Kobe Bryant wants old-school D back..

[GollyImSoGully]

lmao @ anyone thinking Kobe wouldn't be better.

[Anton Chigurh]

wouldnt old school d force the player to be a more jump shooter. i dont think that would help lebron alot

[phoenix18]

Just because there is no zone doesnt mean that players couldnt help like they do now.

[Cangri]

Kobe would be basically the same.

[Bodhi]

Scoring exploded the moment the NBA implemented the new rules in 04-05. The league average in 03-04 was 93.4 ppg. 97.2 ppg in 04-05. A jump of 4 ppg in 1 season. Mind boggling. And that number kept rising each season. 99 ppg in 06-07. 100 ppg in 07-08 and the league's maintained that average till date(2 1/2 seasons). The last time the league scored that much was 94-95. 16 seasons!

Anyone who thinks any current player will actually get better statistically under the 'Old Rules' is out of his mind. Their effectiveness relative to the league will remain the same, but their numbers will go down.

The problem here is that you're an idiot who doesn't understand what are the Old Rules and what are the New Rules. The Old Rules were what Jordan, Bird, and Magic played with.

From 2001 to 04, they legalized the zone in addition to all the old rules, so defenses were strongest then than at any era in history.

Now to fix this they made it harder to play defense in other ways, but kept the zone. These are the new rules. Kobe is saying that he could play better with more physical defense but no zone.

[ShaqAttack3234]

I like Kobe more after hearing this, but there's no way his scoring would rise. I'm not sure how he much he'd be impacted at this point because he's become more of a mid-range jumper shooter and post up 2 guard.

Personally I think Kobe would have come close to if not averaged 35 ppg in 2006 anyway. He wasn't attempting a ridiculous amount of free throws considering how much he shot. Maybe he averages slightly less, like 33-34, but who knows? All I know is a lot of Kobe's scoring feats relied more on jumpshots and post skill than guys like Wade and James.

The rule changes really did save Allen Iverson's career. Look at this.

1999-2000 28.4 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.3 TO, 42.1 FG% 24.8 FGA, 8.9 FTA
2000-2001 31.1 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.3 TO, 42 FG%, 25.5 FGA, 10.1 FTA
2001-2002 31.4 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4 TO, 39.8 FG%, 27.8 FGA, 9.8 FTA
2002-2003 27.6 ppg, 5.5 apg, 3.5 TO, 41.4 FG%, 23.7 FGA, 9 FTA
2003-2004 26.4 ppg, 6.8 apg, 4.4 TO, 38.7 FG%, 23.4 FGA, 9.5 FTA

2004-2005 30.7 ppg, 7.9 apg, 4.6 TO, 42.4 FG%, 24.2 FGA, 10.5 FTA
2005-2006 33 ppg, 7.4 apg, 3.4 TO, 44.7 FG%, 25.3 FGA, 11.5 FTA

Just look at Iverson's best season in 2001 and then when he was in his 30's in 2006. He attempted 0.2 less FGA, yet his scoring improved by 2 ppg, his FG% went from 42% to nearly 45%, he attempted 1.4 more FTA and his assistss rose by nearly 3 per game, despite his turnovers staying virtually the same. Now look at the fact that Iverson had been declining a bit prior yo the rule changes.

I think while it likley boosted Kobe's scoring a bit, the difference is not great like it was with guys like Iverson. I'm also convinced that a player like Dwyane Wade was helped by the rules more than Kobe.

Look at Dwyane Wade's 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons.

2004-2005 17.1 FGA, 9.9 FTA
2005-2006 18.8 FGA, 10.7 FTA
2006-2007 18.9 FGA, 10.5 FTA

Now look at a young Michael Jordan who was easily more athletic, taking a lot more shots and averaging 35-37 ppg. Wade was having an easier time getting to the line than Jordan at his quickest was, and that was when Jordan was scoring the most he ever has.

1986-1987 27.8 FGA, 11.9 FTA
1987-1988 24.4 FGA, 10.5 FTA

Prime Michael Jordan

1989-1990 24 FGA, 8.5 FTA
1990-1991 22.4 FGA, 8.2 FTA
1991-1992 22.7 FGA, 7.4 FTA
1992-1993 25.7 FGA, 7.3 FTA

Actually that's the one thing that makes me question some of Kobe's scoring feats. Honestly, can anyone try telling me with a straight face that Kobe in recent years was attacking the basket more than 1990-1993 MJ? If not, then why did he get to the line so much easier? That's where the rule changes come in.

[Showtime]

Nobody uses zone as their main defense. Rarely do teams even use it in a game. People confuse zone defense with the abolition of the illegal defense.

[Showtime]

From 2001 to 04, they legalized the zone in addition to all the old rules, so defenses were strongest then than at any era in history.

No, it wasn't the strongest in history.

Kobe is saying that he could play better with more physical defense but no zone.

Every time Kobe faces a physical defense where he doesn't get the benefit of calls, he struggles. Why on earth would anybody think he would flourish in that environment when we have already seen the opposite?

[chitownsfinest]

Zone can be a really effective defense but it's never used 48 minutes straight, let alone for an entire quarter like posters make it to be. I remember Dirk even saying this when he was being interviewed during a Mavs-Cavs game.

[Bodhi]

No, it wasn't the strongest in history.


Every time Kobe faces a physical defense where he doesn't get the benefit of calls, he struggles. Why on earth would anybody think he would flourish in that environment when we have already seen the opposite?

The 2003-04 season has a ppg of 93.4 and an average FG% of .439. It was easier to play defense then at any era in history. Just look at how the stats change when they allow illegal defenses in 2001. Scoring and FG% drop a lot compared to the year before. It makes sense that Kobe would be able to do well with no illegal defense.

[hitmanyr2k]

The same Kobe that screams "HEY" at the top of his lungs and flails like he's getting murdered everytime he drives to the rim and then glares at the officials when he doesn't get a whistle wants the old rules back? Really?

[triangleoffense]

uh why are the players all bitching about zone defenses? If anything it helps players because one person is always going to be open on the perimeter if the opposing team plays zone. This is how pierce or allen get that wide open at the end of games, because either one of them or rondo drives to the paint when the other team is playing zone and then kicks out to a wide-open hof shooter.

[Abraham Lincoln]

People confuse zone defense with the abolition of the illegal defense.

Indeed.

And not even abolish, all they did was re-define it, with the new defensive 3. Let's see how enthusiastic he is about playing in the post with two elbows and two knees in his back. At least that was banned in the NBA before Kobe was even in high school. The game was inarguably more physical in nature back then, and it was more than the basic hand check. A strong side shade with no physical pressure is not a shut down defense, especially for a multiskilled player like Bryant who is mainly a jump shooter.


I interpret it as him welcoming the challenge of the physical rules. After all it is better basketball, just as he said. I agree he'd be an even better basketball player than he is now playing under those rules night after night, whether or not his statistical ppg average would show it. He would conform.

[Abraham Lincoln]

Another personal fantasy of mine would be Kobe on those Pat Riley Knicks. Imagine a defensive back court of Starks/Bryant. It would be a beauty.

[gts]

LOL at all these people saying Kobe would be affected more by these rules as they would be more physical. Let me explain something to you posters who obviously haven't got tonnes and tonnes of tapes lying around of the games back then. It's called a hand "check", thus meaning check. Not hand restraint, punch, claw, super shield, ultimate wall, just a check. Players were not allowed to impede a players motion in any which direction they chose to go. They were only allowed to sense body movement and have a better perception of which way the body was going. Remember now, hand "check".

very true.. i have always said the great players like kobe wade lebron jordan kareem and such would never be effected by the rules, great players are great because they adjust their games constantly, you can't stop talent short of just tackling the guy