Thursday, October 14, 2004
Sonics' Allen offers appraisal of Bryant in post-Shaq/Phil era
By DANNY O'NEIL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
PORTLAND -- Ray Allen was suited up for the Sonics' preseason game against the Trail Blazers last night. He just wasn't in uniform, instead watching in a sports jacket as he sat out the game.
Allen suffered from a migraine headache and gastrointestinal disorder.
Because of the illness, Allen wasn't around to answer questions after the Sonics beat the Lakers 87-80 on Tuesday, but he was asked for a day-after assessment of Kobe Bryant's performance in his first game after Shaquille O'Neal was traded and coach Phil Jackson retired.
"He's going to be very selfish," Allen said of Bryant, who scored 15 of his team's first 20 points and had 35 points in Tuesday's loss. "And he feels like he needs to show this league and the people in this country that he is better without Shaq. He can win championships without Shaq. So offensively, he's going to jump out and say, 'I can average 30 points. I can still carry the load on this team.'
"I think the point production is not going to be so much what people are going to look at because (Tracy) McGrady did it in Orlando, Allen (Iverson) did it in Philly. Can you win a championship? I think that's the question. Carrying guys on your back and making everybody better."
Can Bryant do that?
"He has the talent, he can do it," Allen said. "But is his at ude going to allow him to take a back seat and let Lamar Odom shine and let Caron Butler have his nights and bring those big guys along with him?"
Allen said Bryant's ability and willingness to incorporate others will be the gauge for the Lakers' success. Bryant was re-signed for seven years at more than $130 million this summer.
"If Kobe doesn't see he needs two and a half good players to be a legitimate playoff contender or win a championship in about a year or two he'll be calling out to Jerry Buss that 'We need some help in here,' or 'Trade me,' " Allen said. "And we'll all be saying, 'I told you so,' when he says that."
Butler, who like Allen attended UConn, is in his third year in the league.
"His successes now is going to be based on if Kobe allows him to eat," Allen said of Butler. "If Kobe allows him to sit at the dinner table with him."
Allen was asked about the personal part of his game against Bryant. At different times, Bryant bumped into Allen and talked trash. After blocking a fast-break layin attempt by Allen, Bryant stared down at Allen, who had fallen to the floor, allowing Luke Ridnour to grab the loose ball and pass to Rashard Lewis for a dunk.
"I think he talks because he feels like he has to talk," Allen said. "He's out there playing, and if he does something good I feel like he needs to pat himself on the back because to me, it seems like he's isolated out there. As much as it's five-on-five, I don't see much camaraderie going on out there with his teammates."
Allen and Bryant were drafted the same year, 1996. Allen said that's one reason he thinks Bryant tries to turn any head-to-head meeting into a one-on-one battle. Bryant scored 15 of his team's 20 points in the first quarter and finished with 35. Allen scored 18 of his team-high 25 points in the second half.
"He thinks -- in his mind -- that he's going to shoot and try to show me up at any point in time on the floor," Allen said. "But his mentality and mine are different. I've got to do what it takes to help the team win."
One exchange captured what Allen was talking about. In the third quarter, Bryant made a 3-pointer over Allen and on Seattle's ensuing possession Allen made a 3-pointer over Bryant. Bryant answered with a 3-pointer, bumped into Allen at halfcourt and started talking.
"It was typical of the way he approaches the game and the way I approach it," Allen said. "I know it was set up for me to take that shot, no matter what situation I was in because that's what he did. And I wasn't going to fall into that trap because we were winning and he put himself in the situation where he has to come from behind."
P-I reporter Danny O'Neil can be reached at 206-448-8209 or dannyo'[email protected]
Kobe's got some massive insecurity issues despite being the best guard/wing in the game. There's a passage in Paul Shirley's book where he writes about going to training camp with the Lakers. During a scrimmage, Kobe blocked his shot so hard that Shirley fell to the floor and Kobe was standing over him and barked "Don't ever bring that weak in here, !"
God, 3 championships, he's the best player in the game, and he feels the need to talk smack to a non-roster invitee?
MJ was not always exactly humble either.
Yeah, he could be a jerk too.
MJ has six rings, and he didn't have to piggyback on a top-5 all time Center to get any of them.
Define ignorance.
first off, pippen ain't a top 5 small forward. not by a in longshot.
second, top 5 center >>>>>>>>>> top 5 small forward. it's pretty comical to even compare the two like they have equal footing. although pippen isn't a top 5 small forward anyways.
third, pippen MIGHT be a top 5 defender. and he might not. his defense fed off of jordan's defense, and vice versa. pippen has never been a singular shut-down defender like bowen. as soon as he didn't have jordan around his defense looked quite a bit more ordinary.
Meaning Allen is more of a whiner."But his mentality and mine are different. I've got to do what it takes to help the team win."
Kobe has 3 rings, how many does Allen have?
Umm, Shaq would have ZERO rings if he hadn`t played with Kobe and Wade.MJ has six rings, and he didn't have to piggyback on a top-5 all time Center to get any of them.
hilarious
They both suck anyways...
Oh really? Like the Mavs loss in the first round against the Warriors? Or like the Mavs loss against the Heat where Wade destroyed them? Hilarious but true. If you had Kobe on your team, I`m sure none of this would happen. But then you would say, oh sure, Kobe piggybacked on the greatest European player ever in the NBA.
And it IS really funny that Allen is talking about what it takes to win a championship when he won none.
Meh, nevermind...
Okay.
Is there an "incoherent" icon?
kobe needs a team of psychiatrists
I just don't think he knows what's going on in this topic.
What Kobe needed was for Shaq to slap the outta him a few years back.
I didn't even know Kobe won rings.
Ray allen is the biggest crybaby in the league but he was right on with his appraisal of Kobe.
I think Kobe is the best player in the league. No one works harder than he and I would not pick any player in the league over him at this point, but we have created a monster. Kobe > NBA!
I always had a hunch that the league was picking on him last season for some other reason than what was being reported and I found the suspension for hitting Ginobili a little over the top for a superstar. I now believe that it was more about the league and Stern making a statement to kobe that he will not be bigger than the NBA.(which i still believe was wrong) Suspending him for the Knick game cost kobe millions and the witch hunt did a lot to affect his season last year.
Mr. Allen has the last laugh and ye who laughs last, laughs best.
Typical Paul Shirley bull . Gets his shot sent by a guy six inches shorter than him, never forgets it, and then uses it as an opportunity to make the other guy look like the bad guy in his book. I would read more of his "work" if it was less about what's wrong with the succesful players in the league and more about why he, Paul Shirley that is, sucks so much at basketball.
He could try to tackle that subject but most publishers shy away from publishing 1200 page books.
And Ray Allen, as well as 99% of the people who were paying attention in 2004, were right.
The point is, Kobe is one of the League's alpha dogs. I could understand it if some scrub trying to make the team picked a fight with him, but Kobe is MASSIVELY insecure. Say what you want about Shirley, but if the incident happened the way Shirley says it did, Kobe is a d-bag.
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