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I don't know how you can still be on his ass if you watched that game. The Heat were obviously the better team, talentwise by far, but Kobe was clearly the top player in the game. I am not just talking about scoring, where he was dominant, but everything he did. Shaq fouled out purely because of Kobe, he would drive right into Shaq and get fouled every time, he did the same thing to Amare the other night. If you watched the game you would have seen the Lakers get dozens of wide open shots purely because of Kobe. Everytime he drives the lane he gets mobbed which leaves Chucky or Lamar open on the perimeter for the three pointer.
Believe me, Kobe can still win a championship without Shaq, but he is going to need better then Chris Mihm and Lamar Odom to do it. If you put Shaq on the current Lakers and took Kobe out, the Lakers would have the exact same record. Shaq is a great player, no doubt about that, and he changes the focus of a game, no doubt about that, but he also plays on a team with much better players than Kobe Bryant, and in a weaker division and conference.
Shaquile O'Neal, in case you are blind, is in love with himself. If you listen to everything he says like its scripture then of course you think Kobe is the worst person ever. Karl Malone has a giant ego aswell, he was just looking for a way out of the Lakers organization so he could sign with the Spurs and used Kobe as his excuse.
Even after that game the media is kidding themselves. I read a column on ESPN.com last night by Stark or whatever, and he said that Shaq was getting cheered more than Kobe! WHAT?! Did he not watch the game? Did he not hear the chants of "Kobe, Kobe" and the booing of Shaq during his introduction? They keep saying that the LA fans and his teammates hate him, but I have seen no evidence of that at all in the games I've seen. Then on one of those opinion shows the other day they were saying that other NBA players buy each others jerseys and wear then around, and in the past two years Kobe's has gone from the third highest worn to the seventh. If you are a brick you would miss the real point. Kobe Bryants jersey is still the seventh most bought in the NBA, theres only six people with more than him, that means that people don't like him anymore? Some may not, but obviously a lot still do.
I understand if people don't like him as a person. With the rape charges and all of the media saying that he was 100% responsible for Shaq's leaving, yeah it makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that people still, even after performances like the one last night, say that he is not one of the most dangerous players in the league. They listen purely to the columnists and talking heads who tell lies about Kobe getting booed more than Shaq. I mean come on, anybody who watched that game last night has to admit that Kobe was without a doubt the MVP and didn't live up to the predictions made above.
"Kobe will score 50 points but the Lakers will score 70"
Nope, he scored a hell of a lot of points while still getting his team involved and opening up the whole court, something only Shaq is supposed to be able to do. Respect the man for his game, not for what Jay Mariotti thinks.
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