Lakeshow

[oneinchpunch]

Twitter makes for interesting company.

Flea: henry abbott your @espn kobe article is absolute garbage and a blatant irresponsible attack.

Phil Jackson: Go get'em, Flea

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Actually, IMO, they are the only thing that matters because if accomplishments aren't the issue, there is no refuting this story at all, it must be accepted as gospel. Except, Kobe has always been this way, and has been as successful as anybody in the game today. I've been hearing about Kobe hurting more than helping the Lakers for decades, and yet he's won 5 titles. I sincerely hope the Lakers end up with a team destroyer like Kobe over the next twenty years. Again, defending him is old and these arguments presented are tired. Has nothing to do with you hating Kobe, but the writer...you consider that a fair story?

The old stories about Kobe don't matter today. Today is a fundamentally different situation. Kobe's past accomplishments have nothing to do with the Lakers winning basketball games now and in the future. Do I consider the story fair? I don't consider it unfair unless the quotes from persons inside the Lakers organization were fabricated, in particular the ones which clearly state that the Lakers were unable to recruit free agents due to Kobe's presence and salary situation.

[sandiego17]

The old stories about Kobe don't matter today. Today is a fundamentally different situation. Kobe's past accomplishments have nothing to do with the Lakers winning basketball games now and in the future. Do I consider the story fair? I don't consider it unfair unless the quotes from persons inside the Lakers organization were fabricated, in particular the ones which clearly state that the Lakers were unable to recruit free agents due to Kobe's presence and salary situation.

One of those sources/FA stories was in regards to Paul George, who did laugh and mock the idea. Along with Howard loving pressure, kind of diminishes the story a bit. Just saw above that even Phil Jackson is laughing at Abbott. I was going to say in my first post (but refrained) that if the situation was as Abbott hopes, than why would Phil Jackson have considered coming back, he should know Kobe would just ruin it, right? I think Phil would know better than anyone and certainly better than Abbott and he did want back.

Every year is a fundamentally different situation, no doubt, but Abbott has been writing Kobe hit pieces for years. He's written articles with cherry picked stats to prove that basically anyone other than Kobe should take a "clutch" shot, because based on his definition of clutch and player, Kobe isn't good at basketball. Ok Henry. At least this particular article was interesting unlike most of the others, kind of like a car crash except the victim isn't involved in the crash, if you know what I mean. Eventually Kobe will not be able to carry the Lakers (probably reached that point) and Abbott can claim he's correct, good for him.

[sandiego17]

Henry Abbott critiquing Kobe's greatest dunks (back in 2009, and Kobe the Selfish won rings in 2009 and 2010 (but now Abbott is right, he was only testing out his theories before):

About a minute into the video, Bryant is approaching the hoop and Steve Nash runs over in an attempt to take the charge. Yes, Bryant can jump over a man that size. But Kwame Brown could not be more alone under the hoop. Rather than dishing, however, Bryant scales the little Canadian infomercial celebrity....

...There's value -- in intimidation of opponents, in firing up teammates the crowd, in leadership, in sneaker sales, in living your dreams and in a zillion other things -- in dunking the hell out of the ball. Sometimes, even when you have an open teammate.

But those whispers about Bryant being selfish, that have simmered throughout his career ... they don't come from nowhere.

Yes, Kobe should have dished the ball to Kwame Brown, not dunked on Steve Nash because passing to Kwame is a better decision than dunking on defensive stalwart Steve Nash. Excellent analysis.

Awesome f'n video:

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/top_plays/2009/09/14/nba_091409_kobe_dunks.nba/

Check it out, one minute in is Abbott's critique. Seriously, nobody being fair (or in their right mind) would say Kobe should have passed that ball to Kwame F'n Brown. Except the guy that wrote the recent hit piece. He's a hater.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

One of those sources/FA stories was in regards to Paul George, who did laugh and mock the idea. Along with Howard loving pressure, kind of diminishes the story a bit. Just saw above that even Phil Jackson is laughing at Abbott. I was going to say in my first post (but refrained) that if the situation was as Abbott hopes, than why would Phil Jackson have considered coming back, he should know Kobe would just ruin it, right? I think Phil would know better than anyone and certainly better than Abbott and he did want back.

Every year is a fundamentally different situation, no doubt, but Abbott has been writing Kobe hit pieces for years. He's written articles with cherry picked stats to prove that basically anyone other than Kobe should take a "clutch" shot, because based on his definition of clutch and player, Kobe isn't good at basketball. Ok Henry. At least this particular article was interesting unlike most of the others, kind of like a car crash except the victim isn't involved in the crash, if you know what I mean. Eventually Kobe will not be able to carry the Lakers (probably reached that point) and Abbott can claim he's correct, good for him.

So you're saying the quotes are fabricated? I don't think his argument is that Kobe is done as a player. The piece quotes sources inside the Lakers saying that Kobe's presence is a hurdle to signing free agents. None of the guys they wanted signed with them. In the case of Dwight Howard, the Lakers obviously thought enough of him to rent billboard space pleading with him to stay. He went to Houston.

This isn't exactly news. And Abbott's axes (if indeed he has them) and analyses don't really come into play. But the quotes do corroborate what's been long suspected.

[oneinchpunch]

Henry Abbott critiquing Kobe's greatest dunks (back in 2009, and Kobe the Selfish won rings in 2009 and 2010 (but now Abbott is right, he was only testing out his theories before):

About a minute into the video, Bryant is approaching the hoop and Steve Nash runs over in an attempt to take the charge. Yes, Bryant can jump over a man that size. But Kwame Brown could not be more alone under the hoop. Rather than dishing, however, Bryant scales the little Canadian infomercial celebrity....

...There's value -- in intimidation of opponents, in firing up teammates the crowd, in leadership, in sneaker sales, in living your dreams and in a zillion other things -- in dunking the hell out of the ball. Sometimes, even when you have an open teammate.

But those whispers about Bryant being selfish, that have simmered throughout his career ... they don't come from nowhere.

Yes, Kobe should have dished the ball to Kwame Brown, not dunked on Steve Nash because passing to Kwame is a better decision than dunking on defensive stalwart Steve Nash. Excellent analysis.

Awesome f'n video:

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/top_plays/2009/09/14/nba_091409_kobe_dunks.nba/

Check it out, one minute in is Abbott's critique. Seriously, nobody being fair (or in their right mind) would say Kobe should have passed that ball to Kwame F'n Brown. Except the guy that wrote the recent hit piece. He's a hater.

Laker haters are the best. And people feed off the hate.

Only makes being a Lakers fan that much better

Why didn't he pass to Kwame!

[sandiego17]

So you're saying the quotes are fabricated? I don't think his argument is that Kobe is done as a player. The piece quotes sources inside the Lakers saying that Kobe's presence is a hurdle to signing free agents. None of the guys they wanted signed with them. In the case of Dwight Howard, the Lakers obviously thought enough of him to rent billboard space pleading with him to stay. He went to Houston.

This isn't exactly news. And Abbott's axes (if indeed he has them) and analyses don't really come into play. But the quotes do corroborate what's been long suspected.

I didn't say the quotes were fabricated, I'm saying per Paul George himself disagrees with the actions attributed to him. It wouldn't have been difficult for Henry Abbott to verify that, but why would he? He had what he wanted...Hopefully, as a non Kobe hater, you can see that Abbott has a history going back quite some time bashing Kobe for everything, and Kobe has always been successful despite those attacks. I disagree that Abbott many axes don't come into play. Starting with an idea for a story and then going out only looking to prove yourself correct without considering you might not be...not a recipe for impartiality. Abbott is not an impartial observer.

Regardless, I thank Abbott for this. You forget how truly awesome Kobe has been until something like this comes up. Guy is an all timer and has been an absolute pleasure to follow. Five rings, amazing.

[sandiego17]

Laker haters are the best. And people feed off the hate.

Only makes being a Lakers fan that much better

Why didn't he pass to Kwame!

Steve Nash slid over, Kobe could have dished the ball to KWAME BROWN if he weren't selfish and got called for a charge. If he did though, Abbott would say it was unselfish and ton's of FA would be lining up to play with Kobe today. Abbott's analysis is excellent.

Any analysis that ends with the should have passed to Kwame Brown is by definition, idiotic. Nash got destroyed though. MVP, MVP, MVP. Should have stopped at two.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

I didn't say the quotes were fabricated, I'm saying per Paul George himself disagrees with the actions attributed to him. It wouldn't have been difficult for Henry Abbott to verify that, but why would he? He had what he wanted...Hopefully, as a non Kobe hater, you can see that Abbott has a history going back quite some time bashing Kobe for everything, and Kobe has always been successful despite those attacks. I disagree that Abbott many axes don't come into play. Starting with an idea for a story and then going out only looking to prove yourself correct without considering you might not be...not a recipe for impartiality. Abbott is not an impartial observer.

Regardless, I thank Abbott for this. You forget how truly awesome Kobe has been until something like this comes up. Guy is an all timer and has been an absolute pleasure to follow. Five rings, amazing.

Unsurprisingly, we disagree. I don't want to re-do last season. I posted this only because you had requested a link last year to substantiate my argument, even though much of it was obvious, IMO. I believe it still is, regardless of the Abbott 'bias.' People inside of the Lakers organization are quoted. That's pretty strong evidence, regardless of what Paul George (!) and others might be saying publicly. Kobe has been a great player but he's not part of the solution now and the evidence is the roster. That's pretty much all I was saying from the outset. It's not a hatred for Kobe at all. The Lakers will probably begin to get better when Kobe leaves, unless the ownership continues to be as feckless as they appear to be now.

[sandiego17]

As a Laker fan, I'm cool with keeping Kobe and being mired in mediocrity for a couple seasons. Maybe even draft a player or two. Not sure why you use bias in quotes, just do a search on Abbott's articles in regards to Kobe, and they go way beyond this article and this current situation. He's always been irrationally biased against Kobe (should have dished to Kwame Brown (!), and Kobe has proven him wrong over and over and over and over and over and over (is that 5?), eventually he won't. Abbott doesn't get credit for being a broken clock. Who has backed Abbott? Its an easy article to write, got the reaction he wanted and i'm sure he's satisfied. Defending Kobe gets old, his accomplishments speak for themselves and the tail end of his career won't change that. To bad for Abbott. Does the fact that Washington sucked with Jordan prove that nobody wanted to play with Jordan?

The Lakers roster isn't good, so that's on Kobe because he's the same Kobe he's been when the roster was good? Got it. That's really the main problem with this 'new' (old) theory. Kobe hasn't changed, the Lakers roster has been good and bad with the same guy. You know who was willing to play with Kobe? The Clippers own Chris Paul. A top PG was willing to file legal action to play with Kobe...How does that fit into Abbott's argument?

[Coachmarkos]

I'm starting a new thread for this season.

[oneinchpunch]

Jeanie Buss: "Any free agent that would be afraid to play w/Kobe Bryant is probably a loser and I’m glad they wouldn’t come to the team."