Why Doesn't Kobe Ever Do Good in the Finals?

[dr8ked]

but what is wrong with 43% against a good orlando defense in a series the lakers won in 5?

I'm a piston fan and when you mention defense and orlando in the same sentence i .. Orlando defense is all because of dwight howard, they don't play team defense.. they are also a one trick pony team on offense. But anyway compared to other superstars perfomances in the finals, 43%FG is sub par..

[ginobli2311]

I'm a piston fan and when you mention defense and orlando in the same sentence i .. Orlando defense is all because of dwight howard, they don't play team defense.. they are also a one trick pony team on offense. But anyway compared to other superstars perfomances in the finals, 43%FG is sub par..

orlando played good D last year. not on the level of the pistons. but they were good defensively. 43% over 5 games is just not that bad at all even for a superstar guard.

[HighFlyer23]

he's just overrated .. what else?

like those tough shots he makes .. he takes so many of course he's going to make some ..

[dr8ked]

orlando played good D last year. not on the level of the pistons. but they were good defensively. 43% over 5 games is just not that bad at all even for a superstar guard.

I beg to differ. especially when his fans claim he's the Goat. But thats a discussion for another time.

[DetroitPistonFan]

he's just overrated .. what else?

like those tough shots he makes .. he takes so many of course he's going to make some ..

As much as I hate Kobe. He's not overrated.

[ginobli2311]

I beg to differ. especially when his fans claim he's the Goat. But thats a discussion for another time.

LOL. and i'm labeled as a hater and the mods try to shut me up. i love it.

[HighFlyer23]

As much as I hate Kobe. He's not overrated.

when his fans call him GOAT he is

[insidious301]

Because he's overrated. The most missed shots in Finals history, are you serious? Magic Johnson took 151 less shots than Kobe during one of his Final runs (forget which, but Magic won MVP), and made one more shot than Kobe did all Finals...These Laker fans honestly believe this guy is the greatest Laker?

[AK47DR91]

A mixture of opponents' defense and Kobe's own selfishness.

2004 Finals is a good example of his selfishness. Pistons D was great but some of that was b/c of Kobe trying to be the Finals MVP.

[Jacks3]

He did good in 2001/2002/2009/2010. His all-around numbers and defense was excellent, and he did against top tier defensive teams. FG% isn't everything.

[ginobli2311]

He did good in 2001/2002/2009/2010. His all-around numbers and defense was excellent, and he did against top tier defensive teams. FG% isn't everything.

agreed. he just did not play up to superstar / all time great standards for his career in the finals. i think that is what the OP meant. why does kobe not play as well as other superstars have in the finals like shaq/jordan/kareem/magic/hakeem/russell....etc.

[dr8ked]

agreed. he just did not play up to superstar / all time great standards for his career in the finals. i think that is what the OP meant. why does kobe not play as well as other superstars have in the finals like shaq/jordan/kareem/magic/hakeem/russell....etc.

Add wade to that list

[ginobli2311]

Add wade to that list

wade needs to play more than 1 finals to be put into that class.

[dr8ked]

wade needs to play more than 1 finals to be put into that class.

Wade's finals perfomance is out of this world, sorry kobe fans, but i can't see kobe play at that level in the finals. Forgive me, maybe i'm wrong but i just don't see it

[Jacks3]

agreed. he just did not play up to superstar / all time great standards for his career in the finals. i think that is what the OP meant. why does kobe not play as well as other superstars have in the finals like shaq/jordan/kareem/magic/hakeem/russell....etc.

1.Nobody considers Kobe on the Jordan/Kareem level, and Peak Shaq was indisputably better, so it's kinda pointless/unfair to be asking why he doesn't play as well as those guys.

2. When Bryant is measured against those other superstars, Finals performances
will only be a small part of the overall picture. I think it's fair to say that he still stacks up well as a overall post-season performer, and has other advantages depending on who you compare him to.

3. Plenty of superstars have had bad Finals/playoff series in terms of efficiency or even overall play. Bird had them. . Magic. Malone. Everybody. It doesn't mean much because their good far outweighs true bad and the same holds true for Bryant.