Pierce is not better than Kobe! Period!

[indeedproceed]

Who is this Kobe character everybody here keeps talking about???

What in the world is "Classic" about Kobe Beef?

[bring BIG AL back]

Kobe would beat PP in celebrity Jeopardy on Saturday Night Live ... if the topic was THERAPIST

[nickagneta]

Wow, 5 pages of discourse because some immature, Laker/Kobe fanatic can't understand that Pierce harmlessly said that he believed he was the best player in the NBA. What exactly does anyone expect him to say? The translation makes it sound worse than the comment actually was.

Kobe is the better player. It's okay to say so. Magic was probably better than Bird. Kareem was better than Parish. Chamberlain was probably better than Russell.

That doesn't mean I would want any of those players on the Celtics and it doesn't make Pierce, Bird, Parish, or Russell any less great.

But those Laker players, with the exception of Magic, aren't great team players. They aren't players we as Celtic fans would cheer for.

It's okay to admit they might be better players, but ultimately, we all know they wouldn't have been better Celtics because they wouldn't have lasted here with their type of games.

They play basketball. We play Celtic basketball. Big difference.

[Finkelskyhook]

Somebody cares about this because?

[greenwise]

Pierce was better than Kobe in the finals and the Celtics won the title being a team, while Kobe showed that he is not as good as he thinks of himself.

And ...Pierce was the best player in the NBA playoffs so...why can't he say he is -right now- the best player?  He proved it

[saibnel]

And Kobe is not better then Lebron! Period!

who cares, wow who thought a comment taken out of context could create such a shat storm.

[ReggieLewis#35]

I'd take Paul over the crybaby anyday!Pierce finally had other players around him and now people are talking stupid.BANNER #17!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bankshot]

And Kobe is not better then Lebron! Period!

who cares, wow who thought a comment taken out of context could create such a shat storm.

Yep.  Lebron proved in the playoffs, imo, that he was better than Kobe.  He was the only one that gave our MVP any real trouble.

Anyway, everyone but Laker fans knew Kobe didn't deserve the MVP more than CP3, Lebron or KG.  On ESPN they were even calling it "the lifetime achievement award."

[crownsy]

Wow, 5 pages of discourse because some immature, Laker/Kobe fanatic can't understand that Pierce harmlessly said that he believed he was the best player in the NBA. What exactly does anyone expect him to say? The translation makes it sound worse than the comment actually was.

Kobe is the better player. It's okay to say so. Magic was probably better than Bird. Kareem was better than Parish. Chamberlain was probably better than Russell.

That doesn't mean I would want any of those players on the Celtics and it doesn't make Pierce, Bird, Parish, or Russell any less great.

But those Laker players, with the exception of Magic, aren't great team players. They aren't players we as Celtic fans would cheer for.

It's okay to admit they might be better players, but ultimately, we all know they wouldn't have been better Celtics because they wouldn't have lasted here with their type of games.

They play basketball. We play Celtic basketball. Big difference.

TP Nick, summed up my position perfectly. well said.

[BballTim]

Wow, 5 pages of discourse because some immature, Laker/Kobe fanatic can't understand that Pierce harmlessly said that he believed he was the best player in the NBA. What exactly does anyone expect him to say? The translation makes it sound worse than the comment actually was.

Kobe is the better player. It's okay to say so. Magic was probably better than Bird. Kareem was better than Parish. Chamberlain was probably better than Russell.

  Kareem was obviously better than Parish. I didn't see Russell in his prime to comment on that. But Bird was clearly a better player than Magic. Johnson had more healthy years, so he arguably had a better career, but he wasn't as good a player. They entered the league in the same year and Bird won rookie of the year and 3 MVPs before Magic won any league-wide awards. You could argue that Magic won his first MVP because they were tired of giving it to Larry. People didn't debate whether Bird was the best player in the league in the mid-80s much more than they debated whether he was the best player of all time.

[nickagneta]

Wow, 5 pages of discourse because some immature, Laker/Kobe fanatic can't understand that Pierce harmlessly said that he believed he was the best player in the NBA. What exactly does anyone expect him to say? The translation makes it sound worse than the comment actually was.

Kobe is the better player. It's okay to say so. Magic was probably better than Bird. Kareem was better than Parish. Chamberlain was probably better than Russell.

  Kareem was obviously better than Parish. I didn't see Russell in his prime to comment on that. But Bird was clearly a better player than Magic. Johnson had more healthy years, so he arguably had a better career, but he wasn't as good a player. They entered the league in the same year and Bird won rookie of the year and 3 MVPs before Magic won any league-wide awards. You could argue that Magic won his first MVP because they were tired of giving it to Larry. People didn't debate whether Bird was the best player in the league in the mid-80s much more than they debated whether he was the best player of all time.

I said probably.

I said probably because there's a big question as to whether the statement was true.

Don't forget, Larry is 3 years older than Magic and as far as I am concerned they hit their primes at different times. Hence it is arguable that Magic was better than Bird because in Magic's prime, he was the best player in the league.

I still Larry's better but it would make a good debate.

[BUTerrier]

Wow, 5 pages of discourse because some immature, Laker/Kobe fanatic can't understand that Pierce harmlessly said that he believed he was the best player in the NBA. What exactly does anyone expect him to say? The translation makes it sound worse than the comment actually was.

Kobe is the better player. It's okay to say so. Magic was probably better than Bird. Kareem was better than Parish. Chamberlain was probably better than Russell.

That doesn't mean I would want any of those players on the Celtics and it doesn't make Pierce, Bird, Parish, or Russell any less great.

But those Laker players, with the exception of Magic, aren't great team players. They aren't players we as Celtic fans would cheer for.

It's okay to admit they might be better players, but ultimately, we all know they wouldn't have been better Celtics because they wouldn't have lasted here with their type of games.

They play basketball. We play Celtic basketball. Big difference.

Agreed. And I've been a die-hard Celtics fan since the day I was born. But it is 100% true that some people on here are getting downright ridiculous in their defense of Pierce.

I mean, "Ainge wouldn't trade for Kobe"? Do we not recall that, prior to picking up KG and Allen, he actually almost COMPLETED a Kobe for Pierce trade?

"Pierce is more skilled than Kobe?" Come on. I can't think of any statistic that Pierce outshines Kobe in over the course of his career. And, really, you can't make the "Kobe is a one-man Lakers team" argument, because Pierce has been the focal point of the Celtics for a lot longer than Kobe has the Lakers

"Pierce is a better teammate"? Come on. Pierce openly threw his teammates under the bus in the media on several occasions. Before this year, Pierce was making thinly veiled threats to Ainge in an attempt to be traded. In fact, prior to KG and Allen coming in, Pierce CAME OUT and demanded a trade.

I love Pierce, and I think he's a great player. But the blind homerism is ridiculous. Nick's absolutely right: there's nothing wrong with conceding that Kobe's a better player and that Pierce is a better fit for our team, because to suggest that Pierce is somehow a better player, to suggest that if we swapped out Pierce and Kobe the Lakers and Celtics would STILL have met in the Finals, is ludicrous.

[BballTim]

I love Pierce, and I think he's a great player. But the blind homerism is ridiculous. Nick's absolutely right: there's nothing wrong with conceding that Kobe's a better player and that Pierce is a better fit for our team, because to suggest that Pierce is somehow a better player, to suggest that if we swapped out Pierce and Kobe the Lakers and Celtics would STILL have met in the Finals, is ludicrous.

  Why is it ludicrous to suggest that if we swapped out Pierce and Kobe the Lakers and Celtics would still have met in the Finals? Not only did the Lakers blow through the West, but Pierce seemed to be playing as well in the playoffs as Kobe. He had similar assist and rebound totals and got as many points per shot as Kobe. If he was on the Lakers in the playoffs he'd have averaged closer to 30 a game than 20. You chastise people for blind homerism because they rate Pierce better than Kobe and then act like Kobe's head and shoulders above Paul. It doesn't seem to be the case. Their career stats aren't that different and Paul's played him pretty much even up over their careers.

[ma11l]

In the Finals PIERCE WAS BETTER THAN KOBE! PERIOD. PIERCE=FINALS MVP , KOBE=SORE LOSER which players don't like to play with

Can't argue this point.  They've played against each other once with it all on the line and Pierce was by far the better of the two.


The fact that he is a good teammate and a better character guy (but who isn't compared to Kobe?) helps his case as well.


Sure Kobe has better numbers, but I'd rather have Paul on my team any day of the week. 

[saibnel]

Wow, 5 pages of discourse because some immature, Laker/Kobe fanatic can't understand that Pierce harmlessly said that he believed he was the best player in the NBA. What exactly does anyone expect him to say? The translation makes it sound worse than the comment actually was.

Kobe is the better player. It's okay to say so. Magic was probably better than Bird. Kareem was better than Parish. Chamberlain was probably better than Russell.

That doesn't mean I would want any of those players on the Celtics and it doesn't make Pierce, Bird, Parish, or Russell any less great.

But those Laker players, with the exception of Magic, aren't great team players. They aren't players we as Celtic fans would cheer for.

It's okay to admit they might be better players, but ultimately, we all know they wouldn't have been better Celtics because they wouldn't have lasted here with their type of games.

They play basketball. We play Celtic basketball. Big difference.

Agreed. And I've been a die-hard Celtics fan since the day I was born. But it is 100% true that some people on here are getting downright ridiculous in their defense of Pierce.

I mean, "Ainge wouldn't trade for Kobe"? Do we not recall that, prior to picking up KG and Allen, he actually almost COMPLETED a Kobe for Pierce trade?

"Pierce is more skilled than Kobe?" Come on. I can't think of any statistic that Pierce outshines Kobe in over the course of his career. And, really, you can't make the "Kobe is a one-man Lakers team" argument, because Pierce has been the focal point of the Celtics for a lot longer than Kobe has the Lakers

"Pierce is a better teammate"? Come on. Pierce openly threw his teammates under the bus in the media on several occasions. Before this year, Pierce was making thinly veiled threats to Ainge in an attempt to be traded. In fact, prior to KG and Allen coming in, Pierce CAME OUT and demanded a trade.

I love Pierce, and I think he's a great player. But the blind homerism is ridiculous. Nick's absolutely right: there's nothing wrong with conceding that Kobe's a better player and that Pierce is a better fit for our team, because to suggest that Pierce is somehow a better player, to suggest that if we swapped out Pierce and Kobe the Lakers and Celtics would STILL have met in the Finals, is ludicrous.

There are just too many different levels to answer this question on. Honestly, PP is like my adopted child, but if you asked me to rate NBA players he would probably be behind everybody's favorite sexual offender.

But in sports it is all about match ups, and honestly PP gives Kobe a lot more trouble then Kobe has given PP throught out their careers and typically kobe has had a lot more help. PP is a more efficient scorer over their careers with out the benefit of getting Kobe calls.

Paul is a bad matchup for Kobe in the same way Lebron is a terrible match up for Paul.. It is not perposterous to suggest that Pierce is better then Kobe when you look at their entire head to head career match ups. Really everything else is just speculation.

ps- Kobe's d is way overrated, he gets defensive first team honors for the same reason Barry Bonds has multiple gold gloves. Offense and press adoration can win you any award out there