SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

[SteelerForLife]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I honestly think this all comes from the Kobe is the next Michael , Kobe is better than Michael at this age comparison.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Agreed. But Kobe shouldn't shoulder all the blame for that either. For the past 15 years, when hasn't the media annointed someone "the next Jordan?" First it was Harold Minor (remember him?), then it was Grant Hill (although I think that was more for his popularity and endorsement potential than his actual play style), then it was Kobe, then it was Stackhouse, then it was Vince, then it was TMac, and now it's Lebron. Did Kobe buy into that whole thing? Sure he did, and I'm not convinced he's completely over it either. Some of the comments he's made have put him in that position. But the fact is there's not much of anything other than team circumstance that separates Kobe from Jordan. Kobe has never been "the man" in LA. Michael was the man from Day 1 in Chicago. Different paths have led to different results and perceptions. McGrady's situation in Orlando now is closer to Jordan's in Chicago than any other player which is why I think he's compared more favorably skill-wise to Jordan (not to take anything away from TMac, he IS the best overall player in the league right now).

[ChicagoNVA]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

Well obviously KOBE isn't Jordan. it's funny how all the Laker apologist find every reason to defend Kobe.

Remember when Grant Hill went down in orlando i believe that first year, TMAC did it by himself to at least have the Magic playing at .500 throughout that season.

Kobe leadership through 11 games = an 3 - 8 record. Enough said.

[Whaaaazuuuuup]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

PLEASE! what i'm talking about is Kobe getting on his teammates when the'y're playing poorly, workning the refs to get calls in his TEAMS favor not himself. instead of strutting back after hitting his first shot after missing 12 straight, and chewing on his gum like he was a hostage in a war prison camp, direct/instruct you teammates what needs to be done to stop the team in that possesion. BE A LEADER! Kobe is truely more worried about himself, which is aaalll good, but don't front and act as though you care how your team performs...

[23]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

Some of it is his fault though, for trying to model his play exactly after Jordan, his fade-a-way for instance, trying to interview like MJ, not that he didn't choose the right guy to mark, but it's not that safe a zone to step in if you can't fill those shoes. There is much more that separates Kobe from Jordan than team circumstances seeing Jordan has far too many records, and individual honors for starters to compare.

[SteelerForLife]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Remember when Grant Hill went down in orlando i believe that first year, TMAC did it by himself to at least have the Magic playing at .500 throughout that season.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Again, two different systems. TMac has had the advantage of being in an up-tempo wide-open offense for the past 2 years in Orlando. With Armstrong pushing the ball on rebounds and turnovers (something Doc Rivers emphasizes constantly), TMac benefits from simply being able to finish breaks strong. That, and the fact that opponents have to respect the perimeter shooting of Orlando means that Tracy finds himself in a lot of one-on-one situations which he's able to dominate. All I've been saying is that Kobe does not have the same luxury in LA's system. Fisher rarely pushes the tempo. The Lakers aren't a running team. Which means they rely exclusively on their half-court game, which is built on a system missing its most important piece. And when Fisher, Horry and Fox aren't hitting anything beyond 15 feet, teams can focus on Kobe. Focusing solely on TMac against Orlando gets you rained on. It's not the same situation.

Again, switch Kobe's and TMac situations and, IMO, not much would change stats-wise OR team record-wise.

Speaking on Kobe's leadership, Whazzzzzzzup, if he did the things you speak of, can you imagine what the critics would say about him then? Would it really change the situation? Fox, Horry, and Fisher have been in the league long enough not to need Kobe for motivation.

[Whaaaazuuuuup]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Speaking on Kobe's leadership, Whazzzzzzzup, if he did the things you speak of, can you imagine what the critics would say about him then? Would it really change the situation? Fox, Horry, and Fisher have been in the league long enough not to need Kobe for motivation.


<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

i get what you're saying, but for him to say he's a leader, he needs to speak up. get in his teammates head to produce. right now, his teammates have lost repected for him because aaaallll these years he's been barking how he wanted to be the man, and now he's got the chance and not showing up. right now, the Lakers are not fearing Kobe. followers always look to please their leaders. do the things necessary to bring praise from their leaders. but when your teammates see you doing stand-still, turn around, fade away 3 pointers with to guys on you, how does that make them feel. they should feel they could have taken a better shots than that.

the problem is Kobe thinks his teammates are there for him and not him being there for his teammates. that's what a leader is. like your parents are (were) to you. they're your leaders and provide(d) for you....

[moddinator]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

WELL YOU SAID KOBE IS BETTER THAN JORDAN RIGHT WELL IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY JORDANS ROOKIE YEAR AT AGE 21 HE TOOK HIS TEAM TO THE PLAYOFFS, AND CAN YOU NAME ANYONE ON THAT TEAM THAT WAS ANY GOOD BESIDES MIKE, SECOND NO TEAM WILL EVER WIN WITH KOBE BECAUSE HE CANT SET A TEMPO DONT GIVE ME THIS NOBODY ON THIS TEAM CAN SHOOT BECAUSE THATS WHAT THE LAKERS ARE SHOOTERS KOBE COMES INTO A GAME AND SAYS ILL SHOOT 47 TIMES TODAY AND TOMMOROW ILL WORRY ABOUT MY TEAM INSTEAD OF BEING THE GOOD PLAYER HE IS AND MIXING IT UP THATS WHY THE LAKERS SUCK PLAIN AND SIMPLE AND JUST BECAUSE I SAID KOBE'S GOOD DONT MEAN I LIKE HIM CUZ I DONT BUT THATS JUST MY OPINION P.S. TO WHAZZUP YOU SAID KOBE DOESNT GET SUPERSTAR CALLS ANYBODY REMEMBER THE ELBOW TO MIKE BIBBYS FACE IN THE LAST PLAYOFF GAME WHERE THE REF WAS RIGHT BEHIND HIM AND DIDNT BLOW THE WHISTLE

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

there's this new button called "Caps Lock" try it.

[SteelerForLife]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
WELL YOU SAID KOBE IS BETTER THAN JORDAN

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Where, exactly, did I say this? Putting Kobe on Jordan's level right now is borderline blasphemy. That's not even open for discussion.
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
CAN YOU NAME ANYONE ON THAT TEAM THAT WAS ANY GOOD BESIDES MIKE

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">
Are you kidding? Pippen: perennial all-star. Rodman: three-time league rebounding leader. Paxson/Kerr/Hodges: consistently top ten in 3-pt shooting. Kukoc: versatile swingman and precursor to Nowitski/Gasol/et al.
Now, since the Shaq/Kobe era began, name one, other than Shaq and Kobe, Laker All-Star or a Laker that has been top ten in the league in ANYTHING.
And to those who say that Kobe doesn't have his team playing well enough for the playoffs, true. But I don't recall seeing TMac leading the Magic to the playoffs last year (without G Hill).

[SteelerForLife]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
i get what you're saying, but for him to say he's a leader, he needs to speak up. get in his teammates head to produce. right now, his teammates have lost repected for him because aaaallll these years he's been barking how he wanted to be the man, and now he's got the chance and not showing up. right now, the Lakers are not fearing Kobe. followers always look to please their leaders. do the things necessary to bring praise from their leaders. but when your teammates see you doing stand-still, turn around, fade away 3 pointers with to guys on you, how does that make them feel. they should feel they could have taken a better shots than that.

the problem is Kobe thinks his teammates are there for him and not him being there for his teammates. that's what a leader is. like your parents are (were) to you. they're your leaders and provide(d) for you....

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

I see what you're getting at. An ideally, I'd like to see Kobe step up and be that type of leader. But there are two things preventing that.

1. Kobe's never been a "rah-rah" in-your-face guy and I don't think he ever will be. Jordan was that guy but, again, he was "the man" from Day 1 in Chicago. Kobe strikes me as the type of player that leads by example. If the team needs a run, he starts it. If they need a defensive stop, he shuts his guy down and EXPECTS his teammates to be professional enough to follow suit. In crunch time, he wants the ball. Those are all Jordan-type qualities. What's missing is the attitude, the tough-love approach. But, if Kobe did try that, do you really think the veteran Lakers would respond? I don't think so. Kobe doesn't get that kind of respect from his team. Why? Because.......
2. THIS IS SHAQ'S TEAM. That is a mantra that has been repeated and re-iterated and re-emphasized by Phil, by the assistants, by the front office, by the players and by the media non-stop for over five years now. And I think that Kobe's teammates are simply waiting for their leader to return. Until then, I don't think any of the Lakers are going to accept a substitute of any kind. I think Kobe realizes that now, if he didn't before.

[akudiya]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

Um steeler for life

I understand it WAS very difficult to read his post but he was explicitly talking about Jordan's rookie year, not the years he went to the nba finals and how he took the bulls to the playoffs by himself

[SteelerForLife]

Re: SHAQ IS ENJOYING THIS.....

This article explains my point better than I've been able to. Jordan actually put up more shots in his first years than Kobe's putting up now and, although there wasn't a ton of talent around him, the Bulls were a deeper team than the Lakers are now. Yes, the Lakers have only won three games, but all of their games, except a couple, have been competitive. Kobe is doing well, with much, much less than what Jordan had at this point in their careers.