Kobe vs Lebron: Who is the better player?

[Big Moves03]

Shaq and Kobe was the team to beat. The team that beat the Lakers did the unthinkable not the other way around. Thats like Rockets beating GSW a few years ago. The road to the Finlas was to beat the Lakers if you played in the west. They boasted the Most dominant Player and the best SG. Spurs beat Goliath. Then Again Spurs was a beast with twin towers.

The Dream may have played the toughest path to a title.

My point is that the lakers or whoever else came out of the west often had to go through multiple contending teams just to get out of the west, whereas in the east it was rare to face a single contender before the finals.

[ldawg]

My point is that the lakers or whoever else came out of the west often had to go through multiple contending teams just to get out of the west, whereas in the east it was rare to face a single contender before the finals.

but you just said it. Rockets even if they are a good team they are not a legit contender. So why the Lakers back in the day who only had to truly worry about Spurs Kings Blazers was not easy? That was not every season or did they had to play all those teams to get to the finals? Would you say today Boston Celtics have a harder time getting to the Finals than the Clippers or Lakers?

[blams]

Raptors were considered weak..how does that look now? Conference finals before kawhi and possibly after

C's couldn't beat them.

Sixers have been solid for years.

People have been underrating the top end talent in the east for years to slight lebron.

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[Big Moves03]

but you just said it. Rockets even if they are a good team they are not a legit contender. So why the Lakers back in the day who only had to truly worry about Spurs Kings Blazers was not easy? That was not every season or did they had to play all those teams to get to the finals? Would you say today Boston Celtics have a harder time getting to the Finals than the Clippers or Lakers?

The lakers usually had the spurs to worry about and then usually another 1-2 additional teams and those were usually crazy competitive series and that's before they even reach the finals. In the east, there usually wasn't a single team to worry about for whoever was the contender. The ECF was often on par with a first round series in the west. This year, I would say it's still a little harder in the west, but it's a lot harder in the east now than it was in years past and it's because there is a lot more parity then there used to be.

[ldawg]

Raptors were considered weak..how does that look now? Conference finals before kawhi and possibly after

C's couldn't beat them.

Sixers have been solid for years.

People have been underrating the top end talent in the east for years to slight lebron.

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Its been just as easy to predict the West. Even when one think those teams are good they were still not better than the best.

[Big Moves03]

Raptors were considered weak..how does that look now? Conference finals before kawhi and possibly after

C's couldn't beat them.

Sixers have been solid for years.

People have been underrating the top end talent in the east for years to slight lebron.

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Nah man, the east was horrible. The Sixers have been solid since 2018. LBJ left the east at the end of 2017 (i.e., he never faced a solid Sixers team in their current form in the east). It's not really debatable that the Sixers were "solid" when LBJ was in the east either. In 2017, they finished with 28 wins and second to last in the east and the 4th worst record in the league.

The east started to become more respectable around 2016, but there wasn't a legit contender in the east outside of LBJ's team from maybe 2012 until probably this year. The raptors have been respectable for a while, but were never a legit contender. Even with KL last year, they weren't real contenders, they came out of the east, which still had no real contenders and won because GS got hurt. They're a good solid group, but I would stop short of calling them contenders, and this also wasn't the raptors team that LBJ faced when he was in the East. The east being horrible for most of the past 21 years or so has little to do with LBJ.

[blams]

Its been just as easy to predict the West. Even when one think those teams are good they were still not better than the best.

Absolutely

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[Big Moves03]

Its been just as easy to predict the West. Even when one think those teams are good they were still not better than the best.

It's not about predicting who will come out, it's about how tough the competition is in the conference. Go through and look at the teams that got eliminated in the second round in the west over the past 20 years...off the top of my head I would say that most of them are better than probably over 95% of all of the teams that have played in the east, including whoever ends up going to the ECF (excluding the contending east team).

[blams]

Nah man, the east was horrible. The Sixers have been solid since 2018. LBJ left the east at the end of 2017 (i.e., he never faced a solid Sixers team in their current form in the east). It's not really debatable that the Sixers were "solid" when LBJ was in the east either. In 2017, they finished with 28 wins and second to last in the east and the 4th worst record in the league.

The east started to become more respectable around 2016, but there wasn't a legit contender in the east outside of LBJ's team from maybe 2012 until probably this year. The raptors have been respectable for a while, but were never a legit contender. Even with KL last year, they weren't real contenders, they came out of the east, which still had no real contenders and won because GS got hurt. They're a good solid group, but I would stop short of calling them contenders, and this also wasn't the raptors team that LBJ faced when he was in the East. The east being horrible for most of the past 21 years or so has little to do with LBJ.

I think some of the top east teams second to the cavs could've beaten any of the west teams- aside from golden state. The thunder/Mavs/Spurs wouldn't have necessarily beaten the 2nd team in the east imo

Whether it was the raptors, pacers, old and young celtics, etc.


Definitely a weaker conference than the west.



And you're 100 percent right about the sixers

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[ldawg]

The lakers usually had the spurs to worry about and then usually another 1-2 additional teams and those were usually crazy competitive series and that's before they even reach the finals. In the east, there usually wasn't a single team to worry about for whoever was the contender. The ECF was often on par with a first round series in the west. This year, I would say it's still a little harder in the west, but it's a lot harder in the east now than it was in years past and it's because there is a lot more parity then there used to be.

Same in the East. Its just that once Lebron Wade came together they became the team to beat. Alone Kobe was not feared until he had Legit help. This is the case for any team. Pau/Kobe went to the Finals 3 straight years When Boston came together went straight to finals. Did not having help hinder Kobe? Mavs beat Goliath same as Spurs did.

I hear you But Boston is getting more banged up than say Lakers yet the teams projected to with it all is Lakers or Clippers. Which team have a harder path to the Finals?

[Big Moves03]

I think some of the top east teams second to the cavs could've beaten any of the west teams- aside from golden state.

Whether it was the raptors, pacers, celtics, etc.


Definitely a weaker conference than the west.



And you're 100 percent right about the sixers

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Maybe over the past 2-4 years, but I dont think going back most of the past 20 years. The west has been getting a little weaker over the last few years and the east has been getting tougher and that's what's made this season much more fun to watch ists that there's been more parity between the conferences. This is a tough west though and so LBJ being able to lead his team to a title, through a tough west and a tough east opponent will speak volumes and I will be more than happy to give him the credit he deserves if he can pull it off. Thus far in the playoffs, LBJ has been amazing and this would be his toughest path to the title of his career, imo, and so he would deserve a massive amount of credit if he can pull it off (and I think he has a great shot to do it too).

[Big Moves03]

Same in the East. Its just that once Lebron Wade came together they became the team to beat. Alone Kobe was not feared until he had Legit help. This is the case for any team. Pau/Kobe went to the Finals 3 straight years When Boston came together went straight to finals. Did not having help hinder Kobe? Mavs beat Goliath same as Spurs did.

But you're missing what I'm saying. In the west, the path was much tougher, in large part because the top teams were much better for most of those years. Consider 2009: the lakers faced a 48 win team in the first round in Utah (and that was a really good team, in the east they would've likely been the 4th best team that year, if not better). Then the lakers played a very good 53 win team in Houston, then they played a 54 win team in Denver. All of those teams were really tough and would finish in the top 4 in the east. That was the path to the finals for the lakers. That was not an atypical thing either, that's how it was for most years for teams in the west. It was just really tough to come out of the west, and it was nowhere near as tough in east. The top teams were often not comparable at all.

[ldawg]

This is mostly incoherent rambling lol but it's also wrong. The lakers should absolutely get past Houston because Houston is incredibly weak and has no business being in the second round. I also don't know why you're even posting this, because I've given LBJ a ton of praise these playoffs, so what is the point of your post? This is the first time that LBJ has been on a legit contending team where it wasn't super stacked with talent and he didnt have two other stars. I believe that most, elite great players can win in today's NBA with 2 stars as teammates. LBJ doesn't have that right now so if he can win he'll show that he can do it. I'm rooting for this happening. It won't change that his numbers are inflated relative to other superstars because of how much more he's had the ball throughout his career, but it also won't matter, because what matters is actually being able to win. Let's see if he can do it.

I get it now that he is out his prime this is the best Lebron have ever been. Lets just say this is the first time you really started watching Lebron play now that hes on the Lakers. Somehow Kobe was great playing next to Shaq but Lebron only becam e great a few months ago Now that hes playing in the West and Playing with Davis. So all the other years he was just this over rated guy with inflated stats since he have the ball all the time.

[blams]

Maybe over the past 2-4 years, but I dont think going back most of the past 20 years. The west has been getting a little weaker over the last few years and the east has been getting tougher and that's what's made this season much more fun to watch ists that there's been more parity between the conferences. This is a tough west though and so LBJ being able to lead his team to a title, through a tough west and a tough east opponent will speak volumes and I will be more than happy to give him the credit he deserves if he can pull it off. Thus far in the playoffs, LBJ has been amazing and this would be his toughest path to the title of his career, imo, and so he would deserve a massive amount of credit if he can pull it off (and I think he has a great shot to do it too).

Agreed man! If Bron wins a ring in LA- at this age- in this current conference- it would be amazing

I think he has at least another couple of years of playoff lebron left in him as well.


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[Big Moves03]

I get it now that he is out his prime this is the best Lebron have ever been. Lets just say this is the first time you really started watching Lebron play now that hes on the Lakers. Somehow Kobe was great playing next to Shaq but Lebron only becam e great a few months ago Now that hes playing in the West and Playing with Davis instead of Kyrie or Wade.

I've watched LBJ play his entire career. When did I say that he wasn't great?? I've said LBJ was a great player for a long time. I said this would be his toughest path to a title that he's ever faced. That doesn't mean that this is the best he's ever played. I believe in players having to earn it and show it against these tough situations that other comparable greats went through. If LBJ can do it, I'll be the first to take my hat off to him and give him the credit he deserves. It would be a truly historic accomplishment. Look at Giannis, people on here were talking about how peak Giannis was in the top 10-15 players of all time. Look at how easily he was shut down by Miami. This is why players have to prove it under the toughest of circumstances. Once they do that though, I'm all for giving them their credit.