A list of 5 is just too short for all the great players Kobe played against. He has really spanned generations of basketball.
The only name there that surprises at all is Drexler. And that only does so because Clyde was at the end when Kobe was in his first couple seasons. MJ was too, but I'd say MJ was still close to prime MJ then, while I can't remember much of how Drexler looked then. I'm not surprised to not see Duncan though, he's never given Kobe much trouble, or stood in his way, other than physically standing in his way and getting dunked on. I mean yes the Spurs beat us a few times, but Duncan was never a huge scorer or unstoppable force from what I remember, it was the Spurs as a team, or even Parker that was the pest.
http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-o...eveals-the-top-5-teams-players-hes-ever-faced Kobe reveals the top five teams he's ever played against. No surprise here at all. That Sacremento team was terrific. Really maybe a play or two away from being a championship team. Much like the Jazz going up against Jordan's Bulls they just went up against an all time great opponent. They were pretty much the last time to have significant success in the playoffs running a Princeton offense in the NBA. C-Webb and Vlade were incredible passers as big men. Bibby was a great fit because of his shooting and cutting. Bobby Jackson was a hell of a player. Especially off the bench. Christie was their defensive stopper. They blew us out in Game 3 and then we needed a miracle just to rally and win Game 5. There was obviously the controversial Game 6, but they got all the calls in Game 7 at home so I don't wanna hear any whining from King fans. That Game 7 was an all time classic to me. Big shot after big shot. That C Bags defense in 2008 was one of the all time best. That was probably KG's last prime year and he had that knee injury and never was really the same after that. Even guys like Pierce and Allen who were always at best mediocre defenders bought in and played at a high level on both ends of the court. That zone defense they played kept Kobe out of the paint and forced us to beat them with jump shots. Bynum was missed badly though especially on the offensive glass. That would've been one way to defeat that zone. Big reason we defeated them in 2010. Even though he wasn't that effective from a statistical standpoint just his presence was huge. Allowing Pau to play PF. Keeping Perkins off him. He dominated with his length at times. Perkins wasn't effective at all which is why I laugh when people say the C Bags would've won Game 7 had Perk played. Man I miss Bynum. If it wasn't for those knee injuries there wouldn't be any of this talk about no dominant big men being left because he would've fit that bill.
Maybe they're waiting until the holidays are over. Casual fans don't really tune into the NBA until after Xmas anyway. There's also the possibility that they don't want to embarrass their friend (Byron) by firing him during the holiday season. But in all honesty, I believe that Byron is being kept on in order to keep tanking for a shot at a top 3 pick.
My thing is, while tanking might be front and center in their brain right now letting go of Byron doesn't have to mean they're not tanking. Whatever coach takes over in the interim isn't going to be great and in the meantime you're allowing Byron to make mistake after mistake. It just seems foolish to let this go on, sullying your team and frustrating your players. We're tanking now regardless of Byron Scott. His incompetence should not be rewarded...
Another very efficient game. Too many three's, but at least a couple of them were at the end of the shot clock. We just get into things way too late in the clock and it would be nice if we did something late in games other than Kobe isolations.
What a crazy turnaround from earlier this season. I'd say earlier his game was holding the team back. Now, he's making the team better like he always has, it's really something. Before I was dreading him coming back in the 4th, now I'm looking forward to it again. That was just fun to watch, vintage Kobe shots and passes, backing guys down in the post, inspiring the team with his effort on both ends. Don't like the 9 threes attempted, all the ISOs, and playing entire quarters, but whatever I guess. He ended up with 32 mins which is ok.
He carried us tonight in scoring, facilitating, defense on Barton, clutch plays. 20 years in the league and he can still be the best player on the floor on a given night. Pretty amazing.
Kobe Bryant is not from this planet. 20 year veterans are not supposed to be playing like he is right now. It's really something to watch. All of a sudden he looks lively, he looks energized, we saw him serve up a poster the other night, his shots look good instead of always ending up short, his individual defense on Barton in the second half.
Kobe is the only player to score 30+ in their 20th year in the NBA, now twice. Finally, a good one in the record books for the Lakers. Also if Kobe holds up all season and plays like this, please let him on the Olympic team.