[:: LAKERS 2014 THREAD | POLL: Who Should Coach Next Year? ::]

[pmatic]

Hopefully Kobe can finally realize that he doesn't need to be number 1 anymore. 

I was listening to today's BS Report with Julius Erving and he specifically mentioned Kobe will either have to "figure it out or be forced to by age" to change his mindset.

 

[tay1]

I was listening to today's BS Report with Julius Erving and he specifically mentioned Kobe will either have to "figure it out or be forced to by age" to change his mindset.

Kobe's worse trait is his stubornness, so I don't think he'll ever figure it out.

 

[CHAOSE57]

I was listening to today's BS Report with Julius Erving and he specifically mentioned Kobe will either have to "figure it out or be forced to by age" to change his mindset.

Kobe's worse trait is his stubornness, so I don't think he'll ever figure it out.

I agree. If only he was less stubborn, it would've done wonders to his game and to the team.

 

[tay1]

I agree. If only he was less stubborn, it would've done wonders to his game and to the team.

Most definitely. He could be even greater than he already is if he had a slightly different mentality.

 

[ag 47]

Agent zero and delonte west. Mitch is lookin at em.

Im too disgusted and distraught to weigh in.

If we finally sign Delonte now...

 

[darthska]

[quote name="tay1"][quote name="chaose57"]
I agree. If only he was less stubborn, it would've done wonders to his game and to the team.[/quote]Most definitely. He could be even greater than he already is if he had a slightly different mentality.[/quote]Thank you both.

I've tried that mentality on people here before, and all I get is " He's #5 in this and top 3 Lakers in that and blah, blah, championships, rings, blah," and I'm like "I know... and he could have actually been better than THAT."

I think people just have a negative connotation to the phrase 'could have been better', so when they hear that applied to Kobe, they think he's being compared to the likes of Harold Miner or JR Rider or Darius Miles.

No.

For example, I've tried this on here before with others and got nowhere, but let me know what you 2 think. Shaq & Kobe. That was equally both of their faults. HOWEVER, if one of them would have done what LeBron James did to Mario Chalmers last night (they practically went to blows, and later, Bron said, verbatim, "I was wrong. My bad"), I think we get right back at it after that Detroit Finals loss. Now granted, it would have been more difficult for Shaq to say that to Kobe as opposed to LeBron saying that to Mario, because Kobe is far better and far more arrogant then Mario... and likewise, it would have been more difficult for Kobe to say that to Shaq as opposed to LeBron saying that to Mario, because Shaq is far better and far more arrogant then Mario... but still, that 'backing off', refusing to fight your comrade... that's huge.

I am NOT saying it was all Kobe's fault, what I am saying that if either one of them would have backed off, both of them would have benefited.

if Shaq would have backed off, they both would have benefited, both individually and on their career resumes.

If Kobe would have backed off, they both would have benefited, both individually and on their career resumes.

Since we're not talking about Shaq, then I'm left w/...

If Kobe would have backed off, they both would have benefited, both individually and on their career resumes.

And people just absolutely can't wrap their minds around that without getting defensive about him, thinking it's a shot.

 

[tay1]

Thank you both.

I've tried that mentality on people here before, and all I get is "

He's #5 in this and top 3 Lakers in that and blah, blah, championships, rings, blah," and I'm like "I know... and he could have actually been better than THAT."

I think people just have a negative connotation to the phrase 'could have been better', so when they hear that applied to Kobe, they think he's being compared to the likes of Harold Miner or JR Rider or Darius Miles.

No.

For example, I've tried this on here before with others and got nowhere, but let me know what you 2 think. Shaq & Kobe. That was equally both of their faults. HOWEVER, if one of them would have done what LeBron James did to Mario Chalmers last night (he said, verbatim, "I was wrong. My bad"), I think we get right back at it after that Detroit loss. I am NOT saying it was all Kobe's fault, what I am saying that if either one of them would have backed off, both of them would have benefited.

if Shaq would have backed off, they both would have benefited, both individually and on their career resumes.

If Kobe would have backed off, they both would have benefited, both individually and on their career resumes.

Since we're not talking about Shaq, then I'm left w/...

If Kobe would have backed off, they both would have benefited, both individually and on their career resumes.

And people just absolutely can't wrap their minds around that without getting defensive about him, thinking it's a shot.

I would say that the breakup of that duo is more on Kobe. However, if they would've stayed together, there's a possibility that they wouldn't have ever won again, so it's not really much we can go by with that situation.

 

[CP1708]

So say they do patch it up and go for 05. Kobe has zero guarantees that Shaq survives 2006. (likely doesn't)

And then Shaq's trade value dips even below Caron Butler + Lamar Odom + Brian Grant + 1 first round pick.


Shaq and Kobe could have won 4 titles, but that may be the end of it. We may not see Kobe and Fisher get 5 together, with an extra Finals appearance mixed in.


Pau Gasol's breakdown is no less evident as we speak. Had we flipped him in 2011, gold. Flip him in 2014, bronze flakes, if we're lucky.



The attribute you are trying to take from the guy could (I say, COULD) be part of the DNA that got him to this point. For instance "If Mike was just a little bit nicer, the Bulls could have won pre 91" Well, if Mike was just a little bit nicer, then he ain't Mike.
Phil is the greatest coach, ever. "If he was less arrogant, maybe he would......." Maybe he wouldn't be Phil.


Door swings both ways. Less stubborn Kobe, maybe we're better off.

OR

Maybe we have a couple less titles and a lot fewer playoff wins.







As for this injury, 6 weeks, that's essentially Feb 1ish. It's not as terrible an injury as other knee issues, hence him playing on it freshly injured. Knowing him, he tries to push it a bit, and comes back a week, 10 days early.

OR

He goes Nash, and we see him in April.



I'll go ahead and guess the under and expect him around Jan 22-25 range. Give or take.


But when he comes back.........expect a hammy. Or an ankle. Or a foot sprain. Or a quad. It's how this stuff works folks.

 

[sea manup]

well yeah, there are many flaws to kobe's game and yes he could have been better than he was. but on the other hand he has given us (fans, lakers organization) as much as a single player has ever given a franchise, so while i can sit at home and be slightly annoyed when he jacks up a bad shot or gets mad at a teammate for taking a good shot rather than passing to him or jumping before he knows who he's passing to, i dont care about what guys could have been. if kobe wasnt as stubborn as he is then he wouldnt be the player that he is today, its a gift and a curse and his career has been way more beneficial to the lakers franchise than it has been detrimental. you could go through anyones life and point out where they went wrong but theres a reason why people tend to focus on the general body of work when looking at what a man has accomplished. 

who cares what kobe could have been, we only get too see what kobe was which is an all time great. <- that is how i feel about this and all other career reflection related situations. its why i have kareem over jordan as my GOAT, he accomplished more. its why i dont have much respect for tmac, all that talent and he couldnt even make the HOF (i dont think he will get in). 

 

[tay1]

well yeah, there are many flaws to kobe's game and yes he could have been better than he was. but on the other hand he has given us (fans, lakers organization) as much as a single player has ever given a franchise, so while i can sit at home and be slightly annoyed when he jacks up a bad shot or gets mad at a teammate for taking a good shot rather than passing to him or jumping before he knows who he's passing to, i dont care about what guys could have been. if kobe wasnt as stubborn as he is then he wouldnt be the player that he is today, its a gift and a curse and his career has been way more beneficial to the lakers franchise than it has been detrimental. you could go through anyones life and point out where they went wrong but theres a reason why people tend to focus on the general body of work when looking at what a man has accomplished. 

who cares what kobe could have been, we only get too see what kobe was which is an all time great.

 

[CP1708]

but, him being so bigheaded is holding us back a bit in the present.

Such as?

 

[grandtheftbike]

how is he holding us down right now?

i mean, beside 48 mil? or is that it?

 

[pmatic]

Kendall Marshall, the latest reclamation project of the Lakers.

 

[grandtheftbike]

 

[CP1708]

Kendall Marshall, the latest reclamation project of the Lakers.

 

[had pants]

The news is an undeniable blow to the Lakers, who in late November signed Bryant to a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension before the 35-year-old had made it back onto the court from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in April.

"That's too bad," coach Mike D'Antoni said at the team's practice Thursday. "You hate it for Kobe. He worked so hard to get back. But he'll be back. He'll be back in six weeks, and we'll deal with it and weather the storm until he gets back."

The injury news for the Lakers didn't get any better regarding Steve Nash.

The team also announced Thursday that the veteran point guard -- limited to just six games this season -- will miss an additional four weeks because of nerve root irritation.

Nash was re-evaluated during the team's just-completed road trip.

Bryant said after the game, in which he played a season-high 33 minutes, that he kind of twisted his knee but it felt all right. "I just hyperextended it," Bryant said when asked to describe what happened on the play. "I tend to hyperextend my knees every now and then."
Kobe Bryant suffered a knee injury Tuesday at Memphis that will keep him out of the Lakers' lineup for an additional six weeks.

D'Antoni said Thursday that he didn't think Bryant came back too soon from the Achilles injury.
"There's always a risk until he gets completely used to playing," he said. "But the doctors were all over it. Nah, that's just bad luck."

The Lakers are 2-4 since Bryant returned. They entered Thursday's play at 12-13 and in 11th place in the Western Conference.

"It's tough when you get in a streak like that," Lakers center Pau Gasol said. "He was fighting through and getting through the process of getting back on the floor after tearing his Achilles, and now you get this fracture. It's very hard for me as a teammate, as his friend, to understand that that happened to him. But what can you do? He's tough enough. He'll get through it and be back and ready to play."

The 39-year-old veteran said the goal now is to "take a step back, take a longer sample and try to prove to myself that my back can sustain the game of basketball."

"I just want to play, that's what gets me through every day," he said. "I want to play, I still love to play, and I still feel like I have the skills to do it. I'd like to finish my career on a positive note. I'm just fighting every day to get that little bit of joy from playing basketball and being one of the guys, running up and down the court and trying to beat somebody. That's what keeps me going every day."

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...-angeles-lakers-likely-six-weeks-injured-knee

 

[darthska]

True ( C CP1708 ).

I mean, in the end, over the course of just Kobe's career, we're looking at 5 championships in 17 years... And it is certainly hard to argue that that could have been improved on.

 

[laker4lifeman]

Essential finally got Marshall.

 

[kal-el-8]

So a below average athletic wise pg?

:x

 

[sea manup]

Trust me, I'm young but old enough to have witnessed what Kobe has done for us, but, him being so bigheaded is holding us back a bit in the present. All that matters is now, we can look back and reflect on what he's done when he's gone.

personally i never blame a player for a contract, thats on the front office. he's spent the past year rehabbing his *** off and now he will spend the next 6 weeks rehabbing his *** off. yes he has made mistakes in the past but how do you blame him for this situation that we're in?

 

[tay1]

how is he holding us down right now?

i mean, beside 48 mil? or is that it?

That and the fact I can't witness him giving up being the man and having the offense be based around him.

 

[kal-el-8]

Cuz somehow everything is ALWAYS KOBES FAULT I'M SOME PEOPLES EYES

 

[sea manup]

roh oh, here we go again

 

[essential1]

Essential finally got Marshall.

Been had that... It is my last name..

 

[CP1708]

True (CP).

I mean, in the end, over the course of just Kobe's career, we're looking at 5 championships in 17 years... And it is certainly hard to argue that that could have been improved on.

The stigma is (and always will be) Kobe-Shaq was expected to produce MORE than 3 titles. Thing is, people never realize that there was a bit of an age gap there. By the time we lost in 04, he was 31, with high mileage, and high weight. Kareem played til 40+, that wasn't gonna work out for Shaq's size.

Magic and Kareem made it work for almost a decade, but Kobe and Shaq didn't get started til Kobe turned 20. (wasting 3 years together, whereas Magic/Cap won year one, when Magic was also 20)

Like you said, 5 in 17, and people have this feel, "he should have more" ****!!!