To clarify, my view of his clutchness or lack of comes from the 4th quarters in the playoffs that he has just vanished.... All Star game results don't change my view... strengthen it maybe. From some stats I have seen he is having an incredible season, one of the best of all time. The fact remains though till he wins a ring, he is a flawed superstar IMO.
Nobody can dispute that James is a phenomenal player. But, he just doesn't have the killer instinct that guys like Kobe, Wade, Pierce have. That's why he's got this (well deserved) reputation as being non-clutch. You watch the body language and demeanor of guys like that in the playoffs, and it's quite different from LeBron's. Of course one of the best in this were Wallace & Wallace. They stepped on the court and defeated you with their glare before the game even started.
This story falls right into the previous conversations as it compares Kobe to the new generation and the old generation. Once again, Jason Whitlock talks the truth and proves why he will never get invited over to dinner at kobe's steakhouse...... http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/...s-Angeles-Lakers-a-false-living-legend-030412
Some very nice writing. Kobe can't handle the truth........... Playing alongside mammoth space-eaters, lane-cloggers and rim-defenders the overwhelming majority of his career has given Kobe the freedom to be a one-dimensional all-time great. Kobe is a scorer. Period. He can’t touch Michael Jordan as a defender. Kobe is not in the same zip code as Magic and Bird as a creator and teammate-elevator. OUCH................... Read Another good one............... When you compare Kobe’s all-around game to the Lord, Savior and Holy Ghost, he’s completely outclassed. Kobe is a scorer. Period. That’s all he did Sunday. He put 33 points on Shane-Battier, a terrific defender. Kobe had a great game. But he also did little else. He had three rebounds, one assist, zero steals or blocks. Meanwhile, on a day the Heat played without Chris Bosh and on an afternoon when Wade was off his game and fouled out in 31 minutes, LeBron James played the entire 94 feet. He scored 25 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, passed out seven assists, nabbed three steals and blocked two shots. and there you have it............. Jason Whitlock writes well....At least I agree with his evaluation
I find Kobe's and Lebron's defense both to be quit good. Lebron is still young. He's played almost his entire career in Cleveland (who was the last guy to win a Championship there?). Now he's paired with one fellow superstar and an overrated Bosh. It looks to me as though the Heat will with the Championship this year unless Chicago stops them. They are both defensive juggernauts with offensive stars- which is the ideal. What seems impossible before it happens seems inevitable after it does. I'm not a Lebron fan, but I'm recognizing what's going on. He's on a mission.
Yeah right. Yeah, Whitlock. You sure love Kobe. Won't be long until he starts spewing his bile LeBron's way either. He's just as bad as Skip Bayless and his irrational LeBron hate. The writer's forgetting that Bird and Magic played with hall of fame big men too. The lead kept getting knocked down because LA's bench sucks, and without Kobe, they'd have definitely lost. Dude knocked down 4 jumpers straight over Battier's hand in the fourth. He even hit a jumper with Battier's hand on his face.
LeBron is a more entertaining basketball player. Kobe is a better basketball player. If I needed to win an important game, I'd rather have Kobe. (I root against BOTH of these guys though...)
Like LeBron......... Like Bird........... Love Magic........... Like Jordan............. Dislike Bayless........... Like Whitlock........ Like Shaq........... Dislike Kobe......... he can shoot......doesn't like to do much else. IMHO.
Kobe is a lockdown defender at the 2 and he can shoot. And he's not a half bad passer either. I don't like the guy one bit as a person, but he is a better basketball player than we have seen in Detroit since Grant Hill was in his prime.
Kobe used to be a lockdown defender but his injuries and age has transformed him to a pretty poor defender.
If Kobe is a pretty poor defender, than how would you grade Stuckey or Knight as defenders? Gordon is at an entire level below those two. Bryant has made the NBA All-Defensive team 11 times (9 1st team, 2 2nd team). Perhaps he is over-rated as a defender, but he must be at least okay on defense to win this award every year?
Kobe's knows his limitations and scores more off the short jumper these days as opposed to taking the long jumper like some players fall into doing. He is still not affraid to take the long jumper, but definitely scores more points from within 15 ft these days then he did in his younger days. If his team needs points, he knows how to get the rim and get to the FT line 8-12 times a game to pad his scoring totals to help his team.....and his stats. The Lakers success the last few years since Gasol and Bynum joined the team was that even if Kobe missed 20 of his 35 shots in some games, one of these guys or another teammate was always there to grab his missed errant long shot and put it back in. Not to compare him to Tay...but Tay avoids contact and wastes time dribbling and pump faking instead of just shooting and getting the ball up to the rim for at least a possible score or offensive rebound/put back.... so no trips to the line and no points for the team, because the clock has run out waiting for him to make a decision....
Time to change the subject....I just watched Wilt 100 on NBA TV...great documentary that will air again once a day thru Sunday...and few times next week. Check your local listings for this fascinating account of Wilt Chamberlains' 100 pt night on 3/2/62. It chronicles what happen on that date in history as well as remind the gen-xers who never saw him play how good he really was. Despite him retiring in 1973, he still holds 90 NBA records.... http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bask.../wilt-chamberlain-50th-anniversary/53326730/1
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...126069.html;_ylt=AldvoSjrHZD79v0rhplh41S8vLYF Doesn't contain anything we didn't already know, but the article has come about due to Kuester's return to Detroit.
