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i was trolling over at clutchfans when i saw this video of 2002 kobe vs tmac

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=rKpIQSENhXo

anyway, the point is, what happened to that first step?

it looks from that video that kobe could cover about 5ft in his first step from a standing start by wrapping it around his defender (tmac) thereby making it impossible for the defender to stay in front of him. the video basically made tmac look like he was standing still

nowadays, it seems that the last couple of years, kobe when he gets the ball on the wing, sets up in his triple threat (sometimes not even that) and tries to step-fake his man to get some space to operate instead of using

i know hes 30 and not a 24yo anymore but i watch this video and think of the possibilities even if he shows that explosive first step for us "just" once per game

I noticed his explosive first step on one play in particular last night:

It was in the 4th quarter. Kobe had Kidd on the top-right side of the perimeter. It was during that period where Bryant took over. His first step left me with a "oh shtt" reaction. He left Kidd right behind, and I think he finished the play with a dunk.

edit: It actually ended with an and-1 layup, not a dunk.

I guess some peope dont know the difference between 24 and 30yrs yet.

6 years of NBA wear and tear will do that to every NBA player.

Phil_2.0 wrote:I guess some peope dont know the difference between 24 and 30yrs yet.

Ageist. All of you.

30 is the new 20 people. Get with the program .

Kobe was dribbling before he even took his first step.

i just dont know why he doesnt try that wrap around trick you see in the video

or wonder why no-one else in the league is doing it...

seems like a perfectly good move to have

Phil_2.0 wrote:I guess some people don't know the difference between 24 and 30yrs yet.

Lolololo that's a classic Phil. Maybe that cryogenics lab in Arizona can figure out how to freeze legs then reattach them like 7 years later. " Here's your 23 year old leg, even though your body is 30" !

Read a statistical analysis somewhere that you can almost always expect noticeable slippage in athletic ability somewhere near the 1,000-game mark. Kobe hit that last year in the playoffs.

Good thing this team is so deep. We should be able to blow enough people out that we'll be able to keep him relatively fresh. He's playing the fewest minutes since his second season, when he was 19.

I'd also like to see him go to more post-up stuff, which you see flashes of. Not really to overpower anybody, but to get himself into range for a comfortable turnaround, like Jordan used to do. That shot was Mike's meal ticket during Chicago's last three-peat. With his touch, Kobe could have it in his regular arsenal in no time.

What he's lost in terms of age, he's made up for more in terms of his maturity and being more savvy and that keeps him as dangerous as he used to be.

^^^Yup. His first step now is predicated on superior footwork, using moves (pump fakes, jab steps, etc.) to set his defender up and react, and savvy. He still has an above-average first step and is an above-average athlete, but he can't just blow by all defenders anymore. He has many more moves and ways to get where he wants anyway though, so its all good.