The Perpetual NBA Thread

[ILuvDetailing]

this is some juicy stuff!

Kobe's wife is of latin descent, latina's are hot... so is kobe's wife.

[ram]

yet, in spite of that he was still accused of rape. although that was all over now. some men just can't get enough

[altec]

ang swapang na nga ni kobe, after 19 games in this current season, he is making only 39.7% from the 2 point region, and 31.7% from the pt area, attempting over 20 times per game. Kung di yan swapang, don't know what is. Ngayon, he says Malone made a pass at his wife? When? If Malone did make a pass, that's NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING, compared to what he did (ongoing court case). And being extra nice means you are making a pass? Talk about paranaoia and karma. Only people who are guilty will think as wild as Kobe's mind moves and thinks.

[empy]

maganda ba si mrs. malone? e di dapat nag wife-swap na lang sila.

or better yet, ipahiram nila sa akin yung wives nila :evillaugh

[luloym]

ayaw nga kasi ni kobe ang salitang "pass."

[ram]

nyehehe

though, in yesterday's game against the magic, he had some nifty passes to HIS teammates. i only watched the game to see him lose :lol: sad to say nanalo pa rin sila.

that's what i get when i watch a lakers game. more ulcer

[theveed]

Misplaced anger
Phil Taylor, SI.com

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You're thinking this must be one of those wild Internet rumors, a myth born in some cyberspace chat room. You know that Kobe Bryant seems to lead a bizarre, Playmakers-meets-Desperate Housewives sort of life, but surely this story can't be true. The whole thing sounds like one of those fabricated headlines from a supermarket tabloid. "KOBE: THE MAILMAN MADE A PASS AT MY WIFE."

But it's true -- not necessarily the allegations, but the fact that Kobe made them. He says that Karl Malone made several suggestive comments to Vanessa Bryant at a Lakers game on Nov. 23 at the Staples Center. While Bryant was hitting jumpers against the Milwaukee Bucks, Malone was in the stands, supposedly hitting on Kobe's wife. Malone has not yet commented publicly on the accusations.

Let's get the obligatory point out of the way: Making inappropriate comments to another man's wife obviously is unacceptable behavior. Don't try this at home, kids. If Malone, who is married, did what the Bryants say he did, he should be ashamed. But the story here isn't Malone -- it is, as always, Kobe. How exactly does a man who admitted to committing what became one of the most public acts of adultery in recent memory manage to work up a sense of outrage over a few out-of-line comments?

The Bryants say Malone supposedly suggested that Vanessa come over and give him a hug, and said he was "hunting little Mexican girls." (Vanessa Bryant is of Mexican ancestry.) Inappropriate? Sure. Bad taste? Absolutely. But it's doubtful that any of the alleged comments were as traumatic to Vanessa Bryant as these two little words: Eagle, Colorado. "What's wrong with you? How could you?" Kobe reportedly said to Malone. It's not hard to imagine Vanessa saying those very words to Kobe about a year ago.

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The fact that Bryant has hurt his wife doesn't mean he shouldn't try to protect her from further pain, of course. But it's hard to understand why he would make such a private matter public. It's just another example of the odd choices Bryant has been making since that fateful night in Eagle. From divulging a dirty little secret about Shaquille O'Neal supposedly paying women to keep quiet about his trysts with them, to reshaping the Lakers' roster into Kobe and a bunch of guys, to this latest flare-up with Malone, Bryant has shown a troubling tendency to make the spectacularly wrong decision.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak have to be wondering if they made the wrong decision themselves in choosing Bryant in his power struggle with O'Neal and former coach Phil Jackson. As supremely talented as Kobe may be, he's also one of those players who is always surrounded by drama, usually of his own making. It's hard to believe that almost everyone thought Bryant was on the verge of his fourth NBA title last June, because he has never seemed as far from another title as he does right now, as a lone superstar trying to carry his team into the playoffs while he fights these juicy little battles in his personal life. It's difficult to see Kobe living this soap opera life forever without it affecting his performance or distracting his teammates.

We may never know exactly what Malone said to Vanessa Bryant. Kobe's and Vanessa's version of events may be totally accurate, although the comments they attribute to Malone are certainly open to different interpretations. But one thing that's clear is that a new controversy seems to spring up around Kobe on a regular basis, and the pattern shows no signs of letting up. The once-mighty Lakers will continue to rise and fall on the performance of their bizarre prince, hoping that they will be able to survive the next Kobe crisis. With Kobe, the next one is never far away.

[ram]

and here's Kobe vs Ray Allen...

It's Allen-Kobe, Act III

By Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter

In the pantheon of classic confrontations, tomorrow's meeting between Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant ranks far below the epic battles of Achilles-Hector, Kennedy-Nixon and Magic-Bird.

And to listen to the Sonics guard explain his rocky relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers star, you might think their basketball feud is the creation of a zealous marketing department seeking to sell tickets, advertisers hoping to boost TV ratings and media members looking for a salacious quote.

"I don't put any more (credence on playing Bryant) than what I did tonight," Allen said after Saturday's 98-84 defeat to Boston. "I don't know what his mentality is coming in, and I think that's pretty much the whole story.

"What he feels. What he thinks and what he says that gives ... anybody something to write about. On my part, it wasn't really nothing to be said or to talk about. I will come in Tuesday and just try to get this win because I don't like losing back-to-back games."

Allen believes his Sonics, who possess a 17-4 record, have matured beyond individual battles.

"I can't say that I've thought about it because things have been going so well, what we're doing as a team and who we've been playing," he said. "The other day when we played San Antonio, I didn't think about (Tim Duncan). I didn't think about Dirk (Nowitzki) the other night. I haven't thought about guys who can score a lot of points because I'm so confident in what we're doing as a team."

Still, there is something about Bryant, a lightning rod for controversy, that brings out the best in Allen.

Since arriving in Seattle in a trade last year, Allen has played his most memorable games against the Lakers. In his Sonics debut on Feb. 23, 2003, Allen scored 26 points, grabbed a career-high tying 13 rebounds and doled out nine assists in a 106-101 defeat, while Bryant scored 41.

In a Jan. 2, 2004 game, in which Gary Payton returned to KeyArena for the first time in an opposing uniform, Allen stole the show with 35 points to top Bryant's 32 in a 111-109 Sonics victory.

Bryant has also enjoyed the sight of the Sonics. He set a NBA record of 12 three-pointers on Jan. 7, 2003 against Seattle.

They were All-Star teammates last year and appear headed toward the midseason classic once again as the highest-scoring guards in the Western Conference. Bryant is second in the NBA with a 26.9 scoring average, and Allen is seventh at 23.8.

Still, much of the hype surrounding tomorrow's 7 p.m. game at KeyArena has little to do with basketball and more to do with the he-said, he-said offcourt melodrama between the guards.

Following the exhibition opener for both teams, an 87-80 Sonics victory in which Bryant scored 35 points, Allen chastised the Lakers star.

"He feels like he needs to show the league ... that he is better without Shaq, that he can win without Shaq," Allen said. "That he can still average 30 points and he can still carry the load on this team. The point production is not so much what people will look at, because (Tracy) McGrady did it in Orlando and Allen (Iverson) did it in Philly. But can you win championships? Can he make everybody better?

"He has the talent. But is his attitude going to sometimes allow him to take the backseat and let Lamar Odom shine and let Caron Butler have his nights and bring those big guys along? If Kobe doesn't see he needs 2-1/2 good players to be a legitimate playoff contender or win a championship in about a year or two he will be calling out to (Lakers owner) Jerry Buss that we need some help in here, or trade me. We'll all be saying we told you so when he says that."

When asked about Allen's comments before their second exhibition on Oct. 25, Bryant said: "Don't even put me and dude in the same breath."

The second preseason showdown, a 117-91 Lakers win, never materialized because Allen sat out with a stiff lower back. Still, Bryant added fuel to the fire when he was overheard during the game telling Allen: "I'll see you again."

Which brings the soap-opera affair to tomorrow's game.

"He made it more than what it was, trying to get back into the papers and telling papers what he said and what he did and he doesn't like me," Allen said. "All he had to do was get in contact with me and we could have hashed that out.

"Now it's a situation where we see each other four times a year and it's a rivalry. I always say may the best man, best team win."

hindi yata mauubusan ng kaaway

[mikaztro]

The Lakers are doing extremely good. They tied Cleveland Cavs record 12-8. I wonder if they can sustain it to the Playoffs. Kobe is still Kobe.

[theveed]

Lakers are not doing "extremely" well. They're doing ok thanks mostly to their schedule so far.

They only won 5 games against top teams, the rest are all via Chicago, Golden State and the like.