The Perpetual NBA Thread

[Gumusut_Amige]

wow 3 na lang tatabla na sia

kayang kaya ni LBJ cguro ito ..bata pa kasi

pero hindi naman ball hog si LBJ bro?

[baiskee]

bai, sana mabilis syang mag-reload pag naubusan ng bala!

di ko gets...layo eh.

GO LAKERS!!! nyahaha

[BoEinG_747]

pero hindi naman ball hog si LBJ bro?

Sir,eh di buwaya pala si KOBE

makaulit kaya mamaya si KB24

go go go Kobe

[mmanson]

^^buwaya nga kaya?
kobe b. had forty-three points, nine rebounds, no assists, and seven of the Lakers' season-high 26 turnovers.
http://www.nba.com/games/20070325/GSWLAL/recap.html

but hey lakers fans, they still won the game.

[cyrusblutrooper]

kobe scores 43 vs Warriors WOW. he's one hell of a player after scoring 65 vs Blazers, 50 vs Twolves, 60 vs Grizzlies, and 50 Hornets. WOW.

AVERAGING 53+ Pts/game on the last 5 winning games.

what the heck, as long as the lakers win games even kobe shoot 70% of the teams FG or even 90% for that matter.
Go lakers Just win games

[cardo]

sabi ni phil, kobe is motivated by the suspension he got a couple of weeks ago...

what a steal kobe is for the lakers. can't believe he was selected 5th by charlotte then traded to the lakers for vlade.

[jasprit]

he's just showi'n why shaq hated him...

[tsupermario]

phil's got to be worried about wear and tear...

[baiskee]

what the heck, as long as the lakers win games even kobe shoot 70% of the teams FG or even 90% for that matter.
Go lakers Just win games

korek!

[RMean]

[SIZE=5]Artest won't confirm, deny if he's talked about retiring[/SIZE]
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest told multiple teammates this week that he wants to retire at season's end to spend more time with his family, according to club sources.

Ron Artest
Small Forward
Sacramento Kings

Profile
2007 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
58 18.7 6.6 3.3 .448 .725

Reached via e-mail, Artest wouldn't confirm or deny making such declarations, telling ESPN.com: "We can talk about it after [the] playoffs."

Artest added that he will indeed play Sunday afternoon when the Kings, 4½ games out of the eighth and final playoff berth in the West, play host to Phoenix in an ABC game. Since being arrested at his Sacramento-area home March 5 after a domestic dispute with his wife, Artest has missed three games, most recently Thursday night's road loss to the Suns.

Artest pleaded not guilty Thursday to four misdemeanor charges stemming from the dispute. He tried to make it to Phoenix in time for the Kings' game after his court appearance, but weather-related travel complications prevented Artest and Kings broadcaster Grant Napear -- who also was also traveling on a commercial flight that day -- from joining the team.

The possibility of the eight-year veteran walking away from the Kings after the season to focus on family life is also raised at hiphopgame.com, where Artest has been posting journal entries this season.

But it should be noted that this isn't the first time he's brought up retirement. Before and after his 73-game suspension with Indiana during the 2004-05 season, Artest suggested numerous times publicly that he could be content without the NBA in his life. Few league observers believed him then, and similar skepticism is bound to greet his latest sentiments.

The 27-year-old has two seasons left on his contract after this one, both at salaries of $7.4 million. Artest has the option to terminate the contract after next season and enter the free-agent market in July 2008.

Artest was widely hailed as a savior in Sacramento last season after the Kings acquired him from the Pacers in a late January trade for Peja Stojakovic. The Kings were 17-24 when they got him and wound up rallying into the postseason, extending San Antonio to six games in the first round and stretching their run under co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof to eight straight seasons in the playoffs.

During the offseason, both Maloofs openly described Artest as the new face of the franchise, expressing hope that the enigmatic swingman would finish his career with the Kings.

This season, though, has been turmoil-ridden from the start, with ongoing reports of locker-room strife, and first-year coach Eric Musselman has struggled to assert his authority over the Kings. Artest and point guard Mike Bibby both were made available before the league's Feb. 22 trade deadline, leading to speculation that the Kings will be looking to jettison both -- as well as Musselman -- this offseason.

In an interview with ESPN.com in November 2004, just one week before the melee at The Palace of Auburn Hills that led to the longest suspension in NBA history, Artest raised and then shot down the idea of early retirement in the same conversation.

"If I think I want to retire, it doesn't make me crazy," Artest said at the time. "What's so crazy about being home with your family? I don't see anything so crazy about that. If people think that's crazy, maybe they don't know what it's like to be with their family. Family is more important than money."

But then he added: "I really -- before I retire -- I want to win a championship. I want to reach at least one of the things Michael Jordan reached."

After entering his plea of not guilty last week, Artest was ordered by a Placer County Superior Court judge to stay at least 100 yards away from wife, Kimsha, and their three children until further notice. Artest is allowed to communicate with his family by telephone, e-mail and letter, with another court hearing scheduled for April 5.

He was arrested March 5 at the family's estate in Loomis, some 25 miles northeast of Sacramento. Artest is accused of grabbing, pushing and slapping his wife. He pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges of battery and corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.

Artest has since apologized to his family and his teammates at a news conference. He's played in seven games since the incident, averaging 18.7 points and 6.0 rebounds, but the Kings are 1-6 in those games.

[cyrusblutrooper]

phil's got to be worried about wear and tear...

IMHO, kobe still has 5 yrs of playing time wag lang ma injure ng grabe.

[ssaloon]

damn, chuck hayes and garbajosa are out with injuries...

[chain]

[SIZE="4"]Putting Kobe in perspective[/SIZE]
By Jemele Hill
Page 2

Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan.

Not more successful.

Hasn't had a bigger economic impact.

Hasn't won more MVPs.

Kobe Bryant did something Michael Jordan never
did -- score 50-plus in four consecutive games.

Hasn't won more titles.

But he's a better player.

Kobe can do everything Michael did, and even a few things Michael couldn't do.

Kobe is just as good a defender. His killer instinct is just as pronounced. He can shoot, finish and explode. And just like Jordan, the more he's pissed off, the more unstoppable he is.

At the very least, Kobe's scoring spree over the last week should put to rest any lingering doubts that he's the best player in the NBA. Yes, better than Steve Nash, who is the best point guard, but not the lethal force that Kobe is. Yes, better than Dwyane Wade, who is certainly closer to the Kobe-Jordan level than LeBron James, but D-Wade's game is not as polished as Kobe's.

Kobe's streak of four straight 50-points-plus games is something none of those players can do, and it's something that hasn't been done since Wilt Chamberlain, who had an NBA-record seven straight 50-point games. Truthfully, Kobe should have tacked another 50 on Golden State on Sunday night.

Of course, the idea that Kobe is better than Jordan -- or even the best player in this league -- is as repugnant to some folks as a rectal exam. Even though Kobe has proven himself under pressure countless times, he gets the A-Rod treatment.

Kobe can't please anyone. And it doesn't help that most people suffer from revisionist history when it comes to Jordan, forgetting that he was just as poor a teammate and a ball hog and that he ran off coach Doug Collins like Kobe ran off Phil Jackson the first time.

In fact, you could argue that Jordan was even worse. Far as we know, Kobe hasn't jacked up any of his teammates the way Jordan punched out Steve Kerr and Will Perdue at practice.

Kobe will never be forgiven for Shaq's departure, but you're delusional if you think Jordan wouldn't have had any ego issues playing alongside a player with Shaq's star power.

The best-player argument shouldn't be determined by personal dislike. But if you want to take it there, fine. Jordan was hardly the ideal husband, but only the tabloids were brave enough to venture into his personal life. And what about those gambling issues? If Jordan's life had been covered like Kobe's, we would have an entirely different opinion of His Airness.

Besides a different level of media scrutiny, there was definitely a difference in the level of competition during Jordan's heyday compared to now.

We ask you to step back and take an objective look. Isn't Kobe the best player in the NBA?

Yesterday's NBA player certainly was more fundamentally sound, but there's no question that today's player is bigger, stronger and faster. When Jordan played, he was a singular force that could not be equaled. Jordan was guarded by the likes of John Starks and Joe Dumars, who were fine players but weren't nearly as skilled or physically imposing as LeBron, D-Wade, Tracy McGrady or even Vince Carter.

The NBA is tougher now.

Kobe, like Michael, is surrounded with mediocre to below-average talent, and Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio are all better than the Utah, Portland and the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix team that Michael met in the NBA Finals.

Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing will be among the best centers ever, but none of them affected the league the way Shaq and Tim Duncan have. There are two two-time MVPs in Kobe's own conference (Duncan, Nash), which is a problem Jordan never faced during his championship runs. Seven-footers weren't launching 3s back then. Magic Johnson and the Lakers were on a downward spiral, and the Pistons were on their last legs. It was Michael and everyone else. That's not the case for Kobe.

The shame of it is that Kobe might finish his career without a MVP, even though his ability can be compared only to that of Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. All this time we've been looking for a player who is better than Jordan, but most of us can't get beyond whether we like or dislike Kobe as a person to recognize his contributions to the game.

Ultimately the MVP award will go to either Nash or Dirk Nowitzki, who are deserving this season, but neither are as good as Kobe. Dallas and Phoenix are strong enough to make the playoffs without their stars. The Lakers, however, are a lottery team without Kobe.

Now that's a valuable player.

[ssaloon]

^ nice writeup... and somehow, i'm leaning towards it.

[mazdamazda]

he should change his jersey's number to 50... :lol:

[RMean]

Robert Horry : DNP - Old Age?


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore...gid=2007032609

[RMean]

[SIZE=4]Putting Kobe in perspective[/SIZE]

Kobe Bryant did something Michael Jordan never
did -- score 50-plus in four consecutive games.


At the very least, Kobe's scoring spree over the last week should put to rest any lingering doubts that he's the best player in the NBA. Yes, better than Steve Nash, who is the best point guard, but not the lethal force that Kobe is. Yes, better than Dwyane Wade, who is certainly closer to the Kobe-Jordan level than LeBron James, but D-Wade's game is not as polished as Kobe's.

Kobe's streak of four straight 50-points-plus games is something none of those players can do, and it's something that hasn't been done since Wilt Chamberlain, who had an NBA-record seven straight 50-point games. Truthfully, Kobe should have tacked another 50 on Golden State on Sunday night.

masyado yatang naimpress ung writer ng article na yan sa scoring ability ni kobe.. baka nakakalimutan niya na iba na ang rules ngayon kesa sa kapanahunan ni jordan.. wala ng handcheck ngayon kaya mas madali para sa mga wingman ngayon magdrive.. hindi tulad noon, kukuyugin ka talaga pag nagdrive ka.. siko, tuhod matitikman mo lahat yan

[theveed]

I'm not a Kobe fan, but Kobe is truly something else... The thing about Jordan that I didn't like that much is really the lack of competition, which propelled him even further beyond the stratosphere.

Pointless to compare, but Kobe is indeed the best individual talent in the NBA for several years now IMO...

You can't appeace Jordan lovers, so don't bother arguing hehe.

[mazdamazda]

Robert Horry : DNP - Old Age?


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore...gid=2007032609

WTF! :rofl01:

[zidane21]

very nice article po sir! mejo natamaan po ako sa sinabi nung author regarding negative impression on kobe! nag-iba ngayon ang perspective ko about kobe as a great contributor to the sport!