Where's the love for Kobe AND LeBron?
Posted by Ben Taylor -
LeBron and Kobe. Kobe and
LeBron. Widely considered the two premier basketball players in the
world. (Dwyane Wade is unfairly discounted far too often in the
discussion.) But as Steve Aschburner points out on SI.com,
conversations about the two surefire Hall of Famers often degenerate
into a polarizing debate.
As Aschburner observes, it seems almost natural to cast James and Bryant as antagonists. He lists a bunch of superficial similarities that pit them on opposing sides of a superhero showdown, and that's all well and good. Indeed, we thrive on rivalries in sports, and typically pick sides: Magic-Bird, Federer-Nadal, Woods-every other golfer alive. In Aschburner's words, we've become accustomed to using “or” in between names.
But just because they complement each other perfectly as adversaries in the prime-time drama that is the NBA (a new season of playoffs coming on TNT and the ABC family beginning this month!) doesn't mean there has to be so much animosity towards Kobe, if one is of the opinion that LeBron is better. Or vice versa. After all, both dazzle and amaze on the hardwood.
As a basketball fan, it's hard to see why carrying the opinion that one is superior should lead to an avalanche of negativity toward said opposing star. Instead of railing either on LBJ or the Mamba, wouldn't it boost one's argument to extol the virtues of the No. 2? Ask boxing historians why they often exclude Mike Tyson from the Greatest-of-All-Time discussion and they will ask you to name a great fighter whom Tyson defeated. Devaluing a player's top rival is counterproductive when carving a pedestal reserved for the greatest.
As Laker fans' favorite writer Bill Simmons noted on ESPN.com, Kobe, LeBron and even Wade are driving each other to evolve their games. It's an arms race - or a hoops race - and the greatest motivator these guys have is one another. Kobe's game, still rife with an endless repertoire of scoring tricks, is more polished than ever. LeBron has been a wunderkind since entering the league, but this season has taken his entire game to a new level. That he did so after playing with Bryant (and Wade) in the Olympics is no coincidence. (Of course, LeBron also recently underwent Lasik surgery. How he played pseudo blind is a miracle itself. Maybe that's why he hasn't won an MVP or championship.)
It was Magic who said Bird motivated him to improve every off-season. It was Magic who called Bird the greatest basketball player ever. Russell said the same about Wilt. Kobe, LeBron and even Wade are playing as well as any perimeter players since a bald, tongue-wagging Chicago shooting guard dominated the league during the Clinton years.
What is there not to enjoy on a variety of levels?
All three are "video game" good. The league and the stars themselves are most elevated when they all succeed. Every fan and general manager would love even the third-best of the sport's terrific triumvirate. It's time for less vitriol and a little more love in the “who's the best” debates.
BT
Photo: LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Credit: Jeff Lewis/Icon SMI
While both KB and LBJ are great offensive players, what differentiates KB is that he is also a great DEFENSIVE player. Except for the 04-05 season, Mamba has been on the NBA All-Defensive First Team EVERY YEAR since the 02-03 season. LBJ has not even made it to the Second Team.
So if you want a compleat player on both ends of the court, KB wins hands down....
Posted by: The Snake | April 03, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Magic v Bird was probably one of the most perfect rivalries that the NBA could ever receive. You had a huge battle for the NCAA title. They came into the league at the exact same time. Both of them went to big market teams that competed for Championships right away. It was serendipity.
I've said it before but Kobe v LeBron is more like Hakeem v Shaq. The timing is off. Kobe is older but more skilled. LeBron is bigger and younger.
But why the "v" or "or" you ask? It's because both players have ONE BIG NEGATIVE about them that will always give their detractors ammunition.
For Kobe it's selfishness. Almost every negative point about Kobe, from his battle with Shaq to the rape charge to demanding a trade to the general perception that he doesn't trust his teammates all boils down to people thinking he's selfish.
For LeBron it's that he doesn't deserve all the praise he gets. That the media or fans don't wait for him to achieve something and acknowledge how great it was. They just assume he's going to do great things and give him the love ahead of time. He made it to one Finals and got swept (so did Shaq btw at that young age) and will probably win the MVP going away this year. But, he gets treated like he's won multiple titles and is in the hall of fame already.
Each of those factors will keep the hate strong and the argument going between the lovers and the haters (kind of like Luke Walton).
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Great post. I thoroughly agree.
In an unrelated note, Jerry West is the Logo, Baby!
And Oscar Robertson was a over-rated hack.
Posted by: lone star laker fan | April 03, 2009 at 01:01 PM
Kobe could average a double double or triple double if the Lakers needed him to be that type of player, but that is why the Lakers have the likes of Lamar, Pau, Walton, players who can also create for their teammates so Kobe doesn't have to do IT all...
LeBron is def more inclined to pass the ball because thats truly one of the masteries of his game, and then offensively, he is more of a physical player, where Kobe can be finesse with his, albeit, fundamentally and more skillfully complete at this juncture of his career. They are truly two OPPOSITE style players and I don't know why the comparisons. Even Dwade's game is diff than Kobe's.. I don't even know why he's been compared to Mike (Dwade that is) because his game to me, doesn't seem patterned much after Mike's..Kobe has more of Mike's physical makeup of moves on the court, and so forth but again, all three of these players are truly in their own class as far as their games go. I just think Kobe is still better, he's been around longer, knows more and has earned more.
But then again, I am partial.......
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | April 03, 2009 at 01:02 PM
BK this is a Laker blog of course most if not all Laker fans would no doubt smother all love to Kobe and very few (if any at all) to Lebron or Wade.
The same goes on in Cavaliers blogs for Lebron and Heat blog for Wade so its not just a Laker thing.
Those three are great players and while I would choose Kobe in a heartbeat, the other two are great players and should be given as respect. While Kobe certainly was the one who stepped up in the last game, Wade/Lebron did their part in the Olympics.
All make their teammates better their own way similar as to how Bird and Magic had different ways. Magic put in double digits in dimes while Bird was the better fundamental scorer.
In any ways, most fans will give the most love for their favorite player on their team. Chicago fans always bring up Michael's 6 rings well Russell won 11. MJ won 5 MVP's well Kareem won 6. Have to be more appreciative of the talent around than just your favorite player.
Case in example was Clyde Drexler of the hated Jailblazers. As much as I didn't like when Clyde faced the Lakers, he was an VERY underrated player and had there been no Jordan he would have been the best SG in the league (above Mitch Richmond). Adrian Dantely was probably the most underrated player in NBA history and in 4 years was probably a better scorer overall than any other perimeter player then again he played for the damn Jazz then the Bad Boy Pistons.
As much as it is important to give love to the current best player on the team, shouldn't be hating the player on the other team, especially if it isn't a rival team like the Celtics or Sacramento or Phoenix (though if it was a guy like Bibby/Kwamay Brown/Posey it is understandable for the hate). It could happen, most Laker fans would acknowledge Bill Russell as one of the legends, even if he did play for the hated Celtics.
Posted by: Kobeblitz | April 03, 2009 at 01:16 PM
The Snake,
I agree with you about LeBron and the defense thingy yet this year the LEAGUE was/is all WILLING and READY to hand HIM a DPOY award and he is just now learning how to HELP defend but now suddenly he is this ultimate defensive player/stopper..Wade too..Flip flop ass so-called pundits...
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | April 03, 2009 at 01:16 PM
In watching Kobe and LeBron play extensively this year and being very objective, as I am at heart a Laker homer, I'd have to say very honestly that LeBron should win the MVP in the league this year. One reason keeps pounding away in the back of my mind. LeBron does the right thing on the court, no matter what the situation. He will draw a double (or triple) team and hit the open man, whether or not that player is having a good night shooting.
This does a couple of things for the team, and him. First it makes the players around him better because they are more confident. Hey, if LeBron passed the ball to me in a situation like that, I'd even think I was a better shooter than I really was. Too many times this year, Kobe has forced the issue and not passed the ball to wide open teammates. Even if they miss the shot short term, it will do positive things for their confidence long term. Secondly, it would help improve Kobe's shooting percentage if he did not force bad shots and also help his assist average, which is yet another stat in which Lebron has an advantage over Kobe.
Just my two cents, for whatever it's worth.
Posted by: bruzer | April 03, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Video of Cleamons talking about the gameplan v Houston is up:
http://tinyurl.com/dyu2bo
Machine in background work on make rain. Among other things, Jim talks about giving Houston certain shots in the first half and then changing that in the second half. It goes a long way in explaining why the Lakers allow so many uncontested jumpers. Those are the shots they want the opposition to take so they try and make it look as appealing as possible. Why the Lakers can't make every shot difficult for the opposition is beyond me. Cleamons also discussed the (Lakersblog icon) Von Wafer factor and how he always plays the Lakers like he wants them to regret letting him go.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 01:31 PM
bruzer,
Do you believe that Kobe forces MORE bad shots than he takes good ones????
Kobe's percentage would also be higher if he didn't take as many jumpers and or 3's...His shots come from the key whereas LeBron is going to the basket more dunking and driving. Obviously, his percentage is going to be higher considering his is almost always dunking.
Also, while I agree, Kobe takes his share of bad shots, shots he had made in the past to his defense, I also think many of his shots are in the flow of the offense, and many others he is getting the ball in bad positions on the court with the time clock winding down..(minus this past road trip where he was more aggressive than usual) many times, not ALL the time he is still hoisting a shot up as the clocks winding down and or the defense is caving in on him. His teammates are also passing UP shots they should take more often than NOT.
I feel you on your points about LeBron vs Kobe..Though I may not necessarily and or totally agree. I feel you.
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | April 03, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Kobe: Grace
Dwayne: Burst
Lebron: Physique
I'm going to posit that LBJ's main weakness isn't lack of hardware, as we can't punish him for what he hasn't had the time to accomplish, it's mostly his lack of a jumper and his stat-stuffing tendencies. His hypocrisy is so thoroughly unbecoming that it's forever tainted me as a fan of his incredible paint game.
He claims he doesn't care about the MSG performance of Kobe then tries to 1-up him with a triple double, yes he did get it, give him his just deserts. There are countless times that goes out with the intention of getting the best stats instead of just trying to win. Many other NBA players do this, but it's just so readily apparent given his dominance of the basketball and his stratospheric production level.
Probably worse than all this was the way he attempted to "lead" the 2008 Olympics team to the Gold. He started talking about how guys on the team needed the leader and he was the leader, the best choice. Newsflash, I don't think Melo/CP3/JKidd/etc really are lacking in leadership skills here. Just go in and lead by example like Kobe, instead of trying to take over the team and undermine Coach K's status. It's no accident that crunch time Gold medal game the ball went through Kobe's hands and not yours. I'm certain that if you poll the people that have ever played with CP3/Kobe/JKidd/etc versus the people that have played with Lebron, a significantly higher % of them would want to play with CP3/Kobe/JKidd/etc than compared to the general NBA player who has played with none of them.
Kobe's biggest weakness is also his biggest strength. His confidence is not just bordering on arrogance, it obviously crosses that line into presumptous. It is precisely this unwavering confidence in his own game that makes him make and miss those crazy double-teamed and trapped nowhere-to-go shots. Anyone watching him can definitely tell that he wants to win more than anything, and everything he does is geared towards that. He just is so confident in himself that he thinks that his hard-to-make shot has a better chance of winning than an open look for a teammate. What's so wrong with this is that sometimes he's right.
There have been only two times in his career I've noticed him stat stuffing. Once when he was gunning for 81 and had 75+. The other time was when he was raining the 3s to break MJ's record. But that's not his weakness. His weakness is in his supreme confidence in himself.
In fact I worry greatly what will happen when he starts slowing down. What happens when he can't stop people at 33 or 34 like he could when he was 25-28? He's clearly lost a step being past his prime, but unfortunately he's such the alpha male that he doesn't believe it, instead of refusing to believe it. He'll still probably think that he's the best option on both sides of the floor at 34 or 40, however old he'll play till, and that will probably jeopardize LAL's chances. Just see the AI situation where he doesn't want to come off the bench. It'll happen in a few years with Kobe.
The only caveat here is that Kobe's game is based on his grace, his mastery of the fundamentals of the game. This means that he won't slow down as much on offense as would a Dwayne Wade, who relies almost purely on his burst. Similarly, LBJ's game on his strength won't detriment nearly as much as Dwayne's. Like in boxing, where a boxer last loses his punch, strength drops much slower than speed which drops slower than agility. (With age)
Posted by: EmperorEarth2006 | April 03, 2009 at 01:49 PM
and who is the least improved player? sasha or farm
http://tinyurl.com/dlhx6o
all the fans r talking. and they r not fair-weather, even if they don't post here
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 03, 2009 at 01:50 PM
Didn't LBJ get Lasik? I could've sworn reading about it when I was thinking about getting that procedure done.
lakers_sth,
"I've said it before but Kobe v LeBron is more like Hakeem v Shaq. The timing is off. Kobe is older but more skilled. LeBron is bigger and younger."
That's a very apt comparison. Kobe's got the skill and footwork of Hakeem. LBJ has the dominating physique and athleticism. Just like Shaq in the late 90's, it's only a matter of time before LBJ is the undisputed most dominant player in the league.
Posted by: EJK | April 03, 2009 at 02:03 PM
Iverson is so dumb. He doesn't realize, I guess, the damage he's doing to his legacy by quitting on his team because they asked him to come off the bench.
After saying he'd rather retire than do that again, he suddenly is too injured to return this year?
Wow.
Should we sign him, BTW?
Wes
Posted by: wesjoenixon | April 03, 2009 at 02:06 PM
Bros. K:
It's a point worth remembering: Kobe rose to preeminence in the latter stages of Jordan dominance, and has held his all-NBA and all-defensive position despite the rise (and sometimes fall) of a lot of great perimeter players such as LeBron, D-Wade, Carter, McGrady, CP3, Tony Parker, Manu, Arenas, Deron, Melo and many others.
I would go so far as to say Kobe, T-Mac, Carter, Ray Allen and Iverson came of age when the perimeter play talent was a lot thinner than it is now and everyone was looking for the next Shaq, Duncan or Garnett. Outside of Jordan, Pippen, Drexler, Payton and Kidd what other top 50 all-time two-way perimeter players were in their prime at any time b/w 1993 and 2002? Remember two of the potentially best of this era, Penny and Hill, were often injured. This present era, namely 2002- 2010 will probably have at least ten all time great guards/swingmen in their prime, even assuming some attrition by injury (I'm looking at you, McGrady).
It's an golden age folks. Revel in it.
Posted by: The D | April 03, 2009 at 02:53 PM
The Snake,
"I agree with you about LeBron and the defense thingy yet this year the LEAGUE was/is all WILLING and READY to hand HIM a DPOY award and he is just now learning how to HELP defend but now suddenly he is this ultimate defensive player/stopper..Wade too..Flip flop ass so-called pundits...
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | April 03, 2009 at 01:16 PM "
KB was just TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD when he first made the NBA All-Defensive First Team during the 99-00 season. Since then, he has been either on the First or Second All-Defensive teams EIGHT times already.
Wade maanged to squeak in ONCE to the Second Team but LBJ - zero, zilch, nada...
Posted by: The Snake | April 03, 2009 at 03:12 PM
Andrew Bynum wants to come back against Memphis??? Is this a joke???
Nooooooooo!
...
...
Noooooooo!
...
Send him back to the Playboy mansion! Keep him far away from Memphis!
...
Nooooooooo!
Posted by: Dallas Raine's Hair | April 03, 2009 at 03:25 PM
Look at the way this headline is worded - from ESPN:
"The Pistons announced on Friday that Allen Iverson, who is unhappy about his role, will miss the rest of the season due to injury."
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 03:27 PM
lakers_sth:
Injury in question? His massive ego.
Posted by: The D | April 03, 2009 at 03:40 PM
Can someone find a link to the awesome Derek Bell "Operation Shutdown" comment? I'd like to resurrect that for AI.
Posted by: The D | April 03, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Would Allen Iverson be a good fit for the Lakers?
Sure, he would only need the ball in his hands for about 16 seconds out of the 24, he'll reduce Kobe to a spot up shooter and he'll challeneg Farmar and Fish for minutes forcing them to play better D.
I don't think Phil wants AI to play for him and vice versa. If he ends his career anywhere I'm thinking Phoenix, New Jersey or Dallas. Those are the only places where a no defence playing, needs the ball all the time, will only start and don't ask him to come off the bench type of guy could play.
Imagine Shaq and AI? Nash is gone from Phoenix make no bones about it, and they'll need some oomph and a PG. Or I could see New Jersey with a Harris/Iverson back court and a Vinsanity 1st scoring option. I through Dallas in there mainly because Mark Cuban could see him as an upgrade over Kidd and forsee Dirk and Allen curing Howard of his 4-20 habit.
Speaking of which, 40 minutes and counting...
Posted by: Jamie Sweet | April 03, 2009 at 03:42 PM
"Outside of Jordan, Pippen, Drexler, Payton and Kidd what other top 50 all-time two-way perimeter players were in their prime at any time b/w 1993 and 2002?"
Glen Rice
Reggie Miller
Mitch Richmond
Allen Iverson
John Stockton
Kevin Johnson
Grant Hill
Penny Hardaway
Tim Hardaway
"This present era, namely 2002- 2010 will probably have at least ten all time great guards/swingmen in their prime, even assuming some attrition by injury (I'm looking at you, McGrady)."
Hmm I can only name Kobe and maybe Wade that makes it true. Otherwise:
Top 10 SG of all Time:
1) MJ
2) KB
3) Jerry West
4) George Gervin
5) Allen Iverson
6) Clyde Drexler
7) Reggie Miller
8) Pistol Pete
9) Earl Monroe
10) Joe Dumars
*Wade could bump off Dumars and when he wins an MVP he will probably do so.
Also consider the rules today make it MUCH easier for perimeter players than bigs such as no more hand checking and a much more enforced Illegal Defense Foul (Defensive 3 seconds) that opens up the lane more for perimeter players.
Posted by: Kobeblitz | April 03, 2009 at 03:44 PM
Dallas Raine's Hair
Have you tried using "Soul Glow" on the cabeza?
Posted by: Charles | April 03, 2009 at 03:46 PM
Oh, man. One of those E-mails in Bill Simmons' column was hilarious. The reader used an analogy for Tracy Mcgrady, one of a predator and the prey.
Any natural predator has its' eyes in front so they can gauge how far their prey is. All herbivore animals have their eyes on the side of their heads to be aware of the predators.
Now watch a Tracy Mcgrady game and tell me he doesn't have his eyes on the sides of his head! Perfect comparison! The guy is clearly built to graze, not to hunt. Classic!
Posted by: Rob | April 03, 2009 at 03:46 PM
EJK - In a moment of Roger Clemens-like recollection, I "misremembered." LeBron did indeed opt for Lasik, not contacts. Thank you.
BT
Posted by: Ben Taylor | April 03, 2009 at 03:52 PM
AK/BK & mildly laker_sth,
Well ....hmmmm... I guess I dont know what the difference between a chat, a message board, and a blog is.
Can someone please enlighten me to the difference?
I'm not sure there is a hard definition and this "blog" is already run like a message board if you ask me but I could be wrong.
What I was saying in a thread long ago is that I like the discussion of a current topic and other readers to see that topic and respond and add insights, ideas, and analysis.
I dont want to sound mad or ticked off about this cuz indeed it's just a "blog".
But if your intention is to rally reader interest in a certain topic and let that discussions that evolve from that topic run wild then I would say constantly posting threads per day isnt helping your cause.
If the statistics to the LA Times back up the *new* way the blog gets down, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to say "I understand".
But for now, the only reason that I assume that there are new posts is to prevent lengthy threads... I guess that could be a good enough reason to start a new thread once the page download size gets above X bytes, but i dont know....jUST wondering.
Posted by: Korey | April 03, 2009 at 03:59 PM
In tonight's CLE v. ORL game, is it better for us for CLE to lose and close our gap to 1 loss. or, for ORL to lose thereby increasing the gap against LAL??? I think I would be cheering for ORL, the lesser of two evils....
Posted by: The Snake | April 03, 2009 at 04:04 PM
Kobeblitz:
Since when was Adrian Dantley a perimeter player? He was the best 6'5" inside player I ever saw. Though he could shoot outside, I remember him as a tough offensive rebounder and scorer more than anything else.
Posted by: rdlee | April 03, 2009 at 04:11 PM
Korey: "Can someone please enlighten me to the difference?"
I'm talking about the way it's physically set-up. This is the ESPN Lakers message board:
http://tinyurl.com/dbb338
There is no article at the top. Each conversation (like the ones you want to have) is it's own topic/thread. You click on it and the entire conversation is there, in tact, in one place. It's literally built for exactly what you want.
This blog is built for the K Bros to post articles and for us to comment on it. I'm not saying we should eliminate conversations here. I'm just saying a blog is not built to have conversations so it's no surprise you find it difficult to have a conversation on here.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 04:16 PM
Ben,
No problem. Reading about LBJ getting Lasik was somewhat reassuring, but I still haven't mustered enough courage to get the procedure. Oh well, at least I'll have something to blame for my poor shooting on the court.
And great post. I think being hardcore Laker/Kobe fans makes many of us reluctant to acknowledge how ridiculously good LBJ is. Giving props to LBJ doesn't in any way make you less of a Laker fan. Throughout the Olympics, LBJ and Wade were probably the best players on the team. While Kobe was great in the gold medal game, his shooting was horrible in pretty much every preceding game.
Posted by: EJK | April 03, 2009 at 04:17 PM
The Snake - What a good question. I asked the same exact thing earlier today. Only got a couple of responses though. Sounded like most people were in favor of the Crabs losing. That includes me but I'm a huge advocate of getting home court if the Lakers can.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 04:18 PM
Here's a slightly off-topic QOTD:
Which 7'3" player will make a better pro - Thabeet or Hibbert?
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 04:19 PM
Game day!
Love it. Finally a decent squad to get the Lakers' attention. I expect a lock-down defensive effort from the Lake Show tonight, and I'd love to see ice on the starters' knees at 7:40 in the fourth.
Go Lake Show!
Posted by: The Outlaw | April 03, 2009 at 04:21 PM
Kobeblitz,
I'd say that Wade has already surpassed Dumars. Wade through most of his career has been better than Dumars ever was.
Posted by: Xodus | April 03, 2009 at 04:23 PM
LBJ is more dominant than young or old Kobe. Head to head is a pointless discussion. A middle weight vs a heavy weight.
I'm as big a Kobe / Laker fan as there is but LeBron is the MVP this year. Don't understand the controversy. Pau's had a hell of a year.
For the 5th time, to me the most telling moment was when LBJ deferred to Kobe in the gold medal game. It would have been an un-washable stain on their careers had USA not won this year. It doesn't get more crunch than it was in that 4th quarter. There'd be no next year.
The players and coaches put the ball in Kobe's hands and thereby cast their vote and that's the one that counts.
Posted by: VMan | April 03, 2009 at 04:43 PM
rdlee,
Adrian Dantley was a perimeter player but like you said he took most of his shots in the inside and not abuse the perimeter to the point that Kobe/Bron/Wade has done. He was a very fundamental scorer and while he did have a perimeter shot, he didn't utilize it as much and took closer shots in the basket despite being a 6'5 guard. Hence one of the reasons why he shot 54% from the field despite being a 6'5 guard.
Xodus,
I agree too that Wade offensively has surpassed Joe Dumars. Wade though still has a while to go defensively to totally jump ahead of Dumars in my opinion.
Posted by: Kobeblitz | April 03, 2009 at 04:50 PM
"The Snake - What a good question. I asked the same exact thing earlier today. Only got a couple of responses though. Sounded like most people were in favor of the Crabs losing. That includes me but I'm a huge advocate of getting home court if the Lakers can."
The nice thing is, whichever team loses, it's still advantage for LAL....
Posted by: The Snake | April 03, 2009 at 04:53 PM
I'm watching the Atlanta-Boston game and I've always wondered something - why does Horford play C instead of PF? The guy is tiny, even for a PF.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 04:56 PM
rdlee,
"Since when was Adrian Dantley a perimeter player? He was the best 6'5" inside player I ever saw."
Technically that maybe true, Charles Barkley is 6'4". I believe Elgin Baylor played at 6'5 1/2".
Peace, just couldn't resist.
Posted by: p ang | April 03, 2009 at 04:58 PM
To me this whole thing comes down to two things:
Who guards who, when?
When the game is on the line (i.e. Olympic Gold Medal match) who not only steps up to lead the team to victory, but wants that role?
Greatness isn't "given" it's "taken." You're not great because someone said you were "great." If that were the case, I would be the greatest blogger alive (coz really wouldn't you annoint me?) haha, jk. Kobe "took" that from Jordan when he picked up the torch Jordan passed in early 2000s, just like Jordan took that from Magic, etc in the 80s. Out of the last decade, no one has been able to take it away from Kobe. They may borrow it for awhile but there's no escaping that at the end of the day they all pale in comparison (on longetivity alone).
But since the point of this piece is why can't there be love for BOTH, the answer is because people are imperfect, biased and ethnocentric individuals. Such is life.
Go Lakers!
Posted by: Faith | April 03, 2009 at 05:02 PM
Machine in background work on make rain.
Funny, funny.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 01:31 PM
Posted by: pslakerfan | April 03, 2009 at 05:06 PM
lol - skip to my lou just took king crab one on one and schooled him and1 style.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 05:27 PM
Korey,
A blog is where the blogger...In this case AK/BK write about the topics, and we are just readers who go "Wow" and "Thanks". Examples: Great Tshirt thread, Great Candy bar thread, Great Fonzie thread, etc...
A message board is where the majority of the inputs come from knowledgable visitors. You are correct that this has been much more of a message board than a blog till we were notified of it today.
After all, the fact that many of us have been followiing the Lakers since before both AK/BK were born shouldn't matter. I'm sure that following the St. Louis Blues, and Cardinals has prepared them well for this assignment.
Posted by: DB | April 03, 2009 at 05:28 PM
Nice! Tiger in the house for the Magic-Crabs game. Here's hoping Orlando dominates Cleveland the way Tiger's going to dominate the field at Augusta next week.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 05:33 PM
lol - Tiger brought Hank to the game. I wonder if he's there to tell King Crab that he's the real billion dollar athlete and that if you want to be called the greatest, you actually have to achieve something first.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 05:36 PM
Well, first off, Kobe's still the man IMHO. Now, that out of the way, here's a hypothetical.. Who would be better in the other guy's system? Even better, who would do best in EVERY other system. Imagine, an NBA tour, Kobe and LeBron play one game each, for every NBA team out there. End of the tour, who's been the best player, who's adapted on the fly to every team in the league?
Posted by: dave m | April 03, 2009 at 06:06 PM
DB: "A message board is where the majority of the inputs come from knowledgable visitors. You are correct that this has been much more of a message board than a blog till we were notified of it today."
Clearly DB, you haven't been on many message boards if you believe the majority of "inputs" come from knowledgable visitors. The point I was making was a blog and a message board are constructed two very different ways. The complaint from Korey wasn't about what the focus of blog is - the blogger or the people in the blog's community. His complaint was about having conversations lost b/c of new articles being posted. Go look at the message board I linked to earlier. Each conversation has it's own thread. There is no "blogger" - only mods. It is constructed to do exactly what Korey is looking for. This blog (or any blog for that matter) isn't.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 06:07 PM
lakers_sth,
"why does Horford play C instead of PF? The guy is tiny, even for a PF."
Doesn't Atlanta play small ball with Josh Smith as the starting PF? I would think Horford is around 6-10, which would make him big enough to play in a small ball system. Sorta like what Amare played before Shaq came to the Suns.
Posted by: EJK | April 03, 2009 at 06:08 PM
*sigh*
If Orlando continues to house Cleveland the way they did in the first half, we can only dream about what could've been if the Lakers would've had a more successful road trip. Although, the Crabs could be letting down knowing they have such a nice buffer. If the loss comes, then the proponets of "rest" for the Lakers weary are going to be very frustrated.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 06:10 PM
Seriously, lobbying the LATimes for a Lakers-centric message board isn't an outlandish idea. I bet they'd do it if enough people asked for it. Message boards and forums have been around forever. I'm surprised there isn't one here already.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 03, 2009 at 06:13 PM
I know this can not be for sure BUT...
It really looks like the Cavs are going to lose this game. its 38-55 at the half. The Magic want it more and the Cavs are just kind of coasting through the game. Who knows? The Cavs could make a huge come back, they'll probobly make a run and couse some nervousness, but I don't see the Magic letting this game get away from them.
Dwight had 7 shots in the first quarter (I think) and none in the second...pass the ball to your big man! Felt like I was watching a Laker game, Lol. But the Magic do have pretty good ball movement at this point.
Here's to hoping the Cavs lose!
LG
Posted by: LG | April 03, 2009 at 06:17 PM