I believe that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA, as of now. I don't understand why everyone thinks Kobe Bryant is better.
Kobe is amazing, but it's just that LeBron has no one to help him on offense except Ben Wallace and the Big Man, Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Wallace, however, is more of a defensive-minded player and Ilgauskas is just not persistent enough.
LeBron puts up 30 points, eight assists, and eight boards a night. No other player in the game does that!
He isn’t even the point guard!
Kobe is also very good, but he doesn't put up the same amount of points, assists, or boards. He may have led his team to the playoffs, but he has help from Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.
LeBron led his team to the finals last year with no one helping him but Gibson.
Kobe has gotten to the finals in the past, but only when he had Shaq.
LeBron’s stats are better, and to me so are his leadership skills!
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5 months ago
see and compare Kobe's 2005-06 season vs LBJ's 2007-08. look at the accomplishment and history both players made during their respective season and than tell me who is better. 35.4 PPG (best in last 2 decades), 4 straight 50 point games 10 overall (best since the Wilt's days), and not to mention the 81 point game (second highest ever). What stands out of LBJ career year (30, 7,7) and thats it. As far their offensive game itself, Lebron is better than kobe in open floor but that has a lot to do with his youth. Once he has been in the league for 12 13 years, he isn't going to able to outjump, outrun everybody like he can do now. On the other hand, Kobe has a better jumpshot, better fadeaway, longer range, better post game, better free throw shooting, better from downtown And thats just the offensive side of the game. On the defensive side, Kobe is light years ahead of Lebron. and while you looking kobe's 2006 stats, look at the starting line up that he took to playoffs in the west (smush parker, kwame brown, luke walton) and then compare that with wallace, z, wally. and then think if LBJ was in the west this year where would he be right now? maybe all that will answer why most people think Kobe is better than young Lebron. Just because your favorite player is having a great season, thats no reason to throw out all logic and claim him the best player. His time will come, be patient.
5 months ago
i don't want to keep writing the same things over and over again so i'll just note one important fact:
in 2002-03, kobe put up 30 points, 7 reb, 6 assists, and 2.2 steals. we all know kobe's a more talented player than lebron, but this one fact already shows that lebron's best year isn't even that much better than kobe's. so everyone needs to stop saying "wow, we haven't seen stats like lebron's in decades!" almost anything meaningful lebron's done, kobe's done it before. you can't say the same for the converse, though.
and ask yourself this: if lebron had to play in the west night in and night out like kobe, how do you think he'll be?
5 months ago
I think Lebron is like a locomotive. Guys bounce off of him when he drives through the lane. Not so with Kobe. Because of this LeBron is just as effective, if not more effective than Kobe.
That said, I think that Bittu brings up an interesting point, that Lebron in his 12th year may not be nearly as good as Kobe has been in his 12th year, as Lebron will have to rely more on his skills as his physical abilities deteriorate. And I think it's unanimous that Kobe's footwork, shooting, and skill set are unparalleled. I don't think Lebron has those basketball skills that will separate him as he gets older. He does have great vision, so maybe he will still be a great passer, but his scoring right now seems very brute force. I was impressed earlier this season when LBJ was hitting threes, but that seems to have dropped off. He's going to have to improve on the finer basketball skills to have long term success.
5 months ago
Kobe is a better shooter, and better defender. Lebron gets to the rim better than anyone in NBA history. When you talk about guys that are the greatest of all time or the greatest of their generation you have to throw stats out the window. Tim Duncan is not a stat machine, in fact Karl Malone has way better stats than Tim does but if anyone would rather have Karl Malone as to Tim Duncan they should get there head checked.
When players are asked who the best player on the planet is they almost always say Kobe including Lebron. This shows me first of all that Lebron is still working on improving his game and secondly, that Kobe is at this point the bench mark best player in the league.
5 months ago
I am not saying Turkoglu was or is a Lebron... But he's putting up similar stats all year long too... just doing it in different ways.
5 months ago
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oeH-QCz_098
There's your answer right there. Just watch.
5 months ago
It's almost pointless arguing who the better player is. It's obviously Kobe, with his greater defense, technique, and overall offensive skill. I don't think anyone can doubt that.
But where the debate gets interesting is in determining who has the greater value, more significant impact on the game. There's a difference between being the more skilled, talented player and being the more impacting player. For example, KG game is significantly more well-rounded than Tim Duncan's. Garnett has better range, he can defend multiple positions, but in the grand scheme of things, he doesn't have a greater effect on the game than Timmy and his post dominance.
With this thinking, I think Kobe and LeBron are pretty even.
5 months ago
Eventhough I share Whitehead's opinion and really think Lebron will become overtime -a much- better player than Kobe, I think this debate will have to take place in a few years. We are talking about two fantastic players but one with far more experience in the league ( 6 more years actually) than the other. When the time comes Lebron will be considered way better than Kobe, it's just my opinion. Two years ago, KObe had a great season filled up with plenty of heroics ( 81, 5 straight 50s) but what did he get in return ?? A first round playoff exit, thank you!! And dont give the " if Lebron had to play in the west, he'd be a different story" crap. He still plays about 40 games against them and what's his point average 28, 29?? Also, Lebron doesn't just score on dunks... He posts up, drops the three ( eventhough he can get better here), is not a horrible free throw shooter ( can get better there too), is a great passer and phenomenal team player which means he'll know what to do when he turns 33 in order to stay on top. As for as KObe's incredible offensive game, take away his great season of two years ago and he's a 24 points a game player in his career which is not that crazy so you KObe lovers need to come down and acknowledge that KObe hasn't always been the player that he is today. Just like anybody, he had to get better, to improve his game and his personnality, more relying on his teammates than dissing them as an excuse for his lack of leadership. He's a great player but also one who used to shoot 40 shots a game on a 30% accuracy only to see his team lose in the end. Had Shaq not crossed his path, he might not even have a championship, let alone a finals appearance. Yes, I know I forgot that the West is sooo hard, it would be understandable right?...
5 months ago
Eventhough I share Whitehead's opinion and really think Lebron will become overtime -a much- better player than Kobe, I think this debate will have to take place in a few years. We are talking about two fantastic players but one with far more experience in the league ( 6 more years actually) than the other. When the time comes Lebron will be considered way better than Kobe, it's just my opinion. Two years ago, KObe had a great season filled up with plenty of heroics ( 81, 5 straight 50s) but what did he get in return ?? A first round playoff exit, thank you!! And dont give the " if Lebron had to play in the west, he'd be a different story" crap. He still plays about 40 games against them and what's his point average 28, 29?? Also, Lebron doesn't just score on dunks... He posts up, drops the three ( eventhough he can get better here), is not a horrible free throw shooter ( can get better there too), is a great passer and phenomenal team player which means he'll know what to do when he turns 33 in order to stay on top. As for as KObe's incredible offensive game, take away his great season of two years ago and he's a 24 points a game player in his career which is not that crazy so you KObe lovers need to come down and acknowledge that KObe hasn't always been the player that he is today. Just like anybody, he had to get better, to improve his game and his personnality, more relying on his teammates than dissing them as an excuse for his lack of leadership. He's a great player but also one who used to shoot 40 shots a game on a 30% accuracy only to see his team lose in the end. Had Shaq not crossed his path, he might not even have a championship, let alone a finals appearance. Yes, I know I forgot that the West is sooo hard, it would be understandable right?...
5 months ago
"And dont give the " if Lebron had to play in the west, he'd be a different story" crap. He still plays about 40 games against them and what's his point average 28, 29??"
this isn't "crap" just because you think it is. it's a universally acknowledged fact that you can't ignore. what you're doing is like dismissing the fact that kids in the ghettos have a lower chance of succeeding than those raised in wealthy, suburban areas. furthermore, playing 40 games against the west, despite the fact that it is already less than the games against the east, means that eastern teams play LESS FREQUENTLY against teams in the west and MORE FREQUENTLY against teams in the east, while it's vice versa for western teams. what does this mean? that kobe has a much more intense schedule than lebron throughout the year where he's playing back to back to back games against top western teams, whereas lebron is playing back to back to back games against weak east teams and then a game against a west team thrown in the middle of that sometime (of course there are exceptions, but that is the general case). so lebron having decent stats against west teams is not even that impressive compared to kobe's doing that on an almost game-by-game basis. think of it this way: is it easier to bench press 100lbs 5 times in a row, or once every 5 minutes for 25 minutes?
"He posts up, drops the three ( eventhough he can get better here), is not a horrible free throw shooter ( can get better there too). and phenomenal team player which means he'll know what to do when he turns 33 in order to stay on top."
it's a known fact lebron does not post up as much as he should. he's a horrible jump-shooter. he's also a horrible free throw shooter relatively speaking. and if you look past the media hype, he's not even a team player (and contrary to popular belief, assists don't indicate whether you're a team player or not). so all he really has is, yes, his ability to drive to the hoop because of his size and strength, and a good passing ability.
"As for as KObe's incredible offensive game, take away his great season of two years ago and he's a 24 points a game player in his career which is not that crazy so you KObe lovers need to come down and acknowledge that KObe hasn't always been the player that he is today."
um, kobe and lebron faced two different scenarios when they came into the league. kobe was the first guard to be drafted from high school in nba history, and it was done during a time when the league was highly reluctant to draft high school players (besides garnett, who is a big man, the year before kobe, almost 30 years had passed without a single high school pick). not only this, lebron went to a team that were bottom dwellers so he immediately became their main player, while kobe came onto a team that were already making the playoffs, had qualified veterans, and most importantly a monster in shaq, so kobe was forced to step back for the time being even though he was already more talented than anyone else on the team. imagine if kobe went to a bad team like jordan or lebron did where he would be the central player, heck imagine if he stayed on the hornets instead of immediately being traded to la. kobe would have been having far superior career stats than lebron. don't think so? look at it this way: durant's rookie season is far better than kobe's, but who says durant is better than kobe as a rookie? in high school, kobe was already beating everyone on the philadelphia 76ers. if kobe had the same circumstances as jordan, lebron, or durant, kobe would have similar stats his first 3 years as they did. kobe's success is what blazed the path for the explosion of future high school drafting. (it's interesting that even in high school he had almost the same skill set as he does today, which shows that he really is a genius artist in basketball. all he had to do was become stronger and bigger and, like you said, improve his relationship with his team mates)
"He's a great player but also one who used to shoot 40 shots a game on a 30% accuracy only to see his team lose in the end."
nice job on making up fake numbers to try to make your point. i don't even need to make a further comment on this because of its blatantly self-evident falsity.
"Had Shaq not crossed his path, he might not even have a championship, let alone a finals appearance."
true, kobe might not have a ring, so then the only thing we can compare kobe and lebron are by their stats. and since if kobe didn't have shaq and if kobe were on a poor team like lebron, then we already know kobe would dominate lebron statistically. so even if you think kobe wouldn't have had 3 rings by now, kobe's stats would be much better than lebron's, so that wouldn't change anything today.
5 months ago
Let me put things in perspective for you Jean. When Kobe went to lakers they were a DEEP team, nothing like Cleveland was when Lebron got there. He didn't start and started playing big minutes right away as Lebron did...so this whole kobe's career average is this and that crap, put it in per-game perspective against lebron and see who is better. and kobe did play with Shaq, who btw was the most dominant center of this era and he still put up gaudy numbers that can compete with lebrons best season to date. Do you think lebron would be average 30-7-7 if he had shaq in his prime on his team? and Also to say, Shaq never won a championship til he had a great guard to lead him there either. In their championship run together, shaq was dominant throughout only in 2000 season when they beat the pacers. next two season, Kobe carried the whole team throughout the season and the playoffs. Shaq played great only in the finals the last two years but Kobe was definately the better person if you look at throughout the playoff performance. Also, when Kobe did shoot over 40 shots, say 46 against Tornoto, he made 61%. As far as talking about playing west teams, didn't he play one in the finals? And btw here is a question for you, since you think Lebron is so great, (probably GOAT in your mind already), and how he will continue to get better, then how come he hasn't improved ANY on the simplest play in the game, Shooting free throw, since his rookie year?
5 months ago
Let me put things in perspective for you Jean. When Kobe went to lakers they were a DEEP team, nothing like Cleveland was when Lebron got there. He didn't start and started playing big minutes right away as Lebron did...so this whole kobe's career average is this and that crap, put it in per-game perspective against lebron and see who is better. and kobe did play with Shaq, who btw was the most dominant center of this era and he still put up gaudy numbers that can compete with lebrons best season to date. Do you think lebron would be average 30-7-7 if he had shaq in his prime on his team? and Also to say, Shaq never won a championship til he had a great guard to lead him there either. In their championship run together, shaq was dominant throughout only in 2000 season when they beat the pacers. next two season, Kobe carried the whole team throughout the season and the playoffs. Shaq played great only in the finals the last two years but Kobe was definately the better person if you look at throughout the playoff performance. Also, when Kobe did shoot over 40 shots, say 46 against Tornoto, he made 61%. As far as talking about playing west teams, didn't he play one in the finals? And btw here is a question for you, since you think Lebron is so great, (probably GOAT in your mind already), and how he will continue to get better, then how come he hasn't improved ANY on the simplest play in the game, Shooting free throw, since his rookie year?
5 months ago
Nice feedback on Jeff and Bittu's parts, I get some of your points. Two different contexts (Lebron and Kobe coming to the league) must bring two different analysis but still don't treat Kobe like a son who's been beat up and whom you're trying to protect from bullys ( the so easily called "Kobe haters").
We all know what Lebron's flaws are as of today: offensive skills not diversed enough ( in other words needs to improve his mid range jump shooting), free throw percentage needs to get better
(interesting to point out that his percentage increases to 80% in the final minutes of tight games), defense needs to improve etc... I don't buy the "he's not playing in the west" argument eventhough Jeff makes a good point in terms of the FREQUENCY at which he plays western teams. To follow his argument would mean that Lebron would not be as good if he played in the pacific division for example. If he had bad results against the west, you'd have a point but it's not the case. Lebron would be Lebron anywhere he plays, as for his team that's another issue..
KObe has become one of a kind but his past record is not stainless (said this in another post). Kobe BECAME an incredible offensive force but we tend to forget his 25% three point shooting during his sixth(!) year in the league, his 43% shooting in his eighth, his beefs with numerous teammates, coaches, team presidents and so on. For a long time, Kobe was an incredibly talented pain in the ass for people surrounding or working with him.
As for his killer instinct, I don't really get how you can measure that concept? What? the way he frowns? Because "all he cares about is winning"? Other players dont think that??
My point is that despite the well deserved admiration that he receives, Kobe had to get better at his game. Last year everybody criticized him for being a relatively bad teammate. Now that his front office made great moves, he suddenly becomes this role model.. makes me wonder.
If you acknowledge Lebron flaws do the same with Kobe and dont act like he's been winning for 11 years scoring 50 points each time.
Just remember his playoffs airballs, his selfishness at times, his numerous winningless years, his bad shooting percentages, anything which can remind us all that NO player is perfect.
5 months ago
thanks for adding me as a favorite writer.
appreciate it a.j.
5 months ago
"If he had bad results against the west, you'd have a point but it's not the case. Lebron would be Lebron anywhere he plays, as for his team that's another issue.. "
you're obviously not comprehending the concept since you're confusing the logic here: the fact that lebron indeed does have good results against the west is nothing more than a consequence of the obvious concept that having a less frequent schedule against strong teams is both necessary and sufficient that you will still have decent stats. the issues is not absolute numbers, but rather the change in numbers; it's not that lebron has bad numbers against the west, it's that he would have worse numbers against he west if he played in the west. hence, although both kobe and lebron average a good 29.3 against the west, it does not mean that lebron is just as effective against the west as kobe is (in terms of absolute numbers, what lebron is doing is still good), but rather that if kobe is averaging just as much as lebron in a more difficult situation (or lebron is only averaging as much as kobe in an easier situation), then clearly kobe is performing better. if lebron were to play in the west (ie. meaning he'll have more frequent games against strong teams), his average against the west would most likely drop and kobe's average against the west would most likely rise (here is the change in numbers). so comparing both players under the same context, we see that kobe actually plays better than lebron.
"KObe has become one of a kind but his past record is not stainless (said this in another post). Kobe BECAME an incredible offensive force but we tend to forget his 25% three point shooting during his sixth(!) year in the league, his 43% shooting in his eighth, his beefs with numerous teammates, coaches, team presidents and so on. For a long time, Kobe was an incredibly talented pain in the ass for people surrounding or working with him."
first, it's actually not true that he became an offensive force. he was always an offensive force even in high school, but he was always stifled by playing with shaq because the offense was designed to go through shaq. second, i agree that 25% 3-point shooting is actually pretty bad, but his 43% fg% is actually not bad. what you need to realize is that fg% is a very misleading statistic; true fg% is a more accurate metric, and when you look at that season's true fg%, it is 55%. considering that jordan's career true fg% is 57%, kobe's shooting that year was very good. third, don't be deceptive by selectively presenting information- it was not just kobe's issue, it was also shaq's inability to get along with kobe, as is proven by shaq's proven track record of not getting along with every organization he goes to (not to mention people going on record to say that shaq also is selfish and egotistical, and was unable to share the spotlight with kobe). shaq was also responsible for throwing players under the bus and getting players traded, in addition to profaning buss publicly at a game, and often complaining about not getting the ball. i'm not saying kobe's innocent, but an equal amount of blame undoubtedly falls on shaq, too. not only this, if you criticize kobe for being a pain in the ass, you must not ignore the fact that jordan was also a pain in the ass to his team (punching a team mate, getting players traded, threatening to retire or leave the team, beef with team president, and getting a coach fired), not to mention magic johnson also behaved similarly to jordan and kobe.
"Last year everybody criticized him for being a relatively bad teammate."
that's actually not true. if you remember correctly, before half the laker team went down in injuries again, kobe was once again (like this year) praised by the media for "becoming" a good leader.
"If you acknowledge Lebron flaws do the same with Kobe and dont act like he's been winning for 11 years scoring 50 points each time."
the absence of MENTIONING kobe's flaws is not an implication that i do not BELIEVE he has flaws. the only reason why my post discusses his strengths is because it is to REFUTE your flawed or misleading beliefs, not to insinuate that he lacks flaws.
"Just remember his playoffs airballs, his selfishness at times, his numerous winningless years, his bad shooting percentages, anything which can remind us all that NO player is perfect."
i hardly doubt a rookie making airballs in the playoffs is something worth criticizing, especially when the coaches at that time announced that no one was willing to take those last shots except for kobe. (if you really want to talk about airballs, how about lebron airballing freethrows, which is infinitely more embarrassing than doing so on contested 3-point shots) yes, he's selfish, but so was jordan- it's not something to admire, but it's not just kobe. nobody thinks that kobe's win-less seasons are as "numerous" as you try to depict them. jordan didn't win until 6 seasons in the nba; kobe's vying for a ring in just 4 years after the team officially became "his" team. if you want to talk about numerous win-less seasons, look at tmac, or vince carter, or jason kidd, or 90% of the players in nba history. and once again, try looking at his true shooting percentage and you'll see they're actually good, not bad.
i agree no player is perfect, but what you did by solely presenting speciously negative analysis of kobe only begs for others to counter them with (naturally) positive rebuttals. and like i said before, absence of mentioning negatives is not equivalent to my believing he does not have weaknesses.
5 months ago
Jeff,
I think your “playing versus the west” argument is a little bit of a reach. While I can, ostensibly, understand your logic, it remains too much of a hypothetical for me. You assume that 22 more games against the West would somehow lead to a noticeable drop in LeBron’s stats. I just don’t buy the formula of: more games in West = lesser performance. It seems too simple for me, especially for a prodigious talent like LeBron. He’s proven that he is skilled enough to post monstrous numbers against any team on any given night; I don’t think anyone will argue that. And it can’t be fatigue or the rigors of a tougher schedule, since LeBron has averaged 41 minutes a game over the last six years and I haven’t seen him slow down once. I just don’t think, with one or two more games against the Cavs, that West teams would figure out how to slow down LeBron. In the end, I don’t think James or Kobe would see a significant change in stats if their teams swapped conferences. A disparity in team record I can see, but not individual statistics.
I’m not too big of a stat junky, so terms like true shooting percentage and PER are almost a foreign language to me. There’s just the fact that it’s almost impossible to factor in a particular player’s teammates, who without question have an impact on a certain individual’s statistics. Take your example of Kobe playing with Shaq. You say Shaq held Kobe back, almost putting a ceiling on his offensive growth. I could easily say that Kobe was allowed to develop and hone his skills in an easier environment because of the constant double- and triple-teams on Shaq in the post (as opposed to trying to learn the NBA game as a team’s lone offensive threat ala, say, Kevin Durant or LeBron James). At the same age, I honestly don’t think Kobe was the prospect Durant and James were. And Kobe may have benefited from playing with Shaq. Or maybe not. You can’t find a reasonable solution to this question by looking at their PER or whatever. This argument is about as concrete as your conference swapping idea. So, I suppose it’s a moot point.
Like I said in my previous comment, however, it’s pretty clear that Kobe is the more skilled player between him and LeBron. It’s hard to deny that Kobe has better defense, more range, better mechanics—he simply doesn’t have any holes in his game.
But overall impact on the game is another matter. It’s not about who jumps the highest, or who has the better skills; it’s about all things considered. Kobe may be the more polished, better-rounded scorer, but there isn’t a greater offensive force in the NBA than LeBron charging to the rim. In the end, you won’t find many players who put a bigger stamp on the game than LeBron and Kobe…
…except for one man: Tim Duncan, who remains the most impacting player in the league.
Cheers.
5 months ago
dear chris,
i can understand your perspective, but you're failing to see the point. it's not the number of minutes lebron plays, or the number of minutes kobe plays. they both play prodigious amount of minutes. it's the QUALITY of minutes each plays. playing 41 minutes more frequently against a JV league is a considerable difference from playing 41 minutes more frequently against a grueling western team that wasn't even decided until the last game of the season, and where the separation between the #1 team and the #8 team is a mere 7 games. so yes, conference is much more than a hypothesis, it's a significant factor. just because it is "simple" doesn't make it any less true- some of the most unfaltering truths in the world are characterized by their simplicity.
i don't think you're seeing the issue here: my point is not that the west team would figure out how to slow lebron down (although they would of course figure it out on a better level than eastern teams), the point is that lebron himself would have a more difficult time playing in the western conference due to playing much more intensive games on a more frequent basis. there's a difference.
so whether stats change significantly or not from switching conferences, the condition each achieves those stats distinguishes the quality of those stats, hence my original claim.
"I could easily say that Kobe was allowed to develop and hone his skills in an easier environment because of the constant double- and triple-teams on Shaq in the post (as opposed to trying to learn the NBA game as a team’s lone offensive threat ala, say, Kevin Durant or LeBron James)."
i can see that to be very true. the flip side of this scenario is that kobe would have astronomically larger stats his first 3 years in the nba if he were in lebron's, durant's, or jordan's situation (i only bring this up because every lebron supporter tries to use kobe's "inferior" stats from his first 3 years as a reason for why lebron is "better" than kobe). you can't deny that kobe wouldn't have flourished even if he were a one-man team without shaq (he was competing against and defeating nba teams in philly as a high school student)
"At the same age, I honestly don’t think Kobe was the prospect Durant and James were."
this is only a consequence of the zeitgeist of that year: the nba at the time was hesitant to draft high school students, and like i said before 20 or 30 years had passed when no high school player was drafted before kobe's era (ignoring garnett who was drafted the year before kobe). kobe was the first guard in nba history to be drafted by the nba, and his (and garnett's) success is what paved the way for a new wave of high school athletes entering the nba. i guarantee you if kobe were in any future draft classes, he would be in the top 3 picks just like lebron was.
"And Kobe may have benefited from playing with Shaq. Or maybe not. You can’t find a reasonable solution to this question by looking at their PER or whatever. This argument is about as concrete as your conference swapping idea. So, I suppose it’s a moot point."
both discussions are complex, but the reason why you can make a plausible argument for the conferences is because after assuming all things equal, you can pin point a few single factors affect each player's production, whereas in the shaq case, it's a generic question of "did he benefit or not?". here there's an answer for each side and a myriad of variables to analyze, so it's hard to weigh the differences. but the conference issue is a simple question that is overwhelmingly in the favor of lebron. (ie. even though you may not believe it benefits lebron that he plays in the east, you definitely can not say that it hurts him)
"But overall impact on the game is another matter. It’s not about who jumps the highest, or who has the better skills; it’s about all things considered. Kobe may be the more polished, better-rounded scorer, but there isn’t a greater offensive force in the NBA than LeBron charging to the rim. In the end, you won’t find many players who put a bigger stamp on the game than LeBron and Kobe…"
i completely agree with you on this, and i have always believed this. i think that both kobe and lebron are very effective at what they do, they just do it in different ways.
from 5 months ago
Jeff,
I’m beginning to understand--though not buy into--your “western conference” argument. There’s no doubt that if LeBron and his Cavs were in the west, he would have to endure more intense games against a higher quality of teams. That I concede. However, I’m not quite ready to adopt the notion that since Kobe plays more quality minutes, his performance should be deemed superior to James’.
Firstly, I think you fail to recognize one glaring and important inequality: their teammates. You assert that Kobe plays tougher minutes because he faces better opposition with greater frequency. I counter with the fact that LeBron plays with a vastly inferior supporting cast (even after the Bynum injury and before the Gasol trade), thus he must to do more with less. Taking this into consideration, I just don’t see how Kobe’s minutes on the court are more rigorous than James’. So while their conferences aren’t balanced, neither are their teams--and I think this is the great equalizer. Because of this, I can’t say Kobe’s performance has been any better than LeBron’s. In my eyes, if you put LeBron on the Lakers, they have just as much success and he does it as “easily” as Kobe. Having a tough time against a particular team has as much to do with a player’s teammates as their specific skill set and talent.
I guess it isn’t so “simple” after all.
5 months ago
If Kobe was better than Eddie Jones in practice he would have started or at least gotten major minutes. You guys are acting like he didnt have a rookie season. Saying imagine if this...did u see his rookie campaign. He was young and made stupid decisions...He was like a better Gerald Green. He showed great potential but clearly wasnt there yet. Look it up...He average 7.6 or something. It was well known that Eddie Jones was killing Kobe on both ends (all defensive team) for those who arent familiar with Eddie back then. He just didnt get minutes for no reason. He clearly wasnt ready to run a team. Durant was more experienced as a rookie....easily, in my opinion. The Lakers werent a great team, they just finished rebuilding. Kobe wasnt even the most experienced rookie his first year. That was the best draft class ever. At least 10 were ready to play more minutes...I'll admit that Kobe is the games best player...most polished, by far. But he wasnt capable of 20 5 and 5...Eddie Jones wasnt. lol
5 months ago
Go back to any of those years that Shaq was dominating, meaning his entire stay in L.A, see how much footage you find of Kobe being double teamed with Shaq in the post. Never...It never happened. We're talking about arguably the most dominate person to ever play in an era where teams had no idea what to do with him....and your going to say Kobe benefiting from Shaq isnt concrete? wow...
5 months ago
Also, lebron's not in the West....Everything is Hypothetical..If Lebron werent in the east He wouldnt be on the Cavs...Simple..i think you put Lebron at 18 on the 97 team that Kobe went to and break win a championship. Easily...my God
5 months ago
Think what you need to think I think Lebron is better though I mean today on the commercials it said no one has done what he has stats wise this season 30 8 7 MJ has done it once and I cannot remember his name but he did it 5 times
5 months ago
OK, hypothetically speaking, let's put LeBron on a Western Conference team. We'll say the Trail Blazers. That means he plays four games each against Golden State, Denver, Seattle, Memphis, Phoenix, LA Clippers and Sacramento - not exactly defensive powerhouses. Couple that with the more freeflowing, up-and-down style of the West, and LeBron's got a ton of more opportunities to score than he does in the plodding East. You throw in the fact that he'd have teammates who can shoot better than the ones on the Cavs, and his assist numbers are bound to increase as well.
I'm not taking anything away from Kobe here because he is a phenomenal player - simply saying that LeBron's numbers would probably be better than the 30-7-7 they were this year. In terms of individual defense, LeBron is much, MUCH improved this year from the past. No, he's not doing it every possession, but he's getting close. He shut down Kobe down the stretch of both games this year, and put up some big offensive numbers (44 and 33) points as well.
5 months ago
I love this guy Scott, Ive been trying to impress this upon you guys for a while. Lebron in the West means a better team. The East style of play is completely diff from the west. More defense on the East...half court offenses. The Celtics lost 3 games this year to the Wizards, the 5th seed in the East. Series is tied with Atlanta, the 8th seed. The East is more competitive than you guys are giving them credit for.
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