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King_John wrote:I think Kobe made this argument public on purpose. He knows LeBron is a beast and wants to diminish LeBron s value and boost Melo s Ego (whih isn t necessarily a good thing). But I love it. Now the media is going to hype Melo to no end and come playoff time LeBron is going to turn it on and show the world once again who is the best player (as he did with Durant last playoffs). Carmelo is having a sensational season so far no doubt. I just don t get it why people jump on everything to dismiss Lebron s offensive ability. The guy was regular season MVP, Finals MVP and won the Chip last year. Now Melo has a great start to the season and Kobe says he is more difficult to defend than Lebron and everyone goes like "Oh yeah ,ahem I always said Melo is the better than Lebron offensively and blablabla...."
We know you guys just wait to see LeBron fail again so you can feel better about yourself. Ain t gonna happen and for now let s defer the argument until they meet in the playoffs. I think LeBron has a say in this too by then.

ShowTimeERA wrote:

King_John wrote:I think Kobe made this argument public on purpose. He knows LeBron is a beast and wants to diminish LeBron s value and boost Melo s Ego (whih isn t necessarily a good thing). But I love it. Now the media is going to hype Melo to no end and come playoff time LeBron is going to turn it on and show the world once again who is the best player (as he did with Durant last playoffs). Carmelo is having a sensational season so far no doubt. I just don t get it why people jump on everything to dismiss Lebron s offensive ability. The guy was regular season MVP, Finals MVP and won the Chip last year. Now Melo has a great start to the season and Kobe says he is more difficult to defend than Lebron and everyone goes like "Oh yeah ,ahem I always said Melo is the better than Lebron offensively and blablabla...."
We know you guys just wait to see LeBron fail again so you can feel better about yourself. Ain t gonna happen and for now let s defer the argument until they meet in the playoffs. I think LeBron has a say in this too by then.

Kobe has been saying Melo is the toughest player to defend since the summer Olympics in 08. Actually, Melo is the only player from the olympic squad who Kobe lost to in a 1-1 match.

If you have followed Kobe close enough, you would know that he respects and has a fascination with players who are complete offensive players. Also not to mention Kobe called Melo a "bull" all throughout the 09 WCF. This isn't something new to discredit Lebron although you may believe so because you may have an emotional attachment to Lebron. It's just Kobe's opinion in which he has been consistent with.

hokageinfamus wrote:I wasn't questioning his ability to get to the line I was just commenting that almost every star player in that particular season was averaging career or near career highs in PPG and FTA

IG2 wrote:'Melo is no threat to Kobe. Far easier to praise him then a player who's peak everyone considers superior to Kobe's.

KingCuban wrote:
Is it not more of a shot at Durant, who in my opinion, is on another level in terms of scoring ad production, even ahead of guys like Lebron, Kobe and Melo?

IG2 wrote:

KingCuban wrote:
Is it not more of a shot at Durant, who in my opinion, is on another level in terms of scoring ad production, even ahead of guys like Lebron, Kobe and Melo?

Because Durant's a threat too. Already beaten Kobe in the playoffs. Averages more ppg on far better efficiency every season. Has finished higher in the MVP race for a while too. 'Melo hasn't accomplished any of these things.

kblo247 wrote:I wouldn't just classify Melo as a friend, Kobe refers to him as one of his three brothers outside Fisher and Odom. He has more respect for Melo than most in the league because Melo earned it and as he said years ago when he was being criticized, he saw a good bit of himself in him. It doesn't hurt that Melo has a scorer mentality first like himself either.

I down think there's anyone saying Melo is better than Bron, I'm not as an overall player. I'm saying Melo sis the more relentless scorer, which has got him and Kobe at times labeled as checkers. Melo will keep coming at you even if he's 0-20 because he expects the next one to fall. Bron for long stretches of his career would be afraid to shoot late or hesitate on free throws after missing for stretches, and that limits him because he effectively defends himself.

KingCuban wrote:

IG2 wrote:

KingCuban wrote:
Is it not more of a shot at Durant, who in my opinion, is on another level in terms of scoring ad production, even ahead of guys like Lebron, Kobe and Melo?

Because Durant's a threat too. Already beaten Kobe in the playoffs. Averages more ppg on far better efficiency every season. Has finished higher in the MVP race for a while too. 'Melo hasn't accomplished any of these things.

What threat though?

Every wing player in this league is still chasing Kobe in terms of career achievements, and to date, his 17th year in the NBA is at Durant levels of efficiency.

This was just a guy trying to public stand up for a friend, which is the second time he has done so given the negative perception towards Carmelo at times.

Nothing more, nothing less.

kblo247 wrote:I wouldn't just classify Melo as a friend, Kobe refers to him as one of his three brothers outside Fisher and Odom. He has more respect for Melo than most in the league because Melo earned it and as he said years ago when he was being criticized, he saw a good bit of himself in him. It doesn't hurt that Melo has a scorer mentality first like himself either.

I down think there's anyone saying Melo is better than Bron, I'm not as an overall player. I'm saying Melo sis the more relentless scorer, which has got him and Kobe at times labeled as checkers. Melo will keep coming at you even if he's 0-20 because he expects the next one to fall. Bron for long stretches of his career would be afraid to shoot late or hesitate on free throws after missing for stretches, and that limits him because he effectively defends himself.

EscapoTHB wrote:Also how tight is melo actually with Kobe? He seems closer to cp3 wade lebron and that crew. Did Kobe even get invited to his wedding?

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tsherkin wrote: diversity isn't the same as effectiveness and versatility in method doesn't mean much if the end result isn't superior.

bbms wrote:No, Kobe's 17th is not at Durant level of efficiency. Kobe's TS is at 61%, Durant is at 64%. Kobe's eFG is at 53%, Durant is at 55%. Not an ocean between them, but that's a clear gap. Also Durant has consistency on Kobe. You almost never see Durant going 5/15, or 8/22, or this kind of games. Then you account turnovers...

Also, you say like it's any demerit from Durant if he were on Kobe's 17th season level on efficiency. This is the best shooting season Kobe Bryant ever had until now.

I agree with you. Kobe's more identified with Melo than with LeBron or Durant, so he'll always have an opinion towards melo. But I don't agree. Melo has a nice array of movements on the half court. A better polished isolation game, post moves, go-to moves, but his shot selection and ball-stopping traits in his carreer couldn't translate that into being a more efficient player than LeBron and Durant, so I find this meaningless in comparison against LeBron and Durant. Both are better scorers now and Kobe is probably better too.

EscapoTHB wrote:

kblo247 wrote:I wouldn't just classify Melo as a friend, Kobe refers to him as one of his three brothers outside Fisher and Odom. He has more respect for Melo than most in the league because Melo earned it and as he said years ago when he was being criticized, he saw a good bit of himself in him. It doesn't hurt that Melo has a scorer mentality first like himself either.

I down think there's anyone saying Melo is better than Bron, I'm not as an overall player. I'm saying Melo sis the more relentless scorer, which has got him and Kobe at times labeled as checkers. Melo will keep coming at you even if he's 0-20 because he expects the next one to fall. Bron for long stretches of his career would be afraid to shoot late or hesitate on free throws after missing for stretches, and that limits him because he effectively defends himself.

I'm sure if you asked him who the best player in the league was after himself of course he'd list at least 3 guys ahead of lebron or durant. Kobe knows who his real competition is. He wouldn't talk up melo if he actually respected him.

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King John wrote:Is this really news? I'd take Mello and Durant's offensive game over Lebron's easily right now. Lebron still relies highly on his superior athleticism as apposed to being as skilled as Mello or Durant is.