Just reminiscing. Kobe dominated so many WCF when he was just a kid. Portland, Kings, Spurs. Crazy what he was actually doing at 21, 22 years old. Outperformed Shaq many times except for finals. No clue how Kobe was robbed of MVP in 2002 when he averaged 30 7 and 6, better numbers than Shaq. Guy would have been youngest MVP ever probably.
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Cause Sleep is the Cousin of Death -
The twin towers had a real shot to contain Shaq and Kobe single handedly dashed those hopes. I'll never forget the facial and fist pump on DuncanComment -
You miss nba?Comment -
Yeah and I'd argue that Bowen was maybe *the* premier perimeter defender in the NBA during those years, and Kobe just massacred him.
Of course. I was dominating this season. Now with the layoff and all these new external variables, no clue how to cap it. Prolly sit out for a bit unless see a dog that pops.Cause Sleep is the Cousin of DeathComment -
Closet we've seen to MJ
#2 all-timeComment -
You nominate that post because he agreed with you? :^0 Didn't even spell it right.
How about the '04 finals? Kareem Rush said recently he selfishly cost them the championship by trying to win his first MVP over Shaq. Strange series in which a guy on the losing team was a man among boys (Shaq) but he didn't get the ball quite enough.Comment -
I don't think Kobe wanted to win any more titles at that point unless he was getting the Finals MVPComment -
Kareem Rush? Lmao. Another Laker loser. Shaq wasn't even the best player on the Lakers in 2002, when he won finals MVP. Stats prove it. Just happened to had a better series in the finals due to matchup. In 2004, Shaq was no where near the player Kobe Bryant was. Anyone that thinks otherwise is a fool. No one on the Lakers had a good series in 04. That series was a blowout. Shaq was dominated by Ben Wallace who is a shrimp compared to Shaq. Kobe was double teamed and they left Gary Payton pretty much wide open along with Karl Malone at times. Malone was hurt for some of that series too, which is probably the reality of why they lost.Cause Sleep is the Cousin of DeathComment -
Detroit was just way better and hungrier in 2004. The lakers didnt give it away. Detroit just took it.
Kobe and shaq were fighting for alpha on the team
Lakers brass needed to figure out who to keep
Malone was washed up
Payton was washed up
Detroit was sick defensively and was so hungry to win
When you win 4 gms to 1, you owned the other team
You have kobe at age 27 and shaq at age 32/33 and you get run out like that?
Lakers just ran into a much better team that year. *team*Comment -
It's true, the Lakers lost that series to Detroit bc of inner turmoil amongst the team. Not to take anything away from that sheed led Pistons squad bc they were lockdown on d and disciplined on offense. True beast of the east
There was major dissention in the locker room between Shaq and Kobe. Kobe was due and his time had come to be the featured player and Shaq did not want to concede. If one of them had simply yielded they would've three peated again.
Kobe wasn't going to be a Scottie pippen any longer and Shaq ironically wasn't going to be the bigger personComment -
^ this
The worst kept secret here in LA was that kobe wanted to be the batman, the alpha, and either he or shaq had to back down. The front office made their choice and won two more titles w Kobe while shaq went and became robin to d wade in miami, winning 1 ring purely on Dwyane's coattails. The rest as they like to say, is historyComment -
Shades, without being in the locker room, it is impossible to assign more the 50% of the blame to either player.
We do know for a fact, Shaq certainly didn`t have the work ethic he should have, especially in the off season.
9 months of living day to day with someone you are sick of seeing/talking to/playing with is a LONG ass time.
Ownership/Mgt. could have done a better job mediating these two.Comment -
^ phil was the master at handling egos and having harmony between them but even he could not handle these two. They were gigantic egos.Comment -
Shaq made a huge mistake. Never was the same player after he left Kobe. If he conceded they'd have 7 titles.Cause Sleep is the Cousin of DeathComment -
He did concede -even went so far as to call Bryant the best player in the league, his final season in LA. But the c0cky kid couldn't handle losing out on another finals MVP.
Shaq was the one that got everyone else on the team involved -normally it's the guard that does that. Shaq more team oriented.Last edited by IBetYou; 05-26-20, 04:41 AM.Comment -
If they did not trade Marc Gasol would of had 8 titles.Comment -
He said it to placate Bryant. Kind words not enough to compensate a bitter finals defeat, and so he got the knife in the back.Comment
