Kobe Bryant - scathing article

[nighthob]

Howard left because he's not driven by winning like those 90s era players. He thinks basketball should be fun. Playing for the Lakers represented a lot of pressure to win and guys like Bryant riding him to get serious about the game. It's no coincidence that pretty much everyone from that era mocks Howard relentlessly. It's not just Bryant.

 

[Korady]

I disagree. I thought Jeanie came off as a delusional moron this morning and made me believe that its an even bigger clusterfuck behind the scenes in laker land.

Does buss have other kids?

Same. Kobe isn't young enough to keep playing elite basketball through all these injuries. I didn't get to watch many games last year but from what I saw he didn't look too far away from the Wizards era of his career. So I don't know how he's gonna make anyone regret anything... (unless it's that contract extension)

 

[jose melendez]

Even if you want to argue that Kobe drove his teammates to stunning heights when he was younger, there's not much argument about that now.  2010 Kobe might have been worth all of the bullshit, but who the hell would want to play with all of the ego and attitude he ever had but 50% of the skill Kobe of today?

 

[Auger34]

Even if you want to argue that Kobe drove his teammates to stunning heights when he was younger, there's not much argument about that now.  2010 Kobe might have been worth all of the bullshit, but who the hell would want to play with all of the ego and attitude he ever had but 50% of the skill Kobe of today?

Perfectly sums it up...and basically what the entire Abbott article was about. And if you don't believe Kobe still has all of the ego and attitude he had when he was actually elite, please go read his quotes about Julius Randle

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Even if you want to argue that Kobe drove his teammates to stunning heights when he was younger, there's not much argument about that now.  2010 Kobe might have been worth all of the bullshit, but who the hell would want to play with all of the ego and attitude he ever had but 50% of the skill Kobe of today?

One simple answer......Dolan, Phil and the Knicks.

This deal makes too much sense. Kobe gets to escape from the embarrassment of a 6-win team, gets reunited with Phil and the triangle, and gets the back page of The Post.

Kobe and Boozer for Amare, JR Smith and Hardaway. Who says no to this?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Um...the team in California that still wants people to attend their games?

You really feel they go for basketball? /rimshot

The Lakers attendance numbers have been flat the past 3 years, still in the leagues top 10, regardless of Kobe being healthy or not. His ansence/presence hasn't moved the needle either way.

 

[reggiecleveland]

The most important part of that article is noting how the game has changed. Teams are not really winning based on superstars scoring one on one down the stretch. The Spurs, and Lebron's Heat were teams. They had stars, but they moved the ball. Not long ago Kobe was good enough, and had the rep with refs to defy the changing nature of the game. But not any more. I hate the Lakers but have admired his game. But thee is something in the way he needs to slap people down, especially team mates in the press that makes me believe this article. His free ride from the press makes Jeter look under rated. FWIW Rick Fox, at Basketball Canada events liked to hint Kobe was an asshole.

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

Breaks Hondo's record for most career FG misses.
 
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/kobe-bryant-breaks-nba-record-for-most-career-missed-shots-032040057.html

 

[ishmael]

Kobe tonight at home vs. Golden State: 44 points, -34 plus/minus
 
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400578437

 

[The Social Chair]

Kobe had breakfast with his favorite player this morning.
 

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Kobe had breakfast with his favorite player this morning.
 

 
Doesn't Kobe have breakfast with himself every morning?

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

I bet Rondo couldn't get him to pass the salt...

  

Doesn't Kobe have breakfast with himself every morning?

Applause all around gentlemen

 

[TomRicardo]

Kobe Bryant today is everything we made for of Rudy Gay for.

 

[Blacken]

Kobe Bryant today is everything we made for of Rudy Gay for.

Completely true. But there's a difference in intent to me. Gay was on teams that should be good. Kobe's on teams that can't be good. I'm okay with Kobe waging a one-man war out there, and I'm straight-up cheering for him to do well. This could be his final contract--I'm not sure it will be, but it could be--and I'm fascinated to watch him rage against time. He's not going to win, but I love him for the attempt.

 

[crystalline]

Plus he likes the Paramount. Good taste, Kobe.

 

[soxhop411]

 
 
Kobe extremely unhappy on the practice court. "Now I see why we've lost so many games. We're soft like Charmin!"

http://deadspin.com/kobe-on-lakers-practice-these-motherfuckers-aint-doin-1669997343?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
 
 

 
 
Kobe yelled to Kupchak while leaving practice court: "These (expletives) aren't doing (expletive) for me." Didn't think team practiced hard.

 

[JohntheBaptist]

"Soft like Charmin"? Is that a tirade with product placement?

 

[Cellar-Door]

Ah Kobe, such a phony.

 

[ALiveH]

Hide the women.  Angry Kobe on the loose.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Think it's time for some thread title changes.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

http://deadspin.com/kobe-on-lakers-practice-these-motherfuckers-aint-doin-1669997343?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
 
 

Talk about only telling one side of the story. Both the coach and player Kobe spent the practice battling with stated that this was the best practice the Lakers had all year and that when Kobe practices with team it picks up everyone's intensity level.

We should be mocking Lin for crumbling when challenged on the floor by a 37-year old with 40k minutes on his legs in a practice session.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Talk about only telling one side of the story. Both the coach and player Kobe spent the practice battling with stated that this was the best practice the Lakers had all year and that when Kobe practices with team it picks up everyone's intensity level.

We should be mocking Lin for crumbling when challenged on the floor by a 37-year old with 40k minutes on his legs in a practice session.

We're mocking Kobe because he's a well known fake tough guy, and his transparent nonsense of getting the press to write stories about how he's so driven and his teammates are soft is such a pathetic press strategy that it deserves mockery.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

We're mocking Kobe because he's a well known fake tough guy, and his transparent nonsense of getting the press to write stories about how he's so driven and his teammates are soft is such a pathetic press strategy that it deserves mockery.

 
You don't feel Kobe is driven? Or that his teammates aren't soft?
 
There are many things to get on him about but as his coach and teammate said this certainly wasn't one of those times. 

 

[Blacken]

We're mocking Kobe because he's a well known fake tough guy, and his transparent nonsense of getting the press to write stories about how he's so driven and his teammates are soft is such a pathetic press strategy that it deserves mockery.

Kobe's a lot of things. "Fake tough guy" isn't one of them. Dude has played through some nasty stuff in his career and he's never been afraid to go at anybody, even when playing hurt.

Unless your barometer is "well he doesn't fight people," but then you'd be a moron.

 

[ilol@u]

If anybody is a "fake tough guy" in the NBA it is the guy who was the centerpiece in the Celtics 2008 Championship.
Watching the Lakers suck, Kobe put up 25+ shots on a nightly basis and having him pissed off at his teammates is very entertaining. Kobe is a show-offy asshole, but credit to the guy, he genuinely wants to win.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Calling Kobe a "fake tough guy" is silly. The guy has played through injuries that would sideline most players and he continued to perform at a high level. He clearly isn't a likeable personality but, for me at least, he's probably one of the fiercest competitors I've seen play in the Association.

 

[LuckyBen]

Great tactic actually. If history has told us anything about Kobe, it's that first comes the assault, then comes the ring.

This comment from that article is great. As for the Kobe wants to win. Yes he does, all by himself. His contract and attitude are the reason this team is made up as is. No star will play with him and the cap space is shot from his monstrous contract.

 

[Tony C]

That was a great line.
 
And no doubt that Kobe's a fierce competitor who plays through pain and will eat glass to be out there. But as LB says, he's such a fierce/tough competitor who wants to do it on his own -- that's his fatal flaw.

 

[Devizier]

Calling Kobe a "fake tough guy" is silly. The guy has played through injuries that would sideline most players and he continued to perform at a high level. He clearly isn't a likeable personality but, for me at least, he's probably one of the fiercest competitors I've seen play in the Association.

Which is, in part, why watching him lose is so enjoyable.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Kobe lights up his teammates for being lazy jackasses and the result is that they respond with a win in San Antonio the next night. Imagine this board if Paul Pierce did same in '06? This board would need a jizzometer to track the drooling. 

 

[ishmael]

Kobe lights up his teammates for being lazy jackasses and the result is that they respond with a win in San Antonio the next night. Imagine this board if Paul Pierce did same in '06? This board would need a jizzometer to track the drooling. 

 
Kobe is the most entertaining m-----f-----r in the league this year. As long as his antics get the Lakers to 30 wins and out of the top 5, they lose their 1st rounder, and I'm happy.

 

[Tony C]

Definitely. I can't stand Kobe, but will never say the guy isn't compelling. And, adding to the bizzaro-world of it all is rooting for the Lakers to win so they don't get that pick. I will say that giving Kobe credit for the win is a bit much, since he had another stellar 7-22 night from the field with 5 TOs and his usual soft defense. That said, he did shoot a bit less, so I guess deserves credit for that? (The dark secret is that Kupchak has a really good eye for secondary talent -- Hill, Davis, and Swaggy P were all nice signings -- and that Lakers aren't the "Kobe and the 4 dwarves" caricature the media draws. When they play team ball they're kind of okay.)
 
And, the joy of that is after their terrible start they're now up (down?) to 8th worst team. Will depend on ping pong balls, but that bodes well for losing their pick. Good fun...

 

[Tony C]

and it's impossible not to love Swaggy P...check this out: http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles-lakers/post/_/id/40607/after-big-shot-nick-young-really-gets-loose?ex_cid=espnapi_public
 

 

[Blacken]

Kobe is the most entertaining m-----f-----r in the league this year. As long as his antics get the Lakers to 30 wins and out of the top 5, they lose their 1st rounder, and I'm happy.

The word is "motherfucker." This isn't grade school.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Kobe lights up his teammates for being lazy jackasses and the result is that they respond with a win in San Antonio the next night. Imagine this board if Paul Pierce did same in '06? This board would need a jizzometer to track the drooling. 

 
This.
 
 

and it's impossible not to love Swaggy P...check this out: http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles-lakers/post/_/id/40607/after-big-shot-nick-young-really-gets-loose?ex_cid=espnapi_public
 

 
I.D.M..  He is very hard to dislike.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

Kobe lights up his teammates for being lazy jackasses and the result is that they respond with a win in San Antonio the next night. Imagine this board if Paul Pierce did same in '06? This board would need a jizzometer to track the drooling. 

 

 
This factor could also be in play.

Let's see what happens on the next lakers game, or the next few games. I would venture the guess that the lakers will experience regression to the mean.
 
Also, the Spurs record indicates they are not as good as last year.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

 

 
This factor could also be in play.
Let's see what happens on the next lakers game, or the next few games. I would venture the guess that the lakers will experience regression to the mean.
 

I don't doubt that this will occur. There is only so much fire you can light under certain players. To not see a different Laker team and a different Nick Young the day after being called out publicly is turning a blind eye.

 

[Judge Mental13]

Kobe lights up his teammates for being lazy jackasses and the result is that they respond with a win in San Antonio the next night. Imagine this board if Paul Pierce did same in '06? This board would need a jizzometer to track the drooling. 

 
What?
 
If Paul Pierce had yelled at his teammates in practice, and then the next day then went out and beat a good team to improve their record to 7-16 what would have happened? And why would we need a "jizzometer" to track the drooling? Wouldn't that be something that would track the jizzing?  Sounds like you're more in the market for a drool-ometer. 

 

[LuckyBen]

 
What?
 
If Paul Pierce had yelled at his teammates in practice, and then the next day then went out and beat a good team to improve their record to 7-16 what would have happened? And why would we need a "jizzometer" to track the drooling? Wouldn't that be something that would track the jizzing?  Sounds like you're more in the market for a drool-ometer. 

Not to mention, how the hell is 2014 Kobe comparable to 2006 Pierce?

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Today's Rondo trade really paints that breakfast he and Kobe had in a new light. Pretty clear in retrospect that the C's quietly told Rondo this was coming and he narrowed the list to teams that he'd re-sign with. Assume that's what breakfast was about.

 

[quint]

Or that they genuinely enjoy one another's company. And breakfast.

 

[DJnVa]

http://deadspin.com/kobe-flips-out-because-jeremy-lin-rest-of-lakers-are-m-1677258557
 
 

Kobe Bryant hit a clutch three last night to bring the Lakers within one of the Grizzlies at Staples Center. He did this with 24 seconds remaining in the game, which meant that Los Angeles needed to foul and stop the clock. Jeremy Lin, guarding the Memphis ball-handler, did nothing. So Kobe took matters into his own hands, after a bunch of screaming and handwaving that was entirely warranted.
 

 
The punch line is that Byron Scott told Lin not to foul until there were 10 seconds left.
 
 

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

Then Byron Scott is a horrible coach.

 

[Tony C]

Indeed, that would be a head scratcher.  That said, I think Scott has handled Kobe brilliantly this year. Kobe has really changed his game over the last week (maybe due to Scott/maybe due to being publicly humiliated by the Lakers playing pretty well without him and being dissed by IDM et al -- whatever the combo of motivations, Scott has handled his part really well). Whatever the reason, he's shooting less/for a higher percentage, and getting some assists and rebounds. Seems to me that, much as I hate him, he can be a very nice 20+ minute player if he accepts a team concept. I enjoyed much more the 30+ minute hero ball joke -- very fun to mock and hope he goes back to that (but not enough that the Lakers drop back into bottom 5 position.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Indeed, that would be a head scratcher.  That said, I think Scott has handled Kobe brilliantly this year. Kobe has really changed his game over the last week (maybe due to Scott/maybe due to being publicly humiliated by the Lakers playing pretty well without him and being dissed by IDM et al -- whatever the combo of motivations, Scott has handled his part really well). Whatever the reason, he's shooting less/for a higher percentage, and getting some assists and rebounds. Seems to me that, much as I hate him, he can be a very nice 20+ minute player if he accepts a team concept. I enjoyed much more the 30+ minute hero ball joke -- very fun to mock and hope he goes back to that (but not enough that the Lakers drop back into bottom 5 position.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12115240/los-angels-lakers-coach-wants-more-shots-kobe-bryant

 

[Tony C]

Heh, maybe not so much. That could just be part of Scott public-ly sucking up to Kobe. But, given that he's the same coach that doesn't like 3-pointers and apparently doesn't want to foul until 10 seconds are left, not sure he's a guy worth the benefit of the doubt. So..more power to Kobe for ignoring him, then.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

Unselfish Kobe appears once in a blue moon, but he quickly fades away. I would be very surprised if he were still playing that way 10-20 games from now.

 

[DJnVa]

He's right about this: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12114523/kobe-bryant-says-european-players-more-skilled-americans-blames-aau
 

"AAU basketball," Bryant said. "Horrible, terrible AAU basketball. It's stupid. It doesn't teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don't know how to post. They don't know the fundamentals of the game. It's stupid."
 

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

He's right about this: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12114523/kobe-bryant-says-european-players-more-skilled-americans-blames-aau

He's dead on about it but I think it would sound a lot better coming from a guy who doesn't epitomize the things that are wrong with hero ball. I played AAU ball back in my golden days but we didn't have the type of coach and program that he referring to. We found it fairly easy to key in on the 1 or 2 heroes on the other team due to the type of ball they would play vs our own style. Box and 1 works wonders when the 1 being face guarded doesn't care about ball movement, or movement without the ball for that matter.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

He's right about this: http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12114523/kobe-bryant-says-european-players-more-skilled-americans-blames-aau
 

 
Is he? How many Europeans come over and can immediately contribute on the defensive end? How many are elite rebounders? How's Ricky Rubio's shooting form? Would you describe Enes Kanter as fundamentally sound? How many European players, in the last 5 years, have come over and been able to immediately slide into a starting lineup? Or even play consistently as an above average rotation player? Mirotic, Valanciuius, Splitter, and who else? Antekou--er, the Giannis, I guess? 
 
In other words, I think there's a tendency to blame AAU ball when US prospects aren't fundamentally sound while completely ignoring the hundreds if not thousands of European prospects playing at various levels of basketball in Europe who aren't fundamentally sound. Take Marc Gasol, who Kobe cites by name: he actually played AAU ball and high school basketball in the US and then opted to play professionally in Spain in lieu of playing NCAA basketball. Is it really fair to hold up a guy who spent 6 years playing professionally before making his NBA debut to a 19 year old Andrew Wiggins and then blame AAU for failing to develop him similarly? How is that a fair comp? Let's compare him to age 24 Wiggins when the time comes.
 
You don't hear a peep about the AAU's shortcomings when it creates LeBron James or Kevin Durant nor do you hear anybody extolling the virtues of the Euro model when it turns out Segei Karasev doesn't know how to dribble, or when the Euroleague's leading scorer turns out to be a below average rotation guy on the Nets.
 
And I say all of this as somebody who genuinely believes that the NCAA hurts the development of basketball players in the US, and as somebody who thinks there are definite improvements to be made in how we develop young players. But I think the whole "Europeans are more fundamentally sound" trope is a symptom of the fact that by the time Europeans get to the NBA, often times, they have several years of professional basketball behind them and we all too conveniently overlook the young guys who get here and aren't ready to contribute in the NBA. There's a lot to dislike about amatuer basketball in the US, but the issue isn't with what's happening to these kids before they turn 18, the issue is the gray area between the age of 18 and when players should be reasonably expected to be capable of contributing to an NBA team.