Kobe Bryant's 81 point game - great offense??? bad defense??

The Kobe Bryant 81 point game reminds me of a bad rumor. Usually the intensity of the misconceptions increase over time. In this case, we are gonna bust the hype and take an in-depth look at the defense, and scoring from Kobe Bryant's 81 point show vs the Toronto Raptors in January of 2006. I have Kobe ranked in my top 10 list of perimeter players of all time. Kobe is one of the most exciting players and the most aggressive scorers of all time. That being said, it is important to always keep things in perspective. There have been many great players to play this game at a very high level for a sustained amount of time. 1 game performances are great, and fun to watch, however they are a small part to a player's legacy... Jim Todd then assistant coach of the Raptors specifically said during the halftime interview they they would let Kobe get his and concentrate more on stopping his teammates. So Kobe wasn't the concern or focus of the defense at all. always keep in mind the defense: Jordan rules There weren't flagrant fouls in Jordan's era. Teams would just knock Jordan to the floor, and the referee's only option was to call a regular foul. Handchecking The NBA got rid of handchecking, this was to allow for easier driving to the basket and it free's up the ball handler. In Michael's era, they would double team him as soon as his shoulder dropped and he tried taking it to the hoop. It was legal to stop Jordan with your hands, not just your feet and position. Handchecking helped out less athletic defenders, who could make up for being half a step slow, by using their hands to hold the ball-handler at 'bay'. Bigs waiting in the paint In Michael's era, bigs had a right to 'airspace'. Now the rules are as such that bigs can't jump to block a dunk or layup because if they make contact, it's a foul. There was no 3 second rule so teams would clog the lane to take away MJ's 'above the rim attack'. In Jordan's day you could jump from inside of the circle, or wherever you wanted, and as long as you jumped straight up, and not into the ball-handler, it was not a foul. Much more physical brand of basketball was played in Michael Jordan's era. Also now they allow ball-handlers to carry the basketball. As well as players like Kobe Bryant get more touch fouls now on the perimeter than any single player in the history of the sport. It is a changed game. My favorite performances were when Jordan averaged over 41ppg vs the Phoenix Suns who had great players on their roster, top to bottom. He had one game of 55 points in that series. My other favorite performance was when Jordan put on a Magic Johnson type performance in the 1991 NBA Finals, Jordan averaged over 30 points per game, on over 55% shooting, but the amazing part was that Jordan averaged 11.4 assists per game in that series. Jordan also won a defensive player of the year award, among plenty of other accolades and unreachable records.... Michael Jordan's most important pieces to his legacy are his 14 mvps(3 all star, 6 finals, 5 league), the fact that he is the only guard in NBA history to LEAD his team to multi-championships with the absence of a dominant big man. Add in Jordan's 10 scoring titles, 30+ 6+ 6+ for his career in the NBA finals, greatest career ppg average in the regular season and playoffs, he surpassed Wilt as the greatest scorer ever over a cumulative amount of time with consistent dominance. Jordan's importance to the game cannot be put into words, his epic legacy he left on the game will never be paralleled or surpassed. Even the most hyped up players of today's game (Kobe Bryant) pale in comparison to the greatest of all time, if you don't believe me, go here: http://www.kb24overrated.com '>http://www.kb24overrated.com (The reason I edited this game and gave you the defensive breakdown is simple, too many fans and media members use this game in an attempt to prop Kobe up to Jordan status. I was a Jordan fan throughout his entire Bulls career, because I am a Bulls fan, and I am still a Jordan fan. I believe Jordan's legacy should be held to the highest standards and one game performances or short term flashes of brilliance should never prop a player up to "Jordan status".) boxscore: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/... When looking on the boxscore, if you click on the name Villanueva, it will take you to his current set of stats and physical statistics. Villanueva is listed at 6'11'', he was listed at 6'10'' in 2005-06. Just fyi. for the most comprehensive breakdown of the Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant comparison, go here: http://www.kb24overrated.com '>http://www.kb24overrated.com ============================ EDITED BY BRUCE BLITZ ============================ tags: thebruceblitzchannel the bruce blitz show bruceblitz bruce blitz channel michael jordan kobe bryant lebron james swish fade away fadeaway sucks brick overrated dunk music video mix remix highlight reel show hl tribute

Channel: Sports
Uploaded: March 24, 2008 at 1:55 am
Author: mustseebbtv

Length: 10:00
Rating: 3.70
Views: 18886

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