How stacked is the 2012 Olympic team going to be?

[StoopsBros]

For those of yall saying Mike and Kobe are Close. You do realize that Mike won defensive player of the Year and MVP in the same year 1988. He shot over 50% is WHOLE CAREER, Kobe has never done that.Mike at 40 avg 22 pts a game,The Original will always be better than the Copy.

I take the Kobe is close to MJ thoughts with a grain of salt.

 

[rickjames]

Blame rickjames' first post...How do you start your message board career with a racist implied post?...must be someone's newly, troll-like creation.

that's why I said I wasn't being racist in my post...honestly, there is nothing wrong with what I said. I just like the mixture of both races on the team...shows good comraderie for America, good for the country if that's a problem with you then you have issues

 

[StoopsBros]

that's why I said I wasn't being racist in my post...honestly, there is nothing wrong with what I said. I just like the mixture of both races on the team...shows good comraderie for America, good for the country if that's a problem with you then you have issues

Nope, no problems. I like white people and black people. Asians, suck. I'm kidding.

I'd like to see some white guys myself but who besides Love? JJ Reddick? Mike Dunleavy? Kirk Hinrich?

At the point, it's a question of if you want to win.

 

[NickZepp]

Michael averaged 30 a game his entire career. Kobe has averaged over 30 like 3 times his entire career.

 

[thebigabd]

What the ****? No Derrick Rose or Blake Griffin, but Danny Granger makes it. Our country is fortunate that you don't have Jerry Colangelo's job.

Replace Howard or Love with Griffin and Williams with Rose? I could live with that, except D-Williams is a much better shooter than Rose.

Granger is just another shooter to fill the 12th spot...

 

[stoops4pres]

Replace Granger with Blake Griffin. The fans are going to want Blake Griffin on the team.

Yeah he would be one I would take over Granger. Along with a good bit of other players, including a recommendation I didn't even think about until jessegl just mentioned with Steph Curry.

 

[Section31]

This. Kevin Love would be great in international basketball. He can shoot jumpers all day, is a great passer, and the best rebounder in the game. My 12 man roster for the Olympic team would be:

PG: Chris Paul/Deron Williams
SG: Dwayne Wade/Kobe Bryant/Danny Granger
SF: Lebron James/Kevin Durant
PF: Carmello Anthony/Chris Bosh
C: Kevin Love/Amare Stoudemire/Dwight Howard

I'm not sure how Love's game would work since he spends A LOT of time in the lane and a lot of his points come off of rebounds. Remember, the international lane is larger and trapezoid shaped. He IS a great player though. I'm sure he could adjust, but it's something to consider.

 

[Section31]

I take the Kobe is close to MJ thoughts with a grain of salt.

I think MJ is the best of all time, but to say it's not close is hyperbole.

You guys have to remember how the game has changed. Back in the day, zone-defense was not allowed. I bet scoring has dropped a bit since then because of the zone.

KB also entered the league straight out of HS as an 18 yr old and went to a ready-made team where he was the second, sometimes 3rd option.

KB is a FABULOUS player...

I can't believe I'm actually making a case for KB...yuck...

 

[StoopsBros]

I think MJ is the best of all time, but to say it's not close is hyperbole.

You guys have to remember how the game has changed. Back in the day, zone-defense was not allowed. I bet scoring has dropped a bit since then because of the zone.

KB also entered the league straight out of HS as an 18 yr old and went to a ready-made team where he was the second, sometimes 3rd option.

KB is a FABULOUS player...

I can't believe I'm actually making a case for KB...yuck...

Well let's transform this into a one-on-one comparison...

Could MJ guard Kobe? IMO, yes

Could Kobe guard Jordan? IMO, no

If they went head to head in their primes, I think Jordan would have 30-50 and Kobe 20-30...Jordan's team would win as well, IMO.

 

[Section31]

Well let's transform this into a one-on-one comparison...

Could MJ guard Kobe? IMO, yes

Could Kobe guard Jordan? IMO, no

If they went head to head in their primes, I think Jordan would have 30-50 and Kobe 20-30...Jordan's team would win as well, IMO.

I just disagree. I think they would both have a tough time with each other. KB is a GREAT player. He's also a GREAT defender.

Like I said, I'm not KB fan, but I recognize when a guy is great.

 

[StoopsBros]

I just disagree. I think they would both have a tough time with each other. KB is a GREAT player. He's also a GREAT defender.

Like I said, I'm not KB fan, but I recognize when a guy is great.

Okay let's agree to disagree. I've seen both players live and in person and I'll always say MJ is infinitely better than Kobe. I actually like Kobe compared these days myself. When people argue him or LeBron, I always side with the Kobe people. MJ walks on water to me and Kobe is just a guy.

 

[red recluse]

curry could barely get off the bench on last summer's team. we needed his shooting. but gordon got the minutes because of his defense. i doubt curry would get a nod once you include the guys from '08. kobe, durant, deron williams, chris paul and now rose will bring the outside shooting we need, even with the new, deeper 3-point line. besides, we'll be so good defensively, we won't need much outside shooting as long as we steal-and-fastbreak teams to death. that's what made westbrook arguably the second best player last summer.

 

[stoops4pres]

Well let's transform this into a one-on-one comparison...

Could MJ guard Kobe? IMO, yes

Could Kobe guard Jordan? IMO, no

Like I said before, MJ is better. Period.

But I think you are undervaluing Kobe's ability as a defender a little bit. He is an elite defender and has been for the last several years.

Hypothetically, of course MJ would get his. But I definitely think Kobe could give him fits.

 

[StoopsBros]

curry could barely get off the bench on last summer's team. we needed his shooting. but gordon got the minutes because of his defense. i doubt curry would get a nod once you include the guys from '08. kobe, durant, deron williams, chris paul and now rose will bring the outside shooting we need, even with the new, deeper 3-point line. besides, we'll be so good defensively, we won't need much outside shooting as long as we steal-and-fastbreak teams to death. that's what made westbrook arguably the second best player last summer.

Sounds good to me.

Interesting fact from the 1992 team (you can even find it on wiki)...Chuck Daly never had to call a timeout during their gold medal run...none of the games got that close...the smallest margin of victory - 32.

 

[bmd23]

Lets end this once again Mike was an ELITE LEVEL DEFENDER. Kobe is a great defender do you know the difference? Kobe would not lock up Mike, Mike was much bigger and stronger than Kobe. Mike was also the better athlete,shot a better percentage got to the free throw more. Averaged more steals,blocks,points, rebounds. Bascially everything. In a game of one on one played 10 times Mike would win 8 out of 10. Mike is the ULTIMATE COMPETITOR. He hates losing at checkers. Mike was a Defensive Player of the Year which means what?? He was the best Defender in the NBA at the time. No guard has won this award since Gary Payton 1995-1996.

 

[rbi2]

i'm with the MJ people in this debate. Kobe isn't close to MJ and never will be IMO.

Instead of putting a position on them..list them in order of most important and take the first 12.

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. Howard
4. Carmelo
5. Wade
6. Paul
7. Bosh
8. Kobe (he will be 34 at the Summer Olympics)
9. D-Will

The other 3 spots are up for debate. You need one more pg, wing and big.

PG-D-Rose or Westbrook (D-Rose is having an MVP season but Westbrook isn't playing terrible and he didn't outshine D-Rose last summer) I'll go with Russ
Wing-Gordon, Gay, Iguodala (Gordon played lights out last summer and would be the favorite with his shooting touch. Also played excellent defense. Gay and Iggy are both superior athletes and can score at will. Iggy was the defense stopper last summer.) I'll go with Gordon for his zone buster abilities.
Big-Blake, Amare, Odom or Kevin Love (Blake would be one of the main attractions with leBron and KD. Amare can shoot better than Blake but it wasn't good for him to miss last summer. Odom played excellent last summer and is a good veteran. K-Love didn't get too much experience last summer but is a Glue guy that everyone needs.) i'll go with Blake for his fan fare.

 

[red recluse]

my frontline for '12: bosh, noah, blake and love.

i read a story last week that colangelo has to name his 12-person roster before the playoffs are potentially over, if there is a playoffs. so it's going to be interesting who gets named before they have a training camp.

 

[StoopsBros]

Lets end this once again Mike was an ELITE LEVEL DEFENDER. Kobe is a great defender do you know the difference? Kobe would not lock up Mike, Mike was much bigger and stronger than Kobe. Mike was also the better athlete,shot a better percentage got to the free throw more. Averaged more steals,blocks,points, rebounds. Bascially everything. In a game of one on one played 10 times Mike would win 8 out of 10. Mike is the ULTIMATE COMPETITOR. He hates losing at checkers. Mike was a Defensive Player of the Year which means what?? He was the best Defender in the NBA at the time. No guard has won this award since Gary Payton 1995-1996.

bmd, some argue for argument's sake. I'm done with that KB is close to MJ stuff (after this entire post, obviously). I've probably had 40-50 basketball teammates in my life and none of them would blasphemously say that KB is close to Jordan. Knowledgeable basketball people just won't say it because they know Jordan would take Kobe's lunch money and make Kobe go back and cry to Jellybean Bryant.

PPG
MJ - 30.1 ---- KB - 25.2
APG
MJ - 5.3 ---- KB - 4.7
RPG
MJ - 6.2 ---- KB - 5.3
FG%
MJ - .497 ---- KB - .455
SPG
MJ - 2.3 ---- KB - 1.5
Playoffs PPG
MJ - 33.4 ---- KB - 25.5
Playoffs APG
MJ - 5.7 ---- KB - 4.8
Playoffs RPG
MJ - 6.4 ---- KB - 5.2
Playoffs FG%
MJ - .487 ---- KB - .448
Playoffs SPG
MJ - 2.7 ---- KB - 1.4
Games played
MJ - 1072 ---- KB - 1079

Now the important stats...
Championships without Shaq
MJ - 6 ---- KB - 2
Championships with Shaq averaging close to 30 ppg
MJ - 0 ---- KB - 3
Total
MJ - 6 ---- KB - 5
Finals MVPs
MJ - 6 ---- KB - 2
Regular season MVPs
MJ - 5 ---- KB - 1

Let's not forget that MJ would have had 7-10 rings if not for him leaving the game to play baseball in '93 and the other retirement in '98 (a total of 4 seasons not on the court in his prime)...and MJ had two seasons in which he played only 17-18 games ('85-86 and '94-95). Without Shaq, Kobe would have 2-4...evident by Shaq getting EVERY single finals MVPs during their run...just look at how he has had to cry to management in order to get guys like Gasol, Artest, Bynum and/or Odom. Jordan had one or two good-to-great players...Rodman & Pippen. Also, if Jordan never left the game, MJ would top the charts in career points as well, all while shooting about 50% compared to Kobe's 45%. That 5% is a lot when you think about how many shots they both shot...In summation, Kobe needs multiple all-stars around him and sometimes the best Center in this era to win. Basically put, for Kobe's first three rings, he was Shaq's Scottie Pippen (sidekick). Jordan was never a sidekick. Let me know if and when Kobe averages 20 ppg at age 39. Name the coach Kobe needed to succeed? Yep, Jordan's. Ask Kobe whose shoes he wore when he was growing up? Yep Jordan's. Kobe's a copycat, he copied all of MJ's moves. I'm done.

You guys think the gap is like this...

MJ-------Kobe

In reality the gap is more like this...

MJ----------------------------------------------------------------------Kobe


Yes, hyperbole runs rampant in my posts.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWDmau1Vbxs[/ame]


Jordan at 39!!!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbOvgJJonXQ&feature=related[/ame]

at age 40!!!!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TkvX356cpQ&feature=related[/ame]

Check the tape, the tape doesn't lie! Kobe will be in Cali sipping lemonade at age 40, not putting up 40+. MJ could play tomorrow and drop 20 on these kids. Why do you think he couldn't and still can't admit he's done. He knows he's the best there ever was and could still play (even if it's limited minutes) with these guys.



OOOHHH, I love Payton aka "the Glove". He made opponents scared night in, night out. Probably the best defensive PG in history. I'd like to see someone argue that. He'd make these guys in today's game weak in the knees.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5whq5SBV4[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd5Z_A8KatI&playnext=1&list=PL7632506B281F59EF[/ame]

Ok, now I'm done.

 

[gracefor24]

This is why most MJ fans are so frustrating to talk with. Most were "young and impressionable" when MJ played and have a such a crazy view of him it's impossible to think that someone might be close.

Kobe is the closest thing we've seen to MJ. He could definitely give Jordan a hard time offensively and defensively and vice versa. Is he better? Nope. But just because that is settled doesn't mean that he's "infinitely" better. That's just crazy talk.

Also, whoever compared Amare to Karl Malone needs to have their head checked. That one IS actually not close at all. The 2nd leading scorer of all time and a dominant rebounder vs a guy who dunks a lot and scores but can't rebound and/or guard his own shadow? Please.

 

[gracefor24]

LOL. This is hilarious!!

"Name the coach Kobe needed to succeed? Yep, Jordan's."

It could easily be..."Name the coach Jordan needed to succeed? Yep, Kobe's."

Neither player won jack squat without Phil Jackson.