Assassin Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Y'all remember the old "workers better than HBK" thread? We should do that with Kobe. Workers better than Kobe? Well he's never wrestled, but I'd go with Thesz, Flair, Bret... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Eddy, Mark Henry, Liger... Kobe might be better than 21st century HBK though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Miner Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 This has already got me thinking way too hard trying to figure out which wrestler would be the equivalent of Paul Pierce. Underrated all time great that was known on occasion to oversell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Maybe Mr. Perfect seeing as he's received a lot of hate here lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Kobe isn't good at pulling his punches. They look good but he ends up injuring his opponents. Ask Samaki Walker. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I got really interested in the Kobe conversation and I wanted to see if there really are that many players that are in the conversation. I came up with 11 that I don't think would get much argument. Deron Williams - Nets Derrick Rose - Bulls Lebron James and Kevin Love - Cavaliers Stephen Curry - Warriors Chris Paul - Clippers Carmelo Anthony - Knicks Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook - Thunder LeMarcus Aldridge - Trail Blazers John Wall - Wizards I'm not saying that the players below are better than Kobe, but trying to see how a case could be made. If you average Kobe's Player Efficiency Rating for the last three years he was healthy it is around 23. Players that aren't on the list above that are above or around 23: Anthony Davis 26.5 - Pelicans DeMarcus Cousins 26.1 - Kings Blake Griffin 23.9 - Clippers Dirk Nowitzki 23.6 - Mavericks James Harden 23.5 - Rockets Al Jefferson 22.7 - Hornets Andre Drummond 22.6 - Pistons Kobe's offensive stats are very impressive, but Kobe has been on the all NBA Defensive 1st or 2nd team 12 times. 2013-14 Players on 1st or 2nd team defense that would merit serious consideration: Joakim Noah - 1st team, defensive player of the year Serge Ibaka - 1st team Other players that should merit consideration DeMar DeRozan 22.7 ppg (#10 in the league) - Raptors DeAndre Jordan - 13.6 reb (#1), 2.5 blk (#3), 5.8 defensive win shares (#3) From here you can make a case for players with intangibles such as will Chris Bosh return back to Toronto form in Miami, will Dwight Howard's back allow him to be the defensive player he was in the past or will Brook Lopez be healthy this year, but numbers wise if Kobe can come back at 80-90 percent this year I can't see him being the 40th best player in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I'll put it like this, I could probably easily come up with 39 guys I'd rather have on my roster than Kobe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 40th best. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Besides not knowing what kobe has left, we have to factor in his insane salary. Given that it is WAY to high(at least to be anything than Kobe and the Kobeyettes), I wouldn't touch him with a hundred foot pole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Smash mouth basketball right there folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 40th best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Having Kobe as your best player is about the equivalent of having Flair as your world champ in 2004. Sure he'll sell some nostalgia tix, but that's about it. . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I KNOW IT'S ONLY PRESEASON BUT I AM HYPED NEIL FUNK 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 The discussion is not about Kobe's salary, though. Sure, his salary makes it difficult but who is arguing that? The ESPN rankings didn't factor that in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 At Sixers-Nets. There were two lane violations in the same quarter. When is the last game you've seen that had two in a game, much less a quarter? And AK47 airballed a ft. God this is awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 TOO BIG TOO STRONG TOO FAST TOO GOOD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincey Greene Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 This is silly. What makes ya'll think Kobe's deal is only for playing basketball? That's impossibly naive. Kobe is a brand and an icon in his city, like Derek Jeter. His pay reflects that. Whether or not that's What's Best For Business is a whole 'nother convo. But he's not overpaid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfredoE Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I won't really argue about where Kobe should be in that ESPN list since I don't really have a problem with him being ranked 40. He's in his 19-20th season. 40 seems reasonable for a guy who's been around that long and is coming off two injuries and only played 6 games last season. My concern is actually when they started getting into the 60s and then got into the 40s and its that I'm not impressed with the talent level for this season. It feels like there's less superstar talent, but I think its because we had this great run of stars coming in from 96 thru 2004 and it seems like there's been good, but not great talent lately. As far as Kobe-bashing by ESPN lately, I don't care. They do it all the time. Kobe bashing ESPN is just as amusing. It will likely lead to some rather entertaining ESPN in-game interviews while having to watch this Laker team struggle along for the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glfpunk Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Really you have like 10 guys that most people would consider the top tier premier players in the league. Then there's probably like 20-30 guys after that that anyone could make a valid argument of one over the other. Kobe is in that group. So yeah you could make a valid point of him being like the 15th best player in the league or the 35th best player in the league. There's not a lot of separation between those guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I won't really argue about where Kobe should be in that ESPN list since I don't really have a problem with him being ranked 40. He's in his 19-20th season. 40 seems reasonable for a guy who's been around that long and is coming off two injuries and only played 6 games last season. My concern is actually when they started getting into the 60s and then got into the 40s and its that I'm not impressed with the talent level for this season. It feels like there's less superstar talent, but I think its because we had this great run of stars coming in from 96 thru 2004 and it seems like there's been good, but not great talent lately. As far as Kobe-bashing by ESPN lately, I don't care. They do it all the time. Kobe bashing ESPN is just as amusing. It will likely lead to some rather entertaining ESPN in-game interviews while having to watch this Laker team struggle along for the season. Thanks for reminding me that this buttcheeks team will still get more national TV games than anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 TOO BIG TOO STRONG TOO FAST TOO GOOD Then there was this.... https://vine.co/v/ObtuX90viEK You think it's not in the back of their head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 How could it not be? It's in the back of everyone's head. Everyone in the city is holding their breath every time he has the ball. I don't know when that feeling will go away. EDIT: Also people should read this piece on Rose,in which his brother says, "He knows he will never get back to that." It's pretty good, and gives a lot more insight into probably the shyest superstar in the NBA: http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11694655/derrick-rose-new-player-new-man-ready-end-cycle-injuries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfredoE Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I won't really argue about where Kobe should be in that ESPN list since I don't really have a problem with him being ranked 40. He's in his 19-20th season. 40 seems reasonable for a guy who's been around that long and is coming off two injuries and only played 6 games last season. My concern is actually when they started getting into the 60s and then got into the 40s and its that I'm not impressed with the talent level for this season. It feels like there's less superstar talent, but I think its because we had this great run of stars coming in from 96 thru 2004 and it seems like there's been good, but not great talent lately. As far as Kobe-bashing by ESPN lately, I don't care. They do it all the time. Kobe bashing ESPN is just as amusing. It will likely lead to some rather entertaining ESPN in-game interviews while having to watch this Laker team struggle along for the season. Thanks for reminding me that this buttcheeks team will still get more national TV games than anyone else. You're more than welcome RandomAct. I hope you enjoy the Ronnie Price-led Lakers games on ESPN/TNT/NBATV this season! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Lottery reform gets soundly defeated at the BoG meeting. 13 teams voted against, much higher than the 7 that were predicted beforehand.- 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Lottery reform gets soundly defeated at the BoG meeting. 13 teams voted against, much higher than the 7 that were predicted beforehand.- GOOD. Maybe now Grantland will shut up about it. . . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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