Kobe = MJ?

[DoctorUnne]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnB9bvud6IU

This is pretty cool.

[Anebriated]

in before latrinsorm math. although its not a lebron thread so who knows.

[Latrinsorm]

Kobe consciously modeled himself after MJ, this is a well established fact. Whether doing so was to his detriment is another matter entirely.

Kobe looks identical to MJ, but does that make these identical plays? You can only see the full ones starting at about :40, so:
:47 - Kobe draws two defenders, ignores Lamar Odom open at the free throw line. He makes that pass, Odom whips it to Fisher for the open corner 3. Instead he forces the off balance jumper over two defenders. By comparison, Jordan had someone open at the top of the circle - hard to tell who, but they're being guarded by Mullin and have a number in the 30s so I'm guessing Pippen, who was not a good 3 point shooter and certainly not from as far away as possible.

:52 - Jordan's teammates cluster under the basket, making a useless logjam. Kobe's teammate Fisher jogs off a Bynum screen and into the corner unmolested. Kobe probably couldn't make the pass himself, but he could skip it to Pau to Fisher for an open 3.

1:06 - Jordan's potential release valve is some white guy spotting up for a contested 2, and he (rightfully) ignores it. Kobe's is Shannon Brown or Steve Blake open for 3. The smart play is to fake a pass to Brown and zip it to Blake, who is in a better position and a better shooter. Kobe opts for the contested turnaround.

1:13 - Can't tell who's open at the top of the circle for Jordan, but for Kobe it's the greatest shooter of all time in Steve Nash.

1:25 - Jordan's fast break is 4 on 5, pulling up to shoot is a bad choice. Kobe's is 4 on 1, if he feeds whoever that is next to him they get a layup, or if he feeds either of the guys filling the lanes behind him they get a layup. Pulling up to shoot is a terrible choice.

"But it went in!!" is not a good defense when we know Kobe is a below average shooter - this one going in doesn't make the two misses that came with it disappear, even if the make looks just like Jordan. The "but his teammates were bad, he had to!" defense is clearly wrong. Bottom line, MJ was more than highlights.

P.S. do you think someone couldn't make the same video for Dwyane Wade? I think they could.

[Gelston]

Kobe consciously modeled himself after MJ, this is a well established fact. Whether doing so was to his detriment is another matter entirely.
.

What does this matter? Have you never had someone you looked up to? That you tried to be like? That you tried to exceed? That is the human race pal. Some people don't live up to it. Some do and surpass it.

[Latrinsorm]

What does this matter?What matters is how good Kobe could have been, hence the phrase "to his detriment". Everyone has innate talents, and he did not maximize his because of his insistence on being a primary option in the mold of Jordan.
Have you never had someone you looked up to? That you tried to be like? That you tried to exceed? That is the human race pal. Some people don't live up to it. Some do and surpass it.I have had many people I look up to. I can recognize that some role models were good and some were bad, and I can further recognize that even among the good role models there were some behaviors I was better equipped to imitate than others.

[Gelston]

What matters is how good Kobe could have been, hence the phrase "to his detriment". Everyone has innate talents, and he did not maximize his because of his insistence on being a primary option in the mold of Jordan.I have had many people I look up to. I can recognize that some role models were good and some were bad, and I can further recognize that even among the good role models there were some behaviors I was better equipped to imitate than others.

Soooo, no good answer.

[Latrinsorm]

I answered your questions fully and with ruggedly good hair. If you are unsatisfied perhaps you didn't ask the right question.

[TheEschaton]

Wait, so did MJ rape someone?

[AnticorRifling]

That you tried to be like? Like Mike.

[Anebriated]

Wait, so did MJ rape someone?

by many accounts he makes Kobe look like a saint. That he played in an era before social media, camera phones and instant news might be the best thing that happened to his career.


waits for it...

[SHAFT]

Latrin hates Kobe. Cracka ass cracka!

[Latrinsorm]

I didn't make Kobe choose to be black. You can't prove I did, anyway.

[Methais]

Jordan > Bird > Kobe > Lebron

That's all.

[JackWhisper]

Shaq? No? I know he has no skill, and he just stood under the net, but come on! He was a team asset!