Kobe Bryant full highlights vs GSW (HD)

[CarlosBoozer]

Top 5 alltime (http://youtu.be/7Yr9A6QSPgA)

[DCL]

that was really ugly

[Real Men Wear Green]

He's still an all-time great player (Top 5 is debatable) he's just continued to play after injuries and age have pushed his body to a point where most guys would have retired. Using his current play as a reason to say his legacy is being damaged reminds me of how some people thought Wizards MJ was legacy damage. Really shouldn't be.

[AirFederer]

GodBe :bowdown:

[DCL]

He's still an all-time great player (Top 5 is debatable) he's just continued to play after injuries and age have pushed his body to a point where most guys would have retired. Using his current play as a reason to say his legacy is being damaged reminds me of how some people thought Wizards MJ was legacy damage. Really shouldn't be.


comparing it to jordan is a pretty lousy example.

40yo jordan was still amazing to a lot of people.

this kobe is amazing to nobody.

[AirFederer]

He's still an all-time great player (Top 5 is debatable) he's just continued to play after injuries and age have pushed his body to a point where most guys would have retired. Using his current play as a reason to say his legacy is being damaged reminds me of how some people thought Wizards MJ was legacy damage. Really shouldn't be.

Wiz MJ was, to me, hurting his legacy somewhat. He had lost his trademark quickness, dunking etc, but he still played at a high level, competed, used his old man strengt and knowledge and generally played a high BBIQ game.

Very much unlike Kobe. Here we are talking about "legacy damage" on another level.

I frankly don`t think it would be possible to play any worse; calling out team mates, extremely low FG%, no D, no real team play etc.

[SexSymbol]

I'm sorry, but 9 or 10 of those shots are with 5 seconds or less.
This performance isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

[Dragonyeuw]

I don't see how MJ in any way damaged his legacy. He was still very competitive at 40 against a new generation of stars. Let's not forget, back in 2002 and 2003 you had guys like Kobe, Tmac, Dirk, Duncan, Garnett, Iverson, Pierce, Shaq etc in their primes. There's plenty of highlights out there lighting up guys like Garnett, widely considered an ATG defensive player, multiple gamewinners over other great defenders like Shawn Marion. Yeah, his efficiency wasn't great, his 3point shot was gone and he pretty much had to remake his jumpshot to account for his messed up finger. I bet you outside of guys like Rip Hamilton, Stackhouse, and Kwame Brown( notable for not so great reasons), most people couldn't name 2-3 other guys on those Wizards without looking it up.

[Real Men Wear Green]

comparing it to jordan is a pretty lousy example.

40yo jordan was still amazing to a lot of people.

this kobe is amazing to nobody.He was playing at a much higher level than Bryant is but if you were posting on message boards back then you would have seen a lot of criticism. He was vastly inferior to his prime level and people had no problem saying that. An example of a common sentiment:
Wiz MJ was, to me, hurting his legacy somewhat. He had lost his trademark quickness, dunking etc, but he still played at a high level, competed, used his old man strengt and knowledge and generally played a high BBIQ game.

Very much unlike Kobe. Here we are talking about "legacy damage" on another level.

I frankly don`t think it would be possible to play any worse; calling out team mates, extremely low FG%, no D, no real team play etc.

[navy]

He's still an all-time great player (Top 5 is debatable) he's just continued to play after injuries and age have pushed his body to a point where most guys would have retired. Using his current play as a reason to say his legacy is being damaged reminds me of how some people thought Wizards MJ was legacy damage. Really shouldn't be.
True, however the one knock I would say is that he is playing retarded and selfish like he often did in his younger days. I get the late shotclock attempts, but some of the shots he takes are bad and always have been bad. Obviously he use to make them at an all time much better rate but still, it shows now that he cant.

[Dragonyeuw]

I'm sorry, but 9 or 10 of those shots are with 5 seconds or less.
This performance isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

That vid demonstrated how shitty the Lakers offense is as much, if not more, than it did Kobe's diminished ability to hit the crazy bail-out shots he's known for.

[Dragonyeuw]

True, however the one knock I would say is that he is playing retarded and selfish like he often did in his younger days. I get the late shotclock attempts, but some of the shots he takes are bad and always have been bad. Obviously he use to make them at an all time much better rate but still, it shows now that he cant.

MJ was playing within the limitations of his body at that point, Kobe isn't due to an inability mentally to adapt, but also because the Lakers really have shit else on their squad to carry the offense. So it's being put on a guy no longer capable of doing it. It's a bad situation all-around.

[Real Men Wear Green]

True, however the one knock I would say is that he is playing retarded and selfish like he often did in his younger days. I get the late shotclock attempts, but some of the shots he takes are bad and always have been bad. Obviously he use to make them at an all time much better rate but still, it shows now that he cant.
Not being knowledgeable about horse racing I'm in danger of saying something a little ignorant but I'd compare it to how a horse is put down when they have a certain level of leg injury. I'm given to understand that part of why they are killed is because they have certain behaviors that they just can't change. Bryant is a human, not a horse, so even though he should be retired (the putting down of his career if you will) he's being allowed to limp around out there even though his game is gone. Or what may be an even better comparison would be to go pauk with the Old Lion. The animal go to the top of the pride by being aggressive and dominant, just like how Bryant became one of the greats of NBA history. Now that the lion's old the young lions are killing him, just like how now that Bryant is old these younger players are killing him.

He is terrible right now, that's a fact. But that shouldn't take away from how great he used to be. He's still a 5-time Champion with tons of All-NBA and All-Star awards.Might be the second-best SG to ever play. Nothing that will happen this year can change that.

[3ball]

He's still an all-time great player (Top 5 is debatable) he's just continued to play after injuries and age have pushed his body to a point where most guys would have retired. Using his current play as a reason to say his legacy is being damaged reminds me of how some people thought Wizards MJ was legacy damage. Really shouldn't be.
I agree with your overall point - this version of kobe shouldn't be used to diminish his career in any way..

This is why it hurts to MJ's overall stats, because they're tarnished by his Wizard years, albiet still goat - but I'd much prefer to post his Bulls stats everytime, since they show a very distinct, comfortable gap between him and everyone else.

Btw, it isn't beneficial to compare this version of Kobe to Wizard Jordan - Wizard Jordan shot a full 10-15 percentage points better and was a legit all-star, 20/5/5 player.. He scored over 40 many times and even hit for 51.. Heck, 4 years after he retired (at 45 years old), he destroyed OJ Mayo, the #1 high school player at the time.. Otoh, numerous HS players would have Kobe's lunch right now.

[ArbitraryWater]

He's still an all-time great player (Top 5 is debatable) he's just continued to play after injuries and age have pushed his body to a point where most guys would have retired. Using his current play as a reason to say his legacy is being damaged reminds me of how some people thought Wizards MJ was legacy damage. Really shouldn't be.

no its not :oldlol:

[derb2k2]

damn, that was brutal to watch. I thought it couldn't get any worse after every shot but man....clunkers, clankers, airballs, stuck balls...

for as much as I'd like Wade to surpass Kobe, I don't take pleasure in watching this happen to Kobe.

I hope this doesn't happen to Wade. :cry:

[Real Men Wear Green]

MJ was playing within the limitations of his body at that point, Kobe isn't due to an inability mentally to adapt, but also because the Lakers really have shit else on their squad to carry the offense. So it's being put on a guy no longer capable of doing it. It's a bad situation all-around.
Agreed with the part about physical limitations. Bryant had season-ending injuries for 3 consecutive seasons. Where my opinion may differ from yours a bit is I'm not sure if a player exactly like Bryant the way he is right now but without the cache that Bryant has built up with the Lakers would even make a team. Shooting 31% to average 15 points and playing bad D, who would want a guy like that? Maybe his play would be ok if he was taking a step back as a role player but he's never done that so how do we know? It's not like he's got Kyle Korver shooting ability from deep. He absolutely should not have his current role. I would argue that there isn't a guard in the league that couldn't average 15 points if he was allowed to shoot as poorly as 31%. There's nothing good about that at all.

[Naero]

He's still an all-time great player (Top 5 is debatable) he's just continued to play after injuries and age have pushed his body to a point where most guys would have retired. Using his current play as a reason to say his legacy is being damaged reminds me of how some people thought Wizards MJ was legacy damage. Really shouldn't be.

Realistically speaking, players can only take a detractive hit on their legacy if they underachieve expectations for what is expected out of an ATG at their ranking (consensus top-15 in Kobe's case); that isn't the case here. Considering his age, the onerous mileage on his body, and the rash of injuries he's sustained, he's overachieving expectations just by being on the basketball floor.

Kobe has already solidified himself as a consensual top-15 player in 2008-2010, and he hasn't done anything to drop off from that standing since--not while he was healthy and in a competent physical state. Through improved longevity and a continuantly impressive level of play (on the long-shot off-chance that Kobe picks it up this season), he can enhance his legacy through continued overachievement; otherwise, it's not sensible for his legacy to take a hit, as all the years of one's career expectancy (typically no longer than ~15 years) are all in the rear-view mirror.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

http://i57.tinypic.com/2qtjtsg.jpg

[BasedTom]

Realistically speaking, players can only take a detractive hit on their legacy if they underachieve expectations for what is expected out of an ATG at their ranking (consensus top-15 in Kobe's case); that isn't the case here. Considering his age, the onerous mileage on his body, and the rash of injuries he's sustained, he's overachieving expectations just by being on the basketball floor.

Kobe has already solidified himself as a consensual top-15 player in 2008-2010, and he hasn't done anything to drop off from that standing since--not while he was healthy and in a competent physical state. Through improved longevity and a continuantly impressive level of play (on the long-shot off-chance that Kobe picks it up this season), he can enhance his legacy through continued overachievement; otherwise, it's not sensible for his legacy to take a hit, as all the years of one's career expectancy (typically no longer than ~15 years) are all in the rear-view mirror.
To me you're both right and wrong here.

You're right because obviously very few players play 20 years in the league, and very few have as much mileage as him. Though his decline has been apparent in recent seasons, I think even his detractors are surprised at just how awful he has been this year. But his overall longevity is no doubt impressive.

But you're kind of wrong because of what we hear all the time from retired legends. "Oh man I could do ___, ___, ___" "I could still do ____" and even when they're bs'ing we just kind of half to take it since unlike with Kobe's case...when they were on the way out it wasn't anywhere near as miserable and as clear as day (social media era). If Kobe decides to become involved as a coach or executive or something, and a story comes out with Kobe supposedly practicing with a young player and him schooling him, we're immediately going to flash back to these games we're seeing from him today.

[DCL]

He was playing at a much higher level than Bryant is but if you were posting on message boards back then you would have seen a lot of criticism. He was vastly inferior to his prime level and people had no problem saying that. An example of a common sentiment:

we've never seen mj play like absolute garbage. he was a little older, slower, obviously out of his prime, but he was still highly respectable on the court. and he was still playing like the best 39yo+ shooting guard ever seen. the old bald guy was still dropping 40 and 50 and hitting game winners occasionally like the old days. anybody would take that for a 39+yo gimpy kneed body.

but kobe right now? he is totally washed up and playing like absolute garbage, and this harsh description might even be sugarcoating it.

[Town's Town]

That was painfully hilarious.

[f0und]

his "coming off two major injuries" is such a copout and is way overblown. its not like he's a geriatric hobbling around out there. he can still move around pretty well and sometimes get the shots he wants. the problem is, the shots he wants are stupid shots. being old does not excuse stupid basketball. it should be the opposite. 20 years in, and he should know how to play an old man game by now, but he's still chucking up bad shots like he's always been.

if he is as skilled as the kobe kids claim he is, he should be able to overcome his decline in athleticism and AT LEAST be a decent player. but he straight up sucks balls.

[catch24]

his "coming off two major injuries" is such a copout and is way overblown. its not like he's a geriatric hobbling around out there. he can still move around pretty well and sometimes get the shots he wants. the problem is, the shots he wants are stupid shots. being old does not excuse stupid basketball. it should be the opposite. 20 years in, and he should know how to play an old man game by now, but he's still chucking up bad shots like he's always been.

if he is as skilled as the kobe kids claim he is, he should be able to overcome his decline in athleticism and AT LEAST be a decent player. but he straight up sucks balls.

Why do people keep saying this?

Again... If Hakeem, KG, Mcgrady, and Kareem were as skilled as their "fans claimed", why were they garbage their last years in the league?

The easy answer is age and attrition ruined them JUST like it has Kobe...who's legs are completely shredded.

[f0und]

Why do people keep saying this?

Again... If Hakeem, KG, Mcgrady, and Kareem were as skilled as their "fans claimed", why were they garbage their last years in the league?

The easy answer is age and attrition ruined them JUST like it has Kobe...who's legs are completely shredded.

they were never on this level of garbage. they were simply reduced to run of the mill role player status but still at least had some impact on the game. kobe is literally the worst player on the floor by a wide margin. he has an unprecedented negative impact. but it doesnt stop there. its felt throughout the entire organization. kobe's toxic approach to the game. scott enabling of his *hitty play. his ridiculous contract. the "tanking" mentality. this organization is simply cultivating a losing culture, and kobe is at the very center of it.

[Lebronxrings]

almost hit 50 points.:bowdown:

[Town's Town]

Why do people keep saying this?

Again... If Hakeem, KG, Mcgrady, and Kareem were as skilled as their "fans claimed", why were they garbage their last years in the league?

The easy answer is age and attrition ruined them JUST like it has Kobe...who's legs are completely shredded.

How dare you act like Kobe is in Kareem's class. Kareem aged much more gracefully.

[catch24]

they were never on this level of garbage. they were simply reduced to run of the mill role player status but still at least had some impact on the game. kobe is literally the worst player on the floor by a wide margin. he has an unprecedented negative impact. but it doesnt stop there. its felt throughout the entire organization. kobe's toxic approach to the game. scott enabling of his *hitty play. his ridiculous contract. the "tanking" mentality. this organization is simply cultivating a losing culture, and kobe is at the very center of it.

They were/are absolutely garbage. In every sense of the word.

Complete and utter shells of themselves.

Were they never really skilled? :confusedshrug:

[f0und]

They were/are absolutely garbage. In every sense of the word.

Complete and utter shells of themselves.

Were they never really skilled? :confusedshrug:

thats a bit of an exaggeration. look at their all their final season numbers. take into consideration the reduced minutes and role and you'll see that their numbers fall in line with run of the mill role players. yes they were shells of themselves but thats expected. their impact on the game was solid or negligible at worst.

hakeem shot 46%(which by the way is higher than kobe's career average) and played solid defense in his 22 minutes, with 6 rebs and 1.5 blocks. that translates to 9.6 rebs and 2.4 blocks per 36.

kareem averaged 10 pts on 47%, 4.5 reb, 1.1 blk in 23 minutes

tmac played 16 min per game shot 43% from the field, 45% from 3

kg only plays 12 min per game. shoots 49% and has a rebounding rate of 12 reb per 36.

and most importantly, they knew their limitations at that point in their careers. compare that to kobe who shoots 16 times per game at 31% fg, 19.5% 3pt. his play is so much more beyond *hit than any of the others. the negative impact is literally unprecedented. someone posted a stat that showed his season is dead last out of 743 in terms of scoring efficiency.

[TheImmortal]

http://i57.tinypic.com/2qtjtsg.jpg
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Springsteen]

That one ugly shot where he kicks his leg out like a ninja. Oof.

[JT123]

That one ugly shot where he kicks his leg out like a ninja. Oof.
He does that a lot these days, hoping the refs will bail him out with a whistle. :facepalm

[beastee]

Absolutely no lift on that Jump Shot. Seriously. This is awful. :facepalm

Dude was a legend, now Kobe can tell us how Shaq's Ass tasted...

[oarabbus]

http://i.imgur.com/vXAtveW.png

:roll:

[VengefulAngel]

http://i.imgur.com/vXAtveW.png

:roll:

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[pastis]

http://i.imgur.com/vXAtveW.png

:roll:


hahaha. same goes for Wehrmacht soldiers in Hollywood films:applause: :applause:

[Dragonyeuw]

Agreed with the part about physical limitations. Bryant had season-ending injuries for 3 consecutive seasons. Where my opinion may differ from yours a bit is I'm not sure if a player exactly like Bryant the way he is right now but without the cache that Bryant has built up with the Lakers would even make a team. Shooting 31% to average 15 points and playing bad D, who would want a guy like that? Maybe his play would be ok if he was taking a step back as a role player but he's never done that so how do we know? It's not like he's got Kyle Korver shooting ability from deep. He absolutely should not have his current role. I would argue that there isn't a guard in the league that couldn't average 15 points if he was allowed to shoot as poorly as 31%. There's nothing good about that at all.

Well, if you listen to Byron Scott, he suggested the other day that Kobe has earned the right to take dumb shots. No-one should have a coaching job in the NBA who utters something that retarded. That said, I do believe we'd be seeing a better Kobe on a team with a realistic chance of at least doing more than the Lakers are doing. What we have now is:

1) A team of rookies and moderately talented veterans, who individually may have some capable guys, but collectively play like $hit.

2) A coach who isn't really suited for a team with this personnel. Maybe the Clippers, or Thunder, or some kind of established team with star talent. But the current Lakers? Bad fit.

3) And of course, the man himself: Kobe Bryant. I see a player who is trying to will himself to past greatness, but simply does not have the physical ability anymore. Even if you moved him more into the post, footwork still requires a degree of quickness especially as a guard so I don't think he'd be consistently good there either. Right now, you've got a new class of athlete that Kobe simply cannot keep up with. He has no lift on his jumper, and his driving ability is shut. No-one fears his ability to get to the lane and finish, so he's stuck on the perimeter trying to create shots against superior athletes. Even though Kobe is 37, if you think about the years of mileage and all the injuries he's played through from years ago, he probably has the body of a 42 year old.

And mentally, I'd say he's close to checking out. This is a team going nowhere, I mean really this team is probably worse than the 2006 squad when he was at his peak as a scorer. I mean how many 'bail-out shots' has he taken where the ball winds up in his hands with 4 seconds left, due to his teammates collective inability to make plays?

[SexSymbol]

they were never on this level of garbage. they were simply reduced to run of the mill role player status but still at least had some impact on the game. kobe is literally the worst player on the floor by a wide margin. he has an unprecedented negative impact. but it doesnt stop there. its felt throughout the entire organization. kobe's toxic approach to the game. scott enabling of his *hitty play. his ridiculous contract. the "tanking" mentality. this organization is simply cultivating a losing culture, and kobe is at the very center of it.
Kg is just as bad last year and this year as Kobe is.
Kareem wasn't even an average player his last year.
This stuff happens, it just occurred in a terrible situation, because the team actually looks for him to be the 1st option. Look at the video, most of his shots were <5 seconds, teams is looking for him to bail them out

[AirFederer]

What I don't understand is why Lakers doesn't have more ballmovement, Hawks style, just to give an excample. It's slow and iso and just low bbiq plays. This would also open things up for drives etc. Kobe could and should try to fascilitate this but...

I also blame Scott for this. He gets nada out of these players.

[Springsteen]

Kg is just as bad last year and this year as Kobe is.
Kareem wasn't even an average player his last year.
This stuff happens, it just occurred in a terrible situation, because the team actually looks for him to be the 1st option. Look at the video, most of his shots were <5 seconds, teams is looking for him to bail them out

KG knows his role at this point of his career. He's there to mentor Towns and provide veteran presence. He isn't looking to shoot 15 shots per game.

[SexSymbol]

KG knows his role at this point of his career. He's there to mentor Towns and provide veteran presence. He isn't looking to shoot 15 shots per game.
Kobe isn't looking for that either, that's the point of different situations and expectations.
Nobody expects anything from KG the last 3 years. Absolutely nobody.
Kobe still has like the 2-3rd biggest fanbase in the world, if not the biggest. Tens of millions of people expect him to perform to a certain standard that he's simply not capable of performing. So he's trying to overachieve by taking the same shots that he did before achilles and used to make them regularly.
If you look how Kobe's playing, he's not exactly looking for a shot. He gets 3-5 ISOs to himself every game now, but a lot of his shots are because the team looks for him to bail them out. He's not capable of that anymore and so we have what we have.

[SexSymbol]

What I don't understand is why Lakers doesn't have more ballmovement, Hawks style, just to give an excample. It's slow and iso and just low bbiq plays. This would also open things up for drives etc. Kobe could and should try to fascilitate this but...

I also blame Scott for this. He gets nada out of these players.
Scott isn't exactly budenholzer

[Hulk]

Lebron fam-"Tell me how he died"
Mr.Jabbar-"I will tell you how he lived"

Kurrby fam :bowdown:

[Funktion]

Did Kobe ever learn to shoot anything other than fadeways once inside the arc? All upper body.

[ImKobe]

Did Kobe ever learn to shoot anything other than fadeways once inside the arc? All upper body.

umm you use your legs to shoot the fadeaway, the "kick" is a big part of getting that shot off


Kobe's in an all-time worst shooting slump right now it seems. Obviously he has declined big time athletically but damn...at least we saw him drop a 30 pt triple double last year, or scoring 44 on the Warriors, getting career-high assists against Bran & the Cavs, closing out some games and hitting game-winners...that shoulder injury must have really destroyed his shooting ability because speed-wise he still looks the same he did last yr but he doesn't go inside anymore and he can't make a jumpshot, whether he's wide open or not.

[Dragonyeuw]

KG knows his role at this point of his career. He's there to mentor Towns and provide veteran presence. He isn't looking to shoot 15 shots per game.

Its interesting where KG is at this point, considering that Duncan is still an important cog in the Spurs and they're both the same age.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Its interesting where KG is at this point, considering that Duncan is still an important cog in the Spurs and they're both the same age.
Garnett had a major injury in '09 that took away all of his advantage as an athlete. He managed to play well for a few years after that thanks to skill and smarts but as he lost even more athleticism to age he fell off. Duncan has been blessed to not have a major injury in the late stages of his career so he's aged better than the overwhelming majority of stars in his age range.

[Smoke117]

Garnett had a major injury in '09 that took away all of his advantage as an athlete. He managed to play well for a few years after that thanks to skill and smarts but as he lost even more athleticism to age he fell off. Duncan has been blessed to not have a major injury in the late stages of his career so he's aged better than the overwhelming majority of stars in his age range.

Exactly. He also relied on athleticism in general more than Duncan. Tim was never really a top tier athlete, so he hasn't had to really overhaul his game too much as he has gotten older. This is not to say KG relied on athleticism like say...Dwight Howard, but the fact of the matter is, you are going to build your skills around what you can do on the court and KG developed his skills around his amazing athleticism.

[Dragonyeuw]

Garnett had a major injury in '09 that took away all of his advantage as an athlete. He managed to play well for a few years after that thanks to skill and smarts but as he lost even more athleticism to age he fell off. Duncan has been blessed to not have a major injury in the late stages of his career so he's aged better than the overwhelming majority of stars in his age range.

Thats true, I just remember that around 2011 or 12 he had kind of a bounceback campaign, so I kinda figured he may have had a little more left in the tank. Maybe not Duncan level, but not 3 ppg level either.

[Smoke117]

Thats true, I just remember that around 2011 or 12 he had kind of a bounceback campaign, so I kinda figured he may have had a little more left in the tank. Maybe not Duncan level, but not 3 ppg level either.

You also have to remember that Kevin Garnett was being pretty much being worked to death on the Twolves. Tim Duncans minutes were already starting to be limited when he was 28.

[Dragonyeuw]

You also have to remember that Kevin Garnett was being pretty much being worked to death on the Twolves. Tim Duncans minutes were already starting to be limited when he was 28.

Thats true, I was looking at KG's stats earlier and he was like 39-40 mins for 11 straight years. Lot of mileage on those legs....

[Angel Face]

Far from being a Kobe fan, it's hard to see him struggle like that. He usually make those kind of shots. Injuries really took a toll on his body. He has no lift on his jump shots. Dude should retire. He's just embarrassing himself out there.

[TheBigVeto]

no its not :oldlol:

Yep, not debatable. He's not top 5, not even close.

[thefatmiral]

I don't understand why his shot is so off. I get he would be slower, no getting to the rim. But how did he lose the ability to shoot. He could still be serviceable. Playing d and dishing dimes.

[CarlosBoozer]

#kobesystem

[Funktion]

umm you use your legs to shoot the fadeaway, the "kick" is a big part of getting that shot off


Kobe's in an all-time worst shooting slump right now it seems. Obviously he has declined big time athletically but damn...at least we saw him drop a 30 pt triple double last year, or scoring 44 on the Warriors, getting career-high assists against Bran & the Cavs, closing out some games and hitting game-winners...that shoulder injury must have really destroyed his shooting ability because speed-wise he still looks the same he did last yr but he doesn't go inside anymore and he can't make a jumpshot, whether he's wide open or not.

I don't necessarily mean the actual jump or leg kick. It just seems like he's pushing the ball up now or trying to muscle it to the rim and the ones he's trying to put touch on all end up short. I'm probably just seeing things.

[AintNoSunshine]

comparing it to jordan is a pretty lousy example.

40yo jordan was still amazing to a lot of people.

this kobe is amazing to nobody.

He's actually amazingly bad to me. I would never thought he'd be this bad.

[Mr Feeny]

He's been shocking. It's almost literally unbelievable seeing a player play THAT bad.

[Dragonyeuw]

I don't understand why his shot is so off. I get he would be slower, no getting to the rim. But how did he lose the ability to shoot. He could still be serviceable. Playing d and dishing dimes.

I'm guessing either the shoulder, if even more of his shot comes from the legs than we realized, and he's been unable to compensate for it. I don't know man, I can appreciate him missing the contested shots, but the wide open bricks and airballs is what is :wtf: .

I'm wondering if they should switch Kobe to PG, at least offensively, and let Russell play behind Kobe for the year. Basically, Kobe is a good enough passer even now to take more of a facilitating role, and be a decoy on offense. Only problem is LA doesn't have anyone decent to start at SF if they go that route.

[stevieming]

As someone who's game was in the main shooting the ball and a lot of 2 point jump shots...and who patented his shot on a 2 piece motion, I can safely say...when your legs are gone, it just kills everything...

I have also had serious achilles injury to my left foot and in the last year my right foot....I am also 37 :facepalm (seriously I am just like Kobe right now, taking awful shots - airballs to the left and right of the rim! If it wasn't for the fact that I use to make them and was able to dominate my team mates in the past in various scrimmages, I am pretty sure my team mates would be subbing me off now)

My shooting motion was pretty fluid, and I would rise up and nail the jumpshots, not bragging but I was a really accurate shooter, but now what would happen is, and this doesn't make much of a difference even when you bend the knee (they always tell you to do this), the last bit of motion when you rise up with your legs, the strength imbalance from the weakened achilles messes up your whole release, this becomes pronounced when you try to shoot quickly in game time or making a strong move...really annoying, you make a strong move but when you go up, there's nothing there, it's like cotton, and the shot then becomes all arm....just look at the way he's jumping and landing, always on one foot.

Thing is, I think if Kobe can accept a role off the bench, give it another year his achilles will get strengthen up and he would actually be better next year compared to this year.

[coin24]

He should take a week or two off and get his body right, put up some shots and get his head right.. He looked much better in preseason. Pure shit now though..

Wizards mj was still beasting on guys in there prime how was that tarnishing? If anything he should have gone to NY in 98/99 instead of retiring. Could have had a few more great runs..
Stupid fkn Bulls, not much has changed:oldlol:

[SamuraiSWISH]

He should take a week or two off and get his body right, put up some shots and get his head right.. He looked much better in preseason. Pure shit now though..
:(

He's done, bro


Wizards mj was still beasting on guys in there prime how was that tarnishing? If anything he should have gone to NY in 98/99 instead of retiring. Could have had a few more great runs..
Stupid fkn Bulls, not much has changed:oldlol:
Bulls management chased away the GOAT, Jackson and Pippen. Chicago could've beat that 1999 Spurs team. Would've been their last go at it.

Frankly our management has always been utterly horrendous. Still is ... doesn't even matter Krause has been gone

[ROCSteady]

He looked pretty good in the 1st half of the season opener.

Seems it went downhill from some nice shots there. Prolly was running on adrenaline

[WorldWarriors]

Watched the game twice. Kobe would not look bad if he didn't shoot. He was actually doing a lot of good things on the court. His hustle is still there. However there were a couple of times when he could have passed to Clarkson who was asking for the ball but was ignored in favor of a contested fadeaway. If Kobe could accept his limitations he would be an asset for the Lakers.

[Dragonyeuw]

Watched the game twice. Kobe would not look bad if he didn't shoot. He was actually doing a lot of good things on the court. His hustle is still there. However there were a couple of times when he could have passed to Clarkson who was asking for the ball but was ignored in favor of a contested fadeaway. If Kobe could accept his limitations he would be an asset for the Lakers.

LOL I don't know why this made me chuckle.

[WorldWarriors]

LOL I don't know why this made me chuckle. I know it seems silly but watching the game again it was easier for me to see he still has great basketball instincts. He just needs to accept the fact that he is not the offensive player he once was. Tall order I know because he can't let it go.

[JebronLames]

People starting to realize how Kobe's entire career is overrated.

[Springsteen]

Its interesting where KG is at this point, considering that Duncan is still an important cog in the Spurs and they're both the same age.

Don't tell that to the Kobetards though.