Westbrook: I wasn't ready for Kobe, he is the best player in the league

[quote=Kobe's defense of Westbrook throws off the Thunder's gameplan]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP)—Russell Westbrook surely must have known Kobe Bryant was coming for him.

Westbrook already knows Bryant relishes big challenges much more than easy matchups, which sometimes bore him. Although Bryant is nursing a variety of minor injuries, he went into the pivotal Game 5 of their first-round playoff series demanding to guard Westbrook, a speedy point guard a decade younger and a whole lot faster than him.

[b]“That’s Kobe,” Westbrook said. “That’s who he is. That’s why he’s the best player in the league.”

Bryant harassed Westbrook into a 4-for-13 shooting performance with eight turnovers[/b] while the defending NBA champions reclaimed control with a 111-87 victory.

Just how did Kobe do it—on a sore knee, no less?

“By being a savvy old dog, I guess,” Bryant said with a grin masking a sarcastic snarl.

“We made adjustments and showed that we can handle what they have,” Bryant said Wednesday after his teammates went through a light workout in El Segundo.

Westbrook averaged 21.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists while making more than 55 percent of his shots in the first four games, catalyzing everything in the Thunder’s offense with breakneck drives to the hoop. [b]Westbrook still made his drives against Bryant, but they frequently were out-of-control slashes to the paint, resulting in extremely difficult layup attempts or awkward passes to surprised teammates, leading to his turnovers.

“Kobe had an impact on the game,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “The stat sheet does not show that. The guy was competing and set the tone defensively. He did a good job of guarding Russell to start the game. That kind of threw us off a little bit. Kobe is a great player. He found his way.”[/b]

Bryant wasn’t alone on defense, either: Ron Artest limited NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant’s clean looks at the basket, holding Durant to 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Although Artest acknowledges nobody can fully contain the lanky Durant’s unique skills, he credited Bryant’s defense for changing the Thunder’s offense.

“That’s the hardest we’ve played all year,” Artest said. [b]“I’m sure Westbrook will adjust. He came ready to play against us this year. Being a first-year playoff guy with so much energy, he probably wasn’t ready for Kobe.”[/b][/quote]

Source: [url]http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArhiX6YW0SGxR4RxxaBEUWC8vLYF?slug=ap-lakers-thunder[/url]

Haven't you heard? People on ISH think Kobe is a terrible defender.

:rolleyes:

It's amazing how Kobe finds a way to be effective even while injured.

9 pages by tommorow night....

[QUOTE=Mr Clutch Melo]9 pages by tommorow night....[/QUOTE]

Tomorrow night. You severely underestimate ISH. 9 pages by 11 am (~9 hours from now).

In before fanboys/haters

westbrook and the okc coach are kobe homers. thats the only plausible explanation for the praise. [COLOR="White"]-kobehaters A-Z[/COLOR]

Kobe Bean Bryant Is A Beast!

Kobe when he isn't screwing around, is one of the better defenders in the league at his size and under.

But he does have that tendency to reach a bit too much, foul at the worst moments, and either overplay or totally ignore his man. Wish he could find the balance and play smart defense every game instead of every 5 or so games.

Still, 9 all-defensive team b(expletive)s.

Kobe's defense is impregnable. When he wants to, one of the sickest defenders in the L, for sure.

I love this kind of threads.
Let's say player A gets owned by player B, what do you want him to say?
Player A: [I]Player B did a great job on me, I couldn't do much, that's why he's the 3rd best player in the league![/I]
:rolleyes:

[QUOTE=Juges8932]Kobe's defense is impregnable. When he wants to, one of the sickest defenders in the L, for sure.[/QUOTE]

He is a very good defender but his strategy of backing off and leveling guys out while playing the angles won't work against guys who trust their jumpshot. Then again, how many impact players trust their jumpshot these days? :roll:

Durant also called him the best player in the world but no....he's washed up :rolleyes:

Kobe does a good job defensively (with a lot of help from his big men) for one game against a guy who averaged 16.1 pts/41.8% FG this season and people act like he's the second coming of the messiah. Hysterical. :oldlol:

[QUOTE=OldSchoolBBall]Kobe does a good job defensively (with a lot of help from his big men) for one game against a guy who averaged 16.1 pts/41.8% FG this season and people act like he's the second coming of the messiah. Hysterical. :oldlol:[/QUOTE]
true, he sucks.