The Kobe factor

I've had this thought for so long but always kept it in the back of my mind. Earlier in the miami game, Reggie Miller put it into words:

"If you switch Kobe and Wade, Miami makes the playoffs... Kobe will not let his teammates slack around and would demand his teammates to match his intensity. No way the would lose 26 of 28..."

I've always wondered (especially during the last few seasons) what it would be like if you put kobe in a different situation, or much less, put these so called "superstars" like anthony, wade, iverson into the laker situation the previous three seasons? I guess thats the only way to measure how Kobe impacts a team. when shaq left, kobe had a rag-tag team with 100 SF's in the lineup. Despite that, they were 32-27 or something before kobe went down with a sprained ankle and they lost the final 14 games or something of the season. Next season, with a very young, yet immature line-up, kobe got the team to a 45-37 record and almost beat the suns. Last year 26-13 before injuries destroyed a promising season. May I remind you that this is in the TOUGH TOUGH WESTERN CONFERENCE.

What if you had wade, melo or someone else in kobe's shoes? I guess the miami team this year is your answer. to think that they are in the ultra-weak eastern conference. I think it is only lebron or duncan that may have the same or would come close to what kobe brings to the team (stats and intangibles). If the lakers were in the east, they'd at least make the 2nd round the past two seasons. Kobe deserved much more credit than he has gotten the past two seasons. And with a second scorer and a mature supporting cast behind him, we will really see the true talent, Kobe bryant... the champion!!!

More than any with seasons past, he really deserves the MVP this year

Maybe Lebron, but he is in the East. How many more losses would they have playing out in the West? They have done well against the West but it is different when your battles are so spread out then when you have to battle it out sometimes up to four games in a row.That's when your team becomes tested. Look what happened to the Celtics recently. But Reggie said it right, Kobe would not allow his team to lose so much. Maybe Wade thinks he already proved himselfwith a given ring.

That was a really nice observation by Miller. Kobe Bryant would never let that team be as bad as it is right now...hell they play in the weak @ss East!

People need not look further than Kevin Garnett and what happend with his Timberwolves. Although not as bad as Miami's record, they had a real tough stretch before he left. I think that should be a yardstick on judging just how good Kobe really is. To make the playoffs with the team he had is extrordinary in itself.

Reggie Miller is so right. I guess all I have to say is that Wade is miles away from where Kobe is at.

cant compare wade to kobe

Thats very true you cant

Kobe's level isn't the same as Wade. Kobe is playing chess while the rest of the players are playing checkers. He is different than anybody else and can change a game if he wants to. D Wade can't do that.

If kobes team had that long of a losing streak he would take it and win a game by himself, i honestly think kobe can score 60 every nite if he takes enough shots

yes, they are miles apart in al aspects. Its just so sad and frustrating that the media over hypes wade and make it seem they are on the same level. media hates kobe, thats why i believe te only way kobe will win mvp is if they go 82-0, and kobe averages 50pts, 20 rebs 20 assists. anything less than that, he will always place behind media darlings wade, lebron, dirk and nash.

News flash: Lebron wouldn't even have been able to carry the Lakers because the Laker players didn't play good defense. The CAVS played good defense which kept them in games and got him a lot of layups and dunks.

Iverson is valuable to his team, but I can’t see any one else today that is more valuable than Kobe. Look what he did in the offseason. Yes, he ***** and complained, but it brought results. And as I seem to remember, Magic did the same thing Kobe did. Magic too was booed by the Laker fans. And all was forgotten with in time.

Kobe wanted to play for a winner and Mitch was not doing his job. Now Kobe should be executive of the year as well as MVP.

and the kobe factor shows itself again tonight against the kings. us laker fans are so spoiled by this guy.

i can't fathom how our teams gonna be after he retires. hopefully bynum'll be that great center we all hope he's gonna become.

And I hope that Farmar will be the supreme point guard. We have the horses, but can they do those little things Kobe does? I think Lamar’s game has improved with the addition of Gasol, but there is one thing he does not have. He still is scared when the pressure is on. Kobe loves it. I saw it in the Dallas game. He was not afraid. I think Farmar will become that player. . . I hope.

i wouldn't mind seeing farmar take it to the rack some more. he has that tony parker ability to penetrate and finish; i hope phil supports that, because generally, point guards aren't the focal point in the triangle.

Farmare has fire - perhaps that should be his nick, or "Famar" as he was mis-named in another thread. I really think he will become the shortest PG PJ ever wanted to start for him - he is good and has a lot of potential yet.

Back to the Kobe Monster - or factor, or Kobe Monster Factor; Wade is a great guard, but he does not have Kobe's size and he get's knocked around going to the hole - half of it is acting, and the other half dooms him to the injury factor that will kill some of his seasons and shorten his career, as we have seen. One more injury as serious as the last and his future is in serious trouble.

It seems that Wade is more concerned with doing commercials with Barkley than he is with his game. Funny, when Kobe was stripped of his endorsements, his game got even better. He is becoming a legend not by pitching products, but by his feats on the basketball court.

the effect of the kobe factor in my eyes, is right after a time out is called... it is rare when he doesn't grab a teamate, and either congratulate him on a great play, or let him know what he can do next time, he's more of a leader with each year..before he'd just sit on the bench. and only be vocal while in the game..now he's finding different ways to help the young lakers for not only the next game, but the next possesion. what's more surprising is that as horrible of a play it could have been, he always ends up getting a few laughs out of it.