Really have no idea what to expect from Kobe... We all know that he's still capable of being an elite level player, but will his body allow him to..? Hopefully the shoulder is fine & this long layoff will give him fresh legs... We'll see... Hoping for the best.
Good question. Requirements for playing Kobe in his last year: - Maximum of 33 minutes played in any regulation game. Overtime games are difficult to predict. If you can't finish things in one overtime, he rests the first minute or two of the 2nd one. I don't care if that means we lose the game (unless winning that game means going to the playoffs or not). - Kobe doesn't get to monopolize the ball. There's a misconception here that I think he wants/needs to do that. I think he's willing to be a spot-up shooter at times if we have a guy he feels is capable of carrying the offense. Kobe's usage rating needs to be somewhere in the 23-25% range which is a drastic reduction for him. If you can get it even lower than that, great. - I don't really want to see him going at the rim very often. Space the floor, attack from the mid-post, and only go to the rim when there's little chance of contact. The less beating this guy takes, the better. - Try to hide him on defense. Put him on the weakest link defensively. On nights when he's really feeling good Kobe can act as a disruptor by playing passing lanes, but really I want him directing traffic. Put him somewhere so that he can lead the defense vocally and direct traffic. Tell the young guys where to go and where the screens are. I don't want him isolating on LeBron or Kyrie or Curry pretty much ever. If it happens once or twice a game fine, but that's it. - No back-to-backs. If you want him for the 2nd game, sit him in the 1st one. Plain and simple. No back-to-backs unless the playoffs are on the line.
Byron had better have learned from last season (and from D' Antoni before him): LIMIT the freaking minutes for Kobe. No more overusing him. I don't know what to expect either this year, but knowing Kobe, he'll probably come back in very good shape. He just needs to be smart about it and not wear himself out. I don't want him hurting himself again. I'm really hoping he can give us a productive year but play more off screens, more off ball.
There are two videos from Kobe pre- and postgame with the Chinese TV or what that was. Interesting note: in the 2nd video he said, that he will be starting to shoot again in 1 to 1,5 months.
Antawn Jamison: “It wasn’t difficult at all” playing with Kobe Bryant Jamison was one of my favorite Lakers that season. Very professional, ultimate teammate, went about his business, didn't complain about MDA being a f***ing idiot and wasting most of his season. Great, intelligent guy.
So now the tally is up to..... 100 stories FOR Kobe being a stellar teammate 3 stories AGAINST Kobe being a stellar teammate And the media with the masses of clueless fans will run with the 3 stories from players that are salty and jealous. It's a damn shame.
Nah.. The critics will say that Jamison is employed by the Laker flagship network so he's just toeing the company line. Reality sometimes sucks for that small faction.
Kobe still looks young. If he looks healthy like that and pretty in shape then I have no choice but to be optimistic. Kobe has a mental edge on all of the other players of the game today so I have no doubt he'll do his best to at least try and make us a playoff team. I don't need or expect him to be 2006 Kobe at this age and this point in his career.
Just saw First take debate on the top 10 all greats and where Lebron fits in. Just a fun question to joke around... if the Lakers wins the championship next year, where does that puts Kobe on the all time greats? I think a top 3 definitely. and second among Guards-F.
^ pretty high up there. We wouldn't be hearing all this "he can't win without ______". He would be taking a group of inexperienced rookies and sophomores to the promise land. Maybe he'll finally get the praise he deserved. It would be an incredible run though, getting through the West and probably the Cavs.
If Kobe wins a ring next summer... That gives him 6 and makes him 6-2 in the Finals. I say he's third behind Jordan and Kareem and he may even be even with Jordan in my eyes. He's got the same number of rings and made it to 2 more Finals while breaking basically all of Jordan's records... Of course that's not going to happen, but it'd be an amazing end to his story.
PFFFT! In that case Durant can't get here soon enough in 2016 and Kobe takes the Duncan cut and we win 1 or 2 more with him. Most greatest ever in the modern game....for all times! It's mind bottling.
I don't know... the last 2 seasons have really hurt his legacy IMO. A big part of what made him great was his longevity and being in the discussion of 'best player in the league' for over a decade. If he had played healthy for 20 full seasons, I would put him in the Top 3, regardless of the 6th ring. Now, probably Top 5.
