Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 at 9:00 am  |  201 responses

Kobe Bryant Says This is the Most Talented Team He’s Been On


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Over the span of 16 seasons, Kobe Bryant has played alongside plenty of talented ballers in Los Angeles. Numerous All-Stars, current and future Hall of Famers have helped Bryant win five NBA championships, but he’s apparently never seen anything like this year’s Laker team.

According to Kobe, this is the most talented squad that he’s been a part of.

Reports the LA Times:

Kobe Bryant was also there in El Segundo, make no mistake, saying this was the best team he’d ever been part of “on paper,” the catchphrase for managing expectations uttered by almost everybody of significance Monday.

“On its face, it’s the best talent I’ve been around,” said Bryant, entering his 17th NBA season. “Whether that translates into winning a championship, that remains to be seen. But just on paper, you’re obviously talking about defensive players of the years, MVPs, All-Stars. You’re talking about a myriad of things where guys are on top of their position and have been at the top of their position.”

Talent and star power aside, chemistry is what will determine how successful these Lakers can be. And for what it’s worth, the team’s two biggest forces (Kobe and Dwight Howard) think they’ll get along swimmingly on and off the court.

As Kobe Bryant points out, there’s a big difference between talent and finding the secret sauce that leads to winning a title.

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  • http://entelleckt.com/exclusive-mp3 Entelleckt | Mike Wyatt

    @drig:disqus you realize Nash doesn’t play defense, right?

  • http://entelleckt.com/exclusive-mp3 Entelleckt | Mike Wyatt

    *makes Russell Westbrook pull up jumper motion*

  • LakeShow

    Yes, just as the Lakers starting front court is severely better than the Clippers.
    You have no idea if Odom is going to be a 6th man of the year player or a 6 points and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes guy.
    If he is the same as last year in Dallas, Jamison is twice as good as he is.
    Ronnie Turiaf and Jordan Hill are the same player…
    Grant Hill is too old and has never had a consistent long range jumper, which the Clippers team needs with the loss of Foye.
    Barnes was fairly irrelevant in his entire time with the Lakers. That coming from a guy who loves what he does bring to the table. With that being said, don’t expect anything noteworthy from him.
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    I can do this deconstruction with every team.

  • LakeShow

    Naw man. Gasol is a solid defender. Hill is a solid rim defender. Jamison is an awful defender, but there’s a reason why he

  • http://entelleckt.com/exclusive-mp3 Entelleckt | Mike Wyatt

    Why do the Lakers get past OKC (& LAC and San Antonio) now?

    For all of Nash’s offensive ability, he doesn’t defend worth anything. Howard and Bynum are close production wise (Howard is +1.9PPG, +2.7RPG, +0.1BPG, -20%FT).

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Kobe is not better than Wade. I understand being a fan of a team but there comes a point when it’s just crazy to not even entertain ideas and opinions that are different than your own. Look at the stats. Look at FG%, assists, rebounds. The only thing you can say that Kobe has done better than Wade the past couple of seasons is score. He didn’t even score better, he just scored more. He shot more to score more. Not nearly as efficient as Wade is. When a player’s efficiency starts to drop off, it’s a sign that he’s becoming less of a great player. MWP can’t handle Durant, so he surely can’t handle LeBron. It’s cool to love Kobe, but not one person can look at the past 4 seasons of his and Wade’s career and argue effectively that Kobe is still the best all around SG in basketball. In Wade’s best seasons (05-06, 06-07, and 08-09) he was basically a 27, 7 and 5 guy shooting 50%. In the two seasons before LeBron got to Miami, D-Wade averaged 30 pts, 5 rebs and 8 assists shooting 49% from the floor and 27 pts, 5 rebs and 7 assists and shooting 48% from the floor. Tell me what Kobe has done the past couple of seasons better than Dwyane besides score more points. I could even argue that last season if D-Wade had played more games, it would have been a better season than Kobe’s even with Wade only averaging 22 (by choice after giving the team to LeBron). He still shot 50%. Kobe’s career stats are 25, 5 and 5 and 45% FG. D-Wade is 25,5 and 6 and 49% FG. These numbers are very easy to find and watching the games and how much of an all around impact D-Wade has on a game compared to Kobe is also easy to do.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    They would have a lot of trouble with all three of those teams you mentioned.

  • http://twitter.com/Jzakoni Verified Account

    Wade was hurt last playoff season.. He’s supposed to be 100 now.. I wana see him perform well again

  • Max

    Yes, he has hidden talent or in other words he had potential.
    Why else would he have been picked no 8 overall?

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Who was Jamison playing with besides Kyrie Irving last season? Who else was going to score for that Cavs team? Being deep is overrated in the playoffs? Tell LeBron James how overrated that Miami bench was last season after Mike Miller hit those 7 3′s in the Finals and helped them win a championship. Tell the 08 Celtics how overrated their bench was. Or Isiah Thomas’ Pistons teams with The Microwave. Or any team Robert Horry has ever played on.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    When was Lamar Odom a 6 points and 2 rebounds guy? Surely you’re not counting last season when his head never left LA. No one in their right mind thought that that was the real Lamar Odom playing last season in Dallas. Grant Hill has been a good defender for a while. The Clippers need scoring from their bench? I guess Jamal Crawford was signed just to get Gatorade for the guys.

  • danpowers

    i was only talking about talent. not about all circumstances.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Gasol is so solid that so many people talk about his defensive prowess, right?

  • Max

    I just think you’re underrating the Lakers’ bench a little bit.
    Sure they aren’t as good as those of other contenders but I think that bench + that starting line-up will be enough to beat Miami and OKC.

  • LakeShow

    Awh, I see your line of thinking.
    So Marcus Camby isn’t a good defender right? I didn’t hear anyone talk about him last year so he must not be good…
    Gasol is a very capable defender. Think Bosh plus better rim protection.

  • LakeShow

    Well seeing as how he was 2 PPG behind his career average with those 17 ppg last year, it doesn’t look like he was forced into a scoring role does it?
    Your right I said benches do not matter whatsoever in the playoffs. Nice straw man argument bud.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    The only thing that matters is if their bench is able to compete with Miami and OKC since a championship is all they’re playing for. I don’t think they’re capable of beating Miami. Miami is more secure if anything happens to one of their better players outside of their best player. If D-Wade gets hurt, LeBron’s game is one that will allow not only himself but the other guys to step their games up especially Bosh. If Kobe gets hurt, who steps in to score consistently? And they’d struggle with OKC also in my opinion given that they want no parts of running up and down the floor with those guys. And the pressure that they would put on Dwight at the rim would certainly get him in foul trouble. There may be a problem when you have 3 guys in the starting lineup who want and need the ball and one guy who has to decide who to get the ball to. Compared to the Heat who have 3 guys who need the ball but one of those guys is able to not only get himself going but also everyone else on the floor.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    You’re comparing Marcus Camby to Pau Gasol defensively? People didn’t talk about Camby last year but they did plenty in the years before that. No one has ever said anything about Gasol’s defense. That’s the difference.

  • Max

    Cool, Only that Dwight doesn’t really need the ball that much.
    I think he’ll get at least as much looks like he did in Orlando.

  • LakeShow

    Your only as good as your last season.
    Remains to be seen what Lamar Odom shows next year.
    Crawford is solid. If you like your players shooting 37% from the field.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    You said everyone knows that being deep in the playoffs is overrated. Which would mean that every championship team who has won had an overrated bench.

  • LakeShow

    False. If you don’t think Gasol is an above average defender that is on you. It’s called a FACT.

  • Max

    Forgot to say that alot depends on how Kobe will adjust his game.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    You’re only as good as your last season even though everyone in the basketball world knew that you never wanted to be traded to the team you were playing for and you were allowed to leave the team before the season was over? Okay. That makes sense.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    It all depends on how Kobe will adjust his game. If he lets his teammates do what they do and doesn’t try to shoot too much, they’ll be fine. He has to move the ball and help Nash get Gasol and Howard involved. If he does, they get to the WCF at least. If he doesn’t, I can see them losing in the 2nd round. I think Dwight will want the ball as much as if not more than Gasol especially since his offensive game has improved.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    An improving jumper making him more unstoppable

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Who cares or even asked about you? When you say that you can’t wait for the regulars to return, what you really mean is you can’t wait for people to come and maybe agree with you.

  • Russ=Greatness

    Its gonna be the Lakers and Heat bottom line. And what an exciting finals it will be! I cant wait!

  • LakeShow

    Weird deduction you made there.

  • LakeShow

    Glad you think so.
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    .37%

  • LakeShow

    Well done.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    The Clippers think so too which is why they signed him. Had they only considered his season in Dallas, they wouldn’t have signed him.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Following your logic, it’s the only deduction to make.

  • LakeShow

    Dallas thought so too.
    Odom isn’t young anymore. 32 going on 33.
    Fact is that he is not is good as he once was.
    Remains TBD if he will be a solid player off the bench for them or if he has lost his 6th man touch altogether.
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    37%

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    No, it’s called an opinion lol. What is a fact? You think he is an above average defender? That’s an opinion. Do you not know the difference between a fact and an opinion? Being a defender is about more than blocking shots. When you’re 7’0 with a longer wingspan, it’s quite easy to get your hand on a few shots.

  • LakeShow

    Defending is about more than blocking shots???

  • http://www.facebook.com/rig.veda.94 Rig Veda

    Luke Walton is a great player. He utilize all of good attribute, where as everyone is not. I don’t think you should classified him that ways.

  • LakeShow

    “Luke Walton is a great player”
    you have to die knowing that you uttered those words!

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Ah…the age argument…I could make the same argument with Kobe and Wade. Kobe isn’t young anymore. He’s not as good as he once was. He’s 34. I won’t do that though since I know how sensitive that issue is for you. If you think that Odom is significantly worse than he was 2 seasons ago when he played for your Lakers and averaged 14 and 9, I think you’ll be proven wrong this season. He only played in 50 games last season. I don’t think he forgot how to be a great 6th man that quickly. And it’s not like he was freakishly athletic before anyway.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    So says the man who just tried to say that Gasol is an “above average defender” by only bringing up his blocks lol.

  • LakeShow

    So says the guy who says Gasol isn’t a good defender and backs it up by…
    bringing up nothing…

  • Junior Taylor

    Why does Kobe feel the need to inform everyone that the Lakers are “his team”? Everyone and they mama knows that he’s the leader even though no longer the best player on the team.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    What’s there to bring up other than watching him play? Who fears him? Who mentions him as being someone who you have to concern themselves with on the defensive end of the floor? When I think of Gasol as a defender, you know what I think of? Blake Griffin dunking on him viciously twice in the same game last season. Or Durant dunking on him. He’s just soft on that end of the floor. Softer than he is on offense. People can talk about one of Griffin’s dunks being an offensive foul, but if Gasol were tougher he would have put Griffin on his back instead of looking at the refs after the player asking for a call.

  • LakeShow

    Opposing teams that’s who is concerned with him defensively. Having a 7 footer that is mobile at the PF position is a bonus defensively. That’s basics.
    So when Blake Griffin dunks on Dwight Howard what does that mean? Howard doesn’t defend well?
    So far we’re really making some progress…

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    Name one team who has said something about fearing Gasol on defense. When has Blake dunked on Dwight? Only going by what has actually happened.

  • gusisit

    meant a basketball game smartass ahahahh ;)

  • HOOSIER FOR LIFE

    haha yeah nash’s D will have kobe shittin bricks

  • LakeShow

    Name one team that has said something about fearing Chris Bosh on defense. Or Dirk. Or Marcus Camby…
    Blake has dunked on Dwight, and many other great defenders and shot blockers… It happens.

  • ByAnyMeansNecessary

    I’m not attempting to prove that Bosh or Dirk are good defenders lol. I never said a word about either one of them. You’re the one trying to say that Gasol is an above average defender. And when did Blake dunk on Dwight?

  • ezra

    looks good in the papers, i still consider their best line up will be the line up of shaq kobe, fisher, glenn rice, ron harper, rick fox, robert horry not to mention their great coach the zen master, phil jackson..lakers have to win some rings to prove this, they have to go through a team named miami heat!..

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