KOBE TALK (Your one-stop shop for everything Kobe!)

What's wrong with Kobe Bryant?

Absolutely nothing, say the Houston Rockets.

When Coach Jeff Van Gundy wasn't chiding Phil Jackson before Monday's game, he was pumping up Bryant, calling him everything but the best player he has ever seen.

It's not a bad strategy to compliment Bryant — Houston guard Cuttino Mobley has mastered a perfectly believable wince whenever he's asked if he's a suitable Kobe stopper — but Van Gundy seemed earnest in his flattery.

"One thing I don't understand from the outside is all the criticism of him," Van Gundy said. "I've never understood it. What I see and what I read, and what I coach against are two different things. The guy is great.

"He competes hard every night. He passes when he should pass, and shoots when he should shoot, and he just has an ability to create a good shot for himself."

Bryant had 35 points, four rebounds and two assists in Game 2. He made nine of 19 field-goal attempts and 15 of 16 free-throw attempts.

Can someone explain this to me? Is Van Gundy saying Kobe is good?

He's certainly not saying anything negative about him.

He had a great game, so there isnt anything bad to say about him

There should never be anything negative to say about him as hes the best right now
Btw what would be the nba without players like kobe, iverson so stop the critics

Oh, and i forgot to say im surprised to see there are no posts about kobes game as he played well but im sure if he misses one u guys will have lots of thing to say...

that fluke-no-look-while-colliding-with-two-guys-in-the-air-shot was cool

Oh, and i forgot to say im surprised to see there are no posts about kobes game as he played well but im sure if he misses one u guys will have lots of thing to say...

You're a genius, ofcourse nobody will complain if he's played well.

Not surprising is it?

Oh, no point in pointing out he played very well every game, there are more then enough people like you browsing the forum.

Kobe4MVP can stay neutral.

that fluke-no-look-while-colliding-with-two-guys-in-the-air-shot was cool

strange that not a single teammate hi-fived, chest-bumped, or other wise acknowledged him or it.

Yao Ming will meet Will Hung this Sunday and the LEGENDARY WILLIAM HUNG will perform during the LAkers/Rockets game!
I'm surprised his album: Inspiration (He needs a lot of it) is in the top 40.

And so, we join the Lakers on their annual spring frolic to glory …

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Oh, never mind.

At least, they're in a better place than they were a week ago. They had to be, or they'd have been on their way to vacation and/or the next phases in their careers.

Here's how close they came:

If Kobe Bryant hits the rim instead of Shaquille O'Neal at the end of Game 1, they might be down, 1-0. If O'Neal gets his fifth foul after Phil Jackson gambles and lets him stay on the floor in the third quarter of Game 2, they might be down, 2-0.

Well- wat if Kobe hit the rim...I think Lakers would have lost (If thats wat its suggesting...) and Shaq fouled out... Rockets would be leading 2-0.....

The article is talking about Van Gundy's chances of winning the series..or somethin- I only scanned the article

FULL ARTICLE: (REGISTRATION REQUIRED) http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-heisler22apr22,1,3233438.column?coll=la-home-headlines

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Can anyone tell me- wat has Phil jax done in the past to try and 'control' Kobe...I'm just wonderin' And was the young MJ as much trouble as Kobe?

Lol, Yao Ming is so lucky to meet him

strange that not a single teammate hi-fived, chest-bumped, or other wise acknowledged him or it.

Yes they did, Shaq clapped his hands and Malone hi-fived him.

i cant believe they didnt double kobe on the last play. probably someones screwed up, and then franchise dribbles their hopes away. incredible.

all i have to say is thats the softest foul i've ever seen on a star with 5 fouls with 1 minute left.

at least la's next opponent and any other opponent and everybody else knows that kobe is stoppable if you double him anywhere near the amount of time tmac's doubled in orlando. the fact that kobe needs shaq to have a succesful team has now been doubly solidified in my mind. 18 points is all la needs from kobe to win, because you know what? malone and payton still have game. i'd trim it down to 15.

i hope la goes down next round, or houston can come back to take 3 in a row if they have trouble with houston how're they gonna fair against sac or sa.

Last edited by magius on Mon Apr 26, 2004 8:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

FUCKING KILL KOBE!!! GODDAM RAPIST AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

sorry for kobe fans i'm just very upset rockets lost

if you're sore about houston losing, its malone you should be cursing

FUCKING KILL KOBE!!! GODDAM RAPIST AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

sorry for kobe fans i'm just very upset rockets lost

LOL ! As soon as I saw that I'm like "He must be a Rockets fan".

Go Kobe, and Malone. Lakers will beat Rockets.

damn you kobe haters!!!

I have to admit it was Karl but not all Karl... Kobe scored 2 and then a 3-point play to put LA ahead by 3! But Malone did AWESOME!!!!

anyway- Kobe played shit AND he shot when he admitted he saw THREE FREAKIN' BASKETS... TELL ME! IF U SAW THREE BASKETS- WOULD U SHOOT!

That was in the fourth too!

anyone have access to the insider article on espn? i read the 'preview' (first couple of paragraphs) and its basically what i assumed about kobes relation with his teammates......... nonexistent. i mean unless your blind you could obviously see it in their body language towards each other. bottom line, the lakers dont like kobe personally, but its obviously easier to win with hiim then without...... i think. i dont think phil or shaq would mine too much if kobe left this offseason (i mean if kobe had good relations with anyone, lets face it, hed probably be staying), and payton would probably consider staying to a higher degree.

Here's a topic for discussion in the form of a two part question: If the Lakers do find themselves facing an ultimatum this offseason and must choose Shaq or Kobe...who do you think they would choose? Is that the player they should choose?

the wise decision would be Kobe as kobe is younger.. Shaq is in the point of his career where gets slower every year, while Kobe is getting better every year...

I read on latimes.com that the Lakers are trying to send the message to Bryant by stopping negotiations with Jax that they'd rather have him...but they want to have Shaq too...

Can I ask a question?

Who would u keep?

a) Shaq/Jax
b) Kobe/Shaq
c) Kobe/Jax
d) Trade them all! but keep Jax

Andrew's questions:

Who they will choose? Kobe Bryant.

Who they should choose? Shaquille O'Neal. I cant imagine what he'll do to Kobe's Lakers once he's on another team. Imagine that team being Orlando or any other team god dammit.

Sit:

Shaq & Jackson.

Alot would say Shaq & Kobe, but given their feuds, I think Jackson could be the only one to handle both their tantrums. If you had another GOOD coach in mind, I might consider Kobe & Shaq.

i'd pick shaq (big surprise ) because i dont care how young kobe is -- you dont win a championship with a guard unless his name is michael jordan (and even he had a good supporting cast), and kobe isnt half mj. but if the lakers want to have a couple of mediocore seasons and no more championships its fine by me. if i was the gm and shaq left id just dump kobe and start rebuilding with higher picks already because thats what eventually will happen anyway, in my opinion losing shaq and keeping kobe is just prolonging the inevitable. i highly doubt phil would stay if shaq left, whats the point

Phil Jackson has openly announce that he regrets being flexible with Kobe Bryant. He said it has changed Kobe's attitude as a team player and ruined their relationship...

Id keep kobe and jax.
I agree when u say kobe needs shaq to win but shaq needs kobe too. They won their rings together not shaq alone or kobe alone.
Id keep kobe because shaq is going down and he's not as dominant as he used to be.
So i think they should let shaq go and replace him by another dominant 4 or 5 even if theres no shaq around right now.
And there is also the injuries he's getting old, im not saying he's finished but he's reaching the end and kobe is still rising and can still improve especially with jax.
But for sure if shaq goes (which i doubt,same for kobe) they better replace him.