2015-16 NBA Thread (feat. the Wives)

I think so, but why? James ability to drive and push off with either arm?

 

Better scorer? No.

Better player? Yes.

 

Total volume of points for the playoffs is a pretty pointless number. You literally get rewarded for not dominating. It's part of the worst part of chasing standard stats, when we reconfigure the baseline numbers in a way that creates more conversation, but not more insight.

 

James' playoff and regular season scoring averages are higher than Kobe's

 

Because your hate for James blinds you to the fact that he's better. I mean, I don't like his petulant behavior on the court and passive-aggressive crap with teammates, but it's not like Kobe was a model citizen either. (Reminder: Kobe pretty demonstrably quit in a playoff game, the one against Phoenix where he just decided to pass the entire second half.) I also don't think Kobe ever dragged a team like those 2000s Cavs teams to the playoffs, nevermind the finals, like James did. "Kobe is better" basically requires you to just engage in ring counting.

 

LeBron had some pretty pathetic teammates prior to his collusion with stars/maneuvering to the path of least resistance. But what Kobe did in the 2005-06 with a starting lineup that featured Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and Luke Walton remains criminally underrated. Funny that you remember that Kobe "quit" in that year's playoff series, yet don't remember who he played with or how the team got to that point.

 

I don't think Kobe is better. Different players, equally effective. Kobe is a worse person. James is emotionally immature and insecure. But he's not a dick. Just not very bright. Kobe is a huge asshole.

 

LeBron is like the line from The Social Network: "You're not an asshole, you just try so hard to be."

Everything about him seems phony and contrived to me. I think he's fundamentally a good person, but his narcissistic obsession with his image and brand make his every move seem authentic to me. In his defense, I make no bones about the fact that I'm not the most objective person when it comes to LeBron.

 

So because his team sucked, it was OK that he just gave up? Also, you forgot that Lamar Odom was on that team. But also, Devean George and Chris Mihm! yikes, that's a bad roster. You're right, as bad as some of those trash Cavs rosters.

 

I'm a Kobe guy, so I'm biased I'll admit that, but when he put on a masterful performance in Game 6 at home and it wasn't enough, and they built their lead largely on his facilitation early in the series, I'm not so bothered by his "quitting."

At least I got a concession on his garbage teammates between Shaq and Pau so I'll take it

 

So they both led mediocre teams with crappy teammates? Man, it's like they're both awesome players or something.

 

I was talking more about their natures than anything. LeBron is much more Magic to Kobe's Jordan.

At the end of the day, LeBron is a much more well-rounded player, but they're both top 10 of all time, so there's a lot of hair splitting involved.