Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

[fanaticbuckeye]

1. Sure, Kobe is one of the masters of dropping the "what the fuck are you think- oh my god it went in" shot (to be fair he makes a lot of good fundamental ones too). The fact is that a layup counts just as much as any jumper inside the arc and has the added bonus of drawing in the defense. I don't see how people can continue to hold Lebron's ability to get to the rim against him but whatever. Sure, some teams make it hard for him in the paint but how is this not offset by Kobe occasionaly being baited into shooting his team out of a game? (see: Game 1 vs Hou)

How many times does Lebron drive to the hoop and get fouled? Not only does that turn the layup/dunk into worth more potentially via the free throw, but also adds a foul to the other teams player and put Cleveland into the bonus earlier. Making the argument that Lebron's ability to get to the rim makes him less of a player than Kobe is fanboy speech.

 

[ImFrigginFly]

Let me boil his argument down. "Sure Lebron's numbers are better across the board but Kobe has a better mid range jumper so he's better. Plus Eric Snow says so!" If you've ever read any Kobe Fan Apologetics then you won't hear anything new from this guy. Just reading the article nearly popped my head.

1. Sure, Kobe is one of the masters of dropping the "what the fuck are you think- oh my god it went in" shot (to be fair he makes a lot of good fundamental ones too). The fact is that a layup counts just as much as any jumper inside the arc and has the added bonus of drawing in the defense. I don't see how people can continue to hold Lebron's ability to get to the rim against him but whatever. Sure, some teams make it hard for him in the paint but how is this not offset by Kobe occasionaly being baited into shooting his team out of a game? (see: Game 1 vs Hou)
2. His defense? Yeah, he is a great. Better than Lebron? Not this year, and barring injury never again. Let's ignore the fact that Lebron can actually physically intimidate people on both sides of the court while Kobe is only an intimidator on O (oops, I brought it up!). Kobe can gaurd 3 positions, Bron can gaurd all 5. When you have a guy who can't be caught out of position it makes playing team defence so much easier.
3. In the last 5 minutes of a game (clutch time) Kobe does score at a better clip than Lebron (but only by .8 pts per 48 minutes of clutch time) but Lebron shoots at a far better rate (.556 vs .457), is better from behind the arc (.421 vs .400), more than doubles him in assists, nearly doubles him in rebounds, plus he gets far more blocks and steals. Oh, and I don't feel like chasing down the stats but so far in their careers, on the final shot, Lebron has a higher percentage AND turns the ball over less. Still, West Coast homers will continue to baselessly insist that Kobe is the best closer in the game even when they have no actual stats to back it up.
4. His peers say so? Really, who are you asking? Ron Artest says Bron is better but his teammate T-mac says Kobe is better. The NBA seems pretty split on the issue but most of the defections are going one way, to the King.

Honestly, that article is worthless and I have just wasted a shit ton of time rehashing the same argument you can find on pretty much any basketball site discussing this issue.

Give this man a GPA. Fantastic points.

 

[exhawg]

IMO Kobe is the better finisher, but Lebron is the better player. When they polled NBA players which other player they would most want to play with they overwhelmingly chose Lebron. That is the answer to this question.

 

[Bucks21]

IMO Kobe is the better finisher, but Lebron is the better player. When they polled NBA players which other player they would most want to play with they overwhelmingly chose Lebron. That is the answer to this question.

What do you mean by best finisher? At end of games or at the rim?

 

[exhawg]

What do you mean by best finisher? At end of games or at the rim?

Maybe a little of both. Lebron can probably catch him with more time and experience. Kobe just has a larger body of work at this point.

 

[purplehaze1213]

Maybe a little of both. Lebron can probably catch him with more time and experience. Kobe just has a larger body of work at this point.

Lebron is a better finisher at the rim and the stats support this. His inside field goal percentage is the second best in the league (behind only Andre Iguodala) at .717. Kobe is 19th, with a .655 inside field goal percentage.

As far as closing games goes, I would have to agree that Kobe is better at that. However, that is only scoring. Lebron can do so much more for a team--rebounding, passing, defense, and scoring--than Kobe can at the end of games, but he probably isn't as effective at scoring.


http://www.82games.com/0809/FGSORT12.HTM

 

[exhawg]

Lebron is a better finisher at the rim and the stats support this. His inside field goal percentage is the second best in the league (behind only Andre Iguodala) at .717. Kobe is 19th, with a .655 inside field goal percentage.

As far as closing games goes, I would have to agree that Kobe is better at that. However, that is only scoring. Lebron can do so much more for a team--rebounding, passing, defense, and scoring--than Kobe can at the end of games, but he probably isn't as effective at scoring.

I don't watch many Lakers games so I probably just see Kobe's highlights. If we're talking about just getting to the hoop and finishing Lebron is better. For some reason I was thinking more of finishing after getting fouled and throwing the ball up from a crazy angle (don't ask me why). Lebron does a better job of brushing of light contact and finishing like no one is in his way, but he doesn't seem to make the crazy not looking at the hoop shots like Kobe seems to do and Jordan used to more than anyone should. Let's just agree that you're right and I need to go to bed.

 

[purplehaze1213]

You mean like this...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YANmOCjQE8"]YouTube - Lebron James CRAZY Up And Under Reverse And1 Lay-Up!! Cleveland Vs Miami![/ame]

or this...(right around the 40 second mark)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxmIVJlU0yU"]YouTube - LeBron Drops A Triple Double on the Grizzlies[/ame]

 

[buchtelgrad04]

The fact that we're having this discussion when Bron is only 24 years old, answers the question, IMO. Kobe isn't going to get any better than what we've already seen. Bron's peak won't come for another year or two. He's unstoppable now, he'll be illeagal soon.

 

[ScriptOhio]

It started with Jawad Williams, then spread to J.J. Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas during the regular season. Now every Cavs player, with the exception of Joe Smith and Sasha Pavlovic, is wearing James' signature shoe line in the series.
Smith and Pavlovic have shoe deals with adidas. Some players, such as Mo Williams and Delonte West, switched in the last series, and now Nike has shipped shoes in every player's size. This is unprecedented in the NBA for nearly every player to wear a teammate's personal shoe line.

Entire article: Orlando Magic followers cry foul on Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James - Page 2 - Cleveland.com

 

[Maurice Clarett]

My namesake has some advice for Lebron.

Letter to LeBron ? The Mind of Maurice Clarett

Letter to LeBron

Lose yourself in the moment my brother. Make history and represent Ohio how you?re supposed to. I?m on the sideline watching and rooting for you now, harder than ever. As a matter of fact I think this whole penitentiary is. In order to come back in this series you?re going to have to put the team on your back and reset the standard of playing for your team. You?re going to have to get extremely aggressive on both ends of the floor and let your team know that you didn?t come this far to lose. At this point in the season it?s all about ambition and execution. It will all come down to your mentality in the locker room and on the floor. Show the world why they call you ?King.? You know I hate that ?Ohio always chokes up? s***. I?m sure you feel the same way. I?m tired of hearing that Cleveland hasn?t won anything since the Jim Brown era. That team is built around you. They follow your lead. They follow your energy. They depend on you homey. I know that there are four other players on the floor who have to play with you but there comes a time when you have to become selfish in order for the team to move forward. That time is now. Make history. Shatter Orlando?s hopes of moving on. Show the world how serious the Cavs are. Show the league what ?GOING HARD? really means and looks like. Show the world what it looks like to be hungry. Show your team what determination looks like. Go get what you came for. Its not about the money for you, you have it. It?s about respect.

 

[BuckStocksHere]

No matter what - the overwhelming majority of posters on this site will take LeBron because he is their guy. Same goes for a site that covers a California team - they'd take Kobe and be happy about it.

I already feel the way about LeBron that the rest of the NHL feels about Sidney Crosby - I'm tired of hearing about him. It's not that he isn't great, because he is, but they are trying to jam it down your throat. I frankly don't blame the NBA, because that is what kept them going when they had MJ....MJ this, MJ that and it worked - why stop that kind of marketing.

In a sport with only 5 people on the floor, where you can supposedly make everyone around you better if you are a superstar - I'll wait for LeBron to get a few rings before annoiting him the next MJ...KOBE..or whomever. Wait - there will never be another MJ. He has a shot at being the next Kobe but not the next MJ. Just like Gretzky and MJ and probably a few others like them - they are icons in their respective sport.

LeBron is not there........yet. I'm willing to give him time for sure, unfortunately for you guys, I think he'll be doing it as a Knick.

 

[BUCKYLE]

No matter what - the overwhelming majority of posters on this site will take LeBron because he is their guy. Same goes for a site that covers a California team - they'd take Kobe and be happy about it.

I already feel the way about LeBron that the rest of the NHL feels about Sidney Crosby - I'm tired of hearing about him. It's not that he isn't great, because he is, but they are trying to jam it down your throat. I frankly don't blame the NBA, because that is what kept them going when they had MJ....MJ this, MJ that and it worked - why stop that kind of marketing.

In a sport with only 5 people on the floor, where you can supposedly make everyone around you better if you are a superstar - I'll wait for LeBron to get a few rings before annoiting him the next MJ...KOBE..or whomever. Wait - there will never be another MJ. He has a shot at being the next Kobe but not the next MJ. Just like Gretzky and MJ and probably a few others like them - they are icons in their respective sport.

LeBron is not there........yet. I'm willing to give him time for sure, unfortunately for you guys, I think he'll be doing it as a Knick.

Lebron will be the first Lebron. He's not on MJ's level yet, but it's easy to see where he's headed. I'm not a Cavs fan, but no matter where James ends up, he'll always be from Ohio. That alone is enough to make me root for him, if not for the Cavs.

 

[1926Buckeyes]

In a sport with only 5 people on the floor, where you can supposedly make everyone around you better if you are a superstar - I'll wait for LeBron to get a few rings before annoiting him the next MJ...KOBE..or whomever. Wait - there will never be another MJ. He has a shot at being the next Kobe but not the next MJ. Just like Gretzky and MJ and probably a few others like them - they are icons in their respective sport.

Jordan also had some great players to support him, players that James does not have yet.

I understand what you mean though. I was unfortunately never able to watch Jordan much in his prime because I was too young, but seing James now makes me think he could possibly be as good if he keeps improving, which he will. He just needs a better supporting cast and he'll get some titles. No player can/could do it alone, not even Jordan. And for as much flack as James gets, Jordan didn't win it until his 7th year anyway. I think some people expect him to be some sort of god or something.

 

[BuckeyeMafia]

If there is a god, he will sign a contract this offseason. From what I understand he refused to talk to the media after the game- not really sure what that says, but I don't like it. I'm still confident he'll stay, but wow, I'm really scared and we're still 53-54 weeks from really worrying.