20 replies to this topic

[magicbalala245]

Can someone please tell John to stop writing basketball articles for ESPN it really makes the look bad :lol:

ESPN: Sorry, Kobe fans, but LeBron James is the best player in the league, and it isn't even close. And in addition to being a force of nature who is a nightly triple-double threat, James has the added advantage of being virtually indestructible.

This is Cleveland's one huge advantage. They're basically a 24-58 team, except that they have the greatest player in the world, and in a seven-game series that advantage becomes hugely magnified because they can play him virtually every minute of every important game.

Take a look at that Boston series again, for instance. In the last four games James played 44, 45, 47 and 47 minutes, and the Cavs beat Boston by a composite six points in that time; in the nine minutes he sat out the Cavs were outscored 22-12. That's consistent with his massive on-court vs. off-court disparities over the past few seasons; last year the Cavs were 11.1 points per 48 minutes better with James on the floor.

Because these were the playoffs, he was on the bench for a total of only nine minutes in those four games against Boston ... in the regular season it would have been more like 32. Those extra minutes where LeBron is on the court instead of somebody like Pavlovic or Szczerbiak are the reason that Cleveland is such a scary team to face in the postseason -- any time they get into a must-win game, James can play all 48 minutes, so the playoff Cavs are markedly stronger than the regular-season Cavs.

[Flash]

I wonder why the first three games weren't included

Edited by Alekz, October 13, 2008 - 05:10 PM.

[phifedogg76]

I don't take anything that hollinger says seriously ... all he is, is a numbers guy .... hell i know for a fact he'll put chris paul the 2nd best player in the league ... and it's all about his so called "PER" formula that I could care less about ... L4L and a few others care but myself and the majority of the NATION don't

[Tobias Fünke]

Lol, who even takes this guy seriously.

[Tobias Fünke]

LeBron is catching up to Kobe, so I could see how some people can think he might be better. However, to say LeBron is better and it's not even close, is crazy talk.

That's the part that swayed me the wrong way. This could very well be the year LeBron becomes the #1 player in the NBA, but it wont be by much if he is.

[BeeZee]

An argument can be made that LeBron is the better play (though I don't believe he is at this point in time). But to say it's not even close is a flat out ignorant statement.

[lyk13]

Cry us a river? There's a good 6 years gap between the 2 players... Duhz. And age isn't on Kobe's side....duhz duhz?

[Imadogg]

Well he's not that off. Hollinger does say some of the dumbest [expletive] but Lebron can easily become GOAT or up in the conversation.

[last stand 2.0]

Well he's not that off. Hollinger does say some of the dumbest [expletive] but Lebron can easily become GOAT or up in the conversation.

never will because he'll never have a legitimate shot at a title

if healthy it will be lakers dominating for 5-8 years then the blazers for 3-5 years

by that time lebron at most will have 1 title if that and will be mid 30s

[last stand 2.0]

lebron is a great player and i love watching him but in terms of skill, tenacity, fire, and love for the game kobe is lightyears ahead of lebron but interms of athleticism and popularity in america lebron takes the cake

hollingers stats were modified 3 to 4 times because kobe kept showing up at the top and were not finalized till kobe significantly fell

the stat is dumb and nobody cares about it

john hollinger said that antawn jaimison and allen iverson were as deserving of the MVP as kobe and chris paul and lebron were way above kobe for MVP

this was according to his stat

hes an ignoramous who knows nothing of basketball except for his stupid stat

c'mon this is the guy who said manu ginobili is better than kobe

[La Bomba]

He's says there is a big difference, and there isn't. I still think Kobe is the best player, but I can understand why others would argue otherwise.

[last stand 2.0]

He's says there is a big difference, and there isn't. I still think Kobe is the best player, but I can understand why others would argue otherwise.

its truly a legitimate arguement

until the words

and its not even close

hollinger stat "per"

kobe or lebron sucks

get involved

truth of the matter it is close and for those who say well kobe is 30 and lebron is 24 well kobe at 24 for those who were laker fans back then was close to if not as good as lebron is at 24

people say what you will about shaq but all that got kobe was titles (which he and i love) but if shaq was never there kobe could have put up the 30ppg 7apg easy

kobes development as a #1 option would have accelerated if we built the team around shaq as opposed to kobe

but thats a different matter the truth is lebron has hit the ceiling on his individual dominance but still has major potential as a team player

people always said when lebron developed a shot he'd be unstoppable i would argue it may hurt him

this season he developed a decent shot and his points per game total stayed rather similar but his FG% dropped 3 percentage points

he fell in love with the jumper and his efficient scoring went out the door and he became a volume scorer like kobe

the jumper will be lebrons kryptonite if he lets it which most do ask kobe

lebron is great but like kobe you wont see much of a sudden surge but you will see extended greatness

lebron will average 30ppg 7rpg 7apg most likely till hes 29 or 30 and gets a decent team around him

people expect 40ppg 10rpg 8apg or something like he'll become the most dominant player ever

will not happen he'll get a team around him develop a jumper fall in love with it and become about as good as kobe is right now end of story

there was 1 jordan, wilt, magic, kareem

there will never be others

kobe, lebron will be on their levels when its all said and done but there will be no clear cut answer

[JudasNotPay024]

Both Kobe and Lebron were rendered ineffective against the Celtic's stifling defense. I wouldn't take Baldy Hollinger seriously since he is a known Kobe hater. In time, Lebron will eventually surpass Kobe as the best player in the league. It can even be argued that he is better than Kobe now. But to say that it is not even close is just idiotic.

The guy voted Paul as the MVP last season, which is okay seeing how close the race was in the West. But putting Kobe at number 4 in the MVP voting behind James and Garnett was stupid.

Edited by JudasNotPay024, October 13, 2008 - 08:02 PM.

[Synergy]

KOBE > LEBRON !

LeBron will become better than Kobe though, but not yet.

[ReaListik]

LeBron and Kobe are two different players. LeBron needs to start developing some more dimensions of his game so that when the time comes when he's not stronger than everybody else, he can use other skills to his advantage. If he doesn't, he'll end up looking a lot like how Shaq is now.

Even MJ recognized and stated that Kobe is the best player on the planet right now.

Edited by ReaListik, October 13, 2008 - 10:05 PM.

[Domo]

Lol, who even takes this guy seriously.

Haha exactly what I was thinking

[TheCalmInsanity]

Hollinger uses numbers too much, look at his individual player rankings, Leon Powe is in like the top 30 players in the NBA

How does that happen!? Powe is ranked higher than Baron Davis? LMFAO.

Another thing is... Lebron and Kobe are different players. While I agree that Lebron's stats are better, Kobe as of right now is a better player to have on the team. If you wanted to build a team for the future, Lebron would be your guy. Lebron might end up a better player than Kobe, and some people can even argue that he is right now, but all that stuff is pure subjective.

[SILO]

LeBron and Kobe are two different players. LeBron needs to start developing some more dimensions of his game so that when the time comes when he's not stronger than everybody else, he can use other skills to his advantage. If he doesn't, he'll end up looking a lot like how Shaq is now.

Even MJ recognized and stated that Kobe is the best player on the planet right now.

i agree. lebrons strength and speed will not always be there for him to drive through the lane and throw one down.
his legs will give eventually. without a jumpshot hes gonna be really ineffective in his late years.

kobes body has changed alot the past seasons from the big arms pushing guys down in the post to the slim kobe using speed and finesse. hes really taking care of himself for him to still be effective even in his late 30's. he can still dunk but now a days hes more likely to drive and lay it up or pull up a J.

quite frankly i cant see lebron throwing them down at his late 30's. hopefully he gets a consistent J or his game is gonna be so predictable.

[daco_inc]

All that is valuable to Hollinger is stats and PER. back in 04-05, he gave his first place mvp vote to KG who didn't even make the playoffs that year. How in the heck can you say someone is the most valuable player when he couldn't even lead his team to a top 8 spot? Apparently things like leadership and winning isn't important to a guy like Hollinger. All you have to do is fill up the stat line.