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Archive for the 'Kobe Watch' Category

Blogger MVP and ROY Rankings - Version 1.0

Published by Jonathan Somers-Harris on November 18, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 11 Comments

Lebron James #1, Kobe Bryant #2. Sound-off…

Hoops Adict: Welcome back to another season of the Blogger MVP and ROY Rankings! For those of you who are new to this, the guys at BrewHoop organized a bi-weekly blogger poll, ranking the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year candidates in the NBA. BrewHoop hosted the first installment last season and now, right here at Hoops Addict, we’ve got the debut for the 2008/09 season.

Votes were compiled on a simple 10-9-8 etc. and 5-4-3 etc. basis. Points are listed, with first place votes in parentheses. The following lists are composite rankings which take into consideration the votes of all 15 panelists based on the above scoring system.

I thought about making my own comments each time, but, to be brutally honest, a lot of the comments from other bloggers were more insightful. So, with that in mind, I’ve passed on leaving my own comments and instead used comments from other bloggers instead.

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Magic steps up, says Kobe is better than Pierce

Published by Chris Manning on November 17, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 30 Comments

Remember Pierce proclaiming himself the best player in the league? Well recently, Magic had a few things to say about that…

Boston.com: “Paul would like to think he’s better than Kobe,” said Johnson with a hearty laugh. “But Kobe Bryant is the best closer in the game. He’s the best player in the game. You have to remember he’s done it for a long time at a high level. Now, was Paul Pierce better than Kobe in the Finals? Of course, he was better than everybody in the whole playoffs. Is he one of the top three or four players in the league right now, Paul Pierce? Of course he is. It’s hard to find a guy who can go inside and outside and also a guy who can put it on the floor then make plays for other people. Yes, I think he’s right up there with Kobe, right up there with LeBron. It’s hard to pick one of those three guys.

“I’m not biased. I’m going to tell it like it is,” added the Lakers legend. “Kobe Bryant has won three championships for a reason. Shaq [O'Neal] got us to the fourth quarter, but always Kobe Bryant closed the deal. We have to remember that. There’s nothing biased. If Paul was the best player in the league, I would say it. But he’s right there as one of the best. No question about it.”

Shaquille O’Neal: My Fights With Kobe Bryant Were Orchestrated by Phil Jackson

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 14, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 17 Comments

ESPN: Shaquille O’Neal had a conversation with the Sacramento Bee’s Scott Howard-Cooper, which included some amazing insight about all that bickering with Kobe Bryant back in his Laker days:

I think it was all designed by Phil (Jackson). Because if you think about it, Phil never called us into the office and said, ”Both of you all, shut the (heck) up.” Never did that in four years. He knew that when I read something, I was going to get upset. And he knew Kobe was going to always come out and play hard. So I think it was all done by design.

You think he just wanted to light a fire under you guys?
Yeah. I think that’s exactly what it was. I think it was all done by design. Really. He never called us in a meeting and said, ”Shut up.” And basically, it was never a face-to-face … thing. It was always, he’d say something to you, I’d say something to another guy, I’d say something to you. That’s all it was.

Now that I look back on it, that (stuff) was kind of fun. It really was. It was kind of fun. ”What did he say, what did he say?” I tell people if we would have had a reality show, we’d have had the No. 1 reality show in the world. It was fun. It was actually fun. (Brian) Shaw would be, ”Oh, man, why did you say that?” And then Karl (Malone) would be like, ”Yo, that was (messed) up what you said.” Then we’d try to out-do each other in the game.

But while we were trying to out-do each other, the two best players in the game, we’re out-doing everyone by far.

Writer Roland Lazenby, who has followed just about the entirety of Phil Jackson’s coaching career, has been saying for ages that one must not undersell the notion that Phil Jackson plays a lot of psychological games.

I learned about this interview from Sactown Royalty, which highlighted a different amazing part of the talk, wherein Shaquille O’Neal has no idea who Spencer Hawes is.

Maybe he’s kidding. But I don’t think so.

Hawes is not even a rookie. He was a lottery pick. And he plays O’Neal’s position. I don’t think Hawes and O’Neal have played against each other, however — owing to the schedule, O’Neal’s trade last season, and the two players’ various injuries.

NBA TV Legends Night: Kobe Bryant

Published by Chris Manning on November 13, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 6 Comments

Every Thursday throughout the NBA season, NBA TV will showcase the rich heritage of the game and the characters and teams that are a part of the fabric of the NBA. This Week on NBA TV Legends Night features our very own Kobe Bryant in some of the most illustrious games of his career and more! Make sure to check it out tonight, on NBA TV.

Here is the schedule…

  • 8 p.m. - HOME VIDEO 2001 - LA Lakers NBA Champions
  • 9 p.m. - HARDWOOD CLASSIC - Raptors at Lakers, 1/22/2006
  • 11 p.m. - MARV ALBERT: Bryant
  • 11:30 p.m. - HARDWOOD CLASSIC - Suns at Lakers 2006 Western Conference 1st Round, Game 4
  • 1:30 a.m. - NBA MVP: Race to Remember

Bryant’s Jumper Punctuates Big Victory

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 13, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 12 Comments

ESPN: It was the perfect metaphor for the Lakers’ perfect start: a dagger 3-pointer by Kobe Bryant, with James Posey right in his grill, that staved off a New Orleans comeback and gave the Lakers a 93-86 win over the Hornets.

The win pushed the Lakers to 7-0, and with Atlanta’s loss in Boston it made them the league’s sole undefeated team. It’s a status they may hang on to for a while — seven of L.A.’s next eight games are in the friendly confines of Staples Center, starting with Friday’s contest against Detroit.

And although Bryant denied flashing back to the Finals while draining the shot over Posey, it symbolized the motivation for L.A.’s awe-inspiring start. The Lakers were exposed as soft, mentally and physically, in that six-game defeat to Boston last year, and their start has been a response to that discovery. What better way to cap it than by nailing a shot over the former Boston defensive stopper who so frustrated the Lakers in last season’s Finals?

For that matter, an earlier Posey-related episode helped symbolize L.A.’s newfound toughness. It all started when Chris Paul used a first-quarter stoppage in play to take exception to a blow from Pau Gasol underneath; Gasol, notorious as a shrinking violet in such situations, made sure to respond. When Posey — who hadn’t even checked into the game yet — came off the bench to intervene, Gasol would have none of it, and each earned a tech for his troubles. It never got physical, but it showed L.A.’s resolve.

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Kobe Will Take Europe Defection Down To The Wire?

Published by Chris Manning on November 12, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 4 Comments

This is nothing to really be worried about… or is it? Either way, 7-0 start with the best team arguably - in Lakers history - sounds a lot better than showing off for some Euro team. What do you guys think?

RealGM: A source close to Kobe Bryan’ts camp says that European clubs have reached out quietly to his representation and set baselines for a possible free-agent contract. Offers of $30 million a year in Greece and Italy promise to be on the table, and, says one associate, “I guarantee whatever happens that Kobe will take that whole European thing down to the wire before he re-signs with the Lakers.”

Kobe to pass Bird on all-time scoring list!

Published by Chris Manning on November 11, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 16 Comments

UPDATE: Leading his team to a 7-0 start, Kobe dropped 20 making him 3 points away from this honor!

ESPN: Bryant is 23 points shy of Larry Bird on the career scoring list.

Buss makes clear his support of Bryant

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 10, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 2 Comments

Great article. Gives new hope that the Lakers organization is headed to good times in the future…

O.C. Register: Consider the following comment from Lakers owner Jerry Buss, because it speaks to so much more than the Lakers being NBA favorites again:

“It always feels comfortable when I’m on top. It feels uncomfortable when we’re not.”

When I’m on top. When we’re not.

This is why Buss understands Kobe Bryant better than most. They are, in fact, more the same than different.

Within each is the massive ego to believe that he is a fundamentally a winner – and a loser only when others let him down. Perhaps that degree of self-absorption makes kind-hearted average Joes out there shake their heads. Whatever.

It’s the kind of self-confidence and self-reliance that has driven Buss and Bryant to tremendous success.

Buss conducted a sit-down interview with select reporters Sunday night before the Lakers moved to 5-0 by routing the Houston Rockets. Buss made clear that after all that he went through with his star player in 2007 there remains a unique appreciation.

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