[quote]drewh wrote:
Nobody is saying Lebron is the better player overall it’s too young in his career to say that. But this year and last year he was the better player and is currently the best player in the league. Kenny Smith, Reggie Miller, NBA players the rest of the logical world>randman and laker fans.[/quote]
Actually most players I’ve heard speak aren’t ready to put anyone over Bryant just yet. Even with the fucked up finger, bum knee and whatever else he has wrong he’s still the most dangerous guy in the league.[/quote]
When most NBA people OUTSIDE the game (analysts, etc.) are asked who the best player is, they say LBJ. When people INSIDE the game are asked (players, coaches, etc.) they say Kobe. To me, value of inside the game > outside the game, so Kobe > LBJ.[/quote]
Good looking out T. I was gonna bring that up but hadn’t heard enough interviews this season to feel confident in doing so.
[quote]drewh wrote:
Tim Tebow has the highest selling jersey right now that’s how bad it is.[/quote]
Holy sh!t really? That cry baby mtherfucker that probably won’t play a down 'til 2012? Never knew sport fans in the u.s were so keen to throw their money away.
It seems America is losing interest in basketball (recession could have something to do with it) but its been gaining a lot of traction overseas, especially Asia.
[quote]randman wrote:
Magic wouldn’t be an upset over the Cavs really. The Suns over the Lakers? Definitely.[/quote]
When I look at the Suns and I look at the Lakers the only real advantage I could think of for the Lakers would be Kobe and Bynum, maybe. Suns are much deeper, have a better PG, have better perimeter players and have A’mare whose it > Gasol (although im guessing it might be a fun match-up, athleticism vs flair).
After 1.5 rounds, I’d say that LA in the Finals is all but a formality. PHX can’t beat them, and hell, I think the Thunder might’ve had a better chance to beat LA than Utah. I think the Spurs had the best chance to beat them, but… oops.
Cleveland? Sorry, I just don’t see it. I can’t put my finger on it, but I can’t see LeBron and the Cavs hoisting the trophy this year.
And that leaves Orlando. I haven’t viewed Orlando as a serious title contender all year, after the way LA toyed with them last June. Maybe it’s time to reconsider that, given that they’ve barely broken a sweat en route to 7-0 thus far. Of course, Cleveland went 8-0 last year before getting drilled by Orlando.
So if I had to give odds right now, I’d give LA a 65% chance of winning the title, with Orlando at 25%, Cleveland at 9%, and the remaining field at 1%.
[quote]drewh wrote:
Nobody is saying Lebron is the better player overall it’s too young in his career to say that. But this year and last year he was the better player and is currently the best player in the league. Kenny Smith, Reggie Miller, NBA players the rest of the logical world>randman and laker fans.[/quote]
Actually most players I’ve heard speak aren’t ready to put anyone over Bryant just yet. Even with the fucked up finger, bum knee and whatever else he has wrong he’s still the most dangerous guy in the league.[/quote]
When most NBA people OUTSIDE the game (analysts, etc.) are asked who the best player is, they say LBJ. When people INSIDE the game are asked (players, coaches, etc.) they say Kobe. To me, value of inside the game > outside the game, so Kobe > LBJ.[/quote]
Good looking out T. I was gonna bring that up but hadn’t heard enough interviews this season to feel confident in doing so.[/quote]
This year? Give me proof.
Dude, we’re not lying. There are a lot of players/analysts/scouts/etc that still say he’s the best. Yeah, even this year. First I do watch a lot of NBA basketball games and I’ve seen analysts say it, analysts talking about other players saying it, articles I’ve read, etc. Sometimes players/scouts/etc say it anonymously through analysts, articles, etc I’ve seen/read (this year).
Also, Kobe still has the best selling jersey in the league too over LeBron.
I can’t point you to ten links off the top of my head that captures everything I’ve seen and others have on tv but I did find some links…
Remember, this is just a sampling. Again, I can’t capture everything on links but yes, many, many people still regard Bryant as the best and aren’t quite willing yet to pass the torch…
[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
After 1.5 rounds, I’d say that LA in the Finals is all but a formality. PHX can’t beat them, and hell, I think the Thunder might’ve had a better chance to beat LA than Utah. I think the Spurs had the best chance to beat them, but… oops.
Cleveland? Sorry, I just don’t see it. I can’t put my finger on it, but I can’t see LeBron and the Cavs hoisting the trophy this year.
And that leaves Orlando. I haven’t viewed Orlando as a serious title contender all year, after the way LA toyed with them last June. Maybe it’s time to reconsider that, given that they’ve barely broken a sweat en route to 7-0 thus far. Of course, Cleveland went 8-0 last year before getting drilled by Orlando.
So if I had to give odds right now, I’d give LA a 65% chance of winning the title, with Orlando at 25%, Cleveland at 9%, and the remaining field at 1%.[/quote]
I wish I had that confidence of the Lakers against Orlando. Orlando torched the Lakers with a healthy Jameer Nelson and he wasn’t in last years finals but is now. Believe me, I hope your odds work out but I don’t have as much confidence against Orlando this year.
"…no two players can take over a game like James and Bryant. They aren’t the same player, but they’re the only players in that league who exist on this plane of dominance.
Thus, it all goes back to those two poles of style, even personality. Master technician Kobe Bryant reliably manufactures a shot, finding the angle that leaves defenders off-balance. It gets you excited, but also a little anxious, because there’s no way one man should be able to so reliably super-brain his way to a bucket.
James is a basketball Mardi Gras who replaces Kobe’s execution of the impossible with the feeling that they built roller coasters to make us happy, and that the game is all putting on a show that captures the win when it matters."
[quote]randman wrote:
Magic wouldn’t be an upset over the Cavs really. The Suns over the Lakers? Definitely.[/quote]
When I look at the Suns and I look at the Lakers the only real advantage I could think of for the Lakers would be Kobe and Bynum, maybe. Suns are much deeper, have a better PG, have better perimeter players and have A’mare whose it > Gasol (although im guessing it might be a fun match-up, athleticism vs flair). [/quote]
I hate to give you the same response as I did when you were calling an upset of OKC over LA but here it goes…there is no way the Suns are upsetting the Lakers. A’mare > Gasol??? Umm…no.
You will probably actually see the Suns blow out the Lakers in a game or 2 in that series because they will run like crazy and the Lakers will a) miss a lot of shots and b) won’t get back in transition defense.
That being said, at most this will go 6 games. The Lakers size and half court game (which they will enforce more than the Suns will enforce their run and gun style) will be too much for the Suns to overcome.
Sorry dude. I know you want to see the Lake Show go down. You’re going to have to hope for that in the finals. It ain’t happening against the Suns.
I thought that no call on Fisher getting held was going to cost LA the game. Also I can’t tell if the Magic look REALLY FUCKING SCARY right now, or if the Hawks are JUST THAT BAD for some reason in these playoffs.
Leaning towards the ladder because they took 7 to knockout the Bogut-less Bucks, but damn if Orlando’s offense doesn’t look like it’s full speed ahead right now.
Dude, we’re not lying. There are a lot of players/analysts/scouts/etc that still say he’s the best. Yeah, even this year. First I do watch a lot of NBA basketball games and I’ve seen analysts say it, analysts talking about other players saying it, articles I’ve read, etc. Sometimes players/scouts/etc say it anonymously through analysts, articles, etc I’ve seen/read (this year).
Also, Kobe still has the best selling jersey in the league too over LeBron.
I can’t point you to ten links off the top of my head that captures everything I’ve seen and others have on tv but I did find some links…
Remember, this is just a sampling. Again, I can’t capture everything on links but yes, many, many people still regard Bryant as the best and aren’t quite willing yet to pass the torch…
[/quote]
Ok but only because Chase from pestplayerontheplanet said it. (sarcasm intended).
Ok but only because Chase from pestplayerontheplanet said it. (sarcasm intended).[/quote]
You picked out that one link and this is your retort? Come on. Don’t be an ass. The point is, there are a lot of players, scouts, etc that say Kobe Bryant has not passed that torch to Lebron yet. Whether you agree with them or not is the issue.
If you want to put your fingers in your ears and tell us we need to prove to you that players are saying it and keep denying this fact, it’s still not going to change the fact that this is indeed happening.
It’s just sad because it’s happened the torch has passed Charles Barkley, Van Gundy they’ve all fucking said it. Last year it was arguable this year it’s no question.
Again, all we were saying is that there are many players, scouts, etc that don’t agree with Charles Barkley or Van Gundy. No one is saying that no analyst (Van Gundy, etc) has said the torch has been passed.
There are many other analysts that have said the same thing. But I’ve seen others (Durant, Mashburn, etc) say Kobe Bryant is still the best and until LeBron wins the championship the torch won’t be passed.
Obviously we know where you stand. But you can’t say that “everyone” is saying the torch has been passed because “everyone” isn’t saying that. And personally I agree with WhiteFlash, I take players, former players, and scouts opinion over analysts opinion.
And I still hear the former saying Kobe is the best more than I hear Lebron. Sorry to burst your Lebron “no championships to his name” bubble.
And personally Charles’ predictions on most everything is wrong. I love listening to the guy but don’t agree with much of what he says.
Of course Stern would hate it,but fuck him haha. I still want the Lakers to make it out of the West but a Magic/Suns finals would be a lot of fun to watch. That would probably be the highest scoring finals of all time.[/quote]
This would be a great NBAF matchup. But as stated, Stern would hate this because he wants to attract the casual fan.
For instance, all of us (and many millions of basketball fans) will watch the NBA Finals regardless of who is playing, because we love basketball. However, Stern wants the most popular teams playing each other in the Finals to attract the casual fans to increase ratings.
Most people who don’t really follow basketball extensively more than likely know who Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are. They may or may not know Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. Therefore, by LAL and CLE playing, more fans (including the all-important casual fans) will watch.
I liking this to boxing: true boxing enthusiasts watched Pacquiao-Clottey and Mosley-Mayweather. The casual fan wants to see Pacquiao-Mayweather because they are the two biggest names in boxing. Get these guys to fight, more people will watch. LAL-CLE in the Finals, more people will watch.