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Kobe VS Lebron at age 23

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Post#21 » by O.C Brandon » Fri May 2, 2008 12:25 am

Every compliment someone gives Lebron here, they come right back and say BUT.

Lets be honest here...no excuses.

There is a reason Kobe played 15 minutes a game his rookie year. He was skinny, immature and just wasn't flat out ready to play 40 minutes a night. Lebron was. Credit Lebron, don't fault him.

My favorite excuse is this one..."well kobe had Shaq so he couldn't put up numbers like Lebron." why not? Kobe always took 20-24 shots a night anyway, and averaged 5-6 assist a game, a lot of those assist were to Shaq. Kobe was able to avoid double teams thanks to Shaq.

Lebron's body won't hold up because he attacks the basket? I disagree, Kobe is the one having surgery every off season. Lets just hope both of these guys stay healthy in the future.

Lebron vs Kobe at 23? I'd take Lebron, and I think every GM would have too.

Lebron vs Kobe right now?

Lebron isn't the 3pt shooter that Kobe is and he's not the free throw shooter Kobe is BUT he's always around 48-49% from the field...Kobe can shoot better but his field goal % is lower...you know why? Kobe takes bad shots.

Which leads me to IQ, Lebron's IQ is higher than Kobe's in my opinion. As stated earlier, he isn't the shooter Kobe is so he's smart enough to take high percentage shots, 48-49%.

Kobe's a better defender, and I know people love to mention that but compare Kobe's defense this year to the summer with the USA team, much different. Its tough to score 30 and play 94 feet.

A Lebron supporter would say Lebron averages more Pts, more Rebs, more Asst and shoots a higher percentage but a Kobe fan would say well look at his team, he has to do it. Basically whatever supports your argument, is what's right.

Lebron better at 23

Kobe is better right now

Lebron has the potential to have a better career. If he ever becomes a consistent shooter and a better Ft shooter. He'll average a lot more than the 30 he gets now. And Lebron has been pretty clutch this year, more than anyone in the league this season.

8)
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Post#22 » by snaquille oatmeal » Fri May 2, 2008 12:39 am

I hate this type of threads because is like comparing my junk to my wifes b00b. it doesn't make sense.

Kobe and Lebron at 23 were/are playing under different circumstances, they play different positions, one is significantly bigger than the other, Kobe is expected to guard Lebron or a sf/pf tweener yet Lebron would never be expected to guard KG or Duncan or any pf/c tweener, etc.

you just can not compare the 2.
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Post#23 » by Chubby Chaser » Fri May 2, 2008 1:38 am

Kobe came into the lakers when they were a contender. He wasn't allowed the green light that lebron got when he first came into the league. Which is why his numbers are the way they are. Just like Durant. He gets the green light so he chucks up 30-35 shots a game. Horford, who IMO should be the ROTY. Is on a contending team in the playoffs now. So he has to play in a system and do what is asked of him. Different situations. At the end of the day, Kobe got 3 rings, lebron 0. That's all that matters
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Post#24 » by TommyTheCat » Fri May 2, 2008 1:51 am

snaquille oatmeal wrote:I hate this type of threads because is like comparing my junk to my wifes b00b.



i'll need photos for that comparison :wink:
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Post#25 » by magic1fan » Fri May 2, 2008 2:22 am

O.C Brandon wrote:Every compliment someone gives Lebron here, they come right back and say BUT.

Lets be honest here...no excuses.

There is a reason Kobe played 15 minutes a game his rookie year. He was skinny, immature and just wasn't flat out ready to play 40 minutes a night. Lebron was. Credit Lebron, don't fault him.

My favorite excuse is this one..."well kobe had Shaq so he couldn't put up numbers like Lebron." why not? Kobe always took 20-24 shots a night anyway, and averaged 5-6 assist a game, a lot of those assist were to Shaq. Kobe was able to avoid double teams thanks to Shaq.

Lebron's body won't hold up because he attacks the basket? I disagree, Kobe is the one having surgery every off season. Lets just hope both of these guys stay healthy in the future.

Lebron vs Kobe at 23? I'd take Lebron, and I think every GM would have too.

Lebron vs Kobe right now?

Lebron isn't the 3pt shooter that Kobe is and he's not the free throw shooter Kobe is BUT he's always around 48-49% from the field...Kobe can shoot better but his field goal % is lower...you know why? Kobe takes bad shots.

Which leads me to IQ, Lebron's IQ is higher than Kobe's in my opinion. As stated earlier, he isn't the shooter Kobe is so he's smart enough to take high percentage shots, 48-49%.

Kobe's a better defender, and I know people love to mention that but compare Kobe's defense this year to the summer with the USA team, much different. Its tough to score 30 and play 94 feet.

A Lebron supporter would say Lebron averages more Pts, more Rebs, more Asst and shoots a higher percentage but a Kobe fan would say well look at his team, he has to do it. Basically whatever supports your argument, is what's right.

Lebron better at 23

Kobe is better right now

Lebron has the potential to have a better career. If he ever becomes a consistent shooter and a better Ft shooter. He'll average a lot more than the 30 he gets now. And Lebron has been pretty clutch this year, more than anyone in the league this season.

8)



absurd.
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Post#26 » by DowJones » Fri May 2, 2008 2:30 am

The best you can say in regards to their 3-point shooting is that Kobe is slightly better, because they both have the same exact numbers for their career from beyond the 3-point line.
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Post#27 » by magic1fan » Fri May 2, 2008 2:33 am

O.C Brandon wrote:Every compliment someone gives Lebron here, they come right back and say BUT.

Lets be honest here...no excuses.

There is a reason Kobe played 15 minutes a game his rookie year. He was skinny, immature and just wasn't flat out ready to play 40 minutes a night. Lebron was. Credit Lebron, don't fault him.

My favorite excuse is this one..."well kobe had Shaq so he couldn't put up numbers like Lebron." why not? Kobe always took 20-24 shots a night anyway, and averaged 5-6 assist a game, a lot of those assist were to Shaq. Kobe was able to avoid double teams thanks to Shaq.

Lebron's body won't hold up because he attacks the basket? I disagree, Kobe is the one having surgery every off season. Lets just hope both of these guys stay healthy in the future.

Lebron vs Kobe at 23? I'd take Lebron, and I think every GM would have too.

Lebron vs Kobe right now?

Lebron isn't the 3pt shooter that Kobe is and he's not the free throw shooter Kobe is BUT he's always around 48-49% from the field...Kobe can shoot better but his field goal % is lower...you know why? Kobe takes bad shots.

Which leads me to IQ, Lebron's IQ is higher than Kobe's in my opinion. As stated earlier, he isn't the shooter Kobe is so he's smart enough to take high percentage shots, 48-49%.

Kobe's a better defender, and I know people love to mention that but compare Kobe's defense this year to the summer with the USA team, much different. Its tough to score 30 and play 94 feet.

A Lebron supporter would say Lebron averages more Pts, more Rebs, more Asst and shoots a higher percentage but a Kobe fan would say well look at his team, he has to do it. Basically whatever supports your argument, is what's right.

Lebron better at 23

Kobe is better right now

Lebron has the potential to have a better career. If he ever becomes a consistent shooter and a better Ft shooter. He'll average a lot more than the 30 he gets now. And Lebron has been pretty clutch this year, more than anyone in the league this season.

8)



lol to assume kobe wasn't ready is absurd at best. kobe was coming in behind a great player in eddie jones,and the lakers didn't have to rush kobe. you cannot say for sure that lebron would have came in and started over eddie jones,especially playing for a coach like del harris. now i think we can all assue kobe would have been the franchise player for the cavs off the bat. anyone trying to deny this is lying to themselves.


what you call an excuse is pure fact. do you really think lebron would have had the same stats playing with shaq and a veteran team like that laker team? come on even lebron's biggest supporters wouldn't say somwething as crazy as that.

lmao then you say kobe is the one with the surgeries every off season. kobe has been in the league 12 years,and has played alot of playoff minutes. let's see how your boy lebron is feeling after eight or nine years with deep runs in the playoffs.

At 23 i would take kobe,and i am sure alot of others would to. kobe was heads and shoulders better than lebron at defense at 23. plus he could get to the hole back then just as easily as lebron can now.


lebron might have a better career but i doubt it. he is a great talent,but for all the talk about lebron making his team better and coming up clutch,when he faced a good tweam in the spurs he folded like a lawn chair. he continued to shoot despite the fact that he was shooting in the 30% during the series. the spurs made him look like a jv player.

we all know what kobe has done so far. the resume speaks for itself. lebron can only hope he would have the same resume as kobe after 12 years in the league.
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Post#28 » by Gerald3Wallace » Fri May 2, 2008 2:53 am

lol...werent we talking about both players at 23?

how did career achievements get in this?
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Post#29 » by O.C Brandon » Fri May 2, 2008 6:00 am

magic1fan wrote:
O.C Brandon wrote:Every compliment someone gives Lebron here, they come right back and say BUT.

Lets be honest here...no excuses.

There is a reason Kobe played 15 minutes a game his rookie year. He was skinny, immature and just wasn't flat out ready to play 40 minutes a night. Lebron was. Credit Lebron, don't fault him.

My favorite excuse is this one..."well kobe had Shaq so he couldn't put up numbers like Lebron." why not? Kobe always took 20-24 shots a night anyway, and averaged 5-6 assist a game, a lot of those assist were to Shaq. Kobe was able to avoid double teams thanks to Shaq.

Lebron's body won't hold up because he attacks the basket? I disagree, Kobe is the one having surgery every off season. Lets just hope both of these guys stay healthy in the future.

Lebron vs Kobe at 23? I'd take Lebron, and I think every GM would have too.

Lebron vs Kobe right now?

Lebron isn't the 3pt shooter that Kobe is and he's not the free throw shooter Kobe is BUT he's always around 48-49% from the field...Kobe can shoot better but his field goal % is lower...you know why? Kobe takes bad shots.

Which leads me to IQ, Lebron's IQ is higher than Kobe's in my opinion. As stated earlier, he isn't the shooter Kobe is so he's smart enough to take high percentage shots, 48-49%.

Kobe's a better defender, and I know people love to mention that but compare Kobe's defense this year to the summer with the USA team, much different. Its tough to score 30 and play 94 feet.

A Lebron supporter would say Lebron averages more Pts, more Rebs, more Asst and shoots a higher percentage but a Kobe fan would say well look at his team, he has to do it. Basically whatever supports your argument, is what's right.

Lebron better at 23

Kobe is better right now

Lebron has the potential to have a better career. If he ever becomes a consistent shooter and a better Ft shooter. He'll average a lot more than the 30 he gets now. And Lebron has been pretty clutch this year, more than anyone in the league this season.

8)



lol to assume kobe wasn't ready is absurd at best. kobe was coming in behind a great player in eddie jones,and the lakers didn't have to rush kobe. you cannot say for sure that lebron would have came in and started over eddie jones,especially playing for a coach like del harris. now i think we can all assue kobe would have been the franchise player for the cavs off the bat. anyone trying to deny this is lying to themselves.


what you call an excuse is pure fact. do you really think lebron would have had the same stats playing with shaq and a veteran team like that laker team? come on even lebron's biggest supporters wouldn't say somwething as crazy as that.

lmao then you say kobe is the one with the surgeries every off season. kobe has been in the league 12 years,and has played alot of playoff minutes. let's see how your boy lebron is feeling after eight or nine years with deep runs in the playoffs.

At 23 i would take kobe,and i am sure alot of others would to. kobe was heads and shoulders better than lebron at defense at 23. plus he could get to the hole back then just as easily as lebron can now.


lebron might have a better career but i doubt it. he is a great talent,but for all the talk about lebron making his team better and coming up clutch,when he faced a good tweam in the spurs he folded like a lawn chair. he continued to shoot despite the fact that he was shooting in the 30% during the series. the spurs made him look like a jv player.

we all know what kobe has done so far. the resume speaks for itself. lebron can only hope he would have the same resume as kobe after 12 years in the league.


"to assume kobe wasn't ready is absurd" there's a reason he didn't go in the top 5...too skinny and too immature.

if those GM's knew he'd become this player then no doubt he goes #1...but he simply wasn't ready, if he was ready he would have been the #1 pick like king james.

"you cannot say lebron would have played over eddie jones" played over? there's no way lebron is availible at pick 13 for the hornets to draft and trade him to the lakers to even analyze this situation, nice try.

"do you think lebron has those stats with shaq" lol, taking 20-24 shots a night like kobe did, yes he would have. funniest excuse I hear when kobe is compared to someone. You make it sound like kobe was a real 2nd option. He took more shots than shaq towards the 2nd half of their 8 years together. Drop that excuse please. And when you say stats u mean points. Lebron might average 10 assist with a prime Shaq.

"you say kobe's the one with all the surgeries, he's been in the league 12 years" right he has but remember he was in colorado getting knee surgery at age 24...remember hehe

"when kobe was 23, he got to the basket just as easy as lebron" might be true but he still never came close to 48 or 49% for a season like lebron, kobe always took ill advised shots. my biggest problem with the guy.

and about the whole shaq thing, just realize kobe saw single coverage most of the time because of "shaq".

"lebron folded and shot in the 30's percent range vs the spurs" right right...reminds me of bryant in 04 vs prince and the pistons...Just kept shooting and shooting just like lebron, although lebron didn't have a center averaging 27pts on 60% in the series like Shaq that year.

"Kobe's resume speaks for itself" actually with Kobe being the leader of a team (no shaq), Lebron actually has the better resume so far.

just my take on it : )
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Post#30 » by milesfides » Fri May 2, 2008 6:10 am

Dexmor, I'm not sure if those comments about me were laced with irony, but anyways, I think an MJ v Kobe is a bit OT. A lot of threads in the past discussed this though.

For better insight, Tex Winters compares the two in Roland Lazenby's blog: http://lakernoise.com/2007/03/29/tex-on-kobe-vs-mj/

Tex Winters is an authoritative source, since he coached both of them, has no agenda, and is frank and fair in his assessments.

One thing Tex Winters points out is that Kobe has had to play farther from the basket, because defenders push him out of the lane. That may be true somewhat, but I think it's also because Kobe plays a lot of guard, by Phil's own admission.

MJ had the luxury of playing next to Pippen, who facilitated the offense. That allowed MJ to operate behind the line of defense, and thus get higher percentage shots.

Likewise with Kobe; as a small forward, his production and efficiency is at his highest.

However, when he came into the league, he had to play more of a facilitator as the offense centered around Shaq. Kobe had to sacrifice much of his game in order to play his role. What would Kobe have been capable of if he were given the keys to the kingdom as a rookie, like Lebron, like Durant?

One can only guess. He was pretty filthy as a teenager, despite being skinny. He had almost the full range of the same skills he has today, plus freakish athleticism. One just has to youtube some of his videos. Even as a 19-year-old, he was playing remarkably well against Jordan and Pippen.

Unfortunately, when Shaq was traded, centering the team around Kobe effectively never happened. Injuries derailed the first season, and the second and third saw how Odom wouldn't be able to facilitate the offense like Pippen did. Moreover, Kobe just didn't have a supporting cast that could help him maximize himself as a player, despite what some media members think. Players are most productive when the circumstances are right. Jordan didn't put his numbers up in a vacuum. He was surrounded by teammates who were elite in their roles and skills.

With Kobe playing next to an underachieving Lamar, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, plus a bunch of very young players, his efficiency went down and his defense suffered. The Lakers were trying to run the triangle but didn't have the right personnel.

How would Lebron have done next to Shaq? I think he would have done well due to his passing, but much of his passing comes from his driving game, something that would have been limited with Shaq in the middle. There would be more pressure on him to shoot jumpers, which was never his strength. I don't think he would have done as well as Kobe, because I don't think he has the full skill set that Kobe possesses.

I also don't subscribe to the idea that the number of rings ends a discussion. Nobody won rings by himself. Championships are won by a tremendous team effort.

Thus, even though for the past few years Kobe was surrounded by teammates who maybe shouldn't be in the NBA, let alone start, I still think he was the MVP, the best player in the league, regardless of the Lakers mediocre record.

Sorry, this post is kind of all over the place, but one last word on Kobe v. Lebron.

First, I think the 23-year-old thing isn't really that important. I think great players are great, from their rookie season as long as their bodies hold up. They gain experience, maturity, some tricks along the way, but really, they're pretty much the same players throughout their careers.

Between Kobe and Lebron, I think the only major advantage Lebron has is his driving game. Kobe was terrific as a young buck, dunking on everybody, but Lebron is a freak of nature. He's a freight train. His mass should defy his acceleration. He has a different kind of athleticism from Kobe's.

Lebron is a freight train with one thunderous hammer.

Kobe is more acrobatic, more creative.

I think Lebron's drive is very effective. So was Dwayne Wade's, before Wade developed knee problems due to the over-reliance on his drives.

On the other hand, I think Kobe's has a truly complete offensive game. He's a good three-point shooter, foul-shooter, mid-range shooter. He can drive, get to the line, create for his teammates, etc. There's really nothing he can't do, which makes him a dominant offensive player.

Lebron has an extremely good go-to move, which is the strong drive to his right. The other aspects of his offense is unremarkable.

Would I value his great drive over Kobe's balanced excellence? No. Because Kobe's skills augment his team - any team he's on. There's a reason why Kobe plays well with anybody who can play - whether it's Shaq and the championship Laker teammates, all-star teams, or Team USA. Or the current Laker team. Flexibility, very high bball IQ, overall excellence in all aspects of the game.

On the other hand, Lebron has had some struggles fitting his game with teammates, on Team USA, and had all but stifled ex-teammate Larry Hughes, who played like a newly freed man on the Bulls. Lebron tends to dominate the ball, and stands around when he doesn't have the ball. For whatever reason, many established players have struggled playing next to Lebron, while many players put up career years next to Kobe.

And on defense, it's no contest. Kobe is an elite defender, a world-class defender, who can change the game on that end of the floor. Lebron can play some tough defense at times, but not consistently.
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Post#31 » by Ridwaan » Fri May 2, 2008 7:44 am

saying kobe wasnt ready is absurd, because if you watch beyond the glory with kobe it stated that kobe was practicing in philly with the 76ers, and jerry stackhouse came one time. And it was said that kobe was taking it to stack house on both ends of the floor, and remember stackhouse was a freak at that time. Also implying "skinny" has nothing to do with it, because iverson was short and skinny and wrecked it, and druant was extremely skinny and got ROY and avg 20 --- same as lebron. And where did you get immature from? Your talking about a guy who has the drive to be the greatest, being immature?
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Post#32 » by DowJones » Fri May 2, 2008 1:27 pm

miles, I think you are being a bit of a homer in your last post.

1. How can you just toss away LeBron's 3-point shooting when he shoots nearly the exact same % from 3 for his career as Kobe? Why do all Laker fans seem to completely ignore this stat and just say "Kobe is a much better 3-point shooter"?


2. LeBron's only advantage is that he can drive to the hoop? Come on. LeBron is a better passer and he is a better rebounder. Arguing against that would be like me arguing that LeBron is just as good a defender. LeBron has amazing court vision and he averages about 8rpg.

3. Oh really? Larry played like a free man on the Bulls?

-12.0ppg (Chicago) vs 12.3ppg (Cleveland)
-3.1rpg (Chicago) vs 3.6rpg (Cleveland)
-3.1apg (Chicago) vs 2.6apg (Cleveland)
-38%fg shooting (Chicago) vs 38%fg shooting (Cleveland)
-29.4mpg (Chicago) vs 30.3mpg (Cleveland)

I don't think that statement was accurate.

4. Where do you get off saying that Kobe fits in with all of his teammates and then saying LeBron doesn't? I don't think there is any question as to who the better teammate is. LeBron, even though he has EVERY reason to do so, has never thrown his team under the bus. Kobe is telling Mitch Kupchak to "ship his ass out of here" in regards to Bynum....which, imo, was a STUPID thing to say and makes me value Kobe's basketball opinion a little less.

As for All-Star games, I don't think LeBron has a problem with that...he has won 2 All-Star game MVP awards at the age of 23.

LeBron was also one of the best players on Team USA this past year. Surely you can't fault LeBron for what happened 4 years ago...when LeBron was just getting started in the NBA.

5. What "established" players has James even had? He has had nothing but role players in Cleveland except for Boozer and Z.
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Post#33 » by O.C Brandon » Fri May 2, 2008 2:06 pm

DowJones wrote:miles, I think you are being a bit of a homer in your last post.

1. How can you just toss away LeBron's 3-point shooting when he shoots nearly the exact same % from 3 for his career as Kobe? Why do all Laker fans seem to completely ignore this stat and just say "Kobe is a much better 3-point shooter"?


2. LeBron's only advantage is that he can drive to the hoop? Come on. LeBron is a better passer and he is a better rebounder. Arguing against that would be like me arguing that LeBron is just as good a defender. LeBron has amazing court vision and he averages about 8rpg.

3. Oh really? Larry played like a free man on the Bulls?

-12.0ppg (Chicago) vs 12.3ppg (Cleveland)
-3.1rpg (Chicago) vs 3.6rpg (Cleveland)
-3.1apg (Chicago) vs 2.6apg (Cleveland)
-38%fg shooting (Chicago) vs 38%fg shooting (Cleveland)
-29.4mpg (Chicago) vs 30.3mpg (Cleveland)

I don't think that statement was accurate.

4. Where do you get off saying that Kobe fits in with all of his teammates and then saying LeBron doesn't? I don't think there is any question as to who the better teammate is. LeBron, even though he has EVERY reason to do so, has never thrown his team under the bus. Kobe is telling Mitch Kupchak to "ship his ass out of here" in regards to Bynum....which, imo, was a STUPID thing to say and makes me value Kobe's basketball opinion a little less.

As for All-Star games, I don't think LeBron has a problem with that...he has won 2 All-Star game MVP awards at the age of 23.

LeBron was also one of the best players on Team USA this past year. Surely you can't fault LeBron for what happened 4 years ago...when LeBron was just getting started in the NBA.

5. What "established" players has James even had? He has had nothing but role players in Cleveland except for Boozer and Z.


^ smart man...

those are some monster numbers from Hughes in Chicago.

; )
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Post#34 » by Gerald3Wallace » Fri May 2, 2008 5:11 pm

Ridwaan wrote: And where did you get immature from? Your talking about a guy who has the drive to be the greatest, being immature?


umm kobe was immature...he only cared about himself starting out in the league.

kobe is still the better player, but there can be a lot of arguements made for bron.
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Post#35 » by Dexmor » Fri May 2, 2008 6:17 pm

Well the only reason Kobe slipped to 13 imo is because back then they didn't take high school kids that early because they were looked at as projects and very risky. I mean KG went 5th and he clearly should have been first. Kobe should have gone first. TMac should have gone 2nd but went 8th. After those 3 H.S. players turned out to be the top best players in the league (not top 3 but close) High School players started going very early. Kwame Brown went first, Tyson Chandler went second and was traded for Brand and Curry went 3rd and Gasol should have went first but didn't because of the whole high school thing. Also back then not only did high school players slip but they didn't get pt there first couple of years. Kobe didn't, KG didn't get as much minutes as he should have and Tmac forget it. If Lebron came out in 95 96 before the whole HS thing was so successful Lebron probably would have went after Camby and AI.
Kobe was drafted in the era of were HS players don't start and Kobe didn't get enough pt as a rookie. Kobe played 15 minutes and got 7 points. If he would have started who says he wouldn't have gotten 18 points a game. His second year he didn't start even though he was clearly better then Eddie Jones and he got 15 points in 26 minutes.
Also I am not making accusations but if Lebron didn't take steroids as a high schooler he has the best creatine in the world because he came in with the body of a body builder and he had that body since 11th grade.

Miles was not being bias at all. Alot of the Steven A type guys have said Kobe was better then Lebron at 23 and all of Miles points were on point.

Miles I know comparing Jordan at 23 to Lebron and Kobe at 23 is off topic but I didn't want to make a new topic. I pm'd you with the questions
who is better Kobe vs Jordan at 29 and 2 who is better Lebron vs Jordan at 23.
I would really appreciate it if you told me what you think. I truley don't know.
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Post#36 » by LLcoleJ » Fri May 2, 2008 6:29 pm

For those that are claiming homerism while pumping up Lebron should look in the mirror.
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Post#37 » by -G- » Fri May 2, 2008 7:40 pm

Lebron's a better teammate than Jordan too I guess? Who the **** cares.
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Post#38 » by TommyTheCat » Fri May 2, 2008 7:41 pm

i'm just glad we have the 29 year old kobe playing for this lakers team NOW
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Post#39 » by milesfides » Fri May 2, 2008 11:11 pm

DowJones wrote:miles, I think you are being a bit of a homer in your last post.

1. How can you just toss away LeBron's 3-point shooting when he shoots nearly the exact same % from 3 for his career as Kobe? Why do all Laker fans seem to completely ignore this stat and just say "Kobe is a much better 3-point shooter"?


Because you're wrong? Nearly exact same %? Kobe's career 3-point percentage is 34%, Lebron is at 32.4%. That's significant enough, since the standard deviation in shooting percentages is small. Guys who shoot in the high 30's are excellent 3-point shooters, mid 30's good, low 30's mediocre. It's the same reason why shooting guards who can shoot 45% are considered good shooters while those shooting less are considered mediocre.

On top of that, Kobe's shooting percentages were brought down by a 4-year consecutive stretch, 1998 to 2002 seasons, which happened to coincide with the Lakers' championships. A closer look would reveal why: Kobe wasn't taking many threes a game, averaging around 2 per contest. Three-point shooting just wasn't a big part of his game. Which makes sense, since Kobe was focused on facilitating, setting up the halfcourt triangle offense, and taking good shots in that well-oiled system.

This isn't an isolated phenomenon. The same happened with Tracy McGrady: when he was the MAN with the Orlando Magic, he was able to get into a good rhythm, took a lot of threes, and made a lot of them. With the Rockets, McGrady had to shoulder more playmaking duties and setting up Yao Ming in the halfcourt. As a result, his three-point shooting has suffered with the Rockets.

Unfortunately, Lebron doesn't have that kind of excuse. The guy takes a lot of threes every year, he just doesn't make them. And rather than showing signs of improvement, he's been declining for four years in a row.

That's why Kobe's a much better three-point shooter. Lebron is shooting 31.5% this season from the three, 27.6% in the playoffs, and isn't showing any signs of improvement.

Kobe's shooting 36% for the season, which is just flat out way better than Lebron's, but it's not an anomaly. Kobe shot 37.5% in his rookie season and 38.3% during the 2002-2003 season.

Kobe is a capable three-point shooter, and at times, is a terrific one.

Lebron? He's an inconsistent, mediocre three-point shooter at best and hasn't shown signs of improving. And yet, he keeps chucking it up at an alarming rate, which makes you question his basketball IQ and decision-making skills.
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O.C Brandon
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Post#40 » by O.C Brandon » Fri May 2, 2008 11:27 pm

[quote="milesfides"][/quote]

I really don't understand why you focus on 3pt percent so much, you say Kobe's a better 3pt shooter and then you say well kobe shoots 45% because he's a Sg, and you're basically saying Lebron shoots a better % from the field because he's a forward...well doesn't that explain why Lebron isn't a good 3pt shooter like Kobe? and since we are being technical here
Lebron is the better scorer this year, more rebounds, more asisst, more steals, more blocks, better field goal percent, more clutch shots this year, more double doubles, and more triple doubles.

Kobe is the better ft and 3pt shooter.

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