who thinks Kobe is still the best player on the Lakers?

I don't think he would be the "best" per se. I mean, I guess it would depend on what night you're asking me.

You see, I see kobe in a different light than some. Kobe starts games hot. He goes like 8-11 in the first half for like 20 points.

Then they start the second and they go away from kobe, and Then lakers lose the lead Kobe tries to continue what he did in the first half and misses like 5 shots in a row. Then he makes 1, and misses 1, then makes another. Then he'll miss 3 in a row and then make 1.

Some shit like that and ends with 33 points on 11-25 shooting.

Idk, I blame it on the looks he's getting. During the game, hes older now, so he gets tired. He doesnt have a point guard and the rest of the team is weak, so defenses really gear up for him.

NOW, with Dwight and Nash, I'm looking for kobe's averages to stay the same with his fg% to go up to 47%. The way he isnt going to be doubled, and defenses have to worry about 4 guys and he can finally get HIS REST in. (LAST SEASON MIKE BROWN PLAYED KOBE THE WHOLE GAME BECAUSE 1. THEY WOULD LOSE WITHOUT HIM ON THE FLOOR, AND 2. NO BACK UP)

so, it would depend on the night. On most nights, dwight is our best player. BUT HE ISNT OUR BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER. He will be easily the most efficient but he IS NOT going to get you 50 points a night no matter HOW MANY times he shoots.

So, when its all said and done, It depends on the night, But kobe, being the type of player he is, with the mentality he has, will still be the leader.

[QUOTE=LamarOdom]So Kobe's playoff stats and RS stats is better, on top of that he is a better defender, playmaker etc. but still you think [B]Melo is better than him?[/B][/QUOTE]
I believe moving forward into this season, he will be.

Look, I'm not by any means a fan or Carmelo or his game. Let me be very clear. My opinion is based on Melo's age advantage. Kobe has been in the NBA 7 years longer than Melo. Nobody can beat father time.

This is just another good test to determine who is a Kobe fan and who is a Lakers fan.

Strange as it sounds, I think if Kobe averages less points on a higher efficiency, he will be the best player.

Give Dwight the keys to scoring.

[QUOTE=CTulc]Strange as it sounds, I think if Kobe averages less points on a higher efficiency, he will be the best player.

Give Dwight the keys to scoring.[/QUOTE]
Call me crazy, but I think Pau should be Nash's #1 scoring option.

I think the combination of Nash & Pau is going to be serious. That will free Kobe up too.

[QUOTE=NumberSix]Call me crazy, but I think Pau should be Nash's #1 scoring option.

I think the combination of Nash & Pau is going to be serious. That will free Kobe up too.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I have a friend who tells me all the time about how pumped he is to see those Gasol/Nash pick n rolls.

I think Wade will go back to being top 5-7 this season, he has lot of time to rest and get healthy. His numbers won't be higher though, he gave the team to Lebron and now they got their recipe for success. Spo/Riley will also like usual not try too hard in the regular season. His efficiency will be up though.

Same for Kobe, higher efficiency with Nash and Howard, but lower numbers. They will both be in that 5-7 spot.

If Dwight recovers well from his back surgrey, and is healthy, he has the biggest impact on both ends.

Until we've seen them all played together, I'm giving Kobe the benefit of the doubt for now. He's still the best player for now, until Howard demonstrates he's better

Dwight has been better than Kobe these last 2 years, imo. It's hard to predict how Kobe will play at 34 years old, though.

I am wondering how this lineup will work, what kind of roles each players will be in. And how will Kobe approach the game playing with so many scoring options? I didn't really like how much he held the ball and overdribbled last year, particularly to work for his own shot. But that was to be expected in Mike Brown's offense, and considering he was their only perimeter threat, I can understand it. There really won't be a reason for him to try to do that much this season, though.

[QUOTE=28renyoy]Dwight got to the finals with scrubs. Kobe couldn't get out of the first round with scrubs. 23 year old Dwight>prime Kobe[/QUOTE]

Scrubs= most overused word on ISH

Dwight's '09 Magic were talented. Aside from 2-time all-star Rashard(who was an all-star that year), they had Turkoglu, who played better in '08 than '09, but wasn't far from all-star level. Pretty much in the same tier as Lewis. The rest of their rotation was role players, some quite good such as Pietrus, but pretty much all of them at the level of NBA role players.

I don't agree with the people who claim Dwight is the 3rd best player in the NBA.

[QUOTE=28renyoy]Dwight got to the finals with scrubs. Kobe couldn't get out of the first round with scrubs. 23 year old Dwight>prime Kobe[/QUOTE]
And just like lebron carried scrubs to the finals, he faced at least one. 500 team.

How many has Kobe faced?

[QUOTE=CTulc]I don't agree with the people who claim Dwight is the 3rd best player in the NBA.[/QUOTE]

then who is?

[QUOTE=swag2011]then who is?[/QUOTE]

I suppose I should hold my tounge, since this is all dependent on next year. I just get the feeling there are a few players who could take that spot such as CP3, maybe westbrook, or wade/Kobe (both need to have bounceback years with better efficiency.) and believe it or not if Rondo comes back with a new attitude I could see him as well.

[QUOTE=CTulc]I don't agree with the people who claim Dwight is the 3rd best player in the NBA.[/QUOTE]
I don't either, he's the 2nd best

[QUOTE=RRR3]I don't either, he's the 2nd best[/QUOTE]

I'm not going to even bother... But I guess I should ask why?

[QUOTE=CTulc]I'm not going to even bother... But I guess I should ask why?[/QUOTE]
I feel he has the second most impact behind LeBron, he and LBJ are the only guys (besides MAYBE CP3) you put on basically any team and they make the playoffs. :confusedshrug: I may be underrating Durant but he just doesn't seem as impactful as his stats suggest to me. That said, I have no problem with people ranking KD 2nd in the NBA.

[QUOTE=RRR3]I feel he has the second most impact behind LeBron, he and LBJ are the only guys (besides MAYBE CP3) you put on basically any team and they make the playoffs. :confusedshrug: I may be underrating Durant but he just doesn't seem as impactful as his stats suggest to me. That said, I have no problem with people ranking KD 2nd in the NBA.[/QUOTE]
I think Dwight is easily > Durant.

Durant is a good player, but let's be honest here. A lot of it is hype. Most people were picking him to be the MVP last year before the season even started. That is the definition of rating a player not on performance but on nothing but hype.

I still think Dwight are CP3 better than Durant without it even being very close.

Dwight, Kobe is getting too old and lost a step or two.

[QUOTE=RRR3]I don't either, he's the 2nd best[/QUOTE]

He's right there

2nd or 3rd take your pick.

Dwight was arguably the second best player in the league two years ago. He was top five last year despite playing with a bad back. Kobe's still got it, but he's probably top 5-10. Edge to Dwight.

Really this pairing is like Pierce and KG a couple years ago. KG may be the best player on the squad, but it's still Pierce's team.

Dwight is by far the best defensive player (anchor) in the league, at the top of the list at rebounding, and gives you 20(+) points a night. (aka the best player on the Lakers) Kobe Bryant is the perfect player for this phrase: "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". He's going to jack up ill advised jump shots like he always has, he's got too much trek on those tires, he has too many nagging pains, he is too old to get to the rim regularly, and is frankly too stupid to change the way he plays and allow himself to get easier looks at the basket and shots created by having the talents of Nash, Howard and Gasol on the team.

Oh there is no doubt that he will take the most shots on the team by a wide margin...he's ****ing Kobe Bryant. Jacking up jump shots is in his blood. When it comes down to it though, Howard doesn't need many shots to get his 20 or so points and their point differential won't be separated by all that much. Howard gets to the ft line more than anyone else by a HUGE MARGIN. Over the last five years he's gotten to the line over 10 times a game and on as little as 10 field goal attempts. Nash can only help Howard get easier shots at the basket too. I am interested to see what Gasol will do as switching Bynum for Howard really doesn't change all that much at least the way Mike Brown was running the offense. Howard is still going to be the one down in the paint the majority of the time with Gasol stuck on the perimeter AGAIN where he doesn't belong at all with his terrific post game. He is so wasted in the Mike Brown offense. As a Celtic fan I just smirk and say: Hey you want to waste your players, waste your players. As a fan of the game though, I hate to see how wasted a player like Gasol is on the Lakers now.

Dwight is the best player but Kobe is still the leader of this team. he will lead all Laker players in chucking. count on that!