Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Congrats. Now I can officially wallow in my sadness .
I really don't mind Pierce and KG winning it. They deserve it. From what I saw in this series, they really deserved it. What ticks me off is the unwarranted bashing of Kobe and the Lakers. Is it so bad for a group of people to just win? Kobe, in my mind, is still the best player since Jordon, and is the best player of this generation ever. Regardless of his performance in the Finals, I stilll rank him as one of the top 5 to ever grace the basketball court. I don't mind the Celtics winning. I can see how the Lakers have a bright bright future ahead of them, so as a die-hard Laker fan, I'm not too worried (although I can see that Kobe is no longer in his prime... he's a step slower compared to say, 1-2 years ago). I do mind the other fans with the uninformed bashing of great players and great teams. Both of these teams deserved to play in this spotlight and in this series. Neither deserves to be hated upon for their effort; for their display of athleticism and grace to the public eye... The public in general should grace all the players with respect and with a respectable "hatred/rivalry" that goes with all sports.
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Kobe is not a top 5 player. Bird, Magic, Russell, Chamberlain, Karem, Shaq, Baylor, Jordan, West were all better.
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Congrats. Now I can officially wallow in my sadness .
I really don't mind Pierce and KG winning it. They deserve it. From what I saw in this series, they really deserved it. What ticks me off is the unwarranted bashing of Kobe and the Lakers. Is it so bad for a group of people to just win? Kobe, in my mind, is still the best player since Jordon, and is the best player of this generation ever. Regardless of his performance in the Finals, I stilll rank him as one of the top 5 to ever grace the basketball court. I don't mind the Celtics winning. I can see how the Lakers have a bright bright future ahead of them, so as a die-hard Laker fan, I'm not too worried (although I can see that Kobe is no longer in his prime... he's a step slower compared to say, 1-2 years ago). I do mind the other fans with the uninformed bashing of great players and great teams. Both of these teams deserved to play in this spotlight and in this series. Neither deserves to be hated upon for their effort; for their display of athleticism and grace to the public eye... The public in general should grace all the players with respect and with a respectable "hatred/rivalry" that goes with all sports.
Originally posted by: iliopsoas
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Congrats. Now I can officially wallow in my sadness .
I really don't mind Pierce and KG winning it. They deserve it. From what I saw in this series, they really deserved it. What ticks me off is the unwarranted bashing of Kobe and the Lakers. Is it so bad for a group of people to just win? Kobe, in my mind, is still the best player since Jordon, and is the best player of this generation ever. Regardless of his performance in the Finals, I stilll rank him as one of the top 5 to ever grace the basketball court. I don't mind the Celtics winning. I can see how the Lakers have a bright bright future ahead of them, so as a die-hard Laker fan, I'm not too worried (although I can see that Kobe is no longer in his prime... he's a step slower compared to say, 1-2 years ago). I do mind the other fans with the uninformed bashing of great players and great teams. Both of these teams deserved to play in this spotlight and in this series. Neither deserves to be hated upon for their effort; for their display of athleticism and grace to the public eye... The public in general should grace all the players with respect and with a respectable "hatred/rivalry" that goes with all sports.
People hate Kobe because he's a selfish jackass. If the Lakers didn't win so many games, he'd still be crying and demanding a trade. Hell, now that the Lakers have lost the Finals, Kobe may resort to crying and throwing tantrums again.
I was at the airport yesterday (West coast) and people were just bashing on Kobe. They're Lakers fans but most of them just think he's a cry-baby.
Originally posted by: dbk
Originally posted by: iliopsoas
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Congrats. Now I can officially wallow in my sadness .
I really don't mind Pierce and KG winning it. They deserve it. From what I saw in this series, they really deserved it. What ticks me off is the unwarranted bashing of Kobe and the Lakers. Is it so bad for a group of people to just win? Kobe, in my mind, is still the best player since Jordon, and is the best player of this generation ever. Regardless of his performance in the Finals, I stilll rank him as one of the top 5 to ever grace the basketball court. I don't mind the Celtics winning. I can see how the Lakers have a bright bright future ahead of them, so as a die-hard Laker fan, I'm not too worried (although I can see that Kobe is no longer in his prime... he's a step slower compared to say, 1-2 years ago). I do mind the other fans with the uninformed bashing of great players and great teams. Both of these teams deserved to play in this spotlight and in this series. Neither deserves to be hated upon for their effort; for their display of athleticism and grace to the public eye... The public in general should grace all the players with respect and with a respectable "hatred/rivalry" that goes with all sports.
People hate Kobe because he's a selfish jackass. If the Lakers didn't win so many games, he'd still be crying and demanding a trade. Hell, now that the Lakers have lost the Finals, Kobe may resort to crying and throwing tantrums again.
I was at the airport yesterday (West coast) and people were just bashing on Kobe. They're Lakers fans but most of them just think he's a cry-baby.
Yeah, his press conference proves that. Did you see that face that he had? Wow
He shouldn't have taken half of the shots he took last night... many were when he was double teamed or he was smothered. He should have passed more to Odom/Gasol IMO.Originally posted by: herkulease
What do you expect his reaction to be? Crying that he lost? If he cried because he lost people would call him a sissy for it.
Kobe is in a no win situation pretty much all the time. If he is to take over games when the rest of the team just stands around he gets called a ball hog. If he chooses not to shoot and try to get other guys to get their game, people will say he was throwing a tantrum.
Originally posted by: herkulease
Originally posted by: dbk
Originally posted by: iliopsoas
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Congrats. Now I can officially wallow in my sadness .
I really don't mind Pierce and KG winning it. They deserve it. From what I saw in this series, they really deserved it. What ticks me off is the unwarranted bashing of Kobe and the Lakers. Is it so bad for a group of people to just win? Kobe, in my mind, is still the best player since Jordon, and is the best player of this generation ever. Regardless of his performance in the Finals, I stilll rank him as one of the top 5 to ever grace the basketball court. I don't mind the Celtics winning. I can see how the Lakers have a bright bright future ahead of them, so as a die-hard Laker fan, I'm not too worried (although I can see that Kobe is no longer in his prime... he's a step slower compared to say, 1-2 years ago). I do mind the other fans with the uninformed bashing of great players and great teams. Both of these teams deserved to play in this spotlight and in this series. Neither deserves to be hated upon for their effort; for their display of athleticism and grace to the public eye... The public in general should grace all the players with respect and with a respectable "hatred/rivalry" that goes with all sports.
People hate Kobe because he's a selfish jackass. If the Lakers didn't win so many games, he'd still be crying and demanding a trade. Hell, now that the Lakers have lost the Finals, Kobe may resort to crying and throwing tantrums again.
I was at the airport yesterday (West coast) and people were just bashing on Kobe. They're Lakers fans but most of them just think he's a cry-baby.
Yeah, his press conference proves that. Did you see that face that he had? Wow
What do you expect his reaction to be? Crying that he lost? If he cried because he lost people would call him a sissy for it.
Kobe is in a no win situation pretty much all the time. If he is to take over games when the rest of the team just stands around he gets called a ball hog. If he chooses not to shoot and try to get other guys to get their game, people will say he was throwing a tantrum.
Originally posted by: SP33Demon
He shouldn't have taken half of the shots he took last night... many were when he was double teamed or he was smothered. He should have passed more to Odom/Gasol IMO.Originally posted by: herkulease
What do you expect his reaction to be? Crying that he lost? If he cried because he lost people would call him a sissy for it.
Kobe is in a no win situation pretty much all the time. If he is to take over games when the rest of the team just stands around he gets called a ball hog. If he chooses not to shoot and try to get other guys to get their game, people will say he was throwing a tantrum.
I realized that Kobe, as good a player as he is, still needs to mature more. I remember when Pierce used to act like Kobe (whining, trying to do too much and not deferring to teammates enough). Looking at Pierce's transformation now, it's nothing short of breathtaking and I never would have thought it'd happen. If a guy like Pierce can do it, Kobe can too.
We'll see how LA does next year, they'll still be the fav's in the West IMO as long as they're healthy. Also remember that Magic and MJ weren't perfect in the finals either.
Yeah I meant conf finals for MJ (got his ass handed to him by the Badboy Pistons).Originally posted by: herkulease
I'm sorry but the rest of the team wasn't doing anything. When the game was still reasonably close, though the box score makes it look like the others were doing fairly well. They took ill advised shots or when kobe was able to draw the double team ans pass to them, instead of making use of the 4 on 3 situation they stand around giving the swarming celtics D enough time to scramble over and essentially force a reset. I don't believe anyone has the stats but in that 2nd quarter when the lead was growing and growing the lakers started quite a bit of time to develop their play. Usually it ended up throwing up some shot and praying it goes in or even hitting the rim to avoid a shot clock violation.Originally posted by: SP33Demon
He shouldn't have taken half of the shots he took last night... many were when he was double teamed or he was smothered. He should have passed more to Odom/Gasol IMO.Originally posted by: herkulease
What do you expect his reaction to be? Crying that he lost? If he cried because he lost people would call him a sissy for it.
Kobe is in a no win situation pretty much all the time. If he is to take over games when the rest of the team just stands around he gets called a ball hog. If he chooses not to shoot and try to get other guys to get their game, people will say he was throwing a tantrum.
I realized that Kobe, as good a player as he is, still needs to mature more. I remember when Pierce used to act like Kobe (whining, trying to do too much and not deferring to teammates enough). Looking at Pierce's transformation now, it's nothing short of breathtaking and I never would have thought it'd happen. If a guy like Pierce can do it, Kobe can too.
We'll see how LA does next year, they'll still be the fav's in the West IMO as long as they're healthy. Also remember that Magic and MJ weren't perfect in the finals either.
Pierce looked great, this year and in the playoff because of having guys like KG and Ray Allen making the shots. The same was said of kobe earlier in the playoffs. He was getting his points and the other guys were able to contribute.
the lakers will still be favorites in the west with Bynum returning. Assuming he doesn't regress. hopefully they'll be energize to work in the off season from this embrassment of a lost. We all now Phil kept the starters in there for so long to punish them.
Magic did lose in the finals. Jordan however is perfect. Though he failed a few times in the eastern conference finals when he was younger.
Originally posted by: dbk
Kobe looked really pathetic with that look on his face last night. Granted he had just lost in the finals, but how many rings does he have already? Did he really believe that the Lakers would come back and win the series? At least show some class and act like the MVP and the champion that he is. If you didn't watch the press conference last night, then you can't really understand what I'm talking about but it sure was a sight to see. The Lakers just couldn't match up physically with the Celtics. I don't blame Kobe for the loss; it was mostly Lamar Odom and the bench players' fault. I'm sure the Lakers will be solid next year with Bynum coming back healthy. In the end Kobe is still a whiny bitch and he needs to grow up.
Originally posted by: SP33Demon
Of course the rest of the team didn't contribute, that's where you have to put the blame on the star role players like Odom and Gasol. WTF were they doing? And Kobe was getting a little to 3 pt happy and didn't drive much in the first half (when it mattered).
Originally posted by: dbk
Kobe looked really pathetic with that look on his face last night. Granted he had just lost in the finals, but how many rings does he have already? Did he really believe that the Lakers would come back and win the series? At least show some class and act like the MVP and the champion that he is. If you didn't watch the press conference last night, then you can't really understand what I'm talking about but it sure was a sight to see. The Lakers just couldn't match up physically with the Celtics. I don't blame Kobe for the loss; it was mostly Lamar Odom and the bench players' fault. I'm sure the Lakers will be solid next year with Bynum coming back healthy. In the end Kobe is still a whiny bitch and he needs to grow up.
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: dbk
Kobe looked really pathetic with that look on his face last night. Granted he had just lost in the finals, but how many rings does he have already? Did he really believe that the Lakers would come back and win the series? At least show some class and act like the MVP and the champion that he is. If you didn't watch the press conference last night, then you can't really understand what I'm talking about but it sure was a sight to see. The Lakers just couldn't match up physically with the Celtics. I don't blame Kobe for the loss; it was mostly Lamar Odom and the bench players' fault. I'm sure the Lakers will be solid next year with Bynum coming back healthy. In the end Kobe is still a whiny bitch and he needs to grow up.
I can agree with that to an extent, but he's ultra competitive. He grew up with an aura of trying to be the best. With that kind of outlook, it is almost expectant to be that way.
Tiger does the same exact thing. Look at him when he starts screwing up. Tiger slams his club onto the ground, and cusses quite a lot. Tiger has only himself to blame on those occasions. I've seen Tiger live a few times, and everytime I've heard him cuss. I've seen him slam his club into the ground after a so-so shot; right in front of a little kid who wanted to have his signature and Tiger ignored the kid. Despite all this, I still like Tiger, and enjoy watching his superhuman play. I was a hardcore golfer once, so watching Tiger play, despite his shortcomings, is a joy for him. All competitors have that fiery attitude to win with disregard to anyone else. Without that, not even Tiger, MJ, nor Kobe will be where they are now.
Kobe, otoh, had very legitimate reasons for complaining. How do you take a team where Smush Parker and Kwame Brown are starters deep the playoffs??? How do you take a group of very young 2nd-year 2nd-rounders into the playoffs at all??? Kobe did, and his teammates followed; and you can see the results this year. The Lakers next year should be a pretty damn insane team. I'm pretty sure Kobe will not complain this time around since he knows the team smelled the championship. I can only expect the team to be oh-so hungry next year.
After the emotions and all have died down, Kobe can start talking with some cool again, but with that kind of loss, I seriously do not expect him to be all "classy" as they say. Losing after going soooo far is very tough.
read this:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c...allard/05/27/kobe0602/
It gives an excellent insight on his competitive nature, and why we perceive his attitude as it is.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/bl...st_comment=1&success=1 Read this also. Kobe can't win no matter what he does... Blame it on the internet..blame it on the speed of how information travels, and how people can communicate. MJ didn't have this curse. MJ had only the court and the TV. There were no internet forums where people can spread their hatred of a player and convince others... There weren't this many reporters and this many opinions. The magnifying glass of the 90's is nothing compared to today's electron microscope.. Superstars are gutted inside-out.
Kobe can't win in the public's eye; that's why I will always stubbornly be his fan. I truly respect his work ethic and that winning attitude. I followed him when he was only a teenager as an upcoming potential star. I saw him blossom with Shaq and give joy to the city I was born and raised in. I was heartbroken when he confessed to his adulterous behavior. I had the joy of watching him score 81 points live at Staples Center. I will always be his fan regardless of how many people hate him.
Originally posted by: iliopsoas
Oh, stop trying to make excuses for the Kobe Cry-baby Bryant. It was his attitude that drove Shaq out of town and put an end to the Lakers' championship run. It was his piss-poor attitude that the Lakers had to resort to using those 2nd-year 2nd-rounders. I was so happy the day Shaq got another ring with Miami and Kobe got squat. That ass-hole Kobe should have been traded to a lottery rebuilding team.
Originally posted by: iliopsoas
Oh, stop trying to make excuses for the Kobe Cry-baby Bryant. It was his attitude that drove Shaq out of town and put an end to the Lakers' championship run. It was his piss-poor attitude that the Lakers had to resort to using those 2nd-year 2nd-rounders. I was so happy the day Shaq got another ring with Miami and Kobe got squat. That ass-hole Kobe should have been traded to a lottery rebuilding team.
Originally posted by: RiDE
Originally posted by: iliopsoas
Oh, stop trying to make excuses for the Kobe Cry-baby Bryant. It was his attitude that drove Shaq out of town and put an end to the Lakers' championship run. It was his piss-poor attitude that the Lakers had to resort to using those 2nd-year 2nd-rounders. I was so happy the day Shaq got another ring with Miami and Kobe got squat. That ass-hole Kobe should have been traded to a lottery rebuilding team.
I don't know why so many people think Shaq was so innocent in all of that. The guy was as big of a drama queen as Kobe back then. LOL
No offense, but comparing Kobe to Tiger is doing a huge disservice to Tiger. Tiger is light years ahead of Kobe in maturity. Tiger is a champion that doesn't whine. Kobe is champion via Shaq, and doesn't have the maturity to lead a team of superstars yet. Also, I'll try and pretend you didn't put MJ in the same sentence as well.Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: dbk
Kobe looked really pathetic with that look on his face last night. Granted he had just lost in the finals, but how many rings does he have already? Did he really believe that the Lakers would come back and win the series? At least show some class and act like the MVP and the champion that he is. If you didn't watch the press conference last night, then you can't really understand what I'm talking about but it sure was a sight to see. The Lakers just couldn't match up physically with the Celtics. I don't blame Kobe for the loss; it was mostly Lamar Odom and the bench players' fault. I'm sure the Lakers will be solid next year with Bynum coming back healthy. In the end Kobe is still a whiny bitch and he needs to grow up.
I can agree with that to an extent, but he's ultra competitive. He grew up with an aura of trying to be the best. With that kind of outlook, it is almost expectant to be that way.
Tiger does the same exact thing. Look at him when he starts screwing up. Tiger slams his club onto the ground, and cusses quite a lot. Tiger has only himself to blame on those occasions. I've seen Tiger live a few times, and everytime I've heard him cuss. I've seen him slam his club into the ground after a so-so shot; right in front of a little kid who wanted to have his signature and Tiger ignored the kid. Despite all this, I still like Tiger, and enjoy watching his superhuman play. I was a hardcore golfer once, so watching Tiger play, despite his shortcomings, is a joy for him. All competitors have that fiery attitude to win with disregard to anyone else. Without that, not even Tiger, MJ, nor Kobe will be where they are now.
Originally posted by: SP33Demon
No offense, but comparing Kobe to Tiger is doing a huge disservice to Tiger. Tiger is light years ahead of Kobe in maturity. Tiger is a champion that doesn't whine. Kobe is champion via Shaq, and doesn't have the maturity to lead a team of superstars yet. Also, I'll try and pretend you didn't put MJ in the same sentence as well.Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: dbk
Kobe looked really pathetic with that look on his face last night. Granted he had just lost in the finals, but how many rings does he have already? Did he really believe that the Lakers would come back and win the series? At least show some class and act like the MVP and the champion that he is. If you didn't watch the press conference last night, then you can't really understand what I'm talking about but it sure was a sight to see. The Lakers just couldn't match up physically with the Celtics. I don't blame Kobe for the loss; it was mostly Lamar Odom and the bench players' fault. I'm sure the Lakers will be solid next year with Bynum coming back healthy. In the end Kobe is still a whiny bitch and he needs to grow up.
I can agree with that to an extent, but he's ultra competitive. He grew up with an aura of trying to be the best. With that kind of outlook, it is almost expectant to be that way.
Tiger does the same exact thing. Look at him when he starts screwing up. Tiger slams his club onto the ground, and cusses quite a lot. Tiger has only himself to blame on those occasions. I've seen Tiger live a few times, and everytime I've heard him cuss. I've seen him slam his club into the ground after a so-so shot; right in front of a little kid who wanted to have his signature and Tiger ignored the kid. Despite all this, I still like Tiger, and enjoy watching his superhuman play. I was a hardcore golfer once, so watching Tiger play, despite his shortcomings, is a joy for him. All competitors have that fiery attitude to win with disregard to anyone else. Without that, not even Tiger, MJ, nor Kobe will be where they are now.