I like Kobe and believe he is the 2nd best player in the league- great all around player, and Top 15-20 All Time. The closest guy to Jordan in terms of cumulative skills.
But, Laker fans have got to stop drinking the Kobe kool-aid.
At this point, he's just not as productive a player as Lebron: more skilled, but doesn't the impact the game quite as much.
They are comparable scorers- Kobe's more versatile, Lebron's more consistent.
That's really a product of their styles- by nature, jumpshooters are more prone to hot/cold streaks than a player who attacks the basket.
Lebron's biggest advantage offensively over Kobe is his style of play- 68% of shots are inside shots- and he is definitely the best finisher in the league. Compare that to Kobe- 45% of shots are inside shots, and he's a noticeably worse finisher.
Generally speaking- it's more beneficial to attack the hoop more because a player gets the big men in foul trouble, it opens up passing lanes more than playing on the perimeter does, and it's a more consistent style of play.
Lebron draws fouls more on big men (and more in general- though Kobe makes just as many because he's a superior free throw shooter) because he attacks the hoop, Kobe draws fouls more on perimeter guys with his moves on the perimeter.
And you can't discount the teams- the Lakers are a far superior offensive team- they have Phil Jackson as opposed to an idiot coach, at least offensively, in terms of Mike Brown. They also have more weapons.
At this point in his career, Kobe's job is relatively easier than Lebron's offensively- he carries less of a load, isn't forced to shoot as many shots with the shot clock winding down, is assisted on a far greater percentage of his jumpshots and plays in a far superior offensive system- the triangle- as opposed to isolating at the top of the key play after play.
Lebron is the better passer, has better court vision from what I've seen, and has worse teammates- which does affect his assists- but is offset somewhat by Kobe playing in the triangle, where it's typically harder to rack up assists.
Lebron is the better rebounder easily- because of his size/strength and because he plays some power forward.
Defensively, the gap has closed- Kobe is still the better defender by a little bit, but not by nearly as much as he used to be- they are about equal as help defenders (the one place where I feel Kobe is not that strong defensively), but Kobe is the better man defender. Lebron can guard the 1 to the 4, Kobe the 1 to the 3. For both, it's a question of when they put the effort forth.
And anyone saying Kobe is more clutch than Lebron hasn't seen Lebron play in a while- I'd say it's in Lebron's favor (Lebron is preferable in most situations because of his ability to get inside, but Kobe's jumpshot can be better in a limited amount of situations).
It's interesting to note that in the clutch, Lebron performed better last season by a fair bit: he averaged more points (most in the league), but was still noticeably more efficient from the field, his free throw shooting even went up to about 80%, was less turnover prone, was top in the league in steals and blocks (discounting big men), and he led the league in clutch +/-.
In fact, in the Top 10 of plus/minus, there were 6 Cavaliers (including Lebron). So, it's clear that though Lebron definitely faces more pressure situations than Kobe because of his team, his team comes out on top in the clutch more often than Kobe's does (and this is with a worse supporting cast).
And I have no desire to hear the regular drivel based, non-factual, whiny, homeristic appeal that most Kobe fans seem to give me.
If you want the 10 points, respond with some knowledge, and without bias.
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