West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: teecee on January 19, 2009, 10:14:25 AM
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"Kobe Bryant says LeBron James is the MVP . . . at this point"
By Mike Bresnahan
January 19, 2009
Kobe Bryant won his first most-valuable-player award last season, but will LeBron James prevent a repeat performance?
The Cleveland Cavaliers forward has the better statistics and a comparable team record at this point. He also has an important vote -- sort of.
Bryant seemed mildly uncomfortable when asked for his MVP choice near the season's halfway point.
"LeBron," he said. "Leave me alone about that stuff."
He then expanded upon his thoughts.
"I'm a big fan of his, obviously," he said. "I just think the world of him. Playing with him this summer [at the Beijing Olympics], and seeing his work ethic and what he's about, I just think he's terrific."
TNT, which will broadcast tonight's game between the Lakers (31-8) and Cavaliers (31-7), began debating last week which MVP candidate was having the better season.
Former NBA player Kenny Smith said Bryant was the "kind of assassin you want."
"The best player in the league is Kobe Bryant because at the end of the game, he has the track record and every time he delivers," Smith said. "Forget the playoffs, if you just watch [the Lakers] play last week, you'd say, 'This guy knows how to deliver in the last 30 seconds of a game.' "
Former NBA coach Mike Fratello, however, said Bryant had been surpassed by James.
"You know the car that is always trailing the other car and eventually catches it and goes past it? LeBron James just moved ahead," Fratello said. "This is a different version of LeBron James. The Olympic experience has made a different player out of LeBron James."
Bryant, in his 13th season, is averaging 25.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. James, in his sixth season, is averaging 27.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
Another consideration might be defense.
Bryant, 30, is averaging 1.3 steals and 0.4 blocked shots. James, 24, is averaging two steals and 1.3 blocked shots.
"Defensively, he's obviously made some improvements in terms of protecting the lane, getting steals, getting out in passing lanes, getting balls back for his team," Bryant said.
Despite their status as two of the NBA's top players, Bryant and James have never been considered friends. Their experience at the Olympics changed that, Bryant said.
"We had a chance to hit it off pretty well," Bryant said. "Normally, it's always me and LeBron, but we're always surrounded by a bunch of people. In the Olympics, we had a chance to interact, just he and I with nobody else around. It was really good for us, just to get to know each other."
Well, if Kobe thinks it, it MUST be true, right? Just like when Phil said Kobe was better than Jordan.......
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lebron > kobe
never been any clearer
look at how inferrior his team is to the Lakers and it's only more impressive
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lebron > kobe
never been any clearer
look at how inferrior his team is to the Lakers and it's only more impressive
I think its close, but LBJ has been better this year. Hist team is NOWHERE NEAR the Lakers in terms of talent, but he ihas become a true leader and defensive stopper. Somehow, his game has got more complete, and he still has room to grow.
IF the Cavs win tonight without two or three starters................that will be some crazy shit right there
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LeBron is so amazing, I'm proud of being able to tell my kids that I've seen him play.
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agreed he is mvp
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Yeah, 'Bron is the MVP... at this point. No doubt.
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the question is.....will NIK disagree with his beloved Kobe? :-\
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Yeah, 'Bron is the MVP... at this point. No doubt.
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the question is.....will NIK disagree with his beloved Kobe? :-\
You and I both know that the above will NEVER happen! Kobe is god, so in this case he is merely doing one of the following:
a) being the humble and selfless person he always is
OR
b) playing mental games with Lebron like the Zen-master would do
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the question is.....will NIK disagree with his beloved Kobe? :-\
You and I both know that the above will NEVER happen! Kobe is god, so in this case he is merely doing one of the following:
a) being the humble and selfless person he always is
OR
b) playing mental games with Lebron like the Zen-master would do
lol@ being humble and selfless.....
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the question is.....will NIK disagree with his beloved Kobe? :-\
You and I both know that the above will NEVER happen! Kobe is god, so in this case he is merely doing one of the following:
a) being the humble and selfless person he always is
OR
b) playing mental games with Lebron like the Zen-master would do
lol@ being humble and selfless.....
just paraphrasing what I am sure NIK will post later on :D
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agreed he is mvp
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the question is.....will NIK disagree with his beloved Kobe? :-\
You and I both know that the above will NEVER happen! Kobe is god, so in this case he is merely doing one of the following:
a) being the humble and selfless person he always is
OR
b) playing mental games with Lebron like the Zen-master would do
lol@ being humble and selfless.....
just paraphrasing what I am sure NIK will post later on :D
it doesnt matter what he says though; his opinon wont change Kobe's or the people who vote for MVP.
his response might be funny; but lets not let this thread to go 10 pages lol.
BUT; he is going to say that Kobe just doesnt wanna seem so cocky or whatever. :P
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the question is.....will NIK disagree with his beloved Kobe? :-\
You and I both know that the above will NEVER happen! Kobe is god, so in this case he is merely doing one of the following:
a) being the humble and selfless person he always is
OR
b) playing mental games with Lebron like the Zen-master would do
lol@ being humble and selfless.....
just paraphrasing what I am sure NIK will post later on :D
it doesnt matter what he says though; his opinon wont change Kobe's or the people who vote for MVP.
his response might be funny; but lets not let this thread to go 10 pages lol.
BUT; he is going to say that Kobe just doesnt wanna seem so cocky or whatever. :P
true, Kobe has definetely made it a point in his career to not appear cocky... :-X
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
lol; you ball buster. :D
how is Kobe not even in the top 5 MVPs? :laugh:
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
lol; you ball buster. :D
how is Kobe not even in the top 5 MVPs? :laugh:
because he has Patrick Ewing, Pau Gasol, the great Lamar Odom, and the best coach of all time.
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i left out D-wade who's also having a better season for his team
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lebron = no explanation needed, look @ thread topic
howard = look how much that teams doing, and he's the reason. 20 and 14 a game and 3 blocks
billups = resurrected nuggets, they are a serious team w/ Melo healthy
duncan = held down shit while the other big 2 were hurt
PP = superman
then D-wade, Kobe, CP3 and maybe Durant as an honorable mention.
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
Dude, you are almost as lame as NIK! For real, no Kobe in the top 5 for MVP? Str8 bullshit. I have never been a Kobe fan, but to say he is not an top 5 MVP candidate is lame. The hate for Kobe is too thick around here. He may not be having his best season, but then again neither is Duncan or Pierce (who has been ASS), and that didn't stop you from putting them top 5. I know you are a huge Celtics fan (dope team), but Pierce is not top 5, or even top 10 this year. The rest of your list is nice, although Kobe deserves a spot no doubt.
Either way, its Lebron's to win. Having said that, he was up there last year for a long while too, but tanked at the end. His numbers were much better last year, but his team is so improved this year, and if you've watched all his games this year, you know he is on another level right now.
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When the games on the line I want Kobe. Not Lebron, not Dwight, not CP3, not D Wade. If that makes him the MVP then so be it. I'm not trying to dis-credit Lebron because what he's doing/has done is pretty fuckin incredible, but when I think of who's the better closer, perimeter defender, shooter, etc then Kobe still takes the cake IMO.
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When the games on the line I want Kobe. Not Lebron, not Dwight, not CP3, not D Wade. If that makes him the MVP then so be it. I'm not trying to dis-credit Lebron because what he's doing/has done is pretty fuckin incredible, but when I think of who's the better closer, perimeter defender, shooter, etc then Kobe still takes the cake IMO.
Kobe has the resume no doubt. Having said that, he wasn't exactly clutch in his only finals as the leader of his team (nor was a 22 yr old Lebron for that matter). Besides, guess who had the most pts per last 2 mins. of games last year? Not Kobe. And don't look now, but Lebron is the leader of the best defensive team in the league currently, while Kobe's team does not close out on shooters and lets guys into the lane at will. Better shooter? Kobe for sure, but then Lebron still shoots a better FG percentage, gets more assists, blocks, steals, rebounds at very comparable mins. (.8 difference as of now). Really, Lebron has vastly improved as a defender this year, while Kobe has regressed save for a few games (he was :o against Wade, but has not been bringing it consistently).
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
Dude, you are almost as lame as NIK! For real, no Kobe in the top 5 for MVP? Str8 bullshit. I have never been a Kobe fan, but to say he is not an top 5 MVP candidate is lame. The hate for Kobe is too thick around here. He may not be having his best season, but then again neither is Duncan or Pierce (who has been ASS), and that didn't stop you from putting them top 5. I know you are a huge Celtics fan (dope team), but Pierce is not top 5, or even top 10 this year. The rest of your list is nice, although Kobe deserves a spot no doubt.
Either way, its Lebron's to win. Having said that, he was up there last year for a long while too, but tanked at the end. His numbers were much better last year, but his team is so improved this year, and if you've watched all his games this year, you know he is on another level right now.
understand that there is less Kobe hate here then there is Kobe dickriding. The more dickriding, im sure the more hate there will be.
Im not a Kobe fan, but he has to be in the top 5 for MVP.
Mine as of right now,
1. Lebron
2. Kobe
3. Howard
4. Duncan
5. CP3
And Im a Spurs fan. Thing is, Lebron, Kobe, and Howard's teams are all playing at a higher level then mine right now. I think if our record was up to par with those three teams I would make more of an argument for Duncan, but not right now. By the end of the season you never know. Same goes for Paul. The Celtics record is very good also, but I dont see them as having that ONE main guy.
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When the games on the line I want Kobe. Not Lebron, not Dwight, not CP3, not D Wade. If that makes him the MVP then so be it. I'm not trying to dis-credit Lebron because what he's doing/has done is pretty fuckin incredible, but when I think of who's the better closer, perimeter defender, shooter, etc then Kobe still takes the cake IMO.
being clutch doesnt make u MVP. Robert Horry would never be the MVP.
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
Dude, you are almost as lame as NIK! For real, no Kobe in the top 5 for MVP? Str8 bullshit. I have never been a Kobe fan, but to say he is not an top 5 MVP candidate is lame. The hate for Kobe is too thick around here. He may not be having his best season, but then again neither is Duncan or Pierce (who has been ASS), and that didn't stop you from putting them top 5. I know you are a huge Celtics fan (dope team), but Pierce is not top 5, or even top 10 this year. The rest of your list is nice, although Kobe deserves a spot no doubt.
Either way, its Lebron's to win. Having said that, he was up there last year for a long while too, but tanked at the end. His numbers were much better last year, but his team is so improved this year, and if you've watched all his games this year, you know he is on another level right now.
TeeCee,
Kobe is a better player than most of those guys. this is MVP...for who's team would be worst off w/o them. kobe is not having as great as in impact. Kobe has several advantages (the best coach, a nice PF/C combo, and the supposed '6th man of the year"....plus the Lakers get 43 home games a year)
put Lebron this year on the Lakers instead, and the Lakrs are winning every GAME. forget home/road, that teams goin 75-7.
thats how much better his game's been this season.
and chauncy billups and d-how have much less to work w/ too!
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
Dude, you are almost as lame as NIK! For real, no Kobe in the top 5 for MVP? Str8 bullshit. I have never been a Kobe fan, but to say he is not an top 5 MVP candidate is lame. The hate for Kobe is too thick around here. He may not be having his best season, but then again neither is Duncan or Pierce (who has been ASS), and that didn't stop you from putting them top 5. I know you are a huge Celtics fan (dope team), but Pierce is not top 5, or even top 10 this year. The rest of your list is nice, although Kobe deserves a spot no doubt.
Either way, its Lebron's to win. Having said that, he was up there last year for a long while too, but tanked at the end. His numbers were much better last year, but his team is so improved this year, and if you've watched all his games this year, you know he is on another level right now.
every GAME.........75-7
maybe my math is off but...
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teecee and daygo are makin too much damn sense...wtf happened to the sports section???
seriously though i cant wait til playoff time...thats when the MVP will emerge.
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When the games on the line I want Kobe. Not Lebron, not Dwight, not CP3, not D Wade. If that makes him the MVP then so be it. I'm not trying to dis-credit Lebron because what he's doing/has done is pretty fuckin incredible, but when I think of who's the better closer, perimeter defender, shooter, etc then Kobe still takes the cake IMO.
being clutch doesnt make u MVP. Robert Horry would never be the MVP.
it does for some players, but you have to be a star, not a role player
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My top 5 for MVP:
1. LeBron James
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Dwight Howard
4. Chris Paul
5. Tim Duncan
But you never know whose team is going to take off in the second half and which teams are going to tank. Look at last year. Kobe only received moderate considerations, but a 9-2 road trip record in February and some clutch performances toward the end of the season, and he ran away with it.
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
Dude, you are almost as lame as NIK! For real, no Kobe in the top 5 for MVP? Str8 bullshit. I have never been a Kobe fan, but to say he is not an top 5 MVP candidate is lame. The hate for Kobe is too thick around here. He may not be having his best season, but then again neither is Duncan or Pierce (who has been ASS), and that didn't stop you from putting them top 5. I know you are a huge Celtics fan (dope team), but Pierce is not top 5, or even top 10 this year. The rest of your list is nice, although Kobe deserves a spot no doubt.
Either way, its Lebron's to win. Having said that, he was up there last year for a long while too, but tanked at the end. His numbers were much better last year, but his team is so improved this year, and if you've watched all his games this year, you know he is on another level right now.
every GAME.........75-7
maybe my math is off but...
LOL surely you can understand exageration.
anyways, Kobe's not nearly as MVP worthy as the last 3 years.
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My top 5 for MVP:
1. LeBron James
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Dwight Howard
4. Chris Paul
5. Tim Duncan
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When the games on the line I want Kobe. Not Lebron, not Dwight, not CP3, not D Wade. If that makes him the MVP then so be it. I'm not trying to dis-credit Lebron because what he's doing/has done is pretty fuckin incredible, but when I think of who's the better closer, perimeter defender, shooter, etc then Kobe still takes the cake IMO.
Kobe has the resume no doubt. Having said that, he wasn't exactly clutch in his only finals as the leader of his team (nor was a 22 yr old Lebron for that matter). Besides, guess who had the most pts per last 2 mins. of games last year? Not Kobe. And don't look now, but Lebron is the leader of the best defensive team in the league currently, while Kobe's team does not close out on shooters and lets guys into the lane at will. Better shooter? Kobe for sure, but then Lebron still shoots a better FG percentage, gets more assists, blocks, steals, rebounds at very comparable mins. (.8 difference as of now). Really, Lebron has vastly improved as a defender this year, while Kobe has regressed save for a few games (he was :o against Wade, but has not been bringing it consistently).
To each his own, they're both amazing players but I'll still go with Kobe for the time being.
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Well, Kobe got the best of Lebron last night, for sure. Both are great players, with maybe Kobe holding a very slight edge still. Having said that, when you really look at the lack of talent on the Cavs, and then look at the fact they had the best record until last night, how can Lebron not be your MVP so far?
Who is doing more for their team than Lebron? Sure he didn't play well last night, but look at the line-up that was out there?
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Kobe showed he's still better than Lebron in this game ... he did a very good job defensively on him and still had a good game despite being in huge pain ... he's a tough motherfucker ...
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Kobe showed he's still better than Lebron in this game ... he did a very good job defensively on him and still had a good game despite being in huge pain ... he's a tough motherfucker ...
look at the other 4 players...
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Kobe showed he's still better than Lebron in this game ... he did a very good job defensively on him and still had a good game despite being in huge pain ... he's a tough motherfucker ...
look at the other 4 players...
yeah I agree , I will probably win an 1 on 1 game against Mo Williams and all these others Cavs D-Leaguers pretty easily
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Kobe showed he's still better than Lebron in this game ... he did a very good job defensively on him and still had a good game despite being in huge pain ... he's a tough motherfucker ...
look at the other 4 players...
yeah I agree , I will probably win an 1 on 1 game against Mo Williams and all these others Cavs D-Leaguers pretty easily
Who the fuck said they were "D-leaguers"?? The Cavs have been playing great, but they aren't the most talented team in the league by any means, and they definitely cannot do without D-West and Ilgauskas. Having said that, would either of those guys start on the Lakers? Exactly.
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Some food for thought:
"Despite a well-deserved reputation as a clutch performer, Bryant has slipped to third on the clutch player rankings computed by 82games.com. LeBron is averaging 56.9 points per 48 minutes of clutch time, defined as fourth quarter or overtime, less than five minutes remaining and neither team ahead by more than five. Carmelo Anthony (56.5) is second, followed by Kobe (52.2).
Also according to 82games.com, LeBron's team nets an average of 19.8 more points when he's on the floor vs. off the floor, compared to 6.0 for Kobe."
Still, in the last month Kobe has really stepped it up and narrowed the gap as far as the MVP race. But its still Lebron
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my top 5 mvps:
Lebron
Howard
Billups
Duncan
Pierce
Dude, you are almost as lame as NIK! For real, no Kobe in the top 5 for MVP? Str8 bullshit. I have never been a Kobe fan, but to say he is not an top 5 MVP candidate is lame. The hate for Kobe is too thick around here. He may not be having his best season, but then again neither is Duncan or Pierce (who has been ASS), and that didn't stop you from putting them top 5. I know you are a huge Celtics fan (dope team), but Pierce is not top 5, or even top 10 this year. The rest of your list is nice, although Kobe deserves a spot no doubt.
Either way, its Lebron's to win. Having said that, he was up there last year for a long while too, but tanked at the end. His numbers were much better last year, but his team is so improved this year, and if you've watched all his games this year, you know he is on another level right now.
every GAME.........75-7
maybe my math is off but...
Crack Head...in every sense of the word.
Kobe=MVP. It was proven Sunday. 8)
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Kobe showed he's still better than Lebron in this game ... he did a very good job defensively on him and still had a good game despite being in huge pain ... he's a tough motherfucker ...
look at the other 4 players...
yeah I agree , I will probably win an 1 on 1 game against Mo Williams and all these others Cavs D-Leaguers pretty easily
Who the fuck said they were "D-leaguers"?? The Cavs have been playing great, but they aren't the most talented team in the league by any means, and they definitely cannot do without D-West and Ilgauskas. Having said that, would either of those guys start on the Lakers? Exactly.
D-West and Ilguaskas both > Luke Walton. Cavs are one of the better teams in the league on the defensive end, and that's without LeBron. LeBron has a nice supporting cast, face it. The team defense is more vital to their success than LeBron is. LeBron is nowhere near Kobe's level as of now...PeACe
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Kobe showed he's still better than Lebron in this game ... he did a very good job defensively on him and still had a good game despite being in huge pain ... he's a tough motherfucker ...
look at the other 4 players...
yeah I agree , I will probably win an 1 on 1 game against Mo Williams and all these others Cavs D-Leaguers pretty easily
Who the fuck said they were "D-leaguers"?? The Cavs have been playing great, but they aren't the most talented team in the league by any means, and they definitely cannot do without D-West and Ilgauskas. Having said that, would either of those guys start on the Lakers? Exactly.
D-West and Ilguaskas both > Luke Walton. Cavs are one of the better teams in the league on the defensive end, and that's without LeBron. LeBron has a nice supporting cast, face it. The team defense is more vital to their success than LeBron is. LeBron is nowhere near Kobe's level as of now...PeACe
Um, Walton has only started 11 games, and most have wondered why he was starting at all (I actually don't mind him as a player). I think the Cavs are the BEST defensive team in the league, but my point was they don't have a lot of depth, and without Ilgauskas do not have a 7footer (Lakers have FOUR?). Furthermore, West has been a great defender on the perimeter and they are sorely missing him right now.
You ignore actual facts, so I wanna know what, this season, makes Lebron "nowhere" near Kobe? Lebron has a much less talented supporting cast, but has his team with an almost identical record as the Lakers, while beating Kobein every statistical category possible with the exception of FT and 3pt %age. I think the players are closer than you think, but you are always prone to homerism and hyperbole, and thus cannot see this. Oh well, I am done arguing with you. Its all about opinions, these two guys are close, but LBJ will win it, and when he does wer all know what your excuse will be.
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^1.Luke is our starting small forward.
2.Lakers=best team in the league, forget records. Sunday proved it.
3.Kobe=best player on the planet, clearly.
8)