Kobe's 10 Greatest Playoff Games

[Controversy]

Nobody saying he ain't an All-Timer, we all know that...

guys don't know how to understand hoops when they watch

kobe literally gave his team what they were missing...you need him scoring at the end of a shot clock, you need him, a perimeter defender to check anyone between 6'0 & 6'8, you need him to advance the ball, you need him to initiate the offense, you need him to play off the ball...he literally did it all & doesn't get the respect he deserves

and I've seen his game grow from LMHS to the LAL...he finishes his career as #1 playoff scorer all time if he doesn't tear his achilles. His greatness is overlooked.

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

@viktordoomsecretwars what do you consider Kobe's greatest playoff games??

This is one of my fav games from him

 

[Swagnificent]

nikka why the fukk you keep mentioning LeBron?

Cause that's the only reason you in this thread. You're just here to take shots at Kobe cause that's what you Bron stans do. Did you see me in the Top 10 LeBron James playoff games thread?

'09 was probably Kobe's strongest front-to-back playoff run and certainly his strongest front-to-back Finals. The fact that he could have played better is inconsequential to the point that when he played his toughest matchups and opponents in The Finals, he often wasn't at peak performance---->but he was in '09...

No. Kobe wasn't at his peak in 2009. He was better in 2008. The '08 Celtics were just an all-time great defensive team. 2009 just happened to be the year he lucked into a team in the Finals that wasn't all-time great defensively. And even at less than 100% he performed well statistically. But like I always tell you I don't care about stats. Even when it helps my favorite player. I always go with the eye test first and Kobe's '09 Finals left a lot to be desired IMO. I personally was not that impressed by it. He impressed me more in the 2010 Finals.

Kobe was not incredible for 6 of the 7 '10 Finals and two of his three best games of that Finals came in losing efforts in G4 and G5, in those games he tried to shoot the Lakers to victories and almost did it. He played arguably his two worst games of the series in G6 and G7, though as I said in my earlier post, his tenacity particularly on the boards (for a guy who wasn't typically a dominant rebounder) was impressive, and he played strong defense while looking exhausted...

Fukk outta here. Kobe was SPECTACULAR in Game 6. He put up 26/11/3 on 9/19 shooting in a game that ended 89-67 where the Celtics shot 33.3% and the Lakers shot 41.8% as a team. Lakers controlled that game from start to end with Kobe leading the way. If he was playing in todays era with high pace and loads of scoring that woulda been the equivalent of scoring 40+ points on high efficiency.

Kobe also led BOTH TEAMS in scoring for 6 of the 7 games. Only in Game 2 did he not lead the series in scoring. Sure his best games came in losing efforts at the Boston Garden. I already said that. To me that doesn't take away from his performances. It just shows what an awesome team the Celtics were in that they were able to overcome Kobe's epic scoring runs.

IMO 2010 was clearly Kobe's finest Finals series. If Game 7 never happens most people would be agreeding with me. Its just that he was so terrible in Game 7 that people have essentially erased how spectacular he was before that from their minds. And for the record, I'm not one of those Kobe fans that excuses his Game 7 performance by pointing out his rebounding. To me its Kobe's low point as a player in a big game. He almost completely choked because of how pivotal that game was to his legacy. Thankfully he came thru during the final stretch in the 4th and somewhat saved himself. And even with me acknowledging how bad he was in Game 7, its still his best series because of his overall body of work specially against such a quality opponent.

Once again, go back and look at the score lines from that series. Only twice did a team break 100 points scored in a game. Most games ended with final scores in the 80-90 point range. Celtics scored 67 in Game 6 and then 79 in Game 7. That was a slow grind it out defensive series and before Game 7, Kobe was averaging 30ppg. If you put him in today's era with its high pace and less defense that would be the equivalent of averaging 40ppg in a series.

Kobe's 2010 Finals is easily better than his 2009 Finals. Fukk what the numbers say.

 

[LexDiamonds]

Kobe Bryant in the 4th quarter of the nba finals

69-188 FG (36.7%)
13-55 3FG (23.6%)

FG% Overall in 7 combined nba finals

.412 FG
.314 3FG

A great player, but man do his STANS overrate him.

 

[murksiderock]

Cause that's the only reason you in this thread. You're just here to take shots at Kobe cause that's what you Bron stans do. Did you see me in the Top 10 LeBron James playoff games thread?




No. Kobe wasn't at his peak in 2009. He was better in 2008. The '08 Celtics were just an all-time great defensive team. 2009 just happened to be the year he lucked into a team in the Finals that wasn't all-time great defensively. And even at less than 100% he performed well statistically. But like I always tell you I don't care about stats. Even when it helps my favorite player. I always go with the eye test first and Kobe's '09 Finals left a lot to be desired IMO. I personally was not that impressed by it. He impressed me more in the 2010 Finals.



Fukk outta here. Kobe was SPECTACULAR in Game 6. He put up 26/11/3 on 9/19 shooting in a game that ended 89-67 where the Celtics shot 33.3% and the Lakers shot 41.8% as a team. Lakers controlled that game from start to end with Kobe leading the way. If he was playing in todays era with high pace and loads of scoring that woulda been the equivalent of scoring 40+ points on high efficiency.

Kobe also led BOTH TEAMS in scoring for 6 of the 7 games. Only in Game 2 did he not lead the series in scoring. Sure his best games came in losing efforts at the Boston Garden. I already said that. To me that doesn't take away from his performances. It just shows what an awesome team the Celtics were in that they were able to overcome Kobe's epic scoring runs.

IMO 2010 was clearly Kobe's finest Finals series. If Game 7 never happens most people would be agreeding with me. Its just that he was so terrible in Game 7 that people have essentially erased how spectacular he was before that from their minds. And for the record, I'm not one of those Kobe fans that excuses his Game 7 performance by pointing out his rebounding. To me its Kobe's low point as a player in a big game. He almost completely choked because of how pivotal that game was to his legacy. Thankfully he came thru during the final stretch in the 4th and somewhat saved himself. And even with me acknowledging how bad he was in Game 7, its still his best series because of his overall body of work specially against such a quality opponent.

Once again, go back and look at the score lines from that series. Only twice did a team break 100 points scored in a game. Most games ended with final scores in the 80-90 point range. Celtics scored 67 in Game 6 and then 79 in Game 7. That was a slow grind it out defensive series and before Game 7, Kobe was averaging 30ppg. If you put him in today's era with its high pace and less defense that would be the equivalent of averaging 40ppg in a series.

Kobe's 2010 Finals is easily better than his 2009 Finals. Fukk what the numbers say.

You all over the place...

•I'm in this thread because I'm also a Kobe fan, dummy. I don't know how many times I have to say that, yall dudes project this LeBron shyt so hard but it ain't real life. Me talking about Kobe has nothing to do with LeBron, save it for someone else and let it go...

•no comment on the "I only like players, not teams", right?

•we can disagree about which Kobe was more impressive. We were talking about '09 and '10 and now you're interjecting '08 into it. Regardless, my opinion isn't based on stats, the best I saw Kobe perform in a Finals from start to finish was '09...

•say you "don't care about stats" but use stats to frame your argument for a Kobe performance...

I don't mind engaging with you because while some of your takes are off the wall, you have reasonable sports discussions most of the time. But regarding Kobe, this ain't the first time you've resorted to goalpost moving and projection, so we can end our debate about this here...

 

[murksiderock]

Kobe Bryant in the 4th quarter of the nba finals

69-188 FG (36.7%)
13-55 3FG (23.6%)

FG% Overall in 7 combined nba finals

.412 FG
.314 3FG

A great player, but man do his STANS overrate him.

I've said this before, there are only about 5 guys Kobe shouldnt be in discussion with, maybe 6. He's nowhere close to a legitimate conversation for greatest player ever, but after that? He has an argument anywhere from 6-12 All-Time and I personally have him closer to 6 than 12...

He helped define an era of basketball as by far the most popular player of that era, and his popularity with both the public and contemporaries is highly unique. I've known many people, and read articles, that rate him justly, but many people conflate his popularity with him being arguably the greatest player ever. That's basically it in a nutshell...

Comeback Kobe from 2007-10 is the lasting, most enduring image of Kobe I have, it was him at his peak and that one window is enough to argue him over most players. His highs were high but there are a few guys who had higher highs and better overall resumes. He's the only guy some people routinely take this as an insult, even though literally there's only a handful of guys it can be said about, and it can objectively proven in a variety of ways that just a few other guys had higher peaks and better resumes...

Because of that people resort to other, less important shyt to inflate a guy's reputation that doesn't need inflating. Dude was great, I think everybody recognizes that and not having him Top 5 isn't an insult, though having him below 10 is probably lowballing him...

 

[Devil Plisken…CMS]

I've said this before, there are only about 5 guys Kobe shouldnt be in discussion with, maybe 6. He's nowhere close to a legitimate conversation for greatest player ever, but after that? He has an argument anywhere from 6-12 All-Time and I personally have him closer to 6 than 12...

He helped define an era of basketball as by far the most popular player of that era, and his popularity with both the public and contemporaries is highly unique. I've known many people, and read articles, that rate him justly, but many people conflate his popularity with him being arguably the greatest player ever. That's basically it in a nutshell...

Comeback Kobe from 2007-10 is the lasting, most enduring image of Kobe I have, it was him at his peak and that one window is enough to argue him over most players. His highs were high but there are a few guys who had higher highs and better overall resumes. He's the only guy some people routinely take this as an insult, even though literally there's only a handful of guys it can be said about, and it can objectively proven in a variety of ways that just a few other guys had higher peaks and better resumes...

Because of that people resort to other, less important shyt to inflate a guy's reputation that doesn't need inflating. Dude was great, I think everybody recognizes that and not having him Top 5 isn't an insult, though having him below 10 is probably lowballing him...

We can’t even have any basketball related discussions about son in here because these weirdos come in here crying like they knew him and then the shyt gets deleted. Wayyyy too many feelings. I made that Dirk & TMac thread on purpose with the exact same premise as a Kobe one I made. Nothing to diss...just reflect on his career

One is still going as we speak
The other got deleted

lol

 

[Swagnificent]

A great player, but man do his STANS overrate him.

Guess most NBA legends are his stans as well since they rate him right about where we do.

Dirk, KD, and Wade are all on the record saying he's the best player of their era. He's universally in almost every NBA players Top 5 all-time with most putting him right behind Jordan.

Maybe the players know what I pointed put throughout this entire thread regarding the circumstances surrounding Kobe's finals appearances which is why those stats you posted don't seem to affect their opinions at all.

You Bron stans stay mad cause real ballers side with us.

 

[Swagnificent]

I'm in this thread because I'm also a Kobe fan, dummy.

Stop it slime. You literally post nothing but negative shots at Kobe. All because of your obsession with LeBron. This is like me saying I'm a fan of LeBron the player. That would be an outright lie. Its why I always limit myself to saying I like LeBron the man but don't care for him as a player. With that said, I guarantee you that I have more glowing posts of LeBron as a player than you have ever posted glowing remarks about Kobe (despite claiming you a fan).

Just check out all these threads I've made over the years about a guy who I would never say I'm a fan of:

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/leb...could-be-the-goat-nfl-wr-if-he-wanted.138276/

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/if-...ay-like-this-he-wouldve-been-the-goat.763692/

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/this-is-all-on-spolestra-not-lebron.123436/

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/my-blackness-tells-me-that-i-should-like-bron-more-than-kobe.159731/

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/fukk-it-im-rollin-with-bron.220821/

•no comment on the "I only like players, not teams", right?

Cause it was a silly point. I didn't think it warranted a response. But if you want one then sure. When my favorite player is on a team then I become a fan of that team for that time period. Why? Because the success of the team is tied to the legacy of my favorite player. Its why I was a Lakers fan while Kobe was there. I'm not anymore. That is why I say I root for players not teams. I fukk with the team only so long as the player I like is there.

Now will you respond to that silly assertion about Kobe being terrible in Game 6 despite him leading the Lakers to a commanding victory from start to finish while playing a great statistical game. What did you see with your eyes that told you that game was terrible despite all these evidence to the contrary?

we can disagree about which Kobe was more impressive. We were talking about '09 and '10 and now you're interjecting '08 into it. Regardless, my opinion isn't based on stats, the best I saw Kobe perform in a Finals from start to finish was '09...

say you "don't care about stats" but use stats to frame your argument for a Kobe performance...

I don't care about stats but I will use them in their proper context to combat when idiots like you claim things that are totally untrue. Like how Kobe was terrible in Game 6. I mean I could have posted the entire game for you but who is gonna rewatch all of it 10 years after the fact. This is pretty much all stats are good for. Giving us an imperfect view of something that happened which we either never saw or forgot. If this was after Game 6 in 2010 and we just watched the game, nobody would say Kobe played terrible.

 

[smitty22]

Yall turn a top 10 playoff game thread into a stan war.

 

[murksiderock]

Yall turn a top 10 playoff game thread into a stan war.

One dumbass keeps bringing up a guy who I never even mentioned. fukking loser...

 

[Dwight Howard]

An example of a team getting dikk rode in retrospect.

They didn’t have 5 All-Stars.

Deron Williams and Boozer were fringe All-Stars. D-Will didn’t make his first All-Star until 2010. Kirilenko and Okur made one All-Star team their entire careers. Millsap and Korver weren’t regarded as they are today.

They were a treadmill 48-53 win team in that era and their defense ranked just outside the top 10 in their run. Never a true threat to win a championship.

The Lakers and Spurs would handle them easily and D-Will was never as good as CP3.

Headline of a garbage ass post. No offense man but it's clear you werent up on basketball in this era, why do you continue to post about it?

 

[Blurneed]

Kobe Bryant in the 4th quarter of the nba finals

69-188 FG (36.7%)
13-55 3FG (23.6%)

FG% Overall in 7 combined nba finals

.412 FG
.314 3FG

A great player, but man do his STANS overrate him.

Its deeper than the numbers to a certain degree. Personally, The only issue with those numbers just tells me hes not MJ. And that's not even a knock cause I think MJ is the GOAT. Besides that, Kobe could go 0-20 in the clutch, guaranteed the defense will NEVER go under the pick, they will never give Kobe space and LET him shoot.....ever....because they know who he is and what hes about. Cant say the same for alot of other greats.

 

[Controversy]

Kobe's playoff resume speaks for itself...no Bron stan spewing hate toward Kobe shall prosper

 

[ISO]

Headline of a garbage ass post. No offense man but it's clear you werent up on basketball in this era, why do you continue to post about it?

I was watching basketball at that time you could have simply refuted my post but you can’t.

I remember Sundiata Gaines gamewinner on the Cavs like it was yesterday and when they was facing Houston and I was pulling for the Rockets, and when D-Fish came back for them stop tryna play me because I wasn't impressed by this squad like that nikkas talking about they had 5 All-Stars and like they was really a threat like that

Deron Williams is by far one of the most overrated players on the Coli. U nikkas can only point to barbershop CP3 and Deron arguments from 2009 and shyt that's all you can do. D-Will was never as good as CP3. He was just a lot bigger than him.

Do you know what “fringe All-Star” means?

Deron Williams from ‘06-‘10 on Utah in his prime made 1x All-Star and 2x All-NBA Second Team. In his era he was never up and beyond guys like CP3, Nash, Billups, Parker. So how the fukk wasn't he a fringe All-Star when he made one damn All-Star team? The accolades don't match the love. It's actually hilarious to me how much dikk licking D-Will gets and Tony Parker rarely gets talked about.

Carlos Boozer on Utah in his prime from ‘06-‘10 made 2x All-Star and 1x All-NBA Third Team son was one of the worst defensive bigs in basketball. He wasn’t on Duncan, Dirk, KG, Pau, Amare, Bosh level. He was on that Rashard/David West/LMA tier for that time. Why do you act like these nikkas was running shyt like they wasn't the typical 50 win second round exit team

Kobe destroyed them it's nothing against him props to him and they was a memorable team but please stop acting like Utah was real like that and Deron Williams and Boozer were these super elite players.