12/22/24
October 15, 2004
Ray Allen speaks his mind about Kobe: Yup, the Sonics and Lakers battling it out for 11th place in the West this year will definitely be more interesting to watch.
posted by platocave to basketball at 07:12 AM - 17 comments
As a Lakers fan, you pray for an early elimination from the playoffs and a high lottery pick.
posted by chicobangs at 10:49 AM on October 15, 2004
And as a Laker hater, I hope for exactly the same thing. Only I also hope that that lottery pick doesn't pan out.
posted by chicobangs at 11:04 AM on October 15, 2004
I would agree with the comments so far about Kobe. I really dont want to watch the man play ball. You know that we will still be bombarded with Lakers games on National TV. All because Kobe is the "star". One man doesnt make a team. There are so many other player to put the spot light on. The NBA doesnt need another MJ wanna-be aka KOBE.
posted by daddisamm at 11:37 AM on October 15, 2004
"but I can provide a more succinct version" The Lakers won a few championships and then yadda yadda yadda, Kobe's the man because Shaq got traded.
posted by jasonspaceman at 12:13 PM on October 15, 2004
Why don't they televise more Pistons games? I rarely follow basketball, but went out of my way to find a TV to watch the Pistons in last year's playoffs. It was a blast to watch them enthusiastically take apart the Lakers. Memo to the networks: Team basketball is fun.
posted by rocketman at 12:55 PM on October 15, 2004
I expect a lot of the problem is that television coverage isn't structured in such a way that you could follow a developing story within a league. All the agreements have to be in place well in advance; they're not at liberty to say, "Gee, the Lakers are looking extremely tired this year, but there's an interesting development with the Nuggets, so why don't we make that the Game of the Week instead?" Ain't just a basketball thing...and it's why print will never die.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:20 PM on October 15, 2004
True dat, rocketman- it'll be a shame if they don't put more Pistons games on the schedule. That's supposed to be one of the spoils of victory, after all: more exposure, more hype. Kobe: what can you say? Fuckin' prick. Selfish, narcissistic, and with that almost Bushian little self-satisfied smirk. Look, MJ was arrogant as all get-out, and from what we hear not always the kindest of teammates- but when he was unkind, it was to get more out of his teammates, not just to belittle them for his own ego. Unlike Kobe he could play, and that means he could dominate or dish it out as the situation called for. Personally, I've become a huge Shaq fan in the off-season. I'd love to see the sleeping giant wake, see Heat go far in the playoffs and most especially watch the Lakers falter. :)
posted by hincandenza at 01:25 PM on October 15, 2004
The championships were won because of Kobe's slashing and Shaq's inside presence. Yin and yang, with triangular balance from the Zen Master. Kobe's going to be missing that yang real soon now, except he's so blind to the facts that he'll go it alone even more. Predictions: Odom will get depressed and start smoking dope again. Butler will keep banging, but never get the ball. Floppy will go weeks without shaving or showering. Luke Walton will sit on the bench because the team already has about 15 small forwards. Chucky Atkins will get stressed out by Kobe and go complete male pattern bald. Kobe will force a shot every possession. The Lakers will miss the playoffs.
posted by dusted at 01:33 PM on October 15, 2004
Hey, I feel a lot of hate on some comments here, the thruth is that Kobe has a lot talent and for those of you who don't remember, this guy was playing his heart out eventhough his team was on the hill of the loser's land in last years finals. If the guy can play then LE HIM BE!. SHAQ LOOSE SOME LBS PLEASE AND IF YOU WANT THE BALL MAKE SURE YOU CAN MAKE THE FREE THROWS PLEASE, HOW MANY YEARS YOU HAVE IN THE LEAGUE ALREADY AND BY THE WAY GROW UP!.
posted by LROD at 01:56 PM on October 15, 2004
The one thing I like about Shaq that I haven't seen from Kobe (or MJ) is a willingness to make commercials and PSAs in which he's the butt of the joke. That's a definite sign of coolness.
posted by billsaysthis at 02:15 PM on October 15, 2004
Okay, LROD. If you decide to ever post again or even read this, welcome to Spofi. Now. To address your points. No one, even his biggest haters, has said Kobe can't play. I've said that he's come off as selfish. The link at the top of the thread goes to an interview with Ray Allen (who, since you asked, has as many years in the league as Kobe does), who is disturbed by the fact that Kobe's spending more time on giving attitude than on making his team better, which separates him from the game's true greats, especially Michael Jordan. Jordan was a prick, but at his best he was way better than Kobe, even in pure skills, and most importantly, he never forgot that winning was the only thing that really mattered. What else. Right. Shaq. 'm not a huge Shaq fan neither, but by all accounts, he's lost a ton of weight, and is getting on very well with his new teammates. (Have you checked his stats lately, LROD? His free-throw percentage has improved every year. It's no longer a liability.) Shaq has as big a chip on his shoulder as Kobe has, but what team do you think is going to win more games this year? Also, there's no need to shout.
posted by chicobangs at 02:37 PM on October 15, 2004
Welcome to SpoFi, LROD. Next time please use lower case and proof your sentences for spelling and structure. No, I don't hate Kobe, but I sure as hell don't like him. He has the skills to be a big part of a championship team, but he no longer has the teammates or the desire to have the teammates. He wants to win a championship on his own, and that's impossible. Teams will double and triple-team him and I guarantee you he will try to fight through them rather than pass to a teammate. His free-throw percentage has improved every year. It's no longer a liability. I'm gonna have to... disagree with you on that one.
posted by dusted at 03:57 PM on October 15, 2004
It should be a good year for the NBA with the New alignments. I just hope the Shag and Kobe feud doesnt over shadow the races that should devlope.
posted by daddisamm at 04:00 PM on October 15, 2004
First of all thanks for the welcome guys. OKay chicobangs do not compare Michael Jordan who by the way is the best player ever to play the game into this eloquent argument, no player gets close to Mike in terms of skills or respect to the game which we don’t have a lot of nowadays, and even for Jordan was hard to understand that a team means two or more people. Ray Allen is a great player and I respect him a lot but a little bit of competition does not hurt, I tell you this because Basketball is a very tough sport to play and some players may find more energy when they are challenged by others, in the other hand Kobe needs to understand the word TEAM and the meanings of it originations to be a champion but give him time. Dusted, thanks for the lower case thing and sentencing spelling but please don’t ever forget the verb AM that goes in front of I, so we can understand you better. Kobe Bryan is a great player if you don’t like him fine there are other good players in the league but don’t say he does not have the desire to have teammates, are you a psychic?...Just asking because if you are, I wanna know what is Martha Steward thinking about how much money she’s going to make when she gets out of jail. Now Shag the only thing he has improved is the money his making which by the way is all that matters for much of the players nowadays.
posted by LROD at 05:43 PM on October 15, 2004
First of all thanks for the welcome guys. This is going to be epic.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:36 AM on October 16, 2004
Forget Kobe. That interview was great because it showed Ray Allen to be one of the most astute and blunt-spoken pro athletes in the league. The writer of the piece had to be sprinting to his keyboard afterward.
posted by rcade at 12:32 AM on October 17, 2004
His analysis of Kobe's personality seems pretty spot-on, but I can provide a more succinct version: Kobe is a selfish prick. I'm reaaaally not looking forward to watching this season... as a Lakers fan, who do I root for? Former arch-nemesis (gotta love free agency) Floppy Divac? Prima-donna Ms. Kobe?