Kobe Bryant faces Tim Duncan for the 78th time, comparison unavoidable

[simmytbone]

Hey guys,

Tonight, the rivalry continues between Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant in one of THE Biggest Rivals in the Western Conference, but as they get ready to face each other tonight, their comparison is unavoidable

Here's the story:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...vich/18932075/


As Kobe faces Duncan for 78th time, comparison unavoidable
Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports 5:22 p.m. EST
November 14, 2014

LOS ANGELES – When Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan square off for the 78th time Friday night, it will be nothing like the good ol' days for two of the league's preeminent oldie-but-goodies.

At least not for Bryant.

While the San Antonio Spurs look fully capable of defending their title and winning a sixth championship during the Duncan era, Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers are mired in a campaign so miserable that executives the league over keep wondering when – a la 2007 – he'll demand a trade.

But the 36-year-old Bryant swears his loyalty to the Lakers is at an all-time high, saying recently that he still plans on retiring after next season in the same jersey he has worn since 1996. And even with the mounting losses, the eternally-confident Bryant still dares to dream about a day when he and Duncan – whose teams have won 10 of the 16 NBA championships since 1999 – can face off yet again with the Larry O'Brien trophy on the line.

"I would love to get another crack at them in a playoff series," Bryant, who leads the NBA in scoring at 26.7 points per game, told USA TODAY Sports this week. "I would love that. Some of my finest memories are against them."



And some of his worst memories, too. That's what made this matchup so great.

While Duncan has won the majority of their 47 regular season battles (27), Bryant's Lakers won four of the six playoff series against Duncan's Spurs. Both players had to go through one another en route to two of their five championships – Duncan in 1999 (Spurs sweep in the second round) and 2003 (in six games in second round); Bryant in 2001 (Lakers sweep in Western Conference Finals) and 2002 (in five games in the second round).

In 2004 and 2008, Bryant's Lakers got the best of the Spurs in the playoffs only to fall in the Finals. Cliché though it may sound, it's simply true that Bryant and Duncan brought out the best in one another during all those playoff battles. According to BasketballReference.com, Bryant averaged 28.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in those 30 postseason games against one another, and Duncan averaged 25.2 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.3 blocks.

Yet the discussion that surrounds Bryant and Duncan these days has more to do with business than it does basketball – specifically, the claim that has been made by so many that Bryant should have followed in Duncan's footsteps when it came to negotiating what appears to be his final contract. While the 38-year-old Duncan signed a three-year, $30 million deal that expires this summer, Bryant – who inked a two-year, $48 million extension in Nov. 2013 – will make nearly that much this season alone. With the salary cap at an all-time high of $63.065 million and the restrictive luxury tax threshold at $76.8 million, the argument has been made by many that Bryant set the stage for these frustrating final days by not leaving the Lakers with more financial flexibility in the future.

This debate may ultimately have a ripple effect on each of their legacies, with one future Hall of Famer being so simplistically portrayed by some as the humble leader who was rewarded for his selfless ways (Duncan) and the other as a greedy star who paid the price for his own exorbitant wealth (Bryant). Yet there is a need for nuance here as well, mainly because their respective situations are – as Bryant surely agrees – so uniquely different. In short, Bryant's simply worth a whole lot more to the Lakers than Duncan is to the Spurs.

According to an internal league memo which ranked the projected profitably of each team for last season on the basketball side of their business, the Lakers - who have a local television deal with Time Warner that is worth up to $5 billion and could last up to 25 years – led the league at $100.1 million. The Chicago Bulls were a distant second at approximately $61 million, and the Spurs – who were among the 21 teams projected to be profitable – were in sixth place. According to a person who has the memo which was first revealed by the web site, Grantland, the Spurs' profits were projected at $26.1 million. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the memo was private.

"It's a different market, man," Bryant said. "San Antonio's not doing $2 billion TV deals – or $5 billion – so it's a different market. Even with my deal, you have a significant amount of cap space available. But I think the advantage that they've had, and that (Duncan) has had and been very fortunate with, is they've had the same guys since he's been there. That really helps.

"You've got Manu there. You've got Tony there. Those guys have been through the ups and downs and they have that familiarity, and then they build with pieces around that. The same coach. The same system. Here, I've had to go through so many different coaches, so many different systems, it's crazy. But I love watching (Duncan). What they've been able to do is something else."

With Duncan chief among them.

"I think he's unbelievable," Bryant said of Duncan. "There's not too many of us left from that era. I just think what he has done and what the organization has done has been absolutely remarkable. Remarkable."

Duncan sees Bryant as incredible in his own right, not only because of what he accomplished in all those glory years but because of his ability to fully recover from these past two injury-plagued seasons.

"His competitive nature, more than anything (is impressive)," Duncan said. "He wants to be out there. He wants to win. He wants to do well. To see him come back from such a devastating injury to where he is now, good for him. You want to see him out there. You don't want to see anybody down."

For all their shared greatness, Bryant and Duncan do not share much of a relationship. There is mutual respect, to be sure, but Bryant said they have never dined together or interacted much at all beyond the court. Their most intimate time spent together, Bryant said, came during all those annual appearances at All-Star weekends.

"I would say we're – friendly sounds really weak – but whenever we get a chance to be around each other, we always looking forward to talking," Bryant said. "All-Star games were always a good time. We'd always find time to talk when we're near each other, and Tony and Manu as well. Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) too. I always make a point to spend about 15, 20 minutes with Pop just talking to him. I've learned quite a bit from him."

Popovich, who coached the All-Star game in 2005, 2011 and 2013, valued that time together as well.

"Since I've never had the pleasure to coach him, those All-Star deals were really fun to sit down and talk with him for 15, 20 minutes, and talk about life, basketball – a little bit of everything," Popovich said. "I really cherished those moments."

There is, Popovich said, a common thread that connects players like Duncan and Bryant.

"It's all in their heart, in their passion," he said. "(They're) highly professional, highly motivated, don't need any external motivation whatsoever. They're very special in that regard. They self motivate. They do what they need to do to stay on the court. They take care of themselves, and they love the game."

For all of Bryant's claims that he's going nowhere – he controls such matters by way of the no-trade clause in his contract – it's still hard to believe he'll be able to endure what likely lies ahead. The free agency decisions of Dwight Howard (Houston Rockets) and Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) these past two summers devastated their chances at a turnaround and left him alone. The prospect of building through the draft in the near future isn't looking promising, either.

Rookie prospect and No. 7 overall pick, Julius Randle, broke his leg in the season opener that ended his debut campaign. This came, of course, just a week after the announcement of Steve Nash's back injury. Just more of the same for the languishing Lakers based on recent history, in other words, as they led the league in 'games lost due to injury' last season at 319.

If their luck keeps up like this, they'll likely have just enough wins this season to ensure their 2015 first-round draft pick gets sent to the Phoenix Suns. The pick is top five protected as part of the sign-and-trade deal that brought Nash to the Lakers in July of 2012.

But Kobe being Kobe, he still sees hope here. He's quick to remind the cynics that things have changed quickly in Laker Land before, never more than in Feb. 2008 when Pau Gasol's arrival via trade from Memphis led to Bryant's last two titles. But he's not delusional about his current plight, either, and is even willing to admit that there may be a tinge of jealousy on Friday night when he sees Duncan and his Spurs still dominating after all these years.

"Part of me (is jealous), maybe a little bit, but the situation's different," Bryant said. "They've had consistency, had a core group, and we haven't. We've had our ups and downs, but we've turned it around pretty damned quickly and we've managed to compete and win championships, so you can't complain. There are different ways to skin a cat. They've done it that way with consistency, and we do it this way. It is what it is."

Even still, Duncan v. Bryant clearly isn't what it used to be.

credit: usatoday.com

and now, here are a couple of Video Clips of Tim and Kobe Courtesy of Sprite A Product of the Coca-Cola Compamy

OBEY YOUR THIRST

Tim and Kobe Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott


Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Juwan Howard

[isiahthomas]

Lakers got their butts kicked against the Spurs Friday even though the final score was close when it really wasn't close. Kobe was 1-14 from the field for 9 points LOL. Kobe needs to retire after this season because his teammates suck and he seemed to force bad shots because he wasn't getting any help. I see he had 44 points last night against Golden State and the Lakers got blown out LOL. I feel bad for Byron Scott because he's a good guy and he'll probably get fired after next season because I don't think he'll be there long. He got fired from Cleveland when he coached my hometown team a few years ago. He's had some success with New Jersey and New Orleans.