Kobe Bryant Discussion: Mamba Out!

So my buddy was watching the game last night and he said that Kobe drew up the SLOB play to D'Lo at the end of the game. Any truth to that??

 

@therealdeal

No, not a "told you" but some posters may benefit from having a level head. He was struggling and trying to adjust the entire season and some (I won't mention any usernames) were quick to dismiss him. Look back some pages, and you will realize that many comments were personal attacks, specifically aimed towards his personality. As I've been saying all along, he doesn't deserve to be criticized to that level.

The mood swing does surprise me though. Some posters at one point completely lost faith in Kobe. Some didn't. And they know who they are. That much is quite apparent.

 

@Weezy Thanks for the cookie. I do take credit for mentioning that his shot was starting to look better a few games ago.

Look, I'm not here to argue or add fuel to a heated debate. I'm not a freakin troll man. I come here to have a good time talking Lakers. And the stuff posted before was just depressing and I felt it was disrespectful to a legend. I apologize if it made you angry but I just want the excessive ranting to stop. That's all I'm saying.

Anyway, I think Kobe sitting out the 4th quarter in closing minutes, deferring to a rookie was HUGE. That has never happened before and worth celebrating in my humble opinion. It could change the outlook of our team moving forward.

 

Wow!!

 

Precisely why Kobe deserves that $25 million contract.

 

@Weezy Fair enough. But if he starts chucking again, and if I see people ranting excessively (in my view) I'll be back here defending him again. There must be space on this board for people like me that prefer to discuss the good and not too much bad.

 

If I may chime in with my humble 2 cents. There always has been place for both sides in this community, it's one of the many reasons why it is so great. We usually have very mature doiscussions, without people calling other people names or being aggressive, and we actualyu seem not to have any trolls on this page, I didn't think that would be possible these days. I guess both sides won't change their minds and there is no need to act all upset and call each other out, ESPECIALLY when we can enjoy a rare moment of relatively good play of both the Lakers and Kobe.

 

Think everyone needs to relax a bit. We all have the right to express our own opinions. I've been called a blind Kobe fan which is think is absurd considering I've criticized him as well. I haven't loved his shot selection this season. I wish he'd stay at that mid range and low post area so he doesn't have to take as many dribbles to get into his move and a shot. I wish he'd pass the ball to these young kids and let them make the game easier. So I agree with all that criticism.

What I don't agree with is this notion he doesn't care. To me when you keep working and trying to come back and not retiring when he had the perfect out in 2012 after the Achilles injury. Part of me wanted him too because I didn't wanna see him go out like this because I knew deep down he wouldn't have been able to take back seat. Do I wish he would? Damn straight because he'd still be able to be a highly effective player.

I'm not a blind Kobe homer. Is he my favorite player? Yeah he is, but I'm a Lakers fan first and I always will be. Tomorrow at the game I won't even be wearing a Kobe jersey (Wearing a Russell) which probably 90 percent of the fans there will be because I think it's important to show people that it's not all about Kobe. There is a future. There is more to this franchise. As great as he is nobody is bigger than the franchise. Still I'll always have the outmost respect for him.

I thought and still do the contract extension was a huge mistake. In sports you don't pay for what someone did previously it's about what they can give you now and going forward. Especially after what was clearly a career altering injury that Kobe had suffered. I understand paying homage to the guy, but there are much better ways to do it.

As for the season itself I'm as frustrated as anyone. I hate how Byron refuses to bench Kobe until he did it himself. It sends a bad message that you can keep chucking away without any fear of being pulled. I hate seeing D'Angelo and Jordan having to just sit and watch because it's all about the Kobe show when he can't create and dominant on isolations anymore. This team could've been very solid this season. Kobe's inability to adjust, take a step back, let the young guys run the show and Byron not stepping in and preventing that from happening doomed us. As much as I love Kobe it's definitely time to move on. Even if he wanted to keep playing I wouldn't want the Lakers to re-sign him. If I was a blind homer I'd want that, but I know his run his over. He can't or won't accept a lesser role and we can't continue to have these young guys being relegated to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th options.

The future is bright and I'm looking forward to it. It's a shame because I absolutely agree with what Plashke said the other day the Lakers could've paid homage to Kobe and still developed the young kids. Kobe and Byron didn't want that. Clearly. Look at the Spurs. We could've been like them. As good? Of course not, but Duncan isn't refusing to give in to Father Time and realize he's not the man anymore and he allows guys like LeMarcus, Kawai, and Tony to carry the load and he is still able to keep playing at a high level because of that.

 

I like balanced discussions. Without it, this board would be nothing but a circlejerk where everyone is saying the same thing and re-stating the same opinion. But having balanced discourse requires rational discussion, with open ears and open minds. You can't have a good conversation if you're not willing to bend or at least consider what others are saying.

There are people in this world who are like this:


We should strive to make it more like this:



@tada You're welcome to state your opinion that people have been too hard on Kobe. Nobody is going at you for that, man. This isn't about positive or negative discussion. It's that you could have said what you wanted to without throwing shade at people in the process. At least admit that much and we can move on. "Told you so"'s and calling into question other people's fanhoods do not make for good discussion.

Lastly, I'll just say this in general (not aimed at anyone here specifically) to address the elephant in the room of Kobe fans vs. Lakers fans:
1) If someone only wants to talk about one thing all the time, it's only natural for others to assume that person has a personal bias towards that topic. These biases, perceived or otherwise, are also roadblocks to balanced discussion
2) Being critical of Kobe does not make someone a "hater," so long as the criticism isn't wildly unreasonable and Kobe is not the obvious sole target for criticism 24/7
3) Being a Lakers fan and a Kobe fan are not mutually exclusive

 

Well that is an interesting point. But I think the key word I've been using is "excessive" I've never once said that this year's Kobe is playing good. He's a below average NBA player when he's shooting 30%. So I don't think I was being excessively positive. In fact I find that to be quite objective. The positive part of my posts were that I thought his bad shooting was partially due his legs and partially due to a slump. And people shot down that notion, which I understand.

The negative comments, in particular the comments stating that he doesn't care anymore, were excessive. Those posts, to me at least, were no longer talking about his performance on the floor but directed at his character and personality.