Originally Posted by Deuce King
CP1708, once again just wanted to let you know that you put ALOT of work into this thread, greatly appreciated. I just got back into this thread and I will read the write up on Kobe in a few.
Edit--Okay, I actually read every bit of the Kobe write-up, and for the most part I agree with about 85-90% of if. I liked how you broke Kobe's career down in 3 parts, which is the way I sometimes look at his career internally.
Preciate it man. It's been fun actually.
I have something for you though. A little digging I was doing, sort of stumbled upon it.
We have discussed the 2000 season many times, including this thread.
But from 2001 and beyond, take a look at your Batman and Robin analogy.
Throughout the Kobe-Shaq era, it was common for the Lakers to run the offense through Shaq early in games. Then when the second half was played out and Shaq became a liability with his poor free throw shooting (remember Hack-a-Shaq?), Kobe was the go-to player as opposing team defenses clamped down.
How can Shaq be the clear-cut leader of the team when his own coach would bench him in fourth quarters because his play would actually hurt his team?
But let’s look at some stats since they tell the story in more detail.
During the 2000-2001 season, look at the averages:
Shaq: 28.7 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.8 bpg, 57% FG, 51% FT
Kobe: 28.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.7 spg, 46% FG, 85% FT
Both players made the All-Defensive and All-NBA teams.
Here are the averages for the 2001 playoffs:
Shaq: 30.4 ppg, 15.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.4 bpg, 56% FG, 53% FT
Kobe: 29.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.1 apg, 1.6 spg, 47% FG, 82% FT
Just like in the regular season, both players’ numbers are very similar. Shaq had a dominating Finals series against the thin frontline of the Philadelphia 76ers and rightly earned the Finals MVP award.
But the toughest team LA faced en route to the Finals was the San Antonio Spurs—the team with the best record in the NBA. Most media analysts called this the “Real 2001 NBA Finals,