For the longest time, I hated on Kobe Bryant. I denied it when I was called out on it, but deep down I would always try to put down whatever he did. Calling him selfish, saying "he's never going to be as good as Jordan", saying he can't win without Shaq back in the day.
And LeBron came along and I was his biggest fan (still am) and hating on Kobe was even more of a priority to ensure that LeBron seemed that much better. Using advanced statistics etc.. to try to backup the LeBron > Kobe argument.
During this recent stretch of Kobe's great performances I see the same thing on this forum. The same thing I was doing back in the day, trying to down play his great performances, trying to compare him to Jordan so he seems inferior in comparison.
Now older and wiser, I think I just want to remind everyone who enjoy's basketball played right, played with a compe ive at ude, played with fundamentals, quit the hating and just enjoy one of the greats while he's still around.
Appreciate this guy's game. Whatever you want to say about his personal life, how he tries to mimic Jordan etc.., whatever. This guys plays with passion, love of the game. You can tell with his fundamentals, his work ethic. These are all the things we normally love about a player, this is what we all loved about Jordan.
If you spend all this time hating on the guy, you will miss out some beautiful basketball played. Enjoy it while it lasts because this dude will be gone soon.
Say what you want about him. Sure he's not or never will be the GOAT. Thats fine. But just sit back and enjoy for what the guy is. An all time TOP 10 player. As Somebody who didn't have the physical tools to be the a TOP 10 player but became one with his love and work ethic for the game, respect his game. Sit back and enjoy kids, you might look back one day and regret that you didn't.
Chris Richards, you're alright in my book.
There's nothing wrong with hating snitches, IMO
Nice thoughts..you are being serious right?
Help yourself, Chris. You know you want it.
I'm dead serious about this too. I came to realize in a few years time, I have no other player to hate to. Kevin Durant, Rose, Melo, Dwight, CP3, Griffin etc none of them has the shares the same quality as Kobe, they are far too nice. I know people look at his FGA and call him a chucker (I still think he's the biggest chucker in todays game) but what seperates Kobe from the rest is his intense work ethic and undying desire to prove people wrong, and for someone who pretty much has achieved everything in the league, at season 16, it amazes me how he plays with a chip on his shoulder . Hard not to respect a guy like this when most players of the newer generation has this sense of en lement.
I want to criticize him for being a ballhog but I'm tired of this schtick. I think its easier to appreciate him when you think of him as the a cold blooded gunner.
You're flat out wrong. His work ethic and undying will isn't to prove people wrong. If it were, he would have 18 assists a game instead of 35 FGA. Everyone knows he's a chucker. Chucking more doesn't prove those people wrong.
, by your logic, every showboating thug in the league is out to prove people wrong.
If he wants to disprove those who say his chucking is a cancer to the team, he's had many years to do so, and in those years where he didn't have other all stars to buoy the team, his chucking was notoriously suspect, as was his alternative method of just quitting and refusing to shoot.
The guy has been coddled like few people in the history of sports, and he makes 30m a year in salary. I know people who make 70K who work harder than him, and who's work ethic doesn't include ting on the rest of the team for their own glory.
He plays with a chip on his shoulder because he's frustrated that he'll never be ranked among the top 10 greatest players. Despite playing 16 years in the league for what is unarguably the most privileged franchise in the NBA, he still, unbelievably, does not understand the value of team basketball. The pieces to another championship are staring him in the face. He has two all star 7 footers to feed, and yet he fails to feed them. The recent championships the Lakers have won were won in spite of Kobe. Having won his rings, Kobe's now content to throw his team under the bus to do as much individual stat padding as he can before his body falls apart from all the 40+ minute games he plays.
It's all true, and it's nothing that hasn't been said here a dozen times a day before.
Again, I don't know what you think the playoffs will prove. Right now, unless it improves PG and SF this a 2nd round playoff team.
With Blake out we have a too old and too young rotation at PG ...and at his best Blake should be a backup and Morris and Fisher would only get "spot" minutes. Barnes is solid but should be a backup ...Walton and Artest best days are behind them ...yet they make more money than Blake, Barnes, ebanks, Morris and McRoberts combined.
We have the best SG (for now Kobe reclaims over Wade)
A top 3 center and a top 5 PF ...but more questions than answers everywhere else. I like Mcroberts and Morris has promise ...but no matter how much Kobe shoot sor passes this is NOT a le team.
Oh and LOL at resting your superstar or Kobe saying should pass more like Manu ...that worked out REAL well for the spurs last playoffs. Bottom line you need to be good enough to beat the team you are facing and right now we aint good enough to beat a real good team in the playoffs.
I never mentioned Manu.
You act like Kobe doesn't have two 7 footers in the paint.
You canthat all you like, there's no solid basketball logic behind throwing up 28' prayers when you are in double coverage and you have 2 seven footers on the court with you. Even the commentators were saying how Pau didn't touch the ball for 8 minutes in the 4th, and how that is likely why he gets out of sync. Just watching Kobe play ball while you run around setting picks gets old on players. It's no longer a team game for them, they will stop playing on offense and probably on defense as well.
i appreciate him for what he is, a fun player to watch and a solid 10-15 player of all time. nothing more, nothing less.
That wasnt directed at you (manu) just the comments at Kobe in general, just used your post to reply. I am not spinning anything. I just dont see a le contender here. DO I want Kobe to dial it back a bit? Yes. But I also saw bynum huffin and puffin' and Pau refusin to go hard and when he did get stuffed by Brian freaking Cook.I never mentioned Manu.
You act like Kobe doesn't have two 7 footers in the paint.
You can
At first I was in the camp of trading Bynum ... then I kind softened but now Im kind of back to making that trade hopefully not giving up Pau ...but if we had to Id rather have our salary cap invested in Howard and Kobe rather than in Kobe, Pau and Bynum. Either way we aint winning a le but with Kobe's resurgence and Howard we could at least put a scare in some teams ...
Oh and basket ball is about scoring and stopping the other team from scoring. Sure Post play and lay-ups are preferred over fade-away 18 footers. And I agree he needs to pass more to engage his team-mates. I agree with all of that. And i think he will he is on a scoring binge but he will not keep this up. I doubt he could even if he wanted to ...but 2 points is 2 points.
And I love spur fans are so "concerned" about Kobe's health, our team-chemistry and telling me we an be a contender when I can clearly see we are not ...yall drinking that same that had some of you thinking the spurs were legit last year ...
He's a wannabe... Kobe would get a lot more respect if he didn't try so hard to be somebody else, tbh
What you fail to mention is every team has holes, Killa. Instead of constantly making excuses for the guy when it's clear he has more than enough support to make a legit le run, how about you acknowledge his shortcomings from within?
You can't change the fact that he has two of the top 8 big men in the league and that is the most important position in the game. He has quality bench players. It's asinine to think that he deserves or needs any more talent stacked up around him in order to win. Every team has holes and if you are truly that good, you shouldn't need the clear cut most stacked team in the league just to have a shot to win. It's ridiculous thinking.
Bynum put in good work when he was called upon. Sure he was winded, big deal. He's running full length, not just to the arc and firing up a prayer.
Earlier in the season, Bynum was beasting, and yet Mike Brown basically didn't give a and went to "sav-a-job" mode. If Mike is serious about winning a ring, he would want to get Bynum and Pau involved, especially Pau, because the dude can shoot from damn near anywhere inside the arc, and hits his FTs. His footwork in the paint is incredible and he's one of the best catch and shoot players in the league. Kobe should be feeding these guys but keeping the threat active from outside. If he takes wide open looks, so be it.
It should be obvious, by what Houston was willing to give up for him, what Pau means to a team.
The Lakers have the pieces to win the West. I've said it since day one.
He modeled his game after the best of all time, how is that a bad thing?
he just took a fadeaway MJ used to do that!!11
And what you fail to see these holes will allow you to win regular season games, just like the Spurs did last year. But win a le? No. I dont settle for mediocrity I like this team from a effort and defensive standpoint. But talent wise (top to bottom) I would say: Heat, Bulls, OKC, Dallas, Nuggs, clips Blazers and Spurs are more talented than we are. Because we have Kobe and size we can beat some of those teams ... no doubt about it, But again this is not a le team. i like Brown but do you see him leading this team to beat 3 teams (lakers will probably have HCA for at least 1 round) better than his without HCA?
In a video game, sure, but in reality the team is comprised of other individuals who also have to be part of the solution. They train and they are professionals. In order to get where they need to be, each player has to fulfill a role, even the star, to form a cohesive squad. The star has to show trust in his teammates for that to happen.
You're ignoring 50 years of basketball axioms.
Well, you're on Spurstalk.com, who do you expect to hear from?And I love spur fans are so "concerned" about Kobe's health, our team-chemistry and telling me we an be a contender when I can clearly see we are not ...yall drinking that same that had some of you thinking the spurs were legit last year ...
The Spurs have won mostly from overachieving role players who played around a solid, unselfish star.
If the Spurs had what the Lakers have, we would be talking about being stacked.
Ridiculous. Lakers have a top 3 SG and two top 10 bigs. End of story.
lol, so we went from "lol lakers are a first round team this year" to "lakers are clear contenders if only played to the bigs
Come on bro. and lol at bynum suddenly being "top 8' big men in the league.
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