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Scherm
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 Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:53 am Post subject: Sac writer: "Remove the phrase "Kobe Stopper" from the dictionary" |
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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14221935p-15047476c.html
There are certain phrases that just might need deletion from the sports dictionary.
And as if 81 points in one game didn't prove it, or the nightly displays of dazzling dominance that have come with consistency befitting the legends, this one night might be reason to strike "Kobe-Stopper" from the record.
Kobe Bryant scored his 36 points on everyone the Kings threw his way Thursday night at Staples Center, but the pertinent part is that Ron Artest was among those left without answers in the Lakers' 106-85 win.
That Artest is one of the best defenders in the league is rarely argued, but good offense beats good defense every time.
This, make no mistake, was great. And Artest, like everyone else in the league, tried futilely to stop it.
Bryant was well aware of Artest's thoughts entering the fray. After the Kings' win over Golden State on Tuesday, Artest said of the matchup: "I'll do the same thing against him as I have against all the other guys I played who averaged a lot of points.
"I'll bring his scoring average down. I'll play my game. Most guys who average 20 or more, they don't get that against me." Bryant, who entered leading the league with a 34.9 points per game average, smirked more than once when asked of the matchup that was hailed with all the style of a boxing match. The first time came when TNT's Cheryl Miller posed the question, and again later amid a mass of reporters.
"What's that mean, 34 (points)?" he asked of the prediction to hold him below the average. "I don't pay attention much to that stuff. It's really funny. ... "I haven't played against Ron in like four years. Seriously. I think I had 40 (points). It is what it is." |
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THE_SHOES
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:00 am Post subject: |
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I just made that clear in the "Ronnie running smack" thread.
There no longer existed a kobe stopper about a month before that 81pt performance.
| Quote: | Artest said of the matchup: "I'll do the same thing against him as I have against all the other guys I played who averaged a lot of points.
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Ruben Patterson was still a bit funnier with his celebration of Kobe not shaming his name with 60+ points in that first contest. Ruben was delighted just to contain kobe to 41pts in that win in for Portland!
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Ozendorph
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:28 am Post subject: |
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The best part is, it was printed in the Sacramento Bee. After last night's game, you know those Norcal clowns are cheesed off after just reading the title. Salt on the wound 
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lakers1969
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:34 am Post subject: |
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| The SACBEE printed it? Oh! OH! Ron-Ron will be back to head case again and demanded to play with Kobe. |
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re4ee
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:36 am Post subject: |
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Ther really never has been a "Kobe stopper", it was all just bluster from the get-go! That 81 was merely the excaimation point to that truth!
But I agree with this: | Quote: | | There are certain phrases that just might need deletion from the sports dictionary. |
Like: sports reporter (more like pompous wannabe)
Greatest of all time (really, cannot make fair comparisons across eras, perhaps greatest of HIS time would be more meaningfull)
Sure thing (A bookie's favorite)
Last edited by re4ee on Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:39 am; edited 1 time in total |
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THE_SHOES
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:39 am Post subject: |
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Tru dat, and if the refs would make people keep their hands off of Kobe like they do Duncan that myth would have never even got started...
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"According to ESPN.com's conference projections, the Lakers will finish 12th in the West, which prompted Bryant to tweet earlier this offseason, "12th I see.." |
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kenkoy
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:41 am Post subject: |
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The real Kobe Stopper is sitting on the Lakers bench (with the initials PJ). If I'm Kobe though, I wouldn't be too confident about last night's performance against Artest. Keep in mind, that the guy's been out of basketball for the better part of two years, plus he is with a new team. I think we will see epic battles between the two for years to come.
Until he leaves the Kings and signs an MLE deal with the Lakers  |
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Dude
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Kobe can't be stopped by any one player period. Bowen and Bell give him the most trouble with single coverage. 90% of Kobe's off nights are a result of forcing shots against double teams when the offense breaks down and nobody else wearing gold can hit shots. |
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ocho
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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you can't stop kobe bryant. not in this stage in his career. you just can't. he can have a bad shooting night...but a defender cannot stop him.
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THE_SHOES
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:23 pm Post subject: |
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kenkoy, Ronnie and everybody else can forget it at this point... It's to late. Kobe's game has gone beyond mortal men trying to corral him. kobe is sharp. Experience has turned him into a god. He knows what these defenders are going to do before they do it and, his adjustments are so immediate we don't even see it taking place anymore. It's just not going to happen. Only person that can really stop him now is kobe...
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"According to ESPN.com's conference projections, the Lakers will finish 12th in the West, which prompted Bryant to tweet earlier this offseason, "12th I see.." |
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vanexelent
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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| re4ee wrote: | Ther really never has been a "Kobe stopper", it was all just bluster from the get-go! That 81 was merely the excaimation point to that truth!
But I agree with this: | Quote: | | There are certain phrases that just might need deletion from the sports dictionary. |
Like: sports reporter (more like pompous wannabe)
Greatest of all time (really, cannot make fair comparisons across eras, perhaps greatest of HIS time would be more meaningfull)
Sure thing (A bookie's favorite) |
"And One" needs to be deleted as well. This phrase has taken over the word "foul". Not foul is an "and 1", especially in street ball when the play usually stops after a foul and there is not continuence. |
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Socks
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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There was one play where ron was on kobe where kobe drove hard right, stopped on a dime, rose up for the jumper and nailed it.
It was a really simple move, but ron ended up a couple feet away and never even got off his feet to contest the shot. Kobe was just too quick and stopped on a dime. Again, just a really simple move, but Kobe does that hundreds of times through the season and just can't be stopped by anyone. Plays like that make me appreciate Kobe's game even more than his flashier moves. |
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LakerJam
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Socks wrote: | There was one play where ron was on kobe where kobe drove hard right, stopped on a dime, rose up for the jumper and nailed it.
It was a really simple move, but ron ended up a couple feet away and never even got off his feet to contest the shot. Kobe was just too quick and stopped on a dime. Again, just a really simple move, but Kobe does that hundreds of times through the season and just can't be stopped by anyone. Plays like that make me appreciate Kobe's game even more than his flashier moves. |
My co-workers and I were just talking about that move this morning. Simple move but his quickness was remarkable and his elevation on the shot so immediate, that there was nothing Ron could do. That's why guys with a lot of length have better success because while they react like Ron, too, long arms can recover at least a little bit of the distance. Still, no one player can stop Kobe Bryant. He's playing at another level from anyone else in this league right now. He's effortless out there.
You know what I have really loved seeing this year? The expression on a player's face when they finally realize what everyone else has been talking about when it comes to Kobe. For example, before Kobe played against Wade, Wade didn't realize how elevated Kobe's game was. He thought he was right there with Kobe...until he played against him this year. Then the respect followed immediately. Next was Lebron who while respectful of Kobe, recognized who actually IS the best in the game when he played against him and crunch time came around. Last night was Ron Artest, and you could see it on his face once he realized it. Kobe is so ethereal in the land he's living in right now, that I find so much joy in watching that reality dawn on the face of his opponents.
Last year, Kobe was, "that other guy" to Dwayne Wade. This year, Kobe is "the best in the game, bar none" to Wade. OR he's, "one bad motha f...a" to A.I.
Me likes that very much. |
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koolruningz
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Did Wade really call Kobe "the best in the game, bar none"? Wow, when was that? |
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angel
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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Kobe only had an average scoring game against the Kings.
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PhillyDoc
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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| The closest stopper is Bowen and he is smart and humble enough to realize that Kobe on his good days is a cut above anyone else. |
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angel
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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Spree used to be good against Kobe. That was years ago.
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magic_bryant
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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| da ocho wrote: | | you can't stop kobe bryant. not in this stage in his career. you just can't. he can have a bad shooting night...but a defender cannot stop him. |
I hate the comparison, but the way that Kobe is putting it ALL together, the passing, the scoring coming on mostly jumpshots and FTs, the off-the-ball play. He is at that level where Mike was in '96. He's just absolutely money on jumpshots. There's nothing worse that getting beat by simple jumpshots, cause whether you're Gary Payton in 96 facing MJ or Artest in 06 guarding Kobe, you put your hands up in their face and they still hit. It's just demoralizing. Makes you almost want to not even try on that end.
Kobe's the most dominant player in the league, and he's doing it as a jumpshooter.
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Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass." |
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fansincemagic
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| Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Bown in his prime and Prince because of his size could hold Kobe to 20 points if they work really hard, back in the day. Can anyone name an NBA player that Kobe can't score 50 against? |
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