The Best in the NBA

Lost Ghost · #1

Well....I'm a HUGE Kobe Byrant fan....and I'm willing to take all comers who wish to argue against the fact that Kobe Byrant is the best player in the NBA right now...

Some things to consider....He's the first player since Wilt to get 45+ points 4 games in a row...which happened in the last 5 games

The one that ended the streak was tonight's game which was a showcase of the two best in the league...LeBron vs Kobe...

Kobe was stuggling becasue he injured his wrist early in the game....but when it came down to it...he hit 3 straight shots in the last minute and a half to give them a 99-97 lead with 6.2 seconds left...cavs go down and Kobe fouls Bron....he goes to the line...makes the first...misses the second....then Gooden ( a DAMN good player) gets the offensive rebound....4.2 seconds left and LeBron gets a good shot off and it doesnt hit..

Goes to show that LeBron is an INCREBILE talent....and soon he'll be on the level....but just the clutch factor and ability to knock down the shots when it counts...and to come back from when he struggled all game to keep that confidence up and hit the big shots all the time.... is what continues to put Kobe on a level above the rest of the league....He is still the best player in the league...

I'm very open to everyone else's opinion on this........oh and by the way....don't even mention Shaq....for his size....he's not doing very good....he's not even in the top 5 in rebounds or points......he probably leads in FG % again...but the man is so damn close to the basket.......Shaq is still the most dominate....but he's not better than Kobe by any means....

Timmy D is good.....but I can't count on him to make the shots late in the game......freethrows espically....(Kobe was 8-8 in the game )

Oh...and with tonight's games...the Pistons beat the Spurs again..for the 2nd time this yaer....

but yep....what do you guys think?

#2

I go with Lebron myself. Great stats and he is a team player. Perhaps he is not as clutch yet but who knows. I have seen hin dominate the fourth quarter of many games. For my money Kobe shoots too much. I also love Duncan. My main man is KG but he is having a down year surrounded by poor talent.

Bot · #3

You forgot to mention the game where he out-scored the entire Mav team. I'd say that game alone puts him ahead of everyone else.

Lost Ghost · #4

and in a society where points per game seems to decide who the best is....Kobe outshines them with 34 points a game...only 1 higher than AI...but 4 higher than Bron...

#5

And you would want this guy, who's only concern is with himself and his stats over everyone else in the league?

Lost Ghost · #6

Did you watch the Laker game?

I saw Kobe with the ball....and all 4 guys...spread out....standing next to their defender...their eyes on Kobe...watching him play and waiting for him to hoist a shot........

maybe if they were moving around...setting screens off the ball...and getting open.....I would expect more passes.....Kobe had at least 7 good passes to a guy that missed the shot....thats 7 possible assists that wont be ont he stat sheet...not becasue he isn't passing...but because they aren't making...

And to get something straight.....Michael Jordan isn't only up on Kobe because he "made guys better"....you name me a single player on the Lakers who is close to someone on that bulls team....... Kobe could pass it out to Smush Parker (like the Kerr situation) late in the game....but Parker ain't hitting that 3....or any 3's for that matter.... it's easier to pass to a teammate when you have confidence in his game.....

How are you gonna hate a guy for trying to win some ball games when his team doesnt wanna help him out?

Watch a game.....and you'll realize Kobe isn't ignoring his open teammates...they just aren't getting open... he's not as selfish as people make him out to be.......and when all is said and done...if you still believe he's selfish...then I'd expect you to pick someone else...but I'm sticking with Kobe...

Speaking of.......since you think Kobe is a bad choice because he's selfish....I'm curious to see who'd you vote as best player?

#7

Here's the deal LG.....I think Kobe is the most talented player in the league, period.

But I also believe he is an egomaniac that is playing the game for himself. If you remember just two and a half seasons ago, he single handedly brought down arguably one of the best teams ever assembled because he was't the "man". To much emphasis was put on Shaq and Phil and it pissed him off to the point of becoming a pouting little bitch. Now he's on a team that he agrees with (because they're a bunch of no names) and your gonna say that it's the rest of the players fault that they don't win. I say bullshit! He is in exactly the situation he wants to be in. When the game is over, the media comes to Kobe because he did something amazing to win the game or they go to Kobe to find out why, when he's doing EVERYTHING, they lost the game.

There is no one else in the locker room to steal his face time.

I'm not going to pretend to know a shitpile about basketball, cuz I don't, but I would much rather have a guy on my team that wants to win for the team instead of someone that's in it for himself.

I don't know, maybe the guy just rubs me wrong because he got away with rape..........

#8

Actually I'm pretty sure the streak ended against the Blazers and not the Cavs. Anyway....I don't like Kobe and how he plays. He could have been the first person since Chamberlain to score 75+ in a game but decided to sit out the forth quarter. To me that shows he doesn't care. And don't say that they were way up and that's why he sat out. When Chamberlain shot his 100 they were killing their opponent also and the opponent didn't get mad. They were in awe like everyone else that someone could score 100. Kobe is overrated. That's not saying he isn't good....but not the best in teh NBA

Lost Ghost · #9

......what about that statement was logical? TT....leave it alone if you dont know what you're talking about dude.

We're arguing about how selfish he is....but when he has a chance to break Chamberlain's scoring record...he sits out claiming" I wanted to give the other guys a chance to play with each other"......and you dont like that? I bet if he got the record....you'd be on the other side...saying hes a selfish ball hog who only cares about breaking records and not winning......I'm seriously amazed at what you're saying....literally the only criticism on Kobe is his selfishness...and one of the only clean cut instances he shows that he isn't selfish.....is the reason you dont like him?

Rim......how can you say that just because he's the only star on the team....it makes it so the rest of the team isn't capable of losing a game?

When Kobe puts up 45+ points 4 games in a row...and they only win 2(if that inacurate my bad) how can the blame be tottally on Kobe?

Just because Kobe's happy that hes playing with crappy players doesn't mean that when they play crappy....that they shouldnt be called crappy...and often times be the reason the lakers lose.

lets take a look at a hypothetical...no names...no egos......... a team scores 100 points....one player has 45 of those points...and you lose.....and this player is shooting at roughly 50%....you gonna put the loss on the man who scored nearly half the points? of the rest of the team who barely showed up on the box score? I'm taking the team is the one that aint do its job.....

Now that we throw Kobe in the mix...and we realize he might be selfish and all this...sure...we can put the blame on Kobe some of the times.....but not all the times man.....When Kobe plays with good players...he wins championships.....Kobe actually has gotten better since those championship years.....and yet now they're losing games.....and you're gonna tell me its because of Kobe? Sheer logic tells you its the supporting cast...regardless of how he ended up with that cast around him... they aren't winning games becaue of them.....Kobe isn't the problem.......when you're leading the NBA in scoring....you will rarely ever be labeled the problem....

Now with that statement....it might be construed as Kobe is never the problem...and I'll be the first to admit that he takes some bad shots sometimes and doesn't always pass the ball.....so it is his fault on occasion.... but the fact of the matter is this...... Without Kobe's contribution....or him on the court....the Lakers probably dont even have a win....they're the houston texans in search of a reggie bush......but they got one...Kobe Byrant.....and next year...when the Texans continue to lose...will it be Bush's fault? No....it'll be the fact that they got a TERRIBLE O-Line....and no playmakers on defence... You can only ride your star player for so long...and only get so many points out ofh im.....sooner or later other dudes are gonna have to get involved....

#10

I don't think any one would have minded him scoring more. Read the Sports Guy article in teh latest ESPN the Mag. It talks about it