Re: Kobe speaks on Ray Allen, Shaq, and NaS (a must read)
Another fun debate with KDRE. 
Originally posted by KDRE
Fact is, when the deisel ran the show, they won, wnad when Kobe tried to take over they lost, and lost big. Even to the point they were sent home weeping like girls.
No doubt, when Shaq was running the show, the Lakers were damn near unstoppable. But it got to the point where Shaq just couldn't do it like he once could. The constant loss of energy in the 4th quarter, the liability at the free throw line, and tendancy to half-*** through critical points of the season started to kick in. I'll never deny that Shaq is the biggest reason that the Lakers won all those years. But he could not maintain this. After the third championship season, he simply lost that motivational drive. When this happened, the Lakers needed a new guy to keep that desire to win alive. That was placed on Kobe. I'm not so sure Kobe was ready to take all of this on at that time. He may not have been ready to take over the team to the extent that the Lakers wanted him to. In the 2003 playoffs, I was severely dissapointed in Shaq. He was not in shape, getting beat to rebounds, and being outworked by the likes of Kevin Willis. That again left it all on Kobe.
I dont know about Kobe being mature, it s one thing to acknowledge you made mistakes, but another to do things like snitch on a guy then say he';s the one with the issues, I'm moving on.
By being more mature, I'm referring more to the on the court game, rather than the off-court crap. What I've noticed in the past, when a player misses one or two shots, Kobe won't go back to him. This year, when players start off slow, Kobe still tries to get them the ball. Atkins for example, was shooting horribly in the first couple games of the preseason and regular season. Still Kobe would look for Atkins to spot up and nail the jumper. He wouldn't force it. So far, the only time I've seen Kobe force unnecessary jumpers (on a constant basis) is the game against Chicago.
It's one thing to not like a coach, but go to the media with it, then most likely get him fired, and say some stuff like he's trying to sell books when he tells how you whined about wanting to be the man although the real "man" carried you to 3 finals. Yes I said carried because Shaq deisel was the MVP and without that unstoppable force in the middle Kobe would've been tired not as effective with that team.
Kobe didn't like Phil Jackson, the person, but he said he respected him as the Coach. Kobe didn't go to the media first with the book stuff by Phil Jackson. It was Phil who released all of this stuff about Kobe. I think Kobe decently handeled the situation by avoiding any comments about it, but it gets to that point, where a guy can handle so much. There is not one player in the NBA that takes as much abuse from media than Kobe. It's gotten to the point where people are just putting his life under a microscope. When Kobe says something about Shaq, when he is under some VERY serious pressure at a time when he thought his comments would not be released to the public, he gets labeled as an untrusting teammate. Yet, Phil, without any mental force or pressure (certainly not the likes of waht Kobe was under) publishes a book which flat out attacks Bryant. People actually use Phil's comments as support against Kobe. Releasing crap about your player, stuff that should have remained in the lockerroom, to the entire public is a form of attacking Kobe's privacy. Maybe not to the extent of Kobe breaching Shaq's privacy, but still.
That isnt maturity. He knows certain things has to happen because plenty of fans in LA will be torched hot if the team flops and misses the playoffs. Deep down inside you know most people here believe he got Phil fired and Shaq ousted.
It wasn't Kobe who said "It's going to be Me or Phil." Phil Jackson was actually the one who came up to Buss and said, "Choose between me or Kobe." Why did Phil have to put Buss in that type of situation. Obviously, Buss would choose Kobe, a superstar at the age of 25, over a coach who obviously would not go in the direction that the Lakers wanted to go. As a result of Phil leaving, Shaq demanded the trade. Kobe didn't say "fire Phil." Phil said "leave Kobe."
No doubt, when Shaq was running the show, the Lakers were damn near unstoppable. But it got to the point where Shaq just couldn't do it like he once could. The constant loss of energy in the 4th quarter, the liability at the free throw line, and tendancy to half-*** through critical points of the season started to kick in. I'll never deny that Shaq is the biggest reason that the Lakers won all those years. But he could not maintain this. After the third championship season, he simply lost that motivational drive. When this happened, the Lakers needed a new guy to keep that desire to win alive. That was placed on Kobe. I'm not so sure Kobe was ready to take all of this on at that time. He may not have been ready to take over the team to the extent that the Lakers wanted him to. In the 2003 playoffs, I was severely dissapointed in Shaq. He was not in shape, getting beat to rebounds, and being outworked by the likes of Kevin Willis. That again left it all on Kobe.
I dont know about Kobe being mature, it s one thing to acknowledge you made mistakes, but another to do things like snitch on a guy then say he';s the one with the issues, I'm moving on.
By being more mature, I'm referring more to the on the court game, rather than the off-court crap. What I've noticed in the past, when a player misses one or two shots, Kobe won't go back to him. This year, when players start off slow, Kobe still tries to get them the ball. Atkins for example, was shooting horribly in the first couple games of the preseason and regular season. Still Kobe would look for Atkins to spot up and nail the jumper. He wouldn't force it. So far, the only time I've seen Kobe force unnecessary jumpers (on a constant basis) is the game against Chicago.
It's one thing to not like a coach, but go to the media with it, then most likely get him fired, and say some stuff like he's trying to sell books when he tells how you whined about wanting to be the man although the real "man" carried you to 3 finals. Yes I said carried because Shaq deisel was the MVP and without that unstoppable force in the middle Kobe would've been tired not as effective with that team.
Kobe didn't like Phil Jackson, the person, but he said he respected him as the Coach. Kobe didn't go to the media first with the book stuff by Phil Jackson. It was Phil who released all of this stuff about Kobe. I think Kobe decently handeled the situation by avoiding any comments about it, but it gets to that point, where a guy can handle so much. There is not one player in the NBA that takes as much abuse from media than Kobe. It's gotten to the point where people are just putting his life under a microscope. When Kobe says something about Shaq, when he is under some VERY serious pressure at a time when he thought his comments would not be released to the public, he gets labeled as an untrusting teammate. Yet, Phil, without any mental force or pressure (certainly not the likes of waht Kobe was under) publishes a book which flat out attacks Bryant. People actually use Phil's comments as support against Kobe. Releasing crap about your player, stuff that should have remained in the lockerroom, to the entire public is a form of attacking Kobe's privacy. Maybe not to the extent of Kobe breaching Shaq's privacy, but still.
That isnt maturity. He knows certain things has to happen because plenty of fans in LA will be torched hot if the team flops and misses the playoffs. Deep down inside you know most people here believe he got Phil fired and Shaq ousted.
It wasn't Kobe who said "It's going to be Me or Phil." Phil Jackson was actually the one who came up to Buss and said, "Choose between me or Kobe." Why did Phil have to put Buss in that type of situation. Obviously, Buss would choose Kobe, a superstar at the age of 25, over a coach who obviously would not go in the direction that the Lakers wanted to go. As a result of Phil leaving, Shaq demanded the trade. Kobe didn't say "fire Phil." Phil said "leave Kobe."
That one is for old times sake D4K.... I'm really done with this Mac Kobe thing 
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