he did in 2014.
Duncan had a ego granted it wasn't toxic like other great players but he did have one. There is a story when he nearly got into a fight with a teammate by the name of Loren Woods at WF during his senior year. Woods was a 7fter and a top recruit that came in as a freshman while Duncan was a senior. Anyways Wood talked some trash about Duncan not being that good during a practice which later lead to a scrimmage where both were on opposing teams. Duncan went on trash Woods badly during the scrimmage which resulted in Woods playing very dirty and taking cheap shots at Duncan. Duncan got pissed off and shoved Woods and started cursing him out which resulted in in both of them being held back from their teammates. Also when Woods played in the NBA Duncan went on a mission to trash him in every game he played. There's also the famous story of Ostertag outplayed Duncan in a summer league game and then declaring Duncan as a bust. Duncan would go on to also school Ostertag every time the spurs played him. I remember many years ago in an interview Mario Elie stated that he would tell Duncan that there was guys in the league saying he wasn't really that good and that would rile up Duncan to point where he wanted to go out and kick some ass. Duncan wants to win at all costs and will do anything for the win but people forget he also took great pride in dominating his match up. Duncan has a super compe ive ego its why he is top 10 all time great.
you don't have to be a laker fan to appreciate a great player like Kobe. I hated him.... But I hated him becaus of how good he was. That being said... Jerseys are for kids. Grown men wearing jerseys is pretty sad tbh.
Always knew Tony Parker fans were all Kobe fans too. Stupid people love their heroballers. Bet you were one of those gots that used to come to the AT&T Center in a Kobe jersey before the Lakers became irrelevant
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