I got a chuckle out of this!!LOLLLL

[MoJo23]

nobody in the NBA today has more heart than Kobe. Melo had all the help in the world with AI, martin (2 #1 NBA draft picks by the way) and the great defensive presence marcus camby and the nuggs got SWEPT!!!! I didnt see any heart and I doubt if any of the nugg fans saw either (just ask nypipmp)

Can you explain where exactly in his post did he talk about the NBA or the playoffs? He's talking about team USA! Please re-read his post.

you know what..hes right... carmelo is one of the few players who plays with pride and heart for the US..hes a changed man when he puts on the jersey...he also usually leads team USA in PPG in tournaments (07 Americas, 06 WC)..he is their most integral player on the team IMO..heart sometimes means more than skill (which he def has alot of too)
but skill wise..james n kobe are better

[persianbruin]

Can you explain where exactly in his post did he talk about the NBA or the playoffs? He's talking about team USA! Please re-read his post.

so what you are saying is that you can have heart in the internationl games but then you put your heart in a safe deposit box at the bank once NBA season starts!!!???

You either have heart or you dont and for people who have it it goes in all aspects of their lives not just the sport they play

P.S. Excellence is a habit not an act

[persianbruin]

its the fiba world championships where team usa has trouble...not the olympics. and i cant believe none of you said a word about dwight howard!!!! he's a monster on the glass, and will be key to usa's quest for the gold.

dwight howard is not shaq, hakeem or ewing. without a Kobe or lebron he is not gonna make that big of difference. For this team I like tyson chandler more

[KasraKhan]

You always try to give your comments credibility by saying you are a lakers fan!! so what??? That doesnt mean anything. Anyone who thinks anthony on an international level is better than kobe must be really on crack.
The only way you can stop kobe is if the rest of the guy on his team cant make shots (ehhem, the lakers) but if you surround him with players who can hit open shots then the opposition cant gang up on him, cuz they know the rest of the guys can do the job. Anthony was part of the team before. what did that team do??? AGain its not anthony's attitude that is the problem. Its his game. His ofense is part time and he never plays defense.
Whenever team USA has had THE BEST PLAYERS in the NBA playing for team usa, that team has demolished the competition, just like the first 2 dream teams in 92 and 94. I watched all of their games live and those were some great teams. Now we are going back to that situation again. We have kobe and a MATURE LbJ. melo is not even needed, but what the heck, we'll take him!!

Lol yes it does mean something. I say I am a Laker fan because most Laker fans would blindly say "Kobe is the best on Team USA." But eventhough I am a Laker fan that does not cloud my judgement.

Yes I agree with some things you say. But Kobe does not play like he does on the Lakers for USA. Did you see the America's tournament last summer? Kobe averaged something like 10 points a game. He doesnt need to score, and he doesnt want to. He just saves his energy for the defensive end and concentrates on stopping the opposing teams best player (He shut down Manu Ginobli, Barbosa, and Arroyo)

LbJ is another discussion in itself. He does not perform on the international level the way he does in the NBA. Its more phyiscal in international ball, so defenders can body him up and prevent him from getting to the basket, something he does so well for the Cavs and gets protection from league officials also.

I was just merely saying that the guys comment that you "got a chuckle out of" is not as out of line as you make it seem. It is definetly arguable that Melo is the best player on the team, I am not saying he is, but he is certainly one of the best. After all, 95% of the time, a teams leading scorer is their best player. Whether it be in the NBA, Europe, or International basketball.

Watch Melo lead Team USA in scoring average at the end of the Olympics, do you want to bet?

[persianbruin]

Lol yes it does mean something. I say I am a Laker fan because most Laker fans would blindly say "Kobe is the best on Team USA." But eventhough I am a Laker fan that does not cloud my judgement.
Yes I agree with some things you say. But Kobe does not play like he does on the Lakers for USA. Did you see the America's tournament last summer? Kobe averaged something like 10 points a game. He doesnt need to score, and he doesnt want to. He just saves his energy for the defensive end and concentrates on stopping the opposing teams best player (He shut down Manu Ginobli, Barbosa, and Arroyo)
LbJ is another discussion in itself. He does not perform on the international level the way he does in the NBA. Its more phyiscal in international ball, so defenders can body him up and prevent him from getting to the basket, something he does so well for the Cavs and gets protection from league officials also.
I was just merely saying that the guys comment that you "got a chuckle out of" is not as out of line as you make it seem. It is definetly arguable that Melo is the best player on the team, I am not saying he is, but he is certainly one of the best. After all, 95% of the time, a teams leading scorer is their best player. Whether it be in the NBA, Europe, or International basketball.
Watch Melo lead Team USA in scoring average at the end of the Olympics, do you want to bet?

na aziz jaan in the case of Kobe its different because half the people outside of the laker country like kobe and half dont. In LA is the same, half like Kobe and half dont (the half that love shaq)

ALmost every other athlete is loved by 90% of hometown fans and hated by like 70% of people ouside of his hometown. In the case of KObe its like 50-50 everywhere give or take 5%

[KasraKhan]

50% of Laker fans hate Kobe? I have no idea where you pulled that out of. Its more like 5%.

He may be hated by 50% of people outside of L.A., but not in L.A.

How can a fan of a team hate the best player in the league that just won MVP and led his team to the NBA Finals? Not to mention has played his entire career for the purple & gold, and helped the organization win 3 titles.

Na aziz. You are wrong. 50% of Laker fans dont hate Kobe. Go look on any Lakers forum like Club Lakers or Lakersground, the fans have mostly nothing but good to say about #24

[persianbruin]

50% of Laker fans hate Kobe? I have no idea where you pulled that out of. Its more like 5%.
He may be hated by 50% of people outside of L.A., but not in L.A.
How can a fan of a team hate the best player in the league that just won MVP and led his team to the NBA Finals? Not to mention has played his entire career for the purple & gold, and helped the organization win 3 titles.
Na aziz. You are wrong. 50% of Laker fans dont hate Kobe. Go look on any Lakers forum like Club Lakers or Lakersground, the fans have mostly nothing but good to say about #24

are you kiddin me!!!??? I am not exagerating when I say half the people I see rooting for the lakers, think the lakers are a BETTER team without him in the lineup!!!

Whats sad is they dont hate him becasue of its game. They hate him becasue of they dont like him as a person and try to put down his game becasue of that. Very sad.

I remmeber after he scored 81 a LOT of people were saying: but he had only 2 assists!!

[milad]

na aziz jaan in the case of Kobe its different because half the people outside of the laker country like kobe and half dont. In LA is the same, half like Kobe and half dont (the half that love shaq)
ALmost every other athlete is loved by 90% of hometown fans and hated by like 70% of people ouside of his hometown. In the case of KObe its like 50-50 everywhere give or take 5%

tell that to philadelphian fans.

[persianbruin]

tell that to philadelphian fans.

I actualy thought about that. I avged it out. In philly n colorado the love hate thing is like 10-90, in most states where there is no NBA team its like 70-30

[persianbruin]

tell that to philadelphian fans.

you know what I just reembered something. ESPN had this vote on who the MVP should be and I love that they have a map that shows each state's voting seperatly to remove the bias. The only states that didnt have kobe as their leader were the states of his rivals in the voting (louisiana, ohio and the new england states) PLUS TWO MORE STATES: Arizona and Colorado!! so PA wasnt one of them and I think its primarily becasue Kobe never put down the city and never said he didnt wanna play for them. The organization simply passed on him just like the following 11 teams!

[Darvish11]

are you kiddin me!!!??? I am not exagerating when I say half the people I see rooting for the lakers, think the lakers are a BETTER team without him in the lineup!!!

Whats sad is they dont hate him becasue of its game. They hate him becasue of they dont like him as a person and try to put down his game becasue of that. Very sad.

I remmeber after he scored 81 a LOT of people were saying: but he had only 2 assists!!

i actually agree with pretty much everything you say in this thread, like the heart in deposit box comment (very well put), but ive NEVER met a laker fan who didnt adore kobe.

[persianbruin]

i actually agree with pretty much everything you say in this thread, like the heart in deposit box comment (very well put), but ive NEVER met a laker fan who didnt adore kobe.

Trust me. I WISH that was the case for me. My incle is pro shaq and anti kobe and one of my cousins the same way. He actually tried to convince me back in 99 that rodman was a better player

I had to change my barbershop because all but one of the guys there was anti Kobe!!! I was just gettin tired of all the arguments.

Funny thing was a month before he scoed 81, if you can remember he had a 62 point all in the first 3 quarters game against dallas (which to me was far more impressive than the 81). One of the guys at the barbershop, showed me his ticket stub from the game and said: I AM SO PISSED AT KOBE!! I WENT TO WATCH A TEAM GAME AND THIS BALLHOG RUINED IT FOR ME!!!!!! So I asked him, did you want him to pass it to smush parker and sasha vujic so they could miss their shots and the lakers lose the game? Is that why you paid 100 bucks for tickets and drove all the way to LA???

Trust me have seen many people like that in so cal. as far as kobe's fan base, I wasnt just talkin about laker fans who liked/disliked kobe. I meant EVERYONE. You dont have to be a laker fan to like him. As long as you dont ahte the lakers, you have to keep an open mind

[Demis-11]

we can assume kobe will be great for the usa team but i wouldnt be surpised if he had a less than stellar olympics.. he did good in the 07 americas (not a very hard tourny) but well see come olympic time.

im not doubting his skill at all, hes hands down one of the worlds best, but we cant say hes amazing at team USA level because hes new to the team

[persianbruin]

we can assume kobe will be great for the usa team but i wouldnt be surpised if he had a less than stellar olympics.. he did good in the 07 americas (not a very hard tourny) but well see come olympic time.
im not doubting his skill at all, hes hands down one of the worlds best, but we cant say hes amazing at team USA level because hes new to the team

kobe toned it down offensively so he could play defense since the others couldn't! He can turn it on anytime he wants to. To say he had an "ok" tourny is a huge understatement. Everybody on the team was saying he is the guy that sets the tone and he is the leader of that team.

Kobe proved last year that he wouldnt force anything if he has the proper pieces around him