On Jun 21, 1:18=A0am, Rich Billionaire <f...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
> Kobe won three NBA finals and will definitely win some more.
> I think after getting their ***** kicked by teams with strong defense,
> Kobe will be more of a team player than ever and the Lakers will work
> on improving their own defense.
People who constantly compare Kobe unfavorably to Michael Jordan often
omit this fact: Jordan's champion****ps were always loaded with
excellent defensive players in addition to Jordan himself. Kobe has
been on some teams with potent offensive weapons (i.e. Shaq, Odom,
Gasol, Butler), but seldom defensive stalwarts such as Pippen, Grant,
and Rodman. The best of the Shaq/Kobe Lakers teams, the 2001
edition, featured Grant (i.e. Horace) and Horry and Fox when the two
were in their defensive primes. As the quality of the Lakers' defense
slipped, so did their dynasty.
Look at the team Kobe went into the Finals with this year: armed to
the teeth with offensive weapons (Kobe himself, Odom, Gasol,
Sasha...even guys like Radmonvic once in a while), but WHO among them
was a defensive stalwart? Derek Fisher? Never. Gasol? No.
Odom? Not consistently, no. Walton? None of these guys were
renowned as defensive players during their careers...let alone be
compared to the defensive crew that Jordan had in Pippen, Rodman, etc.
The Bulls had among the best defensive teams ever, which took a great
deal of pressure off of Jordan. The Lakers of '08 had nothing close
to that kind of defense, which put a much greater burden on Kobe on
both sides of the floor that Jordan never had to deal with.
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