Kobe's 10 Greatest Playoff Games

[Controversy]

Perkins went down halfway into the first and it was a six point game, stop it lol...



Losing Perkins schematically changed both how Boston could defend the interior and LA's offensive gameplan. You may not remember the series but that was a huge talking point during the game, after the game, and going in to G7 when it was said Perkins wouldnt play...

Do you think Perk was giving them 13 & 8 in a low scoring G7? Perk never balled in the playoffs, he was just a body that provided toughness. Never a great rebounder or shot blocker. Boston wasn't beating us in G6. We went into Boston knowing we had to steal one & we did.

 

[Controversy]

no player in history has come close to facing stiffer Competition in the finals but y’all hold that against him

when u face all those ass teams in the EC, you better get some stiff comp in the finals

 

[Controversy]

I never bought into the Deron hype. He was in a system that allowed him to put up great stats but I always felt his numbers had no impact.

you gotta watch the game in a diff lens

he could shoot, post up, drive, pass and his handle was super elite...and he was a big, athletic PG

He routinely abused all that top point guards including CP0

nash couldn't check him either

 

[Controversy]

They wouldn’t have made the ECF in any of those years

And if they was in the East y’all wouldn’t even talk about them

They basically 2010 Hawks status

the East was ass for too many yrs

that's why Bron only beat 10 50 win teams and made 9 finals

teams like Utah & Denver would've made the ECF with ease. They had trouble getting out the first or second rd bc the comp was diff in the West, more talent, better coaching

 

[ISO]

the East was ass for too many yrs

that's why Bron only beat 10 50 win teams and made 9 finals

teams like Utah & Denver would've made the ECF with ease. They had trouble getting out the first or second rd bc the comp was diff in the West, more talent, better coaching

First off you're lying LeBron beat more than ten 50 win teams in the playoffs he actually beat 16 and by the time his career is over he will likely have beaten over twenty 50 win teams...

‘07 Pistons
‘11 Celtics
‘11 Bulls
‘12 Pacers (on 50 win pace in 66 game season)
‘12 Celtics (on 50 win pace in 66 game season)
‘12 Thunder (on 50 win pace in 66 game season)
‘13 Spurs (and the ‘13 Pacers had 49 wins)
‘14 Pacers
‘15 Bulls
‘15 Hawks
‘16 Raptors (and the ‘16 Hawks had 48 wins)
‘16 Warriors
‘17 Raptors
‘17 Celtics
‘18 Raptors (and the ‘18 Pacers had 48 wins)
‘18 Celtics

LeBron beat 16 teams and three of the teams he faced just missed the arbitrary cut by a win or two which means that number is close to 19 teams

And even those Nets and Wizards teams he went up against early his career had more talent than the Cavs on paper but LeBron was the difference.

In the Finals he competed against a 67 (twice) and 62 win team, he also lost to a 66 win Celtics and 64 win Pistons team and he defeated a 73-9 team he has faced some juggernaut teams in his career in ECF and Finals. A lot of Warriors and Spurs.

And no Utah and Denver would not make the ECF, those teams were never contenders and they never defended at a high level. The Spurs and Lakers made light work out of teams like that every year in the playoffs of that era. U can't point to a single team that beat LeBron that wasn't an elite defensive team.

They weren't better than Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, or Boston in that era.

Please enlighten me on how the '08 Nuggets were better than the '08 Pistons

Tell me how the '09 Jazz are better than '09 Magic

Man please the '09 Bulls or Hawks would give those teams legit series

 

[Swagnificent]

Detroit and Orlando were better and they wouldn’t beat the Cavs either.

Detroit was over the hill by then. Debatable when it comes to Orlando. To me the Jazz were a more difficult opponent for the Lakers. Agree on Cavs. They would have struggled with LeBron.

 

[ISO]

more talent, better coaching

Does that mean if LeBron was in the West he wouldn't have more talent and better coaching as well

LeBron on the Spurs

 

[ISO]

Detroit was over the hill by then. Debatable when it comes to Orlando. To me the Jazz were a more difficult opponent for the Lakers. Agree on Cavs. They would have struggled with LeBron.

Detroit was a 59 win team, 6th in offense, 4th in defense, Sheed/Billups/Rip were All-Stars, they was one of the true contenders that year.

Utah wasn't better than them and my money would be on pedigreed Detroit in a playoff series if I was a betting man and I already know most fans would favor them.

Dwight was already better than everyone on the Jazz in '08.

 

[Controversy]

Does that mean if LeBron was in the West he wouldn't have more talent and better coaching as well

LeBron on the Spurs

why can't Lebron build his own team & stay with them

 

[Controversy]

First off you're lying LeBron beat more than ten 50 win teams in the playoffs he actually beat 16 and by the time his career is over he will likely have beaten over twenty 50 win teams...

‘07 Pistons
‘11 Celtics
‘11 Bulls
‘12 Pacers (on 50 win pace in 66 game season)
‘12 Celtics (on 50 win pace in 66 game season)
‘12 Thunder (on 50 win pace in 66 game season)
‘13 Spurs (and the ‘13 Pacers had 49 wins)
‘14 Pacers
‘15 Bulls
‘15 Hawks
‘16 Raptors (and the ‘16 Hawks had 48 wins)
‘16 Warriors
‘17 Raptors
‘17 Celtics
‘18 Raptors (and the ‘18 Pacers had 48 wins)
‘18 Celtics

LeBron beat 16 teams and three of the teams he faced just missed the arbitrary cut by a win or two which means that number is close to 19 teams

And even those Nets and Wizards teams he went up against early his career had more talent than the Cavs on paper but LeBron was the difference.

In the Finals he competed against a 67 (twice) and 62 win team, he also lost to a 66 win Celtics and 64 win Pistons team and he defeated a 73-9 team he has faced some juggernaut dynasties in his career in ECF and Finals.

And no Utah and Denver would not make the ECF, those teams were never contenders and they never defended at a high level. The Spurs and Lakers made light work out of teams like that every year in the playoffs of that era. U can't point to a single that beat LeBron that wasn't an elite defensive team.

They weren't better than Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, or Boston in that era.

Please enlighten me on how the '08 Nuggets were better than the '08 Pistons

Tell me how the '09 Jazz are better than '09 Magic

Man please the '09 Bulls or Hawks would give those teams legit series

He beat 10 50 win teams

bum

 

[ISO]

why can't Lebron build his own team & stay with them

Why does it matter?

He beat 10 50 win teams

bum

Be loud and wrong, brehs

 

[Swagnificent]

I didn't mention anything about LeBron...

Teams can only play whose in front of them, I'm not into penalizing anybody for things they can't control; it's like another recent thread someone mentioned penalizing Oscar for playing in the 60s. It's not like he could change the era in which he played, all that matters to me is how you perform in your era. And I'm a big believer in contextualizing a guy's work instead of blanket, generic evaluations....

To that point, Kobe did play in an era where some of his WCF opponents would be better than his Finals opponents. That really only applies to the 3peat Lakers when Kobe wasn't even his team's best player at any point if that run (expectations and pressure are different for the lead guy and we all know it); and none of that really applies to '04 or the "Comeback Kobe" run though---->the '04 Pistons were better than the '04 Wolves, the '08 and '10 Celtics were better than the '10 Suns and '08 Spurs, and the '09 Magic were better than the '09 Nuggets...

So like with most cases, those years Kobe played his toughest opponents in the final round. And look, he won two of them, so this isn't a harsh criticism, but it is an observation that against his toughest opponents, with the exception of '09, he played better in earlier rounds than he did versus the best opponent in the final round. He's not the only great player this can be said about, and also making this observation isn't saying he didnt do enough to win, but when you start breaking down the great ones, this is something you can say about Kobe and it has to hold the same merit it has with anyone else...

The fact that there are multiple Finals we can say that Kobe mean something. It ain't the total picture but it's not irrelevant, given the fact we saw him eviscerate Orlando, and we've seen other greats destroy teams repeatedly at the final stage.

Kobe's shining attribute above all is there was no quit in him. Granted, the '10 Finals shifted when Perkins got hurt G6 and that series is probably over if Perkins doesn't get hurt, but Kobe woulda went down shooting regardless. So Perkins getting hurt isn't a knock, because a TON of Finals have swung on untimely injuries, but most people who watched it knew the Lakers were in some trouble, even going back home for the last two games. I can't call '10 greater than '09 because Kobe just didn't play better in '10 than he played in '09, and if he played better overall they may not have been in an elimination position after G5 to start with...

2009 Nuggets were WAY BETTER than the 2009 Magic. Ask any Lakers fan. You're just a Bron stan trying to gas up the team that eliminated him.

I'm a Kobe fan. I found his 2009 Finals to be so-so. He expended so much energy to beat the Nuggets (who were far tougher) that I don't think he quite had his legs under him that series. If you remember watching that Nuggets series, Kobe could barely stand for his postgame interviews with Doris Burke. A more rested Kobe sweeps that sorry Magic squad in 2009. The stats in the 09 Finals look nice but Kobe could have played much better in just about every game that series except for Game 6.

2010 was a different story. Kobe couldn't have played better for 6 of the 7 games. First of all, the 2010 Celtics were worlds better than the 2009 Magic. So you have to take the quality of opponent into account. And Kobe was incredible for 6 of those 7 games. He just played so bad in Game 7 people wanna forget his stellar games before that. In Game 1 he powered the Lakers to victory. In Game 3 he shot poorly but had an incredible all-around game that has to be watched to be appreciated. Then in Games 4 and 5 he was spectacular but they came in losing efforts so most people forget. Oh yeah and he did all of this with an arthritic knee that had to be drained every couple of weeks.

Kobe's 2010 Finals was WAY MORE IMPRESSIVE than his 2009 Finals when you take all of this into account.

 

[Controversy]

Why does it matter?

Be loud and wrong, brehs

Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James: Who Beat More 60-Win And 50-Win Teams In The NBA Playoffs

 

[Controversy]

2009 Nuggets were WAY BETTER than the 2009 Magic. Ask any Lakers fan. You're just a Bron stan trying to gas up the team that eliminated him.

I'm a Kobe fan. I found his 2009 Finals to be so-so. He expended so much energy to beat the Nuggets (who were far tougher) that I don't think he quite had his legs under him that series. If you remember watching that Nuggets series, Kobe could barely stand for his postgame interviews with Doris Burke. A more rested Kobe sweeps that sorry Magic squad in 2009.

The 2010 Celtics were worlds better than the 2009 Magic. And Kobe was incredible for 6 of those 7 games. He just played so bad in Game 7 people wanna forget his stellar games before that. In Game 1 he powered the Lakers to victory. In Game 3 he shot poorly but had an incredible all-around game that has to be watched to be appreciated. Then in Games 4 and 5 he was spectacular but they came in losing efforts to people forget. Oh yeah and he did all of this with an arthritic knee that had to be drained every couple of weeks.

Kobe's 2010 Finals was WAY MORE IMPRESSIVE than his 2009 Finals when you take all of this into account.

and 2 bad fingers on his shooting hand

he admitted after G7 he had 2 messed up fingers

 

[Hersh]

anyone remember that game against the spurs.. i think it was elimination or 1 game before elimination where he almost singlehandedly brought em back with mainly the 3 ball... i wish i had more details..they eventually loat the game and the series..