2013 NBA Playoffs

[Lights Out]

There are plenty of ways Kobe's like Jordan -- both are dominant SGs, both are skilled on offense and defense

Wut. Kobe hasn't even tried on defense in a decade.

[Still MIGHTY]

When you take a point of view on something, you really dive into the deep end of it, don't you?

[dbadefense1990]

LeBron is a guy that may not have "gotten it" regarding the self-promotion, but he's nowhere near as big a prick as Kobe, who is universally loved.

Kobe is nowhere near as universally loved as people think. During the Kobe/Shaq era, people had a perception of the roles by both men. Kobe was to have been the pupil, the learner, the kid coming out of high school who was going to be taught the values of team basketball, to be ready to lead when his time comes. Shaq was to have been the master, the teacher, the player in his prime who would lead teams to championships while making those around him better and ready to lead their own teams one day. But all the riffs the two had with each-other, especially in the disastrous 2003-2004 season, had people seeing Shaq as the victim and Kobe as the spoiled brat who is taking his high school entitlement mentality to the Lakers. Some Laker fans knew this and felt sorry for Shaq being departured to Miami, hence he was given a standing ovation when he came back on Christmas 2004 (unlike LeBron's tumultuous reception the 1st time he came back to Cleveland as a Heat).

People have hated the Lakers because of Kobe, and feel sorry for the players around him. They cheer for the Lakers to lose because they want Kobe to lose. And when Kobe demanded a trade and held the city of Los Angeles off a guillotine during the 2007 offseason, the true and old Laker/basketball fans didn't care what he did, because the conclusion was that he was the pox, the cancer, the obstacle that held the team back, as highlighted by the boos he got during Opening Night in 2007.

While the most popular perception was that it was a Kobe-led only team who won back to back titles recently, it was interchangeable between he and Gasol. And so was Kobe and Shaq when they were winning. I absolutely hate player-oriented fans, fanboys, or any other synonym related. Whenever I get angry at the Lakers for underperforming, I'll call the whole team out for sucking, whereas some people's response run along the lines of "even though we won, my boy Kobe only had 10 points because Blake and Jaminson were selfish prickly jerks when dishing the ball to Gasol and Howard." These fans just never put the blame on Kobe if he is the reason the Lakers lost, or never give any other Laker credit if they win. At this point in time, I know that the Lakers play better if Kobe shoots and plays less, but his legion of fanboys will initiate a riot if they don't see their man play, even if it's a plausible way of winning. I was brought up, not as a Kobecentric Lakers fan, but a broad Lakers fan.

While I admire his determination to play despite some proven facts, those facts have proven to cost him support from general basketball fans, from his failure to realize he needs to shoot less for the team to win, to overshooting his playing ability as seen through his Achilles injury. Kobe, the mid-30s player, still plays like Kobe, the early-20s player, and he's never seen this throughout his career. General fans have never liked Kobe because of his failure to change his attitude throughout the years, and for a segment of Laker fans who have a sheer devotion to him in God-like fashion, vilifying everyone else, even his teammates. I believe that when Kobe does retire, there will be some basketball fans who will like the Lakers again, or at least know that they can speak up without fearing retaliation from the Kobe fanboys. The best Kobe can do right now is to nurture the current players to lead the future, and acknowledge that his days are about to draw to a close. But his failure to recognize the latter (i.e. continuing to chuck unmakeable shots and over playing the minutes) has turned off people's respect for him, in some cases, permanently.

[dbadefense1990]

There are plenty of ways Kobe's like Jordan -- both are dominant SGs, both are skilled on offense and defense, both are real :censored:s to their teammates, and both have been cheated out of MVP awards for no good reason.

I can argue about Kobe getting snubbed, but when was Jordan ever snubbed an MVP award? He won five such awards; what years could you possibly be trying to state?

[zpqmaowl]

[dbadefense1990]

The Decision was kind of dumb, but LeBron was apparently guilted into doing it by his advisors and ESPN by adding the charity aspect to it.

This would have made sense if LeBron conducted his decision other than in Greenwich, Connecticut, which is actually one of the wealthiest per-capita living areas in the nation. If ESPN wanted to paint LeBron as a "humble, charitable person donating to the Boys and Girls Club," then they did a terrible job at setting a tone to viewers who figured out the background on the city LeBron was making his choice from. But thanks to LeBron's closeness to ESPN, many people sensed that he knew the charity story was all an act to save his reputation. Hence those people saw through the production and saw an act LeBron was trying to stage.

[dbadefense1990]

Does anyone like Kobe? I never got the sense anyone liked him at all, certainly not after the Shaq divorce.

I like Kobe-the-player, not Kobe-the-person. Unfortunately, Kobe-the-person transcends and molds Kobe-the-player, which is why some people hate him, because the selfish prick attitude of the person is what comes out on the court as the player to some people.

The fanboys just like Kobe-the-person because they believe it'll get him through anything, even if he's shown to underperform and nearly cost the Lakers some wins. They don't think Kobe needs to be the player, the facilitator, the field general. If he yells at his teammates, shows frustration or chucks up shots, and the team somehow still wins, to the fanboys, it's proof to them that Kobe makes the team better, which doesn't, necessarily.

[rams80]

There are plenty of ways Kobe's like Jordan -- both are dominant SGs, both are skilled on offense and defense, both are real :censored:s to their teammates, and both have been cheated out of MVP awards for no good reason.

I can argue about Kobe getting snubbed, but when was Jordan ever snubbed an MVP award? He won five such awards; what years could you possibly be trying to state?

Jordan IIRC viewed '92-'93 and '96-'97 as "snubs". Going off of stat lines, I think you could also make an argument for '89-'90.

[Kramerica Industries]

Bulls finally run out of gas.

RIP to the NBA's version of the Wounded Warriors.

[CS85]

Bulls had no business even getting this far.

Maybe 2013/14 will matter.

[Kramerica Industries]

Memphis Grizzlies are seriously impressive.

They might just be Miami's toughest remaining threat.

[DG_YouKnowWhatThatMeans]

Is Kevin Durant still the consensus second-best player in the NBA?

[dbadefense1990]

So the Grizzlies exorcised their Oklahoma demons from 2011 and from Game 1 this year. Powerful Memphis rebounding, clutch Gasol floaters, and an awful 5-21 shooting performance by Durant put the nail in the OKC coffin for this season.

Grizzlies are the last legit stand to preventing another Heat championship.

[Kramerica Industries]

Is Kevin Durant still the consensus second-best player in the NBA?

Not sure if you're dumping on him here or not, but in the event you are, I don't think it's really fair.

I mean, should superstar players be able to shine even on their own? Theoretically, yes. But that team was built around KD and Russell. The pieces suddenly don't fit so well when one of those two isn't there. Furthermore, Ibaka was absolutely terrible in this series, and provided no second scoring option for Memphis to have to provide respect for.

Memphis is 35-14 since the Rudy Gay trade, which would be a 59 win season over 82 games. Who really knew this was going to be addition by subtraction to this good a degree? I suppose we should've seen it coming, though, given Memphis took OKC to Game 7 in the 2nd round in 2011 without Gay, but ducked out in pretty awful fashion in Game 7 at home last season in the opening round to a badly beaten up Clippers team with Gay. Even still, funny how Memphis was written off after the Gay trade, and are probably now the favourites to win the West.

[Still MIGHTY]

If there's a Memphis/Golden State West Final, you might just get me to watch

[dfwabel]

Is Kevin Durant still the consensus second-best player in the NBA?

Not sure if you're dumping on him here or not, but in the event you are, I don't think it's really fair.

I mean, should superstar players be able to shine even on their own? Theoretically, yes. But that team was built around KD and Russell. The pieces suddenly don't fit so well when one of those two isn't there. Furthermore, Ibaka was absolutely terrible in this series, and provided no second scoring option for Memphis to have to provide respect for.

Memphis is 35-14 since the Rudy Gay trade, which would be a 59 win season over 82 games. Who really knew this was going to be addition by subtraction to this good a degree? I suppose we should've seen it coming, though, given Memphis took OKC to Game 7 in the 2nd round in 2011 without Gay, but ducked out in pretty awful fashion in Game 7 at home last season in the opening round to a badly beaten up Clippers team with Gay. Even still, funny how Memphis was written off after the Gay trade, and are probably now the favourites to win the West.

John Hollinger.

There was a reason why MEM hired him and his advanced metrics away from ESPN in December. Hollinger created the Player Efficiency Rating.

The new MEM owner, Robert Pera, has a science and math background and the new CEO was a former agent, so he is used PER to get the most of his clients.

[floydnimrod]

Boy am I pumped for the Grizzlies. they're the only NBA team I've ever considered "my team." I'll admit I was pretty bummed about the package they go for Rudy Gay (Prince a great role player and terrific defender, but he's really a bandaid at this point until they get a younger SF, Ed Davis was probably the most important piece of that trade for Memphis since they didn't get a draft pick). They let OJ Mayo walk and they sill faced some cap issues with Gay and were more than able to make it work. I'm not one to blindly claim that everyone on the team I root for is the best ever, but Marc Gasol just might be the best center in the NBA. The man is gifted in all facets of the game. I cannot wait for the WCF to get started.

[Lights Out]

Marc Gasol is indeed a beast. I also think he's the best center in the league. Hopefully he doesn't fall off like his brother.

I'm also very happy to see ZBo finally settle down, mature, and live up to his potential. I still remember how much of a cancer he was on the Clippers, sucker-punching people and chucking up horrible airballs. It's hard to believe that's the same guy who's dominating in the playoffs right now on a Finals contender. He still has his moments of unnecessary dirty play, but other than that, I have mad respect for his game now.

That being said, I don't see Memphis getting past the Spurs. I think both team's frontcourts and star point guards are very evenly matched, so it comes down to whose role players will show up, and Kawhi Leonard is arguably better than any of Memphis' role players. If Manu keeps knocking down timely shots, I really can't see Memphis beating them.

[floydnimrod]

I think a lot of what's made Pau Gasol kind of fall of was being in Los Angeles. For some reason he just can't be effective there. He'll dominate in international play, and he still has a ton of talent. He was the main reason I started rooting for Memphis.

I too remember the days when Zach Randolph was a guy that teams didn't want their young players to be around, as he was a bad influence. His fadeaway shot is as beautiful as I've seen from a player his size.

A Memphis-San Antonio series will be tough for both sides, and should easily go 7 games. The Spurs do have a lot of advantages, including the best coach in basketball, and the greatest power forward of all time, and still an incredibly efficient basketball player even at his age.

I'm still hoping for a Memphis - Indiana Finals. Two small markets, two very tough-minded, defensively sound teams. For anyone who doesn't think the NBA plays defense, this would be the series to watch.

[crashcarson15]

So the Grizzlies exorcised their Oklahoma demons from 2011 and from Game 1 this year. Powerful Memphis rebounding, clutch Gasol floaters, and an awful 5-21 shooting performance by Durant put the nail in the OKC coffin for this season.

Grizzlies are the last legit stand to preventing another Heat championship.

Except for that team they could face in the ECF who won the season series against them...

Been saying it the past week or so, but how great would a Grizzlies/Pacers NBA Finals be?