Paul Pierce saying he is the best, not Kobe

[Piercethetruth]

http://www.marca.com/charlas/pierce/24072008.html

[quote]

[DoubleTech]

Pierce is the best player on the planet?

he's not even the best player on his own team...

[Younggrease]

Something probably got lost in translation because under no circumstance is PP34 the best player in the league. He doesnt even have an argument for top 5. I hope Bron sees this because he will eat him alive next time they play.

[Jailblazers7]

It's nice to see this years success gone to his head.

[2LeTTeRS]

People take too much stock into how good a player says he is. This is really a non-issue. We're getting way too PC when there is an uproar because a player said he thinks he's the best. This is worse than the Gilbert thinks the Wiz can win a title thread.

[lakerfreak]

this article is BS

[Piercethetruth]

Kobe nor Lebron have ever led a team to the title. Pierce has a finals mvp and did so against both players.

[bokes15]

People take too much stock into how good a player says he is. This is really a non-issue. We're getting way too PC when there is an uproar because a player said he thinks he's the best. This is worse than the Gilbert thinks the Wiz can win a title thread.
what's worse is that this probably wasn't even translated correctly.

[Loki]

Has Kobe ever admitted that anyone is better than him, or said that another player is the best in the league? No. So why is it a big deal if Pierce acts the same way? "I would expect nothing less from a competitor such as Pierce."

[lakerfreak]

Has Kobe ever admitted that anyone is better than him, or said that another player is the best in the league? No. So why is it a big deal if Pierce acts the same way? "I would expect nothing less from a competitor such as Pierce."

Has Kobe ever mentioned he was the best?

[DoubleTech]

Kobe nor Lebron have ever led a team to the title. Pierce has a finals mvp and did so against both players.


that proves who had the better team, not who is the better player.

are you 14 or something? :rolleyes:

[Younggrease]

Has Kobe ever admitted that anyone is better than him, or said that another player is the best in the league? No. So why is it a big deal if Pierce acts the same way? "I would expect nothing less from a competitor such as Pierce."

Kobe was always like that..PP34 has been quoted saying other players are better then him...now after the finals is he all the sudden a better player?? better competitor??

but this is all assuming something wasnt lost in translation which I think it was...I actually like Pierce as a player and he should think he is the best in the world. THe ones I cant stand on Boston are Allen and KG..

[Emile]

Kobe nor Lebron have ever led a team to the title. Pierce has a finals mvp and did so against both players.

Ok, I"ll deal with you later.

As for what Pierce said, nothing wrong with it. He believes he's the best. He trusts in himself. And he better. It's a competitive sport. It's a competitive world.
I hate how people here act like players shouldn't think they're good or better than their favorite player. I mean what, you expect them to obsess over PER and all other BS crazes fans obsess themselves with? Hell no. They're the best. They're not backing down. That's what got them where they are. That's what enables Pierce to perform so well in the clutch. To lead the team to the championship. You don't do that, you don't make it that far by deferring and saying people are better than you. **** that. On the other hand, fans go mad and are like "oh he thinks he's better than Jordan, oh he thinks he's better than Kobe bla bla bla". And you know what, they better. Would Kobe back down from Jordan? No. Would Pierce back down from Kobe? No. That's the way to go, that's the mentality to have. That's why I like Sasha. He thinks he's better than everyone, he thinks every shot he takes will go in. And it's a great trait. The only one. It's what makes them great and I fully appreciate it. What, you'd want them to be scared and in awe? AAah.
I mean, screw sensitive fans taking issue. Seriously.

[BrianScalabrine]

Pierce is THE TRUTH, and his statement of being better than Kobe is THE HONEST TRUTH!

[Emile]

Kobe nor Lebron have ever led a team to the title. Pierce has a finals mvp and did so against both players.

Now, comparing Pierce as underrated as he is to Kobe, is a joke. I'm sorry, a joke. Look, I respect Pierce. He's a remarkable, always overlooked player. But to say he's Kobe Bryant level or Kobe Bryant equal is pushing it way beyond the realm of logic.
I mean, looking at it just from a statistical POV, Kobe had at least comparable stats to those of Pierce this year and while Pierce's finals performance was considered remarkable, Kobe's fans like me right now are ashamed to bring up this years finals appearance by him. Yay yay, I know, more factors involved. For one, Pierce's team won, he was clutch. Kudos. But he also had to go through a defense lot less thicker and was in a million time better situation. Not taking anything away though, Pierce is the truth, Kobe was awful, no excuses. Just proving a point.

As for Kobe's finals performances the years the Lakers won rings, 1 (2000) is comparable to what Pierce did this year. 2 (2001 and 2002) just likely blow Pierce out of the water and Kobe's so far an awful finals performer for whatever the reason. Comparing playoff numbers? Ok, you don't wanna go there.

Bottom line, all things included, of course there's no comparison. Just finals included because you seem to brag how Pierce led his team to the 'ship and all, Kobe still beats him. And Pierce gets praised for leading, Kobe gets questioned for underachieving. See my point? No comparison. Sorry. Which doesn't mean Pierce isn't great, underrated and on top of it all, just a big player. He is. And I respect him big time, I really do.

[1~Gibson~1]

Kobe>Pierce

[~LA's fine$t~]

Paul "The Douche" Pierce strikes again?
God I hate that player.

[Piercethetruth]

Now, comparing Pierce as underrated as he is to Kobe, is a joke. I'm sorry, a joke. Look, I respect Pierce. He's a remarkable, always overlooked player. But to say he's Kobe Bryant level or Kobe Bryant equal is pushing it way beyond the realm of logic.
I mean, looking at it just from a statistical POV, Kobe had at least comparable stats to those of Pierce this year and while Pierce's finals performance was considered remarkable, Kobe's fans like me right now are ashamed to bring up this years finals appearance by him. Yay yay, I know, more factors involved. For one, Pierce's team won, he was clutch. Kudos. But he also had to go through a defense lot less thicker and was in a million time better situation. Not taking anything away though, Pierce is the truth, Kobe was awful, no excuses. Just proving a point.

As for Kobe's finals performances the years the Lakers won rings, 1 (2000) is comparable to what Pierce did this year. 2 (2001 and 2002) just likely blow Pierce out of the water and Kobe's so far an awful finals performer for whatever the reason. Comparing playoff numbers? Ok, you don't wanna go there.

Bottom line, all things included, of course there's no comparison. Just finals included because you seem to brag how Pierce led his team to the 'ship and all, Kobe still beats him. And Pierce gets praised for leading, Kobe gets questioned for underachieving. See my point? No comparison. Sorry. Which doesn't mean Pierce isn't great, underrated and on top of it all, just a big player. He is. And I respect him big time, I really do.


Pierce outplayed Kobe and showed why he is the best in the league. And Pierce was playing injured. He led his team back from a 24 point deficit to win on the road against a superior team. He simply shut down Kobe himself and took it to Kobe on the other end. Kobe is good, but he is no Pierce. Kobe will never be a finals mvp because he can't raise his game to Paul Pierce's level in the finals. Nothing wrong with that, Kobe just needs to keep trying.

[bokes15]

Pierce outplayed Kobe and showed why he is the best in the league. And Pierce was playing injured. He led his team back from a 24 point deficit to win on the road against a superior team. He simply shut down Kobe himself and took it to Kobe on the other end. Kobe is good, but he is no Pierce. Kobe will never be a finals mvp because he can't raise his game to Paul Pierce's level in the finals. Nothing wrong with that, Kobe just needs to keep trying.
Celtics team defense >>>>>> Lakers team defense. This wasn't a one on one series.

[~LA's fine$t~]

Celtics team defense >>>>>> Lakers team defense. This wasn't a one on one series.

Pierce shot 43% (3% higher then Kobe) being guarded by players like Radmanovic and absolutely zero interior defense. :oldlol:

The entire Celtics team minus Garnett are dog sh*t, look at how much disrespect they've shown already. Such lousy champions.

[Emile]

Pierce outplayed Kobe and showed why he is the best in the league. And Pierce was playing injured. He led his team back from a 24 point deficit to win on the road against a superior team. He simply shut down Kobe himself and took it to Kobe on the other end. Kobe is good, but he is no Pierce. Kobe will never be a finals mvp because he can't raise his game to Paul Pierce's level in the finals. Nothing wrong with that, Kobe just needs to keep trying.

LOL, I have a feeling you're just trying to get people pissed off. :oldlol: :cheers:

Anyway, don't even remind me of that 24 pont deficit game. Despite how superior Celtics were, I mean, with Kobe playing so awful, at everything, that was the series right there.
It wasn't only a winnable game, it was a sure thing and they blew it. With that win, they would have headed back to Garden with a 3:2 lead, one away from putting the Celtics to sleep. Oh man. ****.

[picc84]

Tracy McGrady said the exact same thing.

WHO GIVES A ****?

[omarnyc]

why do people get mad if a player feel he is the best? i think im the best at whatever i do, it might not be true but i think i am

[B'Oneal]

switch pp with Kobe on the Celtics and that team is unstoppable

[Jimmy2k8]

I swear that Piercethetruth is the same guy as Tmacsrockets, and kgisbigticket

[Trax416]

Pierce outplayed Kobe and showed why he is the best in the league. And Pierce was playing injured. He led his team back from a 24 point deficit to win on the road against a superior team. He simply shut down Kobe himself and took it to Kobe on the other end. Kobe is good, but he is no Pierce. Kobe will never be a finals mvp because he can't raise his game to Paul Pierce's level in the finals. Nothing wrong with that, Kobe just needs to keep trying.

1. Kobe was also injured.

2. Kobe not only led his team to winning the Western conference, which was arguably the most competitive conference in the history of the NBA, but he won the MVP, and made the all-defensive team as well.

3. Kobe was a clear leader on the Lakers. What makes you think Paul, who had two other, more experience all-stars on his team, was the leader?

4. The fact is, Boston won, but Paul didn't single handidly put them anywhere. That was a team effort if I have ever saw one.

5. Put Kobe on Boston and they would have won just the same.

6. It's easy to outperform Kobe, when you have two other all-stars drawing defense away from you, and Kobe is being double teamed every game, of every series in the playoffs.

7. Kobe has more rings then Paul and did it with a worse team.

8. If you look at every series played, Kobe actually played better then Pierce and beat far better teams. Lakers would have swept Atlanta.

[Anti404]

switch pp with Kobe on the Celtics and that team is unstoppable
Negative.

[Jimmy2k8]

the Ring argument is getting very very tired now.

[Loki]

Has Kobe ever mentioned he was the best?

Journalists don't put the question to him for some reason. They only ask other players who the best is. Probably because the media are the ones busy hyping him (Kobe), so they automatically just assume he's the best (and he has as good a case as anyone; I just think it's funny that no one ever asks him). But he's made plenty of other insinuations about himself in the past ("put me in the East and see what happens" etc.).

[iggy>]

pierce has game on both ends of the floor, but hes way too slow to be considered the best player on the planet.

[~LA's fine$t~]

Journalists don't put the question to him for some reason. They only ask other players who the best is. Probably because the media are the ones busy hyping him (Kobe), so they automatically just assume he's the best (and he has as good a case as anyone; I just think it's funny that no one ever asks him). But he's made plenty of other insinuations about himself in the past ("put me in the East and see what happens" etc.).

People react to players like Pierce because he is no where near the #1 player. If LeBron, Kobe, Duncan, Garnett made that same statement, I wouldn't have a problem with it because they all have a legit case.

[Se]

Has Kobe ever admitted that anyone is better than him, or said that another player is the best in the league? No. So why is it a big deal if Pierce acts the same way? "I would expect nothing less from a competitor such as Pierce."

But if Kobe said he was the best, you'd be all over that defending Jordan because there is a remote chance that people would believe that Kobe is better than Jordan. However, no one believes Paul Pierce is better than LeBron or Kobe, so therefore Pierce is not a threat to your idol.

[TruthKGRay3412]

To the people who think Kobe>>>Pierce..totally wrong..Pierce is just as good as Kobe IMO..Kobe had the luxury of Shaq to get his reputation where it is now..if he was on failing teams to begin is career and Pierce was in Kobe's position Pierce would be ranked alot higher in peoples perspective as a player in this league.Besides athleticism,Pierce is just as good at everything else.Pierce outplayed the "#1 player" in the league on 1 friggin knee on the biggest stages of there careers..give me break with the Kobe is ALOT better than Pierce B.S..I am glad Pierce is speaking his mind..I dont think he is the best player in the league however..I'll give that award for KG,CP3 & Duncan to share.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TnGGvTY70hQ
Check 2:22.

[bleedinpurpleTwo]

funny funny stuff.

lol at PP

[~LA's fine$t~]

To the people who think Kobe>>>Pierce..totally wrong..Pierce is just as good as Kobe IMO..Kobe had the luxury of Shaq to get his reputation where it is now..if he was on failing teams to begin is career and Pierce was in Kobe's position Pierce would be ranked alot higher in peoples perspective as a player in this league.Besides athleticism,Pierce is just as good at everything else.Pierce outplayed the "#1 player" in the league on 1 friggin knee on the biggest stages of there careers..give me break with the Kobe is ALOT better than Pierce B.S..I am glad Pierce is speaking his mind..I dont think he is the best player in the league however..I'll give that award for KG,CP3 & Duncan to share.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TnGGvTY70hQ
Check 2:22.

You should be banned for being this stupid.

[dynasty1978]

To the people who think Kobe>>>Pierce..totally wrong..Pierce is just as good as Kobe IMO..Kobe had the luxury of Shaq to get his reputation where it is now..if he was on failing teams to begin is career and Pierce was in Kobe's position Pierce would be ranked alot higher in peoples perspective as a player in this league.Besides athleticism,Pierce is just as good at everything else.Pierce outplayed the "#1 player" in the league on 1 friggin knee on the biggest stages of there careers..give me break with the Kobe is ALOT better than Pierce B.S..I am glad Pierce is speaking his mind..I dont think he is the best player in the league however..I'll give that award for KG,CP3 & Duncan to share.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TnGGvTY70hQ
Check 2:22.

:roll: celtics fan

[Jimmy2k8]

You should be banned for being this stupid.


Just let it go man...

[Scott Pippen]

To the people who think Kobe>>>Pierce..totally wrong..Pierce is just as good as Kobe IMO.

disagree:no:

[BrianScalabrine]

To the people who think Kobe>>>Pierce..totally wrong..Pierce is just as good as Kobe IMO..Kobe had the luxury of Shaq to get his reputation where it is now..if he was on failing teams to begin is career and Pierce was in Kobe's position Pierce would be ranked alot higher in peoples perspective as a player in this league.Besides athleticism,Pierce is just as good at everything else.Pierce outplayed the "#1 player" in the league on 1 friggin knee on the biggest stages of there careers..give me break with the Kobe is ALOT better than Pierce B.S..I am glad Pierce is speaking his mind..I dont think he is the best player in the league however..I'll give that award for KG,CP3 & Duncan to share.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TnGGvTY70hQ
Check 2:22.

Winner of the 'post of the week' award!
Thanks for broadcasting THE HONEST TRUTH!

[Jimmy2k8]

Winner of the 'post of the week' award!
Thanks for broadcasting THE HONEST TRUTH!


TheHonestTruth=BrianScalabrine

Both have an agenda against Kobe.

[Piercethetruth]

LOL, I have a feeling you're just trying to get people pissed off. :oldlol: :cheers:

Anyway, don't even remind me of that 24 pont deficit game. Despite how superior Celtics were, I mean, with Kobe playing so awful, at everything, that was the series right there.
It wasn't only a winnable game, it was a sure thing and they blew it. With that win, they would have headed back to Garden with a 3:2 lead, one away from putting the Celtics to sleep. Oh man. ****.

Lakers were favorite by everyone and got whooped. They went thru that easy western conference the same west that the Celtics killed.

[Jimmy2k8]

Since when did ESPN become god of basketball?

[stewen12]

not even top 10

[Loki]

Since when did ESPN become god of basketball?

Pretty sure Vegas had the Lakers winning the Finals as well, and they ARE the gods of basketball. :D

[shaoyut]

paul peiice is a stupid sayin hes the best hes not even the best in his team kg is the best and ray should of been the finals Mvp

[inclinerator]

fap and jizz over paul and pierce him a new hole

[eliteballer]

:oldlol: Someone remind Pierce when they were chanting Kobe for MVP in his own building

[HANNIBAL SMITH]

:oldlol: You knew this sh!t was coming. Pierce for a while thought he was a better player than Bryant, now that he's beaten Bryant's team in the finals he feels he's the better player, while others outside himself and Boston would strongly disagree. You think Pierce gets the Lakers to the Finals if you replace him with Kobe? Your out of your fuccin mind if you think the Lakers get past San Antonio with Pierce instead of Kobe.

The only thing that was proven in these finals is that the Celtics as a TEAM were better than the Lakers, not because Pierce proved to be the better player compared to Kobe like how Celtics fans want you to believe.

[Hotlantadude81]

that proves who had the better team, not who is the better player.

are you 14 or something? :rolleyes:

We've seen the results when PP has to carry a team on his back all season. The results aren't all that great.

[rawimpact]

i will take kobe kg and ray anytime over pierce kg and ray

[rawimpact]

If you ask kobe about a player, he will say good things about him. For instance, bruce bowen... kobe said he's a remarkable defender and enjoys playing with him. That is what is expected from one of the few faces the NBA has.

First i thought only Boston fans were horrible, i'm guessing the players too are becoming cocky and ignorant.

[Voulnet]

PP is definitely a better actor than Bryant, who by himself knows how to sell contact sometimes. However, Pierce's wheelchair stunt is stuff of legends!

[TmacsRockets]

:oldlol: You knew this sh!t was coming. Pierce for a while thought he was a better player than Bryant, now that he's beaten Bryant's team in the finals he feels he's the better player, while others outside himself and Boston would strongly disagree. You think Pierce gets the Lakers to the Finals if you replace him with Kobe? Your out of your fuccin mind if you think the Lakers get past San Antonio with Pierce instead of Kobe.

The only thing that was proven in these finals is that the Celtics as a TEAM were better than the Lakers, not because Pierce proved to be the better player compared to Kobe like how Celtics fans want you to believe.


You can't use that because what happens if you replace IVerson with Kobe in 2001 or Kidd with Kobe in 2002 and 2003? Neither of those teams make the finals either and Iverson and Kidd win titles with Shaq.

[Jimmy2k8]

You can't use that because what happens if you replace IVerson with Kobe in 2001 or Kidd with Kobe in 2002 and 2003? Neither of those teams make the finals either and Iverson and Kidd win titles with Shaq.


Great, because your post obviously means that...No Kobe with Shaq=1 title.

[loot]

paul peiice is a stupid sayin hes the best hes not even the best in his team kg is the best and ray should of been the finals Mvp


Complete the following sentences by using the right form of to have (have, has, had).

Example: Fred usually _____ sugar with his coffee.

Answer: Fred usually has sugar with his coffee.



1) Jack ... fun at the party last Saturday.
2) I'm sorry, but I ... to go now.
3) ... you ever been to Canada?
4) Dave ... passed his driving test.
5) Can we ... the bill, please?
6) The match ... already started when we arrived.
7) They ... breakfast at 6:30 this morning.
8) Do you ... a brother?
9) My boss never ... time.
10) Doris ... been waiting for Pam for 20 minutes now.


Shaoyut's answers in white:

1) Jack of fun at the party last Saturday.
2) I'm sorry, but I of to go now.
3) Of you ever been to Canada?
4) Dave of passed his driving test.
5) Can we of the bill, please?
6) The match of already started when we arrived.
7) They of breakfast at 6:30 this morning.
8) Do you of a brother?
9) My boss never of time.
10) Doris of been waiting for Pam for 20 minutes now.

[MaxFly]

Alright, lets cool it with the PP bashing until we get a legitimate account of what he said. He's not the kind of guy to make these sorts of random claims, so it would be prudent to reserve any and all of this foolish bashing until we know what he actually said. People will jump at anything... :rolleyes:

[JellyBean]

That was pretty funny. P-Double better than Kobe. Yeah right!! Paul must be out of his darn mind. I guess having extra(teammates in KG, Ray, James Posey, and a few others) help does that to a player. Kobe is way better than Paul.

Paul just needs to enjoy his ring and relax a bit.

[Allstar24]

Either the journalist misunderstood/misinterpreted what Pierce was trying to say or winning one championship has really gone to his head.

[Real Men Wear Green]

He translated it correctly. I know a bit of Spanish, and that's what he said.
I agree with the translation as well. It's not like we're going from Japanese, Latin, or ancient Hebrew to English here, Spanish-to-English is a very easy translation with millions of people that can speak both languages. Furthermore, if you've followed Pierce's career you know that he's the cocky type of player that puts himself second to no one (and often talks a lot of **** out there on the court). So, sorry if anyone's sensibilities were offended, but after he went head-to-head with Bryant on many occasions over a series with an NBA Championship on the line and walked away with the series MVP Award and his first Championship, why should Pierce feel that Bryant is better than him? Unlike most fans and analysts, Pierce isn't going by career or season statistics. Pierce, and many players like Pierce, base their opinions on how well they match up with a guy head-to-head. And in the Finals, Pierce won that match-up almost every time. Is the Celtic d far superior? Yes. And thaty certainly had an affect on things. But even in the past, when the Cs didn't have KG, Pierce was still able to individually match Bryant, so in his mind--and again, players often think this way--Bryant is not his superior. And until Bryant can stop Pierce Pierce is going to think this way. And I say, good. Any argument I or anyone else could try to make for Pierce being better than Bryant is going to be a losing one if we base it on the statistics, because the only wing who beats Bryant statistically is LBJ. So I accepted that the consensus would be that Bryant is superior years ago. But I certainly don't mind Pierce feeling himself to be the best wing in the game, and will quietly agree with him when he thinks he's better than Bryant. I won't argue it, because I know that the stats side definitively with Bryant, but every time he outplays or equals Bryant head-to-head I quietly cheer.

Note to all of those screaming about the wrath of Kobe coming down on P the next time they play: If the NBA Championship wasn't enough motivation for Bryant to take Pierce down, a few sentences that Bryant will need his wife to translate aren't going to matter.

[Thom.Yorke]

PP is far from the best in the league.

he is good player and was obviously the better one in these finals, no doubt about that, kobe kinda choked.

accomplishments Kobe>PP

kobe is MJ's shadow. and is the only player that is even considered on the same sentenced. and kobe even said after the finals "im no mj".


either that is fake or PP is a idiot.

[Diesel J]

Well, for one thing, we all saw that Kobe wasn't ready for the challenge with Pierce because Kobe would rather roam around the coast and guard the likes of Rondo instead of manning up and guarding PP. Pierce took the challenge and guarded/shut down Kobe in game 4. Where was Kobe's so called "elite" defense when it came time for him to guard Pierce?:oldlol:

Kobe = overrated

[SRZ66]

why would u have to translate something to english that he said in english?

[Killer_Instinct]

Nothing wrong with what The Truth said, but anyone with half a brain knows he isn't even top 5 in the L. And no way in hell is he better than Lebron, Kobe, or Chris. But there's nothing wrong with him believing he is. Good to have that confidence.

[AItheAnswer3]

This is not the truth

[U got Served]

I respect a comment like that coming from Kobe not from Pierce. Kobe is way way way better than Pierce. He won the title because he had the better team, but he's not the better player and he's not the best. Pierce please stop making me laugh:roll: :roll: I can think of a lot of players i would rather have instead of You. What a ridiculous statement.:roll:

[HANNIBAL SMITH]

Well, for one thing, we all saw that Kobe wasn't ready for the challenge with Pierce because Kobe would rather roam around the coast and guard the likes of Rondo instead of manning up and guarding PP. Pierce took the challenge and guarded/shut down Kobe in game 4. Where was Kobe's so called "elite" defense when it came time for him to guard Pierce?:oldlol:

Kobe = overrated


:roll: May as well hand you the Hator of the year award now. :oldlol: @ Kobe guarding Rondo because he wasn't up for the challenge of guarding Pierce, get the fucc outta here. Kobe guarding Rondo was by design, to disrupt the Celtics offense and turn Rondo into a jump shooter where's he's clearly ineffective, and as i can recall, It was working effectively till the Celtics smartened up and kept Eddie House in the game, and the rest is history.

If you didn't see the finals, they way these celtic fans and laker hators will tell it, you'd think that Pierce was scoring like MJ with Kobe guarding him, while pierce was shutting Kobe down 1 on 1 with Scottie Pippen like defense. :oldlol: Y'all some delusional muthafuccas.

[HANNIBAL SMITH]

You can't use that because what happens if you replace IVerson with Kobe in 2001 or Kidd with Kobe in 2002 and 2003? Neither of those teams make the finals either and Iverson and Kidd win titles with Shaq.


Umm, i was talking about THIS PAST SEASON jackass, not during the Shaq years.

[Loki]

:Kobe guarding Rondo was by design, to disrupt the Celtics offense and turn Rondo into a jump shooter where's he's clearly ineffective, and as i can recall, It was working effectively till the Celtics smartened up and kept Eddie House in the game, and the rest is history.

Any idiot could have played 12-13 feet off Rondo and "made him a jumpshooter." It didn't require the services of a first-team defender whose supposed "talents" could have been put to better use elsewhere. They could have subbed in the exhumed corpse of George Peppard and he could have done the same thing.

Plain and simple: Kobe was hidden on defense for much of the series while the two players in his size/position range (Allen and Pierce) lit up the Lakers. Kobe was also hidden on Bowen for the majority of the SA series. I think he guarded Manu for a while in game 4 or so because the talk that he was being hidden on D was becoming loud. I guess he wanted to make sure that Manu's ankle was totally fucced before he stepped up to the plate. :oldlol:

[Sroek]

Well, for one thing, we all saw that Kobe wasn't ready for the challenge with Pierce because Kobe would rather roam around the coast and guard the likes of Rondo instead of manning up and guarding PP. Pierce took the challenge and guarded/shut down Kobe in game 4. Where was Kobe's so called "elite" defense when it came time for him to guard Pierce?:oldlol:

Kobe = overrated

Do you not understand that when Jackson puts Kobe on Rondo, he gets more leeway to play the passing lanes and help/weakside defense?

[TruthKGRay3412]

Any idiot could have played 12-13 feet off Rondo and "made him a jumpshooter." It didn't require the services of a first-team defender whose supposed "talents" could have been put to better use elsewhere. They could have subbed in the exhumed corpse of George Peppard and he could have done the same thing.

Plain and simple: Kobe was hidden on defense for much of the series while the two players in his size/position range (Allen and Pierce) lit up the Lakers. Kobe was also hidden on Bowen for the majority of the SA series. I think he guarded Manu for a while in game 4 or so because the talk that he was being hidden on D was becoming loud. I guess he wanted to make sure that Manu's ankle was totally fucced before he stepped up to the plate. :oldlol:

Hannibal Smith got taken to school.

[Loki]

Do you not understand that when Jackson puts Kobe on Rondo, he gets more leeway to play the passing lanes and help/weakside defense?

Yeah, because Kobe's just such a tremendous talent in terms of help/weakside defense. :oldlol: Kobe's strength is individual containment. Any idiot can get steals when they play literally 13 feet off their man at all times. Did you even watch the Finals? I personally could have averaged 7 steals per game playing that way. Personally. :oldlol:

I've never seen such a gimmick defense in my life. And when PJax and Kobe saw that Allen and Pierce were destroying them, they should have changed their little plan.

But you just keep making excuses about why Kobe was hidden on defense for the better part of two rounds of the playoffs.

[gts]

Loki
Mentally unbalanced, biased, Kobe-bashing nutjob of a fan

[Loki]

Loki
Mentally unbalanced, biased, Kobe-bashing nutjob of a fan

Gotta love when all people do is quote a tag given to me by a biased mod.

[Vragrant]

I don't really blame Pierce for thinking this way seeing how Bryant is one of the most overrated players of all time and he just outplayed him. Although I don't think Pierce is necessarily "better" than Bryant, I do think he has more toughness and heart than Bryant does easily, whos rep for having the biggest "killer instinct" in the L is garbage.

[Scott Pippen]

Gotta love when all people do is quote a tag given to me by a biased mod.

mod have that much power? I thought only mr. insidehoops can change custom tag.

[dafunkphenom]

How is he the best when Kevin Garnett is even more valuable on the Boston Celtics?

Not to take anything away from him though. He is certainly an elite player. Top 15 overall.

[guy]

Yeah, because Kobe's just such a tremendous talent in terms of help/weakside defense. :oldlol: Kobe's strength is individual containment. Any idiot can get steals when they play literally 13 feet off their man at all times. Did you even watch the Finals? I personally could have averaged 7 steals per game playing that way. Personally. :oldlol:

I've never seen such a gimmick defense in my life. And when PJax and Kobe saw that Allen and Pierce were destroying them, they should have changed their little plan.

But you just keep making excuses about why Kobe was hidden on defense for the better part of two rounds of the playoffs.

Its funny how people think it was better to use Kobe's "all first team" defense
on the amazing Rajon Rondo, while Pierce and Allen continuously destroyed Radmonovic and Sasha. I think Phil didn't have Kobe guard either one of them cause it clearly wasn't making a difference, so why waste Kobe's energy on defending those two, when he could preserve it for offense.

[Loki]

Its funny how people think it was better to use Kobe's "all first team" defense
on the amazing Rajon Rondo, while Pierce and Allen continuously destroyed Radmonovic and Sasha.

Kobe fans will convince themselves of anything. He was hidden in the SA series as well. He had basically zero defensive impact the entire playoffs.

[Scott Pippen]

i think kobe 2001 defense is much better than it is today. By huge margin.:applause:

[aznboy2k2]

Now, comparing Pierce as underrated as he is to Kobe, is a joke. I'm sorry, a joke. Look, I respect Pierce. He's a remarkable, always overlooked player. But to say he's Kobe Bryant level or Kobe Bryant equal is pushing it way beyond the realm of logic.
I mean, looking at it just from a statistical POV, Kobe had at least comparable stats to those of Pierce this year and while Pierce's finals performance was considered remarkable, Kobe's fans like me right now are ashamed to bring up this years finals appearance by him. Yay yay, I know, more factors involved. For one, Pierce's team won, he was clutch. Kudos. But he also had to go through a defense lot less thicker and was in a million time better situation. Not taking anything away though, Pierce is the truth, Kobe was awful, no excuses. Just proving a point.

As for Kobe's finals performances the years the Lakers won rings, 1 (2000) is comparable to what Pierce did this year. 2 (2001 and 2002) just likely blow Pierce out of the water and Kobe's so far an awful finals performer for whatever the reason. Comparing playoff numbers? Ok, you don't wanna go there.

Bottom line, all things included, of course there's no comparison. Just finals included because you seem to brag how Pierce led his team to the 'ship and all, Kobe still beats him. And Pierce gets praised for leading, Kobe gets questioned for underachieving. See my point? No comparison. Sorry. Which doesn't mean Pierce isn't great, underrated and on top of it all, just a big player. He is. And I respect him big time, I really do.

Kobe Bean Bryant is a BUST.
He was the Scottie Pippen to Shaq.
Even with the talented lineup given to him last year, he wasn't able to win it all. They beat a beaten up Spurs team.
And just got outplayed in almost every single game in the NBA Finals.
Lost by 40 in the decisive game.

So the comparison between him and Pierce ARE valid. However, Bean Bryant is the better player. I don't have a problem with Pierce saying hes the best. That's what most players in the NBA would say. The only real superstar player I know that defers his skills is Lebron James.

And no Laker fan should be giving Pierce crap for saying hes the best. Have ANY of you guys WATCHED Kobe Bryant player? His attitude and cockiness is second to none. Just go look at the slam dunk tapes and look at his reaction after each dunk. He walks like he owns the world. He just owns the Laker fans. Literally and metaphorically.

[aznboy2k2]

Now, comparing Pierce as underrated as he is to Kobe, is a joke. I'm sorry, a joke. Look, I respect Pierce. He's a remarkable, always overlooked player. But to say he's Kobe Bryant level or Kobe Bryant equal is pushing it way beyond the realm of logic.
I mean, looking at it just from a statistical POV, Kobe had at least comparable stats to those of Pierce this year and while Pierce's finals performance was considered remarkable, Kobe's fans like me right now are ashamed to bring up this years finals appearance by him. Yay yay, I know, more factors involved. For one, Pierce's team won, he was clutch. Kudos. But he also had to go through a defense lot less thicker and was in a million time better situation. Not taking anything away though, Pierce is the truth, Kobe was awful, no excuses. Just proving a point.

As for Kobe's finals performances the years the Lakers won rings, 1 (2000) is comparable to what Pierce did this year. 2 (2001 and 2002) just likely blow Pierce out of the water and Kobe's so far an awful finals performer for whatever the reason. Comparing playoff numbers? Ok, you don't wanna go there.

Bottom line, all things included, of course there's no comparison. Just finals included because you seem to brag how Pierce led his team to the 'ship and all, Kobe still beats him. And Pierce gets praised for leading, Kobe gets questioned for underachieving. See my point? No comparison. Sorry. Which doesn't mean Pierce isn't great, underrated and on top of it all, just a big player. He is. And I respect him big time, I really do.

By the way, is there any other player in the NBA that is more awkward then Kobe Bryant is?

Seriously when the guy laughs, its almost pathetic. If hes not faking it, I don't know what is.

The way he answers questions is ...............

AWWWKKWARDDDDDDDDDDDDDD.

it's not wonder hes doing furniture radio commercials.

[Loki]

Kobe Bean Bryant is a BUST.

Let's not get crazy. :oldlol: Kobe's a top 3 player at a MINIMUM right now, and has been top 3 for the past 3 seasons, and top 6 for the past 5-6 seasons.

[Diesel J]

Yeah, because Kobe's just such a tremendous talent in terms of help/weakside defense. :oldlol: Kobe's strength is individual containment. Any idiot can get steals when they play literally 13 feet off their man at all times. Did you even watch the Finals? I personally could have averaged 7 steals per game playing that way. Personally. :oldlol:

I've never seen such a gimmick defense in my life. And when PJax and Kobe saw that Allen and Pierce were destroying them, they should have changed their little plan.

But you just keep making excuses about why Kobe was hidden on defense for the better part of two rounds of the playoffs.

true true:roll: I get tired of hearing about Kobe's so-called "elite" defense that doesn't exist:oldlol: When he has a chance to prove it on the big stage, he chickens out and settles on roaming around off a guy that can't shoot:oldlol:

[Diesel J]

Its funny how people think it was better to use Kobe's "all first team" defense
on the amazing Rajon Rondo, while Pierce and Allen continuously destroyed Radmonovic and Sasha. I think Phil didn't have Kobe guard either one of them cause it clearly wasn't making a difference, so why waste Kobe's energy on defending those two, when he could preserve it for offense.

That's exactly why I said Kobe's D is overrated. When Kobe did guard Pierce or Allen they both made him look like a fool:oldlol: In the end though, you still have to man up and take the challenge and that's something that Kobe ran from.:confusedshrug:

[Diesel J]

:roll: May as well hand you the Hator of the year award now. :oldlol: @ Kobe guarding Rondo because he wasn't up for the challenge of guarding Pierce, get the fucc outta here. Kobe guarding Rondo was by design, to disrupt the Celtics offense and turn Rondo into a jump shooter where's he's clearly ineffective, and as i can recall, It was working effectively till the Celtics smartened up and kept Eddie House in the game, and the rest is history.


Kobe's D = overrated

Did you see what Pierce and Allen were both able to do when Kobe did guard them?They scored pretty much with ease. IMO, this is the real reason why Phil decided to let Kobe play gimmick D on Rondo. Why let Kobe burn himself out on D chasing around Ray Allen or getting posted up by Pierce when he's not going to slow them down?:eek: :) :lol

[SirLaker]

It's nice to see this years success gone to his head.
.......

edit:not to mention Pierce talking about conceited...calling yourself the best is conceited..Kobe has never once proclaimed himself the best. He just is.

[SirLaker]

and Kobe guarded Rondo so they had cross-mathups...I seriously thought people on ish were basketball smart, but it appears not.

[SirLaker]

By the way, is there any other player in the NBA that is more awkward then Kobe Bryant is?

Seriously when the guy laughs, its almost pathetic. If hes not faking it, I don't know what is.

The way he answers questions is ...............

AWWWKKWARDDDDDDDDDDDDDD.

it's not wonder hes doing furniture radio commercials.
Does it even matter? It's the NBA not mr. popular as many like to believe. Only thing that matters is their basketball play. Make no mistake, Kobe IS the best.

[chopchop20]

Pierce, Kobe, and KG play pickup games together at UCLA in the offseason. That's just some playground trash talk. People trying to play it up up like there's some beef.

When someone's the best, they don't have to say it. When coaches, GM, and players across the league say who's best -- it's usually not Paul Pierce. But I can't be mad at him for what he said.

[lakerfreak]

Before the playoffs Iverson commented saying "They say he (Kobe) is the best player in the world, and thats what I think about myself..."

There's nothing wrong with what was said there. I don't trust these foreign newspapers though. They get a lot of things wrong.

[SirLaker]

Pierce, Kobe, and KG play pickup games together at UCLA in the offseason. That's just some playground trash talk. People trying to play it up up like there's some beef.

When someone's the best, they don't have to say it. When coaches, GM, and players across the league say who's best -- it's usually not Paul Pierce. But I can't be mad at him for what he said.
troof.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=anoqbgOZrEg

[Loki]

and Kobe guarded Rondo so they had cross-mathups...I seriously thought people on ish were basketball smart, but it appears not.

:oldlol:

[SirLaker]

:oldlol:
Do you need me to explain what a cross-matchup is? Do I need to elaborate on how Don Nelson first started the trend?

[Scott Pippen]

troof.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=anoqbgOZrEg

yes kobe is best we know, but many NBA players have same confidence about themselves:applause:

[Loki]

Do you need me to explain what a cross-matchup is? Do I need to elaborate on how Don Nelson first started the trend?

:oldlol:

Allow me to reiterate:


Kobe fans will convince themselves of anything.

[mmsupra]

:roll: @THE TRUTH

[Burgz]

WOWWWW...my boss actually saw this interview take place, it was near the yorkville club in toronto

my boss is Portuguese, and is fluent in french, portuguese, spanish and italian, so he understood everything Pierce said. He told me and i didnt believe him...

...damn

[Chrono90]

Pierce is the best player on the planet?

he's not even the best player on his own team...

true. KG is better than him. KG plays a bigger impact.

[Diesel J]

and Kobe guarded Rondo so they had cross-mathups...I seriously thought people on ish were basketball smart, but it appears not.

....what are you talking about?:hammerhead:

[shaoyut]

true. KG is better than him. KG plays a bigger impact.
kg is the best on celtics

[Jimmy2k8]

Somebody HAS to make a New General Kobe Thread. I am getting tired of these incoming Kobe threads. atleast with the old General Kobe thread, the amount of Kobe threads decreased by 3.

[gpfanz]

Kobe cant handle The Truth?

[dafunkphenom]

.......

edit:not to mention Pierce talking about conceited...calling yourself the best is conceited..Kobe has never once proclaimed himself the best. He just is.
Bump

[Emeka Okafor xD]

kg is the best on celtics

lol no... look at the 4th quarter in the playoffs, if it wasnt for pierce you guys would of been gonae fishing

[Resurrection]

Paul Pierce is not even a Top 15 player in the NBA, let alone anywhere near Kobe's level. Who cares if he won Finals MVP? Chauncey won it in '04.....does it make him better than Kobe too? :oldlol:

Players clearly better than Paul Pierce (no particular order):

Kobe
Duncan
Dwight
Deron
Paul
Wade
James
Bosh
Garnett
Durant
Roy
Amare
Melo
Ming
Nash

[Loki]

Paul Pierce played great, consistent defense in the Finals. That's what makes him a leader, and what makes him unquestionably the best player in the universe right now.

[Killer_Instinct]

Paul Pierce played consistent defense in the Finals. That's what makes him a leader, and what makes him unquestionably the best player in the universe right now.


http://assets.espn.go.com/i/magazine/new/shaq_kobe_bench.jpg


What the ****? Are you serious?

[Luigi]

A lot of foreign papers have zero cred and misquote people regularly.

[BrianScalabrine]

Pierce is better than Kobe, Billups is better than Kobe, Iverson is better than Kobe, T Mac is better than Kobe, Dirk is better than Kobe, Gasol is better than Kobe, Lebron is better than Kobe, I could go on.

[Loki]

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/magazine/new/shaq_kobe_bench.jpg


What the ****? Are you serious?

:)

Go read his post in the Team USA thread. I do find it funny that dude would make a comment like he did in that thread when Kobe was nowhere to be found defensively when it mattered, in the Finals. Mostly I was just mocking him.

[Scott Pippen]

:)

Go read his post in the Team USA thread. I do find it funny that dude would make a comment like he did in that thread when Kobe was nowhere to be found defensively when it mattered, in the Finals. Mostly I was just mocking him.

ressurection = Poseidon

[eliteballer]

Ya LOCO, Kobe had no impact defensively when the opposing coach said he's the best team defender he's seen since Pippen:oldlol:

[Loki]

Ya LOCO, Kobe had no impact defensively when the opposing coach said he's the best team defender he's seen since Pippen:oldlol:

And suckers like you lap it up, too. Sad that anyone in their right mind would actually believe that.

Kobe is a pretty poor team defender. Numerous videos were posted from the Finals that show him completely oblivious to what is going on around him. But yeah, I'll listen to Rivers over my own two eyes.

[imlmf]

Kobe nor Lebron have ever led a team to the title. Pierce has a finals mvp and did so against both players.

so chauncey billups was the best player on earth the year they won championship?

[HANNIBAL SMITH]

Any idiot could have played 12-13 feet off Rondo and "made him a jumpshooter." It didn't require the services of a first-team defender whose supposed "talents" could have been put to better use elsewhere. They could have subbed in the exhumed corpse of George Peppard and he could have done the same thing.

Plain and simple: Kobe was hidden on defense for much of the series while the two players in his size/position range (Allen and Pierce) lit up the Lakers. Kobe was also hidden on Bowen for the majority of the SA series. I think he guarded Manu for a while in game 4 or so because the talk that he was being hidden on D was becoming loud. I guess he wanted to make sure that Manu's ankle was totally fucced before he stepped up to the plate. :oldlol:



:oldlol: Kobe hidden on defense because he couldn't guard pierce or allen? Considering the options that the Lakers have on their roster, all i have to say is Are you fuccin serious? Come on now, i know it's your daily duty to hate on Kobe while succkin off Jordan in the process, but come on now.... It doesn't take a all nba defender to guard rondo if you have a guy that can somewhat stay in front of him, not letting him get into the paint at will setting up the Celtics offense and actually can attack rondo offensively, the Lakers were practically left no choice but to put Kobe on Rondo.

Derek Fisher as well as Farmar were getting burned by Rondo repeatedly, fisher at 33 doesn't have the foot speed to stay with Rondo and Farmar defense is poorish, the guy looked like Magic Johnson out there those first two games of the series for criss sakes. Kobe wouldn't of needed to guard Rondo had Fisher and Farmar were effective doing so, since they weren't, they had to put Kobe on him to slow down the Celtics offense, and it was working till that 3rd quarter of game 4 when the Celtics smartened up.

And speaking of Pierce, Kobe D'd him up better than ANYONE on the Lakers roster when he guarded him, you cant even deny that one. You act like Pierce was scoring at will against Kobe which is completely a bunch of baby back bullsh!t. And i hardly remember Kobe ever guarding Ray in the finals, maybe on a couple of possessions, but he didn't guard him entirely. Plus you don't want Kobe to exert all his energy chasing Allen around picks 24-7 if I'm the lakers.


And speaking of the San Antonio series. Every time the Lakers have played the Spurs ( going back ever since Bruce joined San Antonio), Kobe has guarded Bruce and vice versa almost 95% of the time. So i don't know where you really going with that statement. Why in the hell would Kobe need to guard Manu? A hurt manu at that? So he can show you hators that he can guard him? You can miss me with that bullsh!t. Sasha was already taking care of him in that department, and by the way, the Lakers won the series in FIVE GAMES.

With all that said, no matter what Ray Allen did, the Lakers needed to contain Pierce, and that wasn't happening with him being guarded by Walton and Radmonovic. Me personally i would of let Trevor Ariza guard Rondo or Allen while putting Bryant on Pierce in crunch time, but hey i guess thats on Phil.

[HANNIBAL SMITH]

Hannibal Smith got taken to school.


:oldlol: Get off loki's nuts.

[catquickspider]

pierce shot 43% being guarded by rad and walton, arguably the worst players to ever play in a fianls (walton) and the worst starter for a finals team (rad) :lol

he had like 1 jumper in Kobe's face which was magnified due to the celtics comeback

Kobe was guarded by basically the whole celtics team, which was led by KG
even posey played better defense than pierce

but this does not matter as the celtics will not repeat next year with their most clutch players retired or wearing a hornets uniform :pimp:

[iamgine]

[url]
Q: "Having so many superstars, what's the reason of the failure of USA , in FIBA championships? Is Kobe Bryant the best player of the planet right now? Thanks and congratulations for the ring deserved"

A: "I don't think Kobe is the best, I am the best. There's a line that separates having trust in yourself of being arrogant. I don't cross that line, but i trust a lot in myself"


lol no way Pierce meant to say this kind of ****.

Either the paper misquote, we missing the context, the translation is wrong or Pierce was just kidding around.

[nycelt84]

Paul Pierce is not even a Top 15 player in the NBA, let alone anywhere near Kobe's level. Who cares if he won Finals MVP? Chauncey won it in '04.....does it make him better than Kobe too? :oldlol:

Players clearly better than Paul Pierce (no particular order):

Kobe
Duncan
Dwight
Deron
Paul
Wade
James
Bosh
Garnett
Durant
Roy
Amare
Melo
Ming
Nash

Pierce is better than Nash, Roy, Durant, Bosh, Deron, and Dwight.

[Lebron23]

I love the Los Angeles Lakers franchise, but this newbie Lakers fans give this team a bad repped. :(

[It's A VC3!!!]

Paul Pierce is not even a Top 15 player in the NBA, let alone anywhere near Kobe's level. Who cares if he won Finals MVP? Chauncey won it in '04.....does it make him better than Kobe too? :oldlol:

Players clearly better than Paul Pierce (no particular order):

Kobe
Duncan
Dwight
Deron
Paul
Wade
James
Bosh
Garnett
Durant
Roy
Amare
Melo
Ming
Nash

$hit if you put Roy on the list where the He11 is Carter?:wtf:

[MaxFly]

Gotta love when all people do is quote a tag given to me by a biased mod.

The mods don't have the ability to create tags for members of this forum. That tag was given to you by the forum administrator.

[Kiddlovesnets]

According to the performance in 2008 NBA final, Paul Pierce is telling the truth.

[Diesel J]

Paul Pierce is not even a Top 15 player in the NBA, let alone anywhere near Kobe's level. Who cares if he won Finals MVP? Chauncey won it in '04.....does it make him better than Kobe too? :oldlol:

Players clearly better than Paul Pierce (no particular order):

Kobe
Duncan
Dwight
Deron
Paul
Wade
James
Bosh
Garnett
Durant
Roy
Amare
Melo
Ming
Nash


KObe is a choker Poseidon, deal with it!:oldlol:

[TruthKGRay3412]

Players clearly better than Paul Pierce (no particular order):

Kobe-No
Duncan-Yes
Dwight-No
Deron-No
Paul-Yes
Wade-No
James-Yes
Bosh-:oldlol:
Garnett-Yes
Durant-:oldlol:
Roy- :oldlol:
Amare-No
Melo-:oldlol:
Ming-No
Nash-No

fixed.

[BIGSHOT]

:oldlol: at these pathetic MJ fanboys.:oldlol:

[BIZARRO]

Paul Pierce is not even a Top 15 player in the NBA, let alone anywhere near Kobe's level. Who cares if he won Finals MVP? Chauncey won it in '04.....does it make him better than Kobe too? :oldlol:

Players clearly better than Paul Pierce (no particular order):

Kobe
Duncan
Dwight
Deron
Paul
Wade
James
Bosh
Garnett
Durant
Roy
Amare
Melo
Ming
Nash


Clearly better? From this list, only Kobe, Duncan, Paul, (a healthy) Wade, James, and Garnett.

Better? Probably Amare, Dwight, Deron. Maybe Melo and Nash. I'd throw Dirk in the probably category as well.

I think Pierce falls in the 10-15 range and has for quite some time.

But a Kobe comparison is pretty ridiculous IMO. If Pierce had to go against the Celtic's D, and Kobe against Sasha, etc. it would have been a way different story. Kobe is clearly better IMO.

I can't believe I'm defending Kobe Bryant so much on here lately, ha. :D

[BIZARRO]

:oldlol: at these pathetic MJ fanboys.:oldlol:

This pathetic MJ fanboy is actually defending your guy in this case. :cheers:

Don't get used to it. :D

[Samurai Swoosh]

Go read his post in the Team USA thread. I do find it funny that dude would make a comment like he did in that thread when Kobe was nowhere to be found defensively when it mattered, in the Finals. Mostly I was just mocking him.
I'll agree with '08 not being Kobe's most dominant year, but he totally put hand cuffs on Paul Pierce in one game of the Finals. I do remember that.

[BIGSHOT]

This pathetic MJ fanboy is actually defending your guy in this case. :cheers:

Don't get used to it. :D
I was talking about diesel and loki.those guys are :lol

[Loki]

:oldlol: Kobe hidden on defense because he couldn't guard pierce or allen? Considering the options that the Lakers have on their roster, all i have to say is Are you fuccin serious? Come on now, i know it's your daily duty to hate on Kobe while succkin off Jordan in the process, but come on now.... It doesn't take a all nba defender to guard rondo if you have a guy that can somewhat stay in front of him, not letting him get into the paint at will setting up the Celtics offense and actually can attack rondo offensively, the Lakers were practically left no choice but to put Kobe on Rondo.

Listen to what you're saying. This is ridiculous. You're saying that LA had no one who could stay in front of Rondo (never mind the fact that Rondo's penetration wasn't what was killing LA, it was Pierce and Allen), yet then Kobe switches on him and proceeds to play 12-13 feet off him at all times. You mean to tell me that no other Laker could have stayed in front of Rondo if they played 13 feet off him (which Fisher was not doing)? :oldlol: Hell, I could stay in front of Rondo if I played the way Kobe did. I think my father could, too. Perhaps my grandfather as well.

You ever play basketball? No one is getting by you if you sag off 12-13 feet and maintain that distance as they close the gap. No one. I don't care if you're 300 pounds and the offensive player is prime AI. Anyone could have played the gimmick defense Kobe was playing, and Kobe's alleged "talents" could have been put to better use elsewhere.


Derek Fisher as well as Farmar were getting burned by Rondo repeatedly, fisher at 33 doesn't have the foot speed to stay with Rondo and Farmar defense is poorish

What kind of revisionist bullsh!t is this? :oldlol: Burned by Rondo? Rondo's penetration was not an issue the first few games. That's not what was hurting the Lakers. Yet you now make like it was to act like having your supposed "best defender" on Rondo was necessary.

And again, I have to LOL @ your comments. Farmar and Fish couldn't have played the gimmick "stand back 13 feet" defense that Kobe was playing and stay in front of Rondo? Let's get real dude... :oldlol:


And speaking of Pierce, Kobe D'd him up better than ANYONE on the Lakers roster when he guarded him, you cant even deny that one.

You're asking me which flavor of sh!t tastes better. Kobe may have done the best job out of the Laker defenders, but he got roasted just like the rest. Big deal. Is that supposed to be some sort of moral victory? :oldlol: And he was too chickensh!t to stay on either of them for even one entire game, much less the series, despite those being his natural positions to guard, and despite Allen and Pierce (not Rondo) being the ones who were lighting up LA.


And i hardly remember Kobe ever guarding Ray in the finals, maybe on a couple of possessions, but he didn't guard him entirely.

Uhhh...ever heard of "begging the question"?


And speaking of the San Antonio series. Every time the Lakers have played the Spurs ( going back ever since Bruce joined San Antonio), Kobe has guarded Bruce and vice versa almost 95% of the time. So i don't know where you really going with that statement.

All that means is that he's been hidden in the past as well. Why would your best defender (and no one was even close to Kobe before Ariza came) guard the worst offensive player?


the Lakers needed to contain Pierce, and that wasn't happening with him being guarded by Walton and Radmonovic.

Then why were they on him? Why didn't Kobe step up to the plate? It's easy to blame Walton and Radmanovic, but for Kobe the excuses flow like water.

[Loki]

The mods don't have the ability to create tags for members of this forum. That tag was given to you by the forum administrator.

Whoop-de-doo. Point stands. Allow me to correct myself, then:

Gotta love when all people do is quote a tag given to me by a biased administrator.

[guy]

lol no... look at the 4th quarter in the playoffs, if it wasnt for pierce you guys would of been gonae fishing

If it wasn't for KG, they would've lost in the first or 2nd round, cause PP and Ray were playing like sh!t.

[guy]

Paul Pierce is not even a Top 15 player in the NBA, let alone anywhere near Kobe's level. Who cares if he won Finals MVP? Chauncey won it in '04.....does it make him better than Kobe too? :oldlol:

Players clearly better than Paul Pierce (no particular order):

Kobe
Duncan
Dwight
Deron
Paul
Wade
James
Bosh
Garnett
Durant
Roy
Amare
Melo
Ming
Nash

This is absolutely ridiculous. Durant and Roy? LOL. I would say he's also better then Bosh, Melo, Nash, and Deron.

[Samurai Swoosh]

But I mean this is all moot ... the best player in the game is either LeBron James or Chris Paul, IMO.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Do you not understand that when Jackson puts Kobe on Rondo, he gets more leeway to play the passing lanes and help/weakside defense?
And it worked out so well.

Either Bryant was being preserved or Phil Jackson is a stupid coach. It should be extremely obvious to anyone simply by looking at the results that the biggest offensive weapons the Cs had vs. LA. were their #2 scorer and the Finals MVP. Not Rajon Rondo, who wasn't even healthy for two of the games and everyone knows can't hit a jumper past 18 feet. You do not send a first team All-D swingman at a pg with no jumper that averages something like 9 points when he's got to all-stars across from him at the wing positions unless you don't think that player can make a significant difference against one of the two all-star wings. And in this case, much like how PJ used to put Pip on the opposition's best scorer instead of MJ (look, see guys? I'm even making a Jordan comparison for you!) Jackson probably figured that it'd be better to preserve Bryant for carrying the offensive end than to burn his energy guarding a player (Pierce or Allen) that he wasn't going to stop anyway.

[guy]

And it worked out so well.

Either Bryant was being preserved or Phil Jackson is a stupid coach. It should be extremely obvious to anyone simply by looking at the results that the biggest offensive weapons the Cs had vs. LA. were their #2 scorer and the Finals MVP. Not Rajon Rondo, who wasn't even healthy for two of the games and everyone knows can't hit a jumper past 18 feet. You do not send a first team All-D swingman at a pg with no jumper that averages something like 9 points when he's got to all-stars across from him at the wing positions unless you don't think that player can make a significant difference against one of the two all-star wings. And in this case, much like how PJ used to put Pip on the opposition's best scorer instead of MJ (look, see guys? I'm even making a Jordan comparison for you!) Jackson probably figured that it'd be better to preserve Bryant for carrying the offensive end than to burn his energy guarding a player (Pierce or Allen) that he wasn't going to stop anyway.

Exactly. Remember though, Jordan did often still guard the best scorer. Players like Drexler and Reggie were guarded by Jordan.

Anyway, if Kobe playing the passing lanes was a good move and required Kobe's "elite defense" then why isn't someone like AI considered an elite defender? Cause he basically does the same thing and averages a lot of steals doing it.

[Loki]

Anyway, if Kobe playing the passing lanes was a good move and required Kobe's "elite defense" then why isn't someone like AI considered an elite defender? Cause he basically does the same thing and averages a lot of steals doing it.

The best part is that they act like Kobe is some sort of world-beater in terms of team/help defense. Dude is average in those areas.

[dr8ked]

damn , That Was Brutal Truth, He's Better Than Kobe

[Diesel J]

Jackson probably figured that it'd be better to preserve Bryant for carrying the offensive end than to burn his energy guarding a player (Pierce or Allen) that he wasn't going to stop anyway.

exactly what I said earlier. Kobe couldn't slow down Pierce or Allen when he did guard so Phil figured it was best to not let Kobe guard them so he could save his energy for offense. Just more prrof of why Kobe's so-called first teamer dfense is overrated.

[Da_Realist]

And in this case, much like how PJ used to put Pip on the opposition's best scorer instead of MJ (look, see guys? I'm even making a Jordan comparison for you!) Jackson probably figured that it'd be better to preserve Bryant for carrying the offensive end than to burn his energy guarding a player (Pierce or Allen) that he wasn't going to stop anyway.

When? The only situation that I remember like this was during the 1996 ECF against Orlando when Pippen guarded Penny Hardaway mostly because MJ was no longer in his prime. And I'm sure MJ guarded him quite a bit anyway.

Any other situation where Pippen guarded the other team's best offensive player instead of MJ? Bonus points if you can come up with one pre-1996.

[SirLaker]

Exactly. Remember though, Jordan did often still guard the best scorer. Players like Drexler and Reggie were guarded by Jordan.

Anyway, if Kobe playing the passing lanes was a good move and required Kobe's "elite defense" then why isn't someone like AI considered an elite defender? Cause he basically does the same thing and averages a lot of steals doing it.
But Kobe's not Jordan. And for Kobe to play at his best offensively he can't be called upon to play tough defense at the same time like he used to. Kobe is not in the physical shape he was in let's say Pre-2006.

[SirLaker]

damn , That Was Brutal Truth, He's Better Than Kobe
:oldlol:

[BrianScalabrine]

Let's just end this thread by stating the facts:

1. P Jax was exposed - he can't really coach - he was just a lucky SOB.
2. Pierce is better than Kobe.

Thank you. Let's move on.

/thread

[SirLaker]

Let's just end this thread by stating the facts:

1. P Jax was exposed - he can't really coach - he was just a lucky SOB.
2. Pierce is better than Kobe.

Thank you. Let's move on.

/thread
Pierce had a better series. But let's not forget his team around him was one of the greatest defensive teams in history. Kobe was playing with a horrible defensive team and was very poor on the screen and rolls Pierce was flourishing on. Pierce is not a better player than Kobe. He just had a defensive team around him to back him up and play 4 on 1 guarding Kobe.

[Loki]

When? The only situation that I remember like this was during the 1996 ECF against Orlando when Pippen guarded Penny Hardaway mostly because MJ was no longer in his prime. And I'm sure MJ guarded him quite a bit anyway.

Any other situation where Pippen guarded the other team's best offensive player instead of MJ? Bonus points if you can come up with one pre-1996.

It never happened. Pippen guarded opposing SF's with 3 exceptions in 10 years: Penny in the '96 ECF, whom he guarded about 70% of the time; Mark Jackson in the '98 ECF; and Magic in the '91 Finals, whom he guarded for about 50% of the series along with Jordan. Aside from those three exceptions, Pippen guarded SF's (and it should be noted that two of those exceptions had SF size anyway, and the third was a 52 year old player who couldn't drive by a parked car, so Pippen was able to disrupt his vision easily). So if the best offensive player on the opposing team was a SF, Pippen likely took them. If they were a SG or combo guard, Jordan took them. Jordan would also occasionally take PG's like KJ/Timbug/Price when they were burning BJ/Paxson (Pippen didn't).

[Da_Realist]

It never happened. Pippen guarded opposing SF's with 3 exceptions in 10 years: Penny in the '96 ECF, whom he guarded about 70% of the time; Mark Jackson in the '98 ECF; and Magic in the '91 Finals, whom he guarded for about 50% of the series along with Jordan. Aside from those three exceptions, Pippen guarded SF's (and it should be noted that two of those exceptions had SF size anyway, and the third was a 52 year old player who couldn't drive by a parked car, so Pippen was able to disrupt his vision easily). So if the best offensive player on the opposing team was a SF, Pippen likely took them. If they were a SG or combo guard, Jordan took them. Jordan would also occasionally take PG's like KJ/Timbug/Price when they were burning BJ/Paxson (Pippen didn't).

Yep. That's what I thought. I heard that "myth" all through the Finals this year (that Phil saved MJ on defense) to justify Kobe. I don't remember Phil and the coaching staff ever hiding MJ on defense. Maybe a couple of times Pippen was the better defensive matchup for some taller players but I don't remember the coaching staff hiding MJ at all.

He guarded Reggie Miller (who made a living running off screens) in the 1998 ECF and did a good job on him. Who is harder to defend? Mark Jackson or Reggie Miller? Of course it's Reggie Miller. That doesn't mean Phil was hiding Pippen either. It was just the better matchup. Both had to man up on defense. And it's not like MJ couldn't guard Mark Jackson. If he can lock up Isiah Thomas, he could contain Mark Jackson.

I believe the two had different defensive styles. Pippen played a more physical "bumping, body-checking" style than MJ, who played more "get down in the defensive stance and use quickness to disrupt and force opponent into difficult areas of the floor" defense. Pippen's style worked better on bigger players like Magic and Penny who could see over MJ (especially when crouching in defensive stance). Jordan's style worked better on players like Clyde Drexler and Isiah Thomas who were too quick for Pippen to body.

[Kobe4Pres]

But I mean this is all moot ... the best player in the game is either LeBron James or Chris Paul, IMO.

hater, clearly its kobe, the MVP!

[Diesel J]

fixed.

A healthy Wade is better than Pierce though..he's also better than Kobe when healthy

[Samurai Swoosh]

hater, clearly its kobe, the MVP!
Not IMO, bro. 2002 - 2003, 2005 - 2006, 2006 - 2007, I could definetely roll with you on that. 2007 - 2008? Was def. not his best year as an individual player. I think LeBron James and Chris Paul had much more impact at an individual level. But that's just me. But, it's not like you're biased or anything, given your nickname.

:)

But please, don't call me a Kobe hater. You don't know me. In fact, I'm a HUGE Kobe fan. Just ask anyone around here. That doesn't mean however that I can't be objective from time to time.

Your argument is Kobe won the MVP trophy, so therefore he was the best player? Ummm, using that logic would you agree that Dirk Nowitzki was the best player the year before that because he won the MVP award? Yeah, I didn't think so. The MVP trophy hasn't been an accurate gauge of who the best player in the game is for quite sometime.

[gpfanz]

hater, clearly its kobe, the MVP!

Hater! its Ginobili my MVP!