Kobe has explained that the rushed season has meant that teams are not having much chance to scout anyone in advance.

"I don't know anything about him," Kobe Bryant added. "I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about. I've heard about him, but I have never seen him. I will watch some tape though. I can tell you that."

Yeah he's dying. A slow drawn out death is 13ppg like Shaq.
Kobe 16th season
31ppg
45%
6.5 reb
6.0 ass
1.5 St
.8 blk
The Lakers are 1 point guard away from conference finals.

Tall poppy as usual. Mumba is and has always has been one of the greatest competitors to play this game.

Larry Bird recently said in his interview with the sports guy, that Kobe would be the first player picked in his team.

Let me guess Quagmire, Larry has no idea what he is talking about right??

Hate him or not, he plays the game with heart, has 5 titles, Quagmire - you have neither!

How many titles without Phil??????

How many titles without Shaq or Gasol????

Without those guys, he was first round fodder.

Think T-mac.

Isaac, your being kind.

You picked your quotes there.

He also asked if Lin was getting 'triple doubles n stuff'. This is the same guy who knew damn well his rating in the espn player guide...he just thinks he is far above it all.

Reminds me of the Raja Bell comments...

That's your argument?

How many titles did MJ with without Phil?

Without Pippen?

yep he's sure dying by leading league in scoring

Kobe is still good, but that is what makes it so fun, his team is bad, his future is bleak even if they get Howard. Expect results like today to become the norm.

Who was on that Knicks team today?

I've heard about this Lin guy, but honestly, i don't know much about him...what, is he getting triple doubles n stuff? There was no one else of 'note' playing out there today. Kobe got his, whoop-d-do.

Lakers Lose.

Get a life & a hobby Quagmire! People that project that much hate on another person must lead frustrating & inadequate lives!

31ppg, that's no "death"

The lack of being so dominant is because the overall talent of the squad just isn't up to it. Between Byrant, Gasol and Bynum they aren't as talented as an Oklahoma squad, or a Chicago squad or a Miami squad.

Quagmire, Your argument in reality is one player cannot win a championship alone. The Lakers are 15-12 with a 55.6 winning percentage. They will almost certainly make the playoffs again.

Byrant is still a brilliant player and the very fact he scores 31ppg in the NBA proves that. The point is, the overall Lakers squad is just weaker than what we're used to, that doesn't make Byrant any less of a super star, especially with the amount of rings he has, even if he played with Shaq and Gasol to get them.


Show me an NBA team in the last two decades where a team won with only 1 star and the rest of the players being average. Even Jordan had the hall of famer in Pippen.

I bet Bird would pick hime first, and then spend the first month kicking his ass into shape to play team ball. He would french lick his ass old school.

KET- you calling Gasol and Bynum average?

The artist formally known as Artest...average?

I thought the mark of a good player is making his team-mates better?

If thats the case, you just gave your boy Kobe a fail coz he's turned Gasol and Bynum into 'average' players.

Pippen was great....who else was on that team? How well did any of the famous bulls fare outside of chi-town?

Every Laker not named Kobe would be better on another team.

Kobe is trying too hard to climb on the scoring chart, evident by him taking an extreme amount of terrible shots in today's game. He just does not play team ball or make his teammates better. His defense is also extremely ovverated. The guy has an ego problem and bitches and moans when he doesn't get his way. He is so lucky to have a top 5 PF and 2nd best center on his team.

KET, how bout those Detroit Pistons. They got it done without a superstar..

You guys have NO basketball I.q.
Haters gonna hate quagmire reminds me of the stereotypical comic book guy off the Simpsons. Kobe wouldve had 15 assists if his team hit shots. Fuck he was doubled all game Blake,barnes,Gasol all shot terrible- if they shot a combined 40% the Lakers get the win- Kobe goes for 34-10-12 and quagmire goes back to his basement and rocks on his chair with his thumb in his mouth.

Quagmire that is just pure hate. Bryant has achieved everything there is to in the sport and if he wasn't playing today the Lakers would have lost by 60. His comments regarding Lin weren't arrogant: he literally didn't know what everyone was talking about, and let's be honest, up until a week ago noone knew who he was.

I'd certainly take dying at 31 points per game. And it is just bullshit to say "what has he won without Jackson?" The same as Jackson has won without Jordan, Pippen, O'Neal and, of course, Bryant.

Get your head out of your arse.

TR: I'll admit Detroit certainly got it done, and I think the only team without any genuine super star in the last couple of decades to win it all.

Quadgmire:
"you calling Gasol and Bynum average?" I called them weaker than Miami, Chicago, Oklahoma. That doesn't make them average, infact they're currently 6th in the West, so they are evidently producing above average.

But Gasol and Bynum are not "stars" at the moment, Gasol has been a very strong player in the league, and they have won championships with him as a result of joining with Kobe.

"you just gave your boy Kobe a fail coz he's"
To start with, i'm a Spurs supporter. Secondly, i don't think Kobe has 'ruined' players.

"Pippen was great....who else was on that team? How well did any of the famous bulls fare outside of chi-town?"

Dennis Rodman was a total rebounding machine...need i go on?

"Every Laker not named Kobe would be better on another team."

Just about every Laker in the last decade has won a ring, doesn't that say something?


I'm not a Lakers fan by any means, but I'm also not a supporter of this ill-informed bandwagoning hatred. If you want to see a team who gets it done on and off the court so consistently, take a look at the Spurs ;)

What no comment now Quagmire??? All this talk and now you have faded?? Usually when someone has this much hatred for someone it usually means they are jealous of them..... So secretly you are a Kobe lover but don't want to admit it?? Come on man come out of the closet with the Kobe luv....the rest of us have!!! This isn't the 'death' of Kobe if anything this game will push him harder and he'll come out blazing the next few games, plus I bet he gives his team mates a kick up the $ss for how they played!

Yes after 16 years and all those titles and scoring titles and MVP's and the rest. If me first means the Lakers are too be as successful as they have been in the last 16 years, then never pass me the rock! Odd topic to be pressing, the Lakers arent bad this season, Kobe is still Kobe, and id still be expecting a trade to make them legit by trade deadlines end.

Hang on this Quagmire guy is a JAZZ FAN!? Hahaha thats gold, just gold.

Why fire up at me? Talk about people in denial. To be clear, Kobe has peaked, and I 4 one am going to enjoy watching an arrogant player fade over the next 4 or 5 years .
He has been me first since demanding a draft day trade, and his legacy will be divided amongst people who put the individual before the team, and those who put the team first.

Its not church baskteball, arrogant demanding players come with the territory. Even baby faced Eli Manning forced a trade when he was drafted to a team he didnt like in the NFL. So the whole he is arrogant he's rude thing just doesn't fly at this level of the business of basketball. I never really loved Kobe, but now that he is slightly declining, I have a new found admiration for a guy who still finds a way to get it done. No one is surprised that at 16 seasons in, he is still going for 30-40 point games. Think about that for a second, at his age to do it consistently, thats a rarity within itself, as his entire career has been.

Bring this topic up again when he is getting 8ppg and 4brds off the bench, until then, you cant win this argument with anyone who knows a little bit about the game. Sorry.

Well said Kobe24.

Who's going to be the one laughing at the end of Kobe's playing career? Let's be honest, it's going to be Kobe.

Individual Success:
Career average of 25ppg - Any player would take that
MVP in 2008 - MVP is only for the best of the best
9 time All-NBA 1st team - Including 06,07,08,09,10,11 consecutively

Team Success:
5 time NBA champions (2000,01,02,09,10)- the most of any team in the league in the last decade

People can complain all they like, but success is success.

people lighting your ass up for just been bitter calling him dying when even if he's missing a step today is still tormenting the league.

lol Quagmire you are a sad sad man

Early 2009
Quagmire's Topic - Kobe must win to become true champion.

"This my personal opinion, but for Kobe to be mentioned with the greats like MJ, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Wilt, Russell and....Shaq, he needs to win the championship this year, maybe the next as well."

He won it that year and then won it the next year.... Still hate


During the playoffs 2009 vs Nuggets
Quagmire's Topic - Are we seeing the begining of the end for Kobe?

"Carmelo seems to be taking over this series the way Bryant once did."

My answer at the time to that was - "how is Carmelo taking over this series from Kobe? Kobe's team is up 2-1. Game one Carmelo barely did anything in the last quarter while Kobe had what 20 in that quarter? Also in the most recent game Carmelo has 21 points @ 30% while Kobe had 41 @ 50%. Wow yes Carmelo is really taking over. I actually like the Nuggets and want them to win but I actually stick to facts not biased hatred."

More great Quagmire quotes in that Topic

"He may be far from done, but i think there is a growing thought in the NBA that he has well and truly joined the pack and will no longer be thought of as THE Kobe Bryant, more like plain old Kobe."

"Kobe has never won a title while being the man in Hollywood, and his time is running out faster every game..."

He went on to win the title that season and the next season.....


Now Kobe in one of his best seasons ever 29ppg @ 44, 6rpg, 5apg, 1spg is apparently dying? lol

"How many titles without Shaq or Gasol" Oh so now you add Gasol to the mix when 3 years ago you didn't, make up your mind as you go along.

"Pippen was great....who else was on that team? How well did any of the famous bulls fare outside of chi-town?"

Horace Grant, Toni Kukoc, Dennis Rodman, Ron Harper all great NBA players

"he's turned Gasol and Bynum into 'average' players."

Gasol 16ppg, 10rpg and Bynum 16ppg, 12 rpg is average?

Coffin just got nailed shut but King James me thinks!

KingJames- based on that perhaps he's forecasting Kobe about to get his 6th ring and Gasol and Bynum to blossom even more? AWESOME

Is quagmire related somehow to Cheezeburger?

Chill Kobe lovers, your time is d.o.n.e

Better than no time at all Quagmire? ;)

You all need to get a room with Kobe .....just don't change your mind when u get there!!!!!

I seriously can't stand and don't understand the argument that someone can only be considered great if they win a championship on their own.
Kobe hasn't won without Shaq or Jackson or Gasol?
Shaq hasn't won without Kobe or Wade.
Jackson hasn't won without MJ or Kobe.
Gasol was scarcely even on a playoff team until he met up with Kobe.
Wade won with Shaq, couldn't get it done with LeBron and Bosh.
MJ had plenty of quality players around him.
Garnett, Pierce and Allen won nothing until they joined up.
Nowitzki had a whole list of great players around him. Won nothing before that happened.
LeBron constantly gets mocked that he hasn't won a ring. Until last season he basically had nothing of real note around him, yet he still had carried that team to the conference win more than once. His time and what he achieved at Cleveland was more extraordinary than pretty well anything I've seen anyone else do in my time watching NBA, yet he gets bagged for it. Cleveland went from being a legitimate championship threat with LeBron to battling it out with the very bottom teams the year after.

I don't like Kobe or LeBron at all, but admire what they have achieved even if noone else does.

Feel your pain Hendo, I think everyone can agree that Kobe will be remembered as great, it's just a tarnish that when his teams won rings, he was not the critical player on those teams.

maybe you can get Karl malone a ticket for the next Jazz home game quagmire or do you hate him as well now coz he went to the lakers to win a championship and failed coz kobe didnt make him better

Thanks for making my point clearer.


And I always thought Karl should of been a knick.

Teams win championships, not individuals. But each individual plays a role in the championship. You don't get the ring by mistake.

AW - I think individuals are more influential in winning teams in basketball than in most team sports. A dominant player tends to have a greater impact on game results than in a sport such as football or soccer.

That's particularly so when the player is dominant in both defence and offence (such as Jordan was). It's even moreso in NBA basketball, with modifications to rules and refereeing practices that give players more opportunities to beat defenders one on one, than do FIBA rules.

The classic exception to my comparison of rugby with other sports would be the All Blacks in rugby, when Lomu was playing. Apparently the coach warmed the team up by reminding them that rugby is a team game, "so, when any of you 14 get the ball, I want you to pass it to Jonah (Lomu)". A very good example of how a player with unique skills and physical assets can win you games and lead you to build a game plan around that player. I believe that most NBA teams operate on this principle or would like to, if they could attract the right player.

Quagmire - "The most arrogant event in NBA history"

I had to laugh - the sport is run by the Bernie Ecclestone of basketball! Anything a player does cannot even approach the level of arrogance inherent in the fact that David Stern believes he is more important to the league than it is to him!

I stand corrected on the Stern arrogance.

Look I just hate seeing someone getting credit and praise when he is jut a terrible role model for everything great about sports. He is a great example of dedication to reaching goals, but that's it.

I still maintain that if Kobe is calling the shots, Lakers can't win. No one does it alone, the irony is Kobe thinking he's alone.

The Shaq example above is perfect, he fouled out with 36 & 21, which means Kobe was fresh for the finish, that's how Phil managed Kobe, let him finish shooting.

Lakers should be pounding teams in the paint using Gasol and Bynum high low, it's their only shot.




Until they get Howard.

this thread should be renamed "The death of Quagmire"

That's golden King James!!!!

I dislike Kobe Bryant but I am not blind to how good he is.

Who's blind? I've said all along, he's an awesome talent, will be remembered as a champion, doesn't change my opinion that he's an arrogant player who needs a coach to reign in his killer instincts because his me first attitude doesn't make his team better. Without Phil jax, he's .a healthy T-mac

One thing that no-one ever seems to bring up with Kobe is his FG%. It's not that spectacular - not in the same league as Jordan (e.g 45.4% vs 49.7 career). Over the course of his career, that's a LOT of poor shots. I think Kobe would be a much better player if he calmed down on the scoring and put a bit more facilitator into his game. He can clearly do it - you see it in those games where he gets near triple doubles. The other guys on his team seem to feed off that - everyone likes being involved when you play a team sport!

My big problem with Kobe is that he just doesn't seem to want to do that. It's a shame because I think you can make a strong argument that he is more talented than MJ.

ANON just above that is absolute nonsense . There is no justifiable argument for Kobe being as or more talented than MJ . All of Kobe's rings have been with the aid of very dominant big men . The bulls were talented but MJ rode them to 6 titles .

Rotateonthis - I was strictly talking about talent. Kobe is blessed with very similar athletic ability to Jordan, only he has a significantly better three point shot. So I'm saying it in that respect... Their games are so similar but Kobe has that extra dimension of being a long range shooter.

All of that said... He does not and never will hold a candle to Jordan's career.

I think Kobe is more talented in terms of scoring weapons, better range, equal athleticism but an inch taller. He is as good a passer also, when motivated.
What separated them, MJ had the perfect blend of desire to win and desire to perform, unfortunately Kobe is far too aware of his own station and MUST be be the reason for every win.

I think Kobe has trust issues.

Has there been a teammate that really liked Kobe? Lonely times in his future retirement.