Kobe: "It's harder to get to the basket than when Jordan played"

bullsrepeat3peat

bullsrepeat3peat

3,347
10
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Link
While Jordan was surrounded by positive energy, a negative -- and surely draining -- aura has enveloped Bryant in recent years.

"I just wish more people would celebrate Kobe, I really do,'' Rivers said. "Of all the guys in our league, that bugs me more than anything, that it just seems like we spend so much time trying to tear him apart and I think we're missing how great he is. And I think it's a shame.''

Bryant said he has relied more on his jumper because of the NBA's defensive rules -- and not because of his advancing age.

"The rules are completely different now,'' said Bryant, comparing his era to Jordan's. "I've always been able to shoot the ball, but the rules have changed since he played in terms of playing a zone defense. You have to be a jump shooter now because there's no way you can get to the basket -- particularly myself because they just stack guys up. I wish we had the rules they had back in the day where you could isolate guys and you could go to the basket anytime. But now you have to be able to shoot.''

The evolving science of athletic training should also enable Bryant to extend his career. Jordan took personal training to a new level by working year-round with Tim Grover. Now Bryant is raising the bar again.

"The techniques that we have available to ourselves now, the level of treatment that we have available is basically around the clock,'' Bryant said. "I have a solid team of five or six guys and women that are very capable in different areas: chiropractor, neuromuscular therapist, dietician, chef, yada, yada, yada.

"It's a lifestyle. If you want to continue to play at a high level, you have to make certain sacrifices. I mean, you can't have a burger every damn day.''

Bryant has learned to adjust his workouts over the years. "As you get older you get smarter, watch your diet, change your program a little bit. If you're willing to adapt, you can play for a long time.

"I work a lot smarter, more efficient, and it's not as taxing on your body. In the past it was just balls to the wall -- running and running and running and running, and jumping and plyometrics and all that stuff. If you're older, you don't need to do all that stuff. It's just about maintenance and injury prevention and staying in shape.''

Regarding Bryant's approach to the backstretch of his career, I don't think he's interested in winning just one more championship. I'm sure that he wants to win several of them. He wants to win more rings than Jordan's six and go down as one of the great players in the league. He was talking in those terms when I first met him a decade ago, and I would think his resolve has only strengthened since then.

So in that sense, the window is indeed shrinking. Say he is playing at as high a level as Jordan was at 35; that gives Bryant only seven seasons in which to win those four rings. If that's the way he's looking at it, then of course he's going to want the Lakers -- or another team -- to seize on his skills and exploit them to go for championships now, for their benefit as well as his. And the more talent he has around him, the longer he'll be able to extend his career at this level.

"I roll with it a little bit when they say there's a [two-to-three-year] window,'' Bryant said. "No way, no way. Barring injury or something like that, if you're willing to adapt, you can play for a long time.''

So how long can he play at his current level?

"I don't know,'' Bryant said. "We'll figure it out. I have a great staff of physical therapists and trainers, and we'll figure it out and work through it.''


I somewhat agree in terms of the zone D but disagree because of the lack of hand checking and all of the physical play taken away from the game......

edit: posted the wrong link by accident
Click to expand...
 
i thought he was gonna try and discredit jordan or compare himself or something, but what he said is true

you've gotta be a shooter against zone D
 
Not to mention how charge-happy officials have gotten the last 5-10 years... back when Jordan played, it was a man's game.. guys took contact and dealtwith it.. now it's rare you see anybody make a nice drive to the hoop b/c somebody will always be there to go flying 15 feet backwards, even if they're10x bigger than you.
 
Jordan Rules? Hakeem, Robinson, Shaq, Dikembe? The only legit excuse he has is the Zone D but like you said, the lack of hand checking and the overall drop inthe physicality of the game offsets that.
 
But at the same time, it should be easier to get to the basket because of the very limited contact officials allow on players. No more hand checks, no moretight D. Nothing. If thats the case, any player should have the ability to make it at least past the free throw line extended. Zone or not, Kobe could beat anyplayer off the dribble to at least get in the paint. Without question.
 
Craftsy21 wrote:
Not to mention how charge-happy officials have gotten the last 5-10 years... back when Jordan played, it was a man's game.. guys took contact and dealt with it.. now it's rare you see anybody make a nice drive to the hoop b/c somebody will always be there to go flying 15 feet backwards, even if they're 10x bigger than you.
True story.

I'm just glad to see another Kobe thread again.
smile.gif
Nothing warms my heart than anice thread with 'Kobe' in the title. I actually go into depressions when we go more than 47 minutes without talking about Kobe.

Seriously.

Dude is the single most important person we need to know about.

This stuff that he said about getting to the basket easier in Jordan's day, I heard that they're thinking about adding that into the Holy Biblesomewhere.

















O.K., I O.D.ed a little.
laugh.gif
Click to expand...
 
What he said was very true. The game is less physical now but that doesnt make it much easier to go to the basket. The zone defense stops a lot of penetrationand allow slow unathletic player to play in the NBA if they can shoot.
 
Originally Posted by BallinBoykz

But at the same time, it should be easier to get to the basket because of the very limited contact officials allow on players. No more hand checks, no more tight D. Nothing. If thats the case, any player should have the ability to make it at least past the free throw line extended. Zone or not, Kobe could beat any player off the dribble to at least get in the paint. Without question.
Click to expand...
Originally Posted by gko2408

Jordan Rules? Hakeem, Robinson, Shaq, Dikembe? The only legit excuse he has is the Zone D but like you said, the lack of hand checking and the overall drop in the physicality of the game offsets that.
Click to expand...
I think u2 are missing the point...yea it might be easier to go by the guy who's sticking you...but it doesn't matter if u get by your manand there's 2 guys waiting for you right outside the paint....Back in Jordan's era yea it was harder to get by your man but if you did get by him youdidn't have to deal with 2 or 3 guys waitin on you like you do now becuz of the the new zone rules

Defense is played by a team...not one player....more so now than back then..
 
yea jordan had hand checking but he also had a bunch of unathletic dudes guarding him in his day. i mean if he says joe dumars was the toughest guy thatguarded him back in the day that really says a lot about the dudes hes facing.
 
What he said was very true. The game is less physical now but that doesnt make it much easier to go to the basket. The zone defense stops a lot of penetration and allow slow unathletic player to play in the NBA if they can shoot.

word... flopping rat bastard bums like ginobli would have never survived back then
Click to expand...
 
That doesn't sound like a shot at Jordan.. It sounds like a shot at the rule changes, which have sucked tremendously. With that said, no one can tell methey think Jordan couldn't shoot. he was more clutch than any of us could dream to be, not only that he was consistent. There is no doubt in my mind thatJordan would be as good as he was w/o these silly rules.

Oh and Ska.. You did OD just a little
laugh.gif
 
Yea it is true.

Now with all of the Charges and better just "defensive" players.
 
I posted this article yesterday in the offical Lakers discusson thread.I would have posted it in a new post.But since a certain mod on here locked my lastthread saying "Kobe fans are no longer allowed to start new threads on NT".I didnt start the new thread for the article.

Great article though.

"I just wish more people would celebrate Kobe, I really do,'' Rivers said. "Of all the guys in our league, that bugs me more than anything, that it just seems like we spend so much time trying to tear him apart and I think we're missing how great he is. And I think it's a shame.''
That quote right there from Doc Rivers is so dead on and on point.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

HIM
|| DFS Player Props Thread || Prize Picks - Underdog - etc. ||
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
HIM
HIM
therealest1
Adidas Crazy 98 (Originally KB8 2)
Replies
14
Views
2K
AIR J XIII
AIR J XIII
Mister Meaner
🐾 ::|:: IIWII <>TMJS <>✔️out the STAT ::|:: 🐾
Replies
1
Views
622
Mister Meaner
Mister Meaner
nako xl
Is Nike no longer as cool as it used to be?
12 13 14
Replies
346
Views
23K
johnnyredstorm
johnnyredstorm
therealest1
Jordan III Wings - Fall 2024
Replies
4
Views
6K
6pac
6pac

The ultimate sneaker enthusiast community.

NikeTalk was created as a way of giving back to both the sneaker enthusiast community and to the greater global community of which we are all a part.

NikeTalk is NOT affiliated with Nike Inc. in any way, shape, or form. All opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Nike, Inc.

© 1999-2024 NikeTalk.com

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom