NBA Off-Season Thread

IMHO, the difference between MJ and Kobe is that MJ never sulked, either on the court or in public. Never acted like woe is me. MJ's single greatest asset was his single-minded drive to win.

At the height of Bulls-mania, '96 I believe, when they just got Rodman and were on their way to 72 wins, the Bulls came to town and just utterly dominated the lowly Warriors, going up something like 45-10 in the 2nd quarter. I was in the lower bowl and watching MJ guard Sprewell. Sprewell was All-NBA in 94 so he was still damn good and MJ was defending Spree like it was the 4th qtr of Gm 7 in the Finals, when they were up 45-10 in a mid-season game!! Kobe wants to win, but he'll never match MJ's determination.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/chris_ballard/05/27/kobe0602/index.html

Back to our mythical one-on-one game -- and they should do this once Kobe retires, it'll be like Kareem and Dr. J's matchup. We're doing 27-year-old against 27-year-old or whatever the prime age is for each guy. Jordan's stronger and can certainly back in. But Kobe can also do work in the post against MJ. Both guys are explosive to the hoop (give MJ the edge for a few reasons, one of them being his large hands, as DD noted on the Phelps thread). But check out the 2000 game between Sixers and Lakers, when Kobe shut Iverson down. He could hang with the quickest guys in NBA history; again, MJ would have to work. And certainly MJ's strength would help on D too, assuming he's able to body Kobe up and hand-check.

Here's why I think Kobe has a great chance: Long-range shooting. Kobe's been the superior 3-point shooter in their primes, not even really close. Only time Jordan was a decent 3 guy was when they moved the line in. So in a make-it-take it scenario, I could see Kobe just going off with about six in a row from 24 feet. Catch it on the check-in and fire. Or take a dribble and same thing (would be like his performance against Seattle when he hit 11).

I think Jordan, maybe surprisingly, would have to work harder to get his points in this game.

 

Agreed. Was really fun to watch the banter. Thanks for positing it, STG!

 

The 1992 US men's basketball team was the greatest ever assembled. Any sport, any time. They did not even have one close game throughout the Olympics.

The 2008 US team would likely have beaten the 2012 team, although I'll reserve judgment until the Games there.

 

Which would have been more deserving of being named the college player on the Dream Team: Laettner, Shaq or Zo?

 

Laettner.

 

Well, it's not a team sport, but I'll take the 1968 U.S. Olympic track and field team. Those guys set world records that lasted for decades.

 

None zero zip nada. Once the amateurism shit was done away with, it should have been flushed forever.

 

You would have to move the hoop to nine feet then.

 

True. That was a collection of individuals. I was referring only to "team" sports.

 

He said the Dream Team was the greatest team ever assembled in any sport at any time. Just responding.

 

Gotcha. I can't think of a better one off the top of my head. If I have the time and/or the motivation, I might search for some other contenders.