The good marks keep coming

Kobe!

Kobe!

Kobe!

Hello Laker peoples

Probably one of the best things about Kobe Bryant out of these games is how well he carried himself. There was no Kobe arrogance, Kobe selfishness. During the gold game, he dished out 6 assists, many of them coming in the clutch.

To be honest, I've never "liked" Kobe beyond the fact that he's a great player. But after this past season and especially tthese Olympics, Kobe's been a very likeable guy.

I like THIS new Kobe best, major props.

Yes i'll say the mamba handle himself well A plus and BIG UPS to him for that.

thekobebryantblitz,

to my comment on rebounding and the bench you wrote:

Here's the thing: The bench's game is somewhat different than the starters.

My response: Whether we talk about the starters or the
bench the basics of basketball don't change. The phx
suns proved that by not making the finals when they had
the best offense in the league and no presence in the
middle/around the rim. I believe that we would be
"FOOLISH" to emulate their scheme in any way. It's not
about offense. It's about defense. Rebounding. etc.

re: Lamar & SF. You wrote:
You are always trying to convince me that Lamar *ALWAYS* has to shoot from the perimeter. Scottie Pippen (I AM NOT SAYING LAMAR IS OR IS AS GOOD AS PIPPEN) had a 30% shooting from 3 point land during the 6 years of championships on the Bulls. Oh he played Small Forward as well and still shot 3 pointers very crappy.

my response: Pippen is rated as one of the 50 best
players of all time. He was also a 9 time all defense
player. Pippen was quicker than Lamar and played
better defense. As I have mentioned before, a number
of people on this blog focus predominately on offense
and what the Celtics series showed me was "DEFENSE
WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!" I specifically mentioned putting
Sasha or Ariza at SF because they're quicker than
Lamar. I specifically mentioned that Lamar would have
a problem with the quicker SF/SG's.

you wrote: Again it takes *TIME* and simply being in the starting lineup does not *EQUAL* Ariza instantly getting a decent jumpshot.

my response:
I specifically stated that my arguments for Ariza & Sasha
were predicated on their work during the summer.

you wrote:
Until Ariza shows more quickness, both speed and lateral quickness, it is my opinion he cannot hang around the elite SF like Lebron and Carmelo. Odom may not be able to improve his quickness but at his stage his quickness is better than Ariza's

my response: We must have seen different Arizas.
Were you looking at him after the foot injury? Ariza is
quicker than Odom. He'll beat him in a foot race any
day of the week. Sasha too!

re: comparing Lamar to Kobe. I compared Lamar to
Kobe because you're using stats to back your point
for Lamar at SF. I ref. Kobe because his actions
support the statement: lies, damn lies & statistics.
Screw the numbers! When it's money time, Kobe is
clutch and I'm rollin' with him as long as he plays.
Inconsistency is Lamar's calling card and has been
for years.

re: people changing their games. you wrote:
Their games won't change much despite their age. Will they get some skills such as better slashing and shooting? No doubt about it. They won't though change completely their game and become what their talent is not like.

my response: I repeat, Sasha has improved the last
two years and Phil went to him more last year than
ever before. He's become better defensively and a
better shooter. ref. game 3 against the celtics. Ariza
is known for his defense. While I don't expect him to
become a shooter like Sasha, we got him for his
defense didn't we? So, if he continues to work on his
defense and slashing to the basket and increases his
shooting % by 10% we're fine. [ assuming he's
consistent ] Consistency is important. Lamar is
inconsistent.

re: comparing Trevor to Kobe. sure. Kobe is better in
every way. If Kobe had a twin I'd play Kobe prime at
SG and Kobe delta at SF. Since Kobe doesn't have a
twin ... who's are next best SF and how does it work
with the rest of the scheme? I repeat: I love Lamar at
PF coming off the bench. It's the position he's had the
most success at for the Lakers. He adds rebounding
to the bench. He can pass. He can bring up the ball.
He'll play with a group that will share the ball more.
There will be less pressure on him and he doesn't
function well with pressure. He'll help the team more
off the bench playing with Mihm & Farmar then he
will starting at SF.

Olympics and Defense

Kobe was the starter on that team who went out and led by example with lock down defense. There was no way they were going to lose a game with the defense they played, and Kobe was the guy who led the effort, and everyone else followed suit. Kind of like MJ did on the Bulls. He played tough defense and he insisted the other Bulls do the same. And he made sure they did. And 6 rings followed.

I hope Kobe takes that same defensive attitude into the regular season this year. If he does, there will be no more softness questions and LA will join the elite defensive teams of the NBA. And put that together with their top knotch offense and they will put together some rings.

John

Here's the report from that story AK referenced:

"Bryant ranked third on Team USA in scoring, fourth in assists and steals.. He finished right behind James in turnovers (15) and, like James, did not shoot very well from the free throw line (.583). Bryant shot .321 from three point range."

Ouch!

What does that Olympic guy know about basketball?

Kobe's the reason Team USA won? How lame.

Wade, Lebrona and Howard is why Team USA won.

Yoos Faker fan are going to go off on "how great Kobe is".

To the guy who made reference to PP; my response is: Finals MVP baby. Need I say mo?

Cheers, mate.

If Kobe's so great, why has the guy done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING since 2003 as the #1 guy? Why has the Fakers done nothing with getting big-time free agents, like KG and Allen, to play in LA?

Remember this: A compliment on ABC last season is "Kibe is a good teammate this year". Hello? What about the past 12 years?

OMG!

Justin N,

That post about Kobe and Pierce was made in jest by exheoldvr. If you read the blog enough you'll notice he's a pretty sarcastic dude.

good read Jon K.

"my response: Pippen is rated as one of the 50 best
players of all time. He was also a 9 time all defense
player. Pippen was quicker than Lamar and played
better defense. As I have mentioned before, a number
of people on this blog focus predominately on offense
and what the Celtics series showed me was "DEFENSE
WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!" I specifically mentioned putting
Sasha or Ariza at SF because they're quicker than
Lamar. I specifically mentioned that Lamar would have
a problem with the quicker SF/SG's."

I *SPECIFICALLY* stated Lamar is nowhere talented as Pippen and yet you go out of your way to compare them. Very poor response. I also stated that Lamar played good defense on Lebron, Josh Smith, when he was a Small Forward back in 05-06. If needed later on I will repost them and as usual you will probably but or ifs. It's all there plain and simple. I even said Lamar won't be needed to score much, it's his defense that will be on Small Forward. Ariza's defense, while solid and improving, is not *YET* on par's with Lamar's. A few years from now Ariza will be very solid at defense trust me. But at the time being his defense is not to a degree where he can sufficiently challenge the elite Small Forwards for 48 minutes. And I specifically stated again it takes *MORE* than one summer to bring the game to another level. Ariza has played for 4 1/2 seasons already and still has to prove he is more than 9 ppg and than just solid defense. Like Laker Tom says, it takes more than potential to start and Trevor still hasn' shown more than he's a valuable role player off the bench.

"We must have seen different Arizas.
Were you looking at him after the foot injury? Ariza is
quicker than Odom. He'll beat him in a foot race any
day of the week. Sasha too!"

We must be talking about 2 different things. I'm not talking about foot speed, i'm talking about quickness and NO they are not the same. Ariza is no doubt faster than Lamar, Lamar may actually be as fast as Sasha (we don't know their 40 times). Lateral quickness plus footwork is the kind of thing I'm talking about since that is what defense is mostly about since there is no more hand checking. In those terms, Lamar has great footwork not to mention lateral quickness. Lamar's long arms is also a big advantage to him. Sasha's short wingspan is a disadvantage to Sasha despite his intensity plus Sasha's lateral quickness is still below average and he was picked and rolled he was beaten quite frequently. Ariza has good footwork but still not laterally quick as Lamar.

"I repeat, Sasha has improved the last
two years and Phil went to him more last year than
ever before. He's become better defensively and a
better shooter. ref. game 3 against the celtics. Ariza
is known for his defense. While I don't expect him to
become a shooter like Sasha, we got him for his
defense didn't we? So, if he continues to work on his
defense and slashing to the basket and increases his
shooting % by 10% we're fine. [ assuming he's
consistent ] Consistency is important. Lamar is
inconsistent."

I repeat, Sasha didn't break out until 2007-2008 season. Plus I repeat, Phil did not play him as much as he did later on until both Mo Evans got traded and Ariza got injured. Sasha is a good shooter than either one but doesn't have the driving into the lane that Evans and Ariza has. Did Sasha make good use of his opportunity? Yes and it paid off. So it's only *one* year that he really improved greatly. He's been better defensively but like I said, his below average lateral quickness and his short wingspan limits his defense and I already gave numbers on how the guys Sasha guarded poured 20+ points on him usually. Is Sasha quite pesky and plays defense with intensity? Yes. Is he a lock down defender? No. Trying to compare Sasha's performance in the finals to Lamar's? Ok Game 3 he did well he shot lights out game. And game 4? He made one out of eleven shots.....(streaky shooter). I wonder why you say 42.5% (Sasha shot that in the finals) shooting is superior to 50% (Lamar shot that in the Finals). Ariza even before his injury was inconsistent having good games but then not only not scoring well but also getting beat on defense i.e. him allowing Paul Pierce to dance around him not only in the Finals but also in the regular season as well.

"I compared Lamar to
Kobe because you're using stats to back your point
for Lamar at SF. I ref. Kobe because his actions
support the statement: lies, damn lies & statistics.
Screw the numbers! When it's money time, Kobe is
clutch and I'm rollin' with him as long as he plays.
Inconsistency is Lamar's calling card and has been
for years."

Ok so 81 points by Kobe is a lie and so is shooting over 50 points over 4 games is a lie too. That is what you are implying by saying Statistics is lies. Statistics are not lies, they can be misleading no doubt but they are NOT lies. When it's time for someone to step up no doubt Kobe is. Tell me though do you trust the ball in Ariza's hand then? Don't even say you wouldn't trust it in Lamar cause I wouldn't either and I'm not asking that either.

"Trevor to Kobe. sure. Kobe is better in
every way. If Kobe had a twin I'd play Kobe prime at
SG and Kobe delta at SF. Since Kobe doesn't have a
twin ... who's are next best SF and how does it work
with the rest of the scheme? I repeat: I love Lamar at
PF coming off the bench. It's the position he's had the
most success at for the Lakers. He adds rebounding
to the bench. He can pass. He can bring up the ball.
He'll play with a group that will share the ball more.
There will be less pressure on him and he doesn't
function well with pressure. He'll help the team more
off the bench playing with Mihm & Farmar then he
will starting at SF."

Tell me how many defensive awards as Trevor won compared to Kobe? Trevor is a solid defender but he's no lock down defender. I will finish this conservation a bit later though I got work.

Be back in a bit.

D'ANTONI now stands as the second-greatest coach in the NBA behind Terry Porter.

Holy geez that's hilarious.

They have a sick, psychotic instinct that cannot be reasoned with.
So don't reason with them. Pity them. Their internal lives are empty and
hollow. Posted by: Jon K. | August 27, 2008 at 07:54 AM

GOD@mnit Jon K. that was so beautiful I think I'm going to cry. LMFAO!!!

Good Morning JustAnotherMambaFan, head of the Mamba Clan
Good Morning Charles
Good Morning Morning Crue.

Hey Good Morning Guys!

This is great recognition for Kobe. For the NBA, I hope the players involved with this team continues to play hard with their respective teams on the National level.

Respect the Basketball Gods!

Xodus

Great to see you post in frequency my friend.

When Team USA won the gold, they were acting as a team. The sum of parts equals the whole. Lebron was a good leader, Kidd was the captain, D'Wade was the highest pointer, Bosh and Dwight powered the inside, Deron and Chris provided the assist and the well coordinated attack, Melo rebounds, runs and shoots too, Redd, Prince and Boozer were cheerleaders or acted assistant to the assistant coaches and lastly, our Kobe provided the hardest defensive assignments. In essence they acted as a team.

When they come home to America, the fans acted as individual fandoms, homers and selfish adulation that their boy did the great things.

We are a better people when we act as ONE UNION, but a bad nation when we only favor the few.

Hey ladies and germs... finished a road trip from the Cape to Austin, then had to wait to have internet hooked up at the new pad. As for Kobe, there's nothing I can add except that I'm glad he's our guy.

"BUTLER,

Yes, Gnash as you call him is such a great player."

We are in agreement!

Say, what is andrew byenumb's status? The race between comeback centers is between him and Oden this season, both of them trying with all their might to follow in the footsteps of their idol, AMARE STOUDEMIRE.

Good morning Lake Nation...

Good morning Mamba 24!!

We are a better people when we act as ONE UNION, but a bad nation when we
only favor the few. Posted by: Edwin Gueco | August 27, 2008 at 09:

EDWIN FOR PRESIDENT!! You got my vote. Lol!

Good Morning Laker Fans

First time blogger, long time reader.

Phoenix will always have the Mercury banner. LOL!

"There was no Kobe arrogance, Kobe selfishness."
This is true during the times kobee sat on the bench.
Posted by: BUTLER | August 27, 2008 at 09:16 AM

I'M SORRY BUTLER BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CALL THIS FIGHT.
No person Should be subjected to the abuse you are taking
DON'T YOU KNOW YOU RISK MAJOR BRAIN DAMAGE FROM ALL THE BLOWS YOU'RE TAKING?
What's that you say? You've already been diagnosed as brain damaged. NEVER MIND!

Let's go C's!,

lil weanie ... let's go ... I'm here to help u ... before all is said and done, we'll find you a team to love ... u're not a celtics fan, but u claim to b 1 so at least u kinda chose a team already ... so for the next couple of days i'll try to teach u how to love d team u chose ... it wont be easy, u're obsessed with hating on kobe ... but jon k. said to pity u so we will ... we'll try to show u how to b a fan

Today's Lesson,
know your history and know your legends and defend their legacy with tenacity. E.g. if someone comes on hurr and says "wow chris paul is the best point guard ever", the blog will be quick to point out umm "yeah his game is nice but did ya mama drop u on your head, like ya never heard of magic johnson?"

Go read up on your legends weanie, and somewhere in there you'll find a coach called Red Aurbach .. and then go back and read Butler's comment

"...and D'ANTONI now stands as the second-greatest coach in the NBA behind Terry Porter."

What a celtic fan on the blog read that and didn't go bonkers, come on now ya can do it ... say something mean to Butler ... hate on him for ignoring ya history ... find the mean green in you yo ... or 4eva be known as a grean weanie ... i got faith in u weanie ... u can do this, protect ya history

Mamba24.

To run for President....

No way, no how and Hillary first in 2012. You should be a very proud New Yorker to have her as your senator.

PIG,

"Holy geez that's hilarious."

Please do not encourage Butler's stupidity by touting it as comedy.

Butler,

I have lived in Phoenix my whole life. I have been going to games since the Charlie Scott days.

Question- when have the Suns ever won anything? As an organization we are closer to the Clippers than the Lakers. 0 Titles---you know what I mean?

I can tell by your post you are a teenager which could be used as an excuse but why talk trash when the Suns have never won a thing? I just don't get it.

Anyway once they get rid of Shaq and that god awful
contract I hope the Suns can rebuild to a true contender like Portland is doing. I thought Kerr might do it but after the Shaq fiasco I can see I will have to wait another 10 years to see if we ever get that elusive championship.

John