Center Court wrote:[Accepting them for who are and who they are not is one thing. It's a completely different to make excuses for their every move. It's nothing like comparing Jordan and Kobe or Dr. Buss to barely Buss. That's a silly comparrison.
It's not silly of a comparison at all. It's completely reasonable.
Dwight Howard will never live up to Kobe Bryant. No one will. Even if we got Kevin Durant, he said recently that there are some situations where he won't take a shot to save his FG%. Most posters here said "Kobe would never do that". That in itself is a comparison negatively to Kobe. Durant isn't the same defender as Kobe, he'd get exposed there. He doesn't have a post game. Etc. Etc. LeBron doesn't always have the same killer mentality as Kobe, even though he's the best in the game right now.
What's so unreasonable to think that comparing Dwight Howard to Kobe Bryant will always result negatively for Howard? We've been doing it all season. It's silly to think that DOESN'T apply here.
Center Court wrote:What we are talking about is a fundamental level of accountability and pride that all the NBA greats have shown. If he doesn't have Kobe's, then so be it.
And again, who are we comparing him to all season? "His shoulder is hurt? Well Kobe played through it". "Kobe wouldn't give us that kind of effort on the floor". Etc.
Why not compare him to Shaq? Mr. You've Got to Feed the Big Dog if You Want Him to Protect the House. The same Shaq who was NEVER accountable for his actions. The Shaq comparisons were rampant to Howard before he got here, but once he got here so many seemed to forget that side of his personality. Roos didn't and he was prepared for this behavior. He warned so many of you but everyone brushed it aside. I listened, but I just didn't care enough about that side of him to care that much about it. I guess that's why I'm saying what I'm saying now.
But if he wants to be a superstar and all time great then he needs to play the part as much as possible. Not mope around the way he does-- especially on the court.
Again, Kobe Bryant won't mope but outside of that you don't see what you're saying all that often. We've seen LeBron mope. We've seen Wade mope. We've seen Shaq mope. We've seen Kobe mope when he was younger. It's about maturity and if you want to tell me that Howard needs to grow up, I won't disagree, but you're talking about accountability like EVERY Champion has always exhibited that throughout their career.
We're not going to win this year most likely because Howard isn't ready. That doesn't mean he CAN'T be ready. We've seen growth from these kinds of players before. Shaq did it, then he regressed, but it's still there. It's still possible. And that's all for a different discussion.
What I'm saying is that it's ridiculous to hold Howard to Kobe's standard and we've got to get past that.
It's not about being the "next person", it's about being a true star. And if you look around the NBA, there are a many of guys who fit the mold. Maybe Dwight is just not cut from the same cloth.
LeBron
Wade
Durant
CP3
Melo
Kobe
Rose
KG
Dwight is in the same category as those guys, yet he never just goes out and competes the way they did.
Whoa wait a minute...
Kobe is a 5 time champion and a veteran. He's got a different cloth.
LeBron didn't start acting this way until after his embarassment in the 2011 Finals. He was pretty much the same as Howard. Wade is the biggest baby in the league. Carmelo hasn't won but a handful of playoff games and he's a better competitor? Garnett is like Kobe. Rose hasn't played in a year. Paul might be the ONLY guy with the same competitive energy as Kobe Bryant.
Howard is fresh off of BACK surgery. Have you watched him in the playoffs in 2011 against Atlanta? He dominated that team. He has the ability to be competitive like that when he's healthy. If you think what you're seeing from him now is the norm, you've not watched him before this season. The Dwight we have isn't anywhere near the Dwight he was before the surgery and he won't be anywhere near that for probably another 6 months or so.
But to lump him in with a perennial loser like Carmelo?... Whoa.
