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tirebiter Starting Rotation
Joined: 31 Jul 2014 Posts: 401
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 11:54 am Post subject: |
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ringfinger wrote: | Thought Kobe was pretty bad defensively. Was getting beat by everyone.
Here's one thing though that I noted in the GD thread. He shouldn't be gambling for steals. Now, Kobe's always done that and loves to play the "free safety" defensive philosophy, but, I noticed that one thing that is vastly different now apparently, is that he can't stop.
Once he lunges for that steal, he can't stop his momentum. Maybe it's the achilles, age, or some combo of both, but once he goes for it, if he misses, he's either going to crash in to the guy (happened one time last night), or he's going to blow right past the player.
When he was younger, he could lunge and recover on a miss. He doesn't seem to be able to do that. Thus, don't do it. Just backup off your guy a little and stay in front as much as possible. |
this is pretty spot on. i don't think he has learned how to play D with an older, slower body yet. or wouldn't accept that he might be slower now.
we've all been through it (those of us in our 40's). your body just can't catch up to what your mind whats to do.
he really should consider playing D differently now. use his length to disrupt and contain his guy, but don't need to keep gambling for steals. |
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Voices Star Player
Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 8287 Location: Oxnard, Ca.
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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Batguano wrote: | I agree with OP.
Kobe's always been a gambler. It's not a big deal. He's gonna try to gamble for steals a couple of times per game, just like he'll launch a couple of heat-check or home-run 3s. It's just his nature. When the gamble pays off, its amazing and can be a huge momentum changer that gets the crowd into it. When it doesn't we can get burned.
He's been doing it his whole career and its seemed to work out pretty well in the end. He locks down when he needs to.
What I look at is his activity on the defensive end. He was getting into guys, recovering quickly, just being all around tenacious pest. Both him and Artest, despite their age limitations.
In the end the effect it has on the rest of the team and their collective defensive effort was tangible on the court to me, especially in the 2nd half. When the younger guys see the older vets so active on defense it trickles down and makes them pick up their own effort.
I believe that having the talent he has around him now, where multiple guys can handle the rock and create for themselves and others will allow Kobe to focus more on the defensive end at times.
Think about how much energy Kobe has had to expend the past 15 years being the primary ballhandler/creator on the team. |
Good post!
If Kobe can stay healthy, I believe he will be who he is, a great player. The Kobe that I saw actually was pretty polished for this early in the pre season. _________________ .....
.....
ALTHOUGH HE STANDS 6 FEET 2 INCHES, JIM BUSS ATTENDED JOCKEY SCHOOL WHEN HE WAS 20. |
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evetssteve10 Star Player
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 3099
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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Voices wrote: | Batguano wrote: | I agree with OP.
Kobe's always been a gambler. It's not a big deal. He's gonna try to gamble for steals a couple of times per game, just like he'll launch a couple of heat-check or home-run 3s. It's just his nature. When the gamble pays off, its amazing and can be a huge momentum changer that gets the crowd into it. When it doesn't we can get burned.
He's been doing it his whole career and its seemed to work out pretty well in the end. He locks down when he needs to.
What I look at is his activity on the defensive end. He was getting into guys, recovering quickly, just being all around tenacious pest. Both him and Artest, despite their age limitations.
In the end the effect it has on the rest of the team and their collective defensive effort was tangible on the court to me, especially in the 2nd half. When the younger guys see the older vets so active on defense it trickles down and makes them pick up their own effort.
I believe that having the talent he has around him now, where multiple guys can handle the rock and create for themselves and others will allow Kobe to focus more on the defensive end at times.
Think about how much energy Kobe has had to expend the past 15 years being the primary ballhandler/creator on the team. |
Good post!
If Kobe can stay healthy, I believe he will be who he is, a great player. The Kobe that I saw actually was pretty polished for this early in the pre season. |
Really happy with Kobe last night. Only thing I really wanted to see was his shot be pure again this year and see him stay with his man on D and he's been showing me that and so much more so far. God bless that old Mamba _________________ "Bryant has been the second best player in the NBA for over a decade, but the number 1 player changes every other year. Somehow the number 1 player always seems to fall down the list but Kobe just never moves up. ". The Art of Hating Kobe Bryant |
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golaker Star Player
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 Posts: 2557
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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evetssteve10 wrote: | Voices wrote: | Batguano wrote: | I agree with OP.
Kobe's always been a gambler. It's not a big deal. He's gonna try to gamble for steals a couple of times per game, just like he'll launch a couple of heat-check or home-run 3s. It's just his nature. When the gamble pays off, its amazing and can be a huge momentum changer that gets the crowd into it. When it doesn't we can get burned.
He's been doing it his whole career and its seemed to work out pretty well in the end. He locks down when he needs to.
What I look at is his activity on the defensive end. He was getting into guys, recovering quickly, just being all around tenacious pest. Both him and Artest, despite their age limitations.
In the end the effect it has on the rest of the team and their collective defensive effort was tangible on the court to me, especially in the 2nd half. When the younger guys see the older vets so active on defense it trickles down and makes them pick up their own effort.
I believe that having the talent he has around him now, where multiple guys can handle the rock and create for themselves and others will allow Kobe to focus more on the defensive end at times.
Think about how much energy Kobe has had to expend the past 15 years being the primary ballhandler/creator on the team. |
Good post!
If Kobe can stay healthy, I believe he will be who he is, a great player. The Kobe that I saw actually was pretty polished for this early in the pre season. |
Really happy with Kobe last night. Only thing I really wanted to see was his shot be pure again this year and see him stay with his man on D and he's been showing me that and so much more so far. God bless that old Mamba |
The effort was really nice to see and while he is obviously not as fast as he used to be, I think the average fan doesn't realize that while Kobe isn't the same defender he was, he's still probably an average defender when he's actually putting the effort on that end. Gordon Hayward is not an easy cover for someone in their 20th season.
Problem is, he'll completely stop putting in effort on that end of the court when the games start to count in order to save his energy on the offensive end.
Go out firing Kob, just to piss off the haters _________________ Maybe you think it's completely innocent. Maybe you don't. But there's no denying that what the rule book says means a lot less than what the NBA wants at any given moment. -Tim Donaghy |
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evetssteve10 Star Player
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 3099
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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golaker wrote: | evetssteve10 wrote: | Voices wrote: | Batguano wrote: | I agree with OP.
Kobe's always been a gambler. It's not a big deal. He's gonna try to gamble for steals a couple of times per game, just like he'll launch a couple of heat-check or home-run 3s. It's just his nature. When the gamble pays off, its amazing and can be a huge momentum changer that gets the crowd into it. When it doesn't we can get burned.
He's been doing it his whole career and its seemed to work out pretty well in the end. He locks down when he needs to.
What I look at is his activity on the defensive end. He was getting into guys, recovering quickly, just being all around tenacious pest. Both him and Artest, despite their age limitations.
In the end the effect it has on the rest of the team and their collective defensive effort was tangible on the court to me, especially in the 2nd half. When the younger guys see the older vets so active on defense it trickles down and makes them pick up their own effort.
I believe that having the talent he has around him now, where multiple guys can handle the rock and create for themselves and others will allow Kobe to focus more on the defensive end at times.
Think about how much energy Kobe has had to expend the past 15 years being the primary ballhandler/creator on the team. |
Good post!
If Kobe can stay healthy, I believe he will be who he is, a great player. The Kobe that I saw actually was pretty polished for this early in the pre season. |
Really happy with Kobe last night. Only thing I really wanted to see was his shot be pure again this year and see him stay with his man on D and he's been showing me that and so much more so far. God bless that old Mamba |
The effort was really nice to see and while he is obviously not as fast as he used to be, I think the average fan doesn't realize that while Kobe isn't the same defender he was, he's still probably an average defender when he's actually putting the effort on that end. Gordon Hayward is not an easy cover for someone in their 20th season.
Problem is, he'll completely stop putting in effort on that end of the court when the games start to count in order to save his energy on the offensive end.
Go out firing Kob, just to piss off the haters |
I disagree about the "effort" argument about Kobes Defense. I think sometimes in the last year his body was really feeling terrible and he was trying but his body wasn't responding as well as in the past. But I've never ever had to question Kobes heart or effort, I know it will always be there. And this year I think his body is much healthier and we shall see the results. He's always been a really good defender so even at a drop off to what he was is still good as long as he's not having those nights where he just doesn't have it physically. I think we will see 2013 Kobe this year for the most part. _________________ "Bryant has been the second best player in the NBA for over a decade, but the number 1 player changes every other year. Somehow the number 1 player always seems to fall down the list but Kobe just never moves up. ". The Art of Hating Kobe Bryant |
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KindCrippler2000 Franchise Player
Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 15821
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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Kobe defenses to much |
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audioaxes Franchise Player
Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 12573
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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I hate this type of defense, especially when he completely whiffs at a steal that he didnt even have a chance on making and then gives up on the play allowing an easy bucket |
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akk7 Star Player
Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 3013
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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audioaxes wrote: | I hate this type of defense, especially when he completely whiffs at a steal that he didnt even have a chance on making and then gives up on the play allowing an easy bucket |
I agree, but what was different about it last night was that he recovered quickly after cheating the passing lanes. Also I think everyone's focusing on the cheating too much. He was really solid defensively with his activity. Didn't seem to give up after a pick, the switches were clean, and he really hounded the people he guarded.
Do I think it lasts an entire year? No. But it was interesting to watch him play that hard defensively in a preseason game. |
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Rivershow Star Player
Joined: 09 Dec 2011 Posts: 6731
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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It's going to be easier for Kobe to keep up his defensive intensity without him handling the ball so much. I really hope that is kind of a goal for him this year since he is expending less energy on the court. |
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evetssteve10 Star Player
Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 3099
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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audioaxes wrote: | I hate this type of defense, especially when he completely whiffs at a steal that he didnt even have a chance on making and then gives up on the play allowing an easy bucket |
Yea nothing about the description you provided resembled his defense at all last night. Kobe was on point. _________________ "Bryant has been the second best player in the NBA for over a decade, but the number 1 player changes every other year. Somehow the number 1 player always seems to fall down the list but Kobe just never moves up. ". The Art of Hating Kobe Bryant |
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ringfinger Retired Number
Joined: 08 Oct 2013 Posts: 29418
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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akk7 wrote: | audioaxes wrote: | I hate this type of defense, especially when he completely whiffs at a steal that he didnt even have a chance on making and then gives up on the play allowing an easy bucket |
I agree, but what was different about it last night was that he recovered quickly after cheating the passing lanes. Also I think everyone's focusing on the cheating too much. He was really solid defensively with his activity. Didn't seem to give up after a pick, the switches were clean, and he really hounded the people he guarded.
Do I think it lasts an entire year? No. But it was interesting to watch him play that hard defensively in a preseason game. |
Recovered quickly? He ran right in to the offensive player once and failed to recover multiple times.
He looked good offensively though.
But I think the difference there is on one side you know what you're about to do and on the other, you have to react which is much harder to do at his age and with the injuries he's had.
That's why I'd prefer he didn't gamble. And not only because of his inability to recover, but I think it poses a greater risk of injury too. |
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golaker Star Player
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 Posts: 2557
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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It was a preseason game, let's not overreact here. _________________ Maybe you think it's completely innocent. Maybe you don't. But there's no denying that what the rule book says means a lot less than what the NBA wants at any given moment. -Tim Donaghy |
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Treble Clef Franchise Player
Joined: 20 Nov 2012 Posts: 23745
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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The gambling for steals is pretty useless. He should just work on staying in front of his man and not going over on screens. He doesn't need to do anything on defense other than preventing wide open looks from the opposition.
So many times I saw them set a pick on Kobe, he'd try to go over it, and the pick guy and the roll guy both had a clear path to the basket. Hibbert is a good rim protector but once he steps up, someone else is open because Kobe is still out on the perimeter trying to recover.
He should be relying on more of the sneaky veteran moves that the older players all employ. Watch Metta for 10 seconds and you'll know what I mean. When you're a veteran they don't call that stuff. |
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Jocinetu Star Player
Joined: 21 Jan 2010 Posts: 2569
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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Old, but not obsolete!!! |
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LA_Lakers_Rule Franchise Player
Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 19482 Location: The X-Files
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:33 am Post subject: |
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Dondre wrote: | Some times I feel like Kobe having a mid age crisis on the court. He really shouldnt get into duels with the opposing teams young players. His defense isn't what it used to be and his legendary reputation makes him a King maker. |
well stated. _________________ Rule = win titles
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers ... |
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