45 replies to this topic

[UNLABORED FLAWLESS]

I am a tremendous fan of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. However i think kobe's lock down defense and team defense is lacking.
Lock down defense- The ability of keeping your man in front of you ( not necessarily getting steals or blocks)
Team defense- Help side defense and playing the passing lanes

Kobe is averaging 1.4 steals and like .40 blocks

At this point kobe wont make all nba first team defense
at the moment (Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Dwight howard, Tim Duncan)

I think the referees have a hand it as well (Double standard) people play physical on Kobe but they dont let him play physical

Kobes best defensive season 2002-2003 2 steals and .80 blocks ever since then kobe hasn't matched that

I wish kobe would play better defense and have better numbers( wade and LBJ both average 2 steals and 1 block) so why cant kobe

Kobe is the best player in the league and i like his shooting percentages this year but just pick up the D KB24
:dance1: WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK

Edited by UNLABORED FLAWLESS, January 12, 2009 - 10:59 AM.

[Master Zen]

Watch the money times, Kobe is the best defender at guard position.

[BadScooter]

Ummm....did you WATCH the game last night?

Wade scored the majority of his points while Kobe was on the bench. Mamba shut his [expletive] down.

[Game]

Ummm....did you WATCH the game last night?

Wade scored the majority of his points while Kobe was on the bench. Mamba shut his [expletive] down.

[nameant]

Blocks and steals have little to do with man defense. Kobe did a great job on Wade last night, and guarded Wade the entire time he was on the floor. Wade might've gotten 3-4 buckets on Kobe if that. The problem is, Wade had a field day with Ariza and he also got free on a couple screens.

[daco_inc]

Can't just look at stats. Kobe's played more of a "roamer" role on defense for most of the year. But if he needs to shut someone down, he's done a great job of that so far (but not always successful of course...no one's perfect).

[Ken #1 Beloved]

He's a great defender. Period. He's been all-NBA defense first or second team I think 9 times, and that is voted on by the 30 NBA head coaches (who I would like to hope know more about this stuff than we do). He was given the role as lock down defender in the Olympics. There is very little you can do about high screen and roles. You can try to fight through them, but often times there is a second screen behind the first one to free up guys like D-Wade and LeBron. Trust the experts.

[MDI]

Read this

With Andrew Bynum scoring 24 points and Pau Gasol grabbing 18 rebounds (eight offensive) against the undersized Heat frontline, Bryant reverted to the role he played on the Olympic team this summer, concentrating on defense, going into what he referred to as "lockdown corner" mode against Wade while scoring a pedestrian 19 points.

"Part of my responsibility to this team is to try to do what it takes on any given night, to ensure victory for our ballclub," Bryant said. "And that includes chasing him around."

Or as he said in a more brutally honest moment: "Who else was gonna do it?"

When he's motivated, as he was with Wade in town, Bryant can be one of the best on-ball defenders in the game. When it's a player he doesn't respect as much, Bryant will stray, leave his man open, give up open jumpers.

Wade's defensive success comes from jumping into passing lanes or coming from the weak side to block shots.

Wade, whose services were needed to both initiate and finish for the Heat on offense, only reciprocated the star-guarding duties in the first half. He scored 27 points -- more than half while Bryant was out of the game -- and had nine assists.

Bryant took only one shot in the first quarter (a 3-pointer he made), while dishing off six assists. On defense he was up in Wade's jersey, forcing Wade to use every bit of his All-Star skills to get six points in the opening quarter. It wasn't a coincidence that Wade went on a mini-spree in the second quarter, checking into the game and scoring seven points in less than a minute while Bryant was on the bench. Bryant came back in and held Wade to two more points until halftime.

Wade was at it again in the fourth quarter, like a racer staying on the road to gain a lap while everyone else makes a pit stop, with another minute-long seven-point outburst in the fourth quarter while Bryant was out.

"I hesitated to play Kobe too many minutes in the course of the game because he was working really hard defensively, I thought," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "So I held on as long as possible before putting him back in the fourth quarter so he could finish the game."

Indeed, once Bryant returned, Wade didn't score again in the final seven minutes.

http://sports.espn.g...age=dime-090112

Edited by MDI, January 12, 2009 - 11:27 AM.

[LA Forever]

Like said above, blocks and steals don't always equate to good defense. Look at Bynum, a stat not shown is how many shots he has changed, and I'll tell you it's a lot more than the shots he has blocked. Same with Kobe, if he gets in your face, the chances of making the basket go down. Kobe is a lock-down defender when he has to be, if not, he just roams, just like Ariza.

[EchoZulu]

Kobe's defense has been slacking off, really, for the last 5 years....Ever since Shaq left, I feel his defense has slipped tremendously, and Kobe making the all-defensive team during those years, to me, were based more on reputation as opposed to merit.

Numbers never tell the story when it comes to defense....especially the steals category. For example...Allen Iverson, who has never known to be a great defender, has always been one of the league leaders in steals. While Kobe's numbers in that particular category might be up this season, it's somewhat misleading because most of it comes from him gambling and taking unnecessary risks, which most times gets his team out of position. So in essence, him being a master thief on that end hurts the team more than it helps them.

If you really look closely, Kobe plays lazy defense. Yeah, I said it. He floats around like a free safety and constantly tells his teammates to switch to his man, which is a tell tell sign of lackadaisical defense.

Now, it's not like he can't play that lock down defense that he's known for. We saw it when he was on the USA basketball team during the Olympics, and he shows glimpses of it when he's motivated...but overall his defense is and has been vastly overrated.

Until our best player realizes that we need him to concentrate more on the defensive end, then our overall defense is going to be as good (or bad) as his.

[BadScooter]

Until our best player realizes that we need him to concentrate more on the defensive end, then our overall defense is going to be as good (or bad) as his.

This couldn't be more wrong. Kobe does whatever he needs to do to win the game. If that means taking over offensively and playing roamer on defense, he does that. If he needs to shut down the team's best player (see last night against Wade) and play creator on offense, he does it.

[EchoZulu]

This couldn't be more wrong. Kobe does whatever he needs to do to win the game. If that means taking over offensively and playing roamer on defense, he does that. If he needs to shut down the team's best player (see last night against Wade) and play creator on offense, he does it.

Tell me something....How does roaming around on defense HELP the team? That's pretty ridiculous, my friend.

[GCMD]

MDI summed it up with the article...

When Kobe wants you shut-down, he can shut you down...


Problem is, with this team, their has to be someone who can take over on the offensive end so Kobe's not playing iron-man decathlon on both sides. They haven't shown the ability to step up there so Kobe has to conserve energy (code for slack) on the defensive end so we can outscore the other team...


Add in another perimeter defender and our defense would KEY alot of our easy offense allowing Kobe to stay consistent on the defensive end. That's why it was a MISTAKE not ti sign POSEY. Or not to trade for AK-47 or MARION.

Get 'er dun Mitch!!!!

[daco_inc]

Tell me something....How does roaming around on defense HELP the team? That's pretty ridiculous, my friend.

LOL, you answered your own question. HELP. Help defense is his role. When playing the roamer, he's usually put on the player, either a G or SF, that is the least offensive threat, someone who doesn't need much defensive attention. He is able to intercept the passing lanes, be a secondary defender, and basically help when a teammate needs it.

Edited by daco_inc, January 12, 2009 - 11:52 AM.

[BadScooter]

Tell me something....How does roaming around on defense HELP the team? That's pretty ridiculous, my friend.

You missed the key point:

Kobe does whatever he needs to do to win the game. If that means taking over offensively and playing roamer on defense, he does that.

GCMD repeated the same thing:

MDI summed it up with the article...

When Kobe wants you shut-down, he can shut you down...


Problem is, with this team, their has to be someone who can take over on the offensive end so Kobe's not playing iron-man decathlon on both sides. They haven't shown the ability to step up there so Kobe has to conserve energy (code for slack) on the defensive end so we can outscore the other team...

Couldn't have said the bold portion better myself.

[Mega Man]

kobe did an AMAZING job denying wade the ball last night... Wade got away with a few clear outs too

[lakerfool]

All guard defense is overrated. It's really hard to prevent somebody from blowing by you with the amazing speed of NBA players.

Center/Big man defense is the most important. You have a big who blocks shots in the middle, people stop penetrating. Drew and Gasol need to step it up. They easily have potential to block5 a game combined, but are only at 3. It's unacceptable.

[ファイナルファンタジ]

I am a tremendous fan of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. However i think kobe's lock down defense and team defense is lacking.
Lock down defense- The ability of keeping your man in front of you ( not necessarily getting steals or blocks)
Team defense- Help side defense and playing the passing lanes

Kobe is averaging 1.4 steals and like .40 blocks

At this point kobe wont make all nba first team defense
at the moment (Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Dwight howard, Tim Duncan)

I think the referees have a hand it as well (Double standard) people play physical on Kobe but they dont let him play physical

Kobes best defensive season 2002-2003 2 steals and .80 blocks ever since then kobe hasn't matched that

I wish kobe would play better defense and have better numbers( wade and LBJ both average 2 steals and 1 block) so why cant kobe

Kobe is the best player in the league and i like his shooting percentages this year but just pick up the D KB24
:dance1: WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK

I don't see Chris Paul making it over Kobe. Unless more steals mean better defense.

[ILLWiLL20]