what would happen... my take, lakers still win like 40 games. Magic Win about 10 games. just shows how much better tmac is than kobe...
I don't think that is a fair analysis. A team with one stud player (Kobe, no Shaq) should be at least mediocre. See Philidelphia, Minnesota etc. While a team with no studs (Orlando less TMac) should suck. I think a better way to look at it would be what if they traded teams. As things currently are Orlando wins 40-50 games and LA goes at least to the conference finals. Now if TMac and Kobe were traded one for one, would you expect Orlando or LA to do significantly different? If no, the players are substantially equal, which is my guess.
Originally posted by Pat That is exactly my point when it comes to the Kobe and TMac debate. Kobe is great but he is not signifigantly better than TMac if better at all. TMac on the Laks and they've just come off a beat down of the Nets in the NBA Finals. But Kobe on the Magic and theyre coming off a 1st round loss to the Hornets, period.
I seem to remember the "stud"-less 1999-2000 Orlando Magic playing some pretty exciting basketball and even competing for a playoff spot. Unless I am mistaken, Doc Rivers was honored with the NBA Coach of the Year award. Even more odd -- the public appeared genuinely interested in seeing a bunch of no-names playing team basketball and winning. During that offseason they added Tracy MacGrady and Grant Hill and apparently abandoned the whole concept of "team play." Now, instead of moving the ball around, they just let T-Mac jack up nearly 30 shots a game. And look at all they have to show for it -- a couple of early exits from the playoff.
It's not that cut and dry - all it means, MagicFan, is that McGrady is more valuable to the Magic than Kobe is to the Lakers; it has no bearing on who is the better player.
Without Francis the Rockets were like 1-18. So going by that logic Francis is better then Kobe or Tmac.
Kobe without Shaq= Lakers win 30 games; lottery bound Orlando without T-Mac= Magic win 20 games; hell bound
*** The Magic will still have some good games. But, in crunch time they will suffer. TMac is the team. But Orlando needs to show me they can win with Tmac too. And where's this guy called Grant Hill? What about his health? They could have a very good starting line-up if they would just stay healthy. *** Kobe will UP his scoring average to 28ppg. Then, something strange will happen. Phil Jackson will realize that there's no Shaq to bailout Kobe and the gang when they desperately need points. See, Shaq gives you those "sure thing points." Once this happens, Kobe will try to save the team (forcing shots). He'll help win some games, lose some games. Then, and only then, will they realize how much Shaq dominates. Game plan for the rest of the league? Force Rick Fox to beat them.
Put Kobe in the East on any team and Jim O'Brien will give him the counterfeit MVP award he originally got for Jason Kidd...
If T-Mac is traded to a Shaqless Lakers in exchange for Kobe what'll happen? That's a better Q to ask. My take is the Lakers will fail to make the playoffs with only T-Mac in the wild wild west, and Kobe will bring the Magic into playoffs by tearing up the weak east then into the second round of playoffs with his proven clutchness and big game leadership.
this make absolutly no sense. If you take shaq out then you will measure how much more wins a team with shaq gets than a team without.. Not kobe. and you can't compare these two on different teams. The lakers are build around shaq and kobe, the magic only around t-mac. and the magic are in the east. the only way to measure is to trade the kobe and t-mac, and even then it isn't fare because is is a team sport.and a team gets the wins, not a individual. i'm gettin tired of these T-mac > kobe or Kobe. T-mac. you can't compare Them.
I know the Magic will still be 1 and done and the Lakers would be coming off a ring b/c Kobe and TMac are the same player. They numbers are very similar so they are basically interchangeable. Kobe could not lead a team whose starting frontcourt consisted of Horace Grant, Steven Hunter, and Mike Miller much further than TMac. No one (except maybe MJ in his prime, MAYBE) could do it.
