Kobe Bryant (photo. Chris Sembrot)Last week’s Wizards season preview turned into an argument over Caron Butler’s place among the NBA’s small-forward hierarchy: I said Caron might be #2, while others argued for Pierce and Carmelo. But throughout that debate, it went without question — without even having to mention his name — that LeBron leads the pack as the #1 small forward in the game.
Maybe not anymore. Phil Jackson has been experimenting in Lakers’ camp and playing Kobe Bryant at the three — moving Lamar Odom to point guard while sliding Derek Fisher over to the two. If this turns into more than an experiment, how would Kobe adapt? His entire career under Phil he’s been playing the Jordan role in the triangle; moving to Pippen’s spot could change his game immensely at age 30.
It’s a cute idea and you can imagine some of the matchup problems L.O. would present running the point, but where this plan falls apart for me is having Fisher at the two. Yes, he has a tendency to jack up ill-advised shots (especially when Kobe is on a roll) and often seems to pass only as a last resort, but Fish isn’t a shooting guard. The Lakers open the preseason tomorrow against the Jazz, so we’ll see how the lineup looks then, but I don’t expect Kobe to be anything but L.A.’s starting two-guard when the games really count.
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October 6th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
kermit the washington says:
Wow. What ever happened to
1.) Farmar
2.) Kobe
3.) Lamar
4.) Pau
5.) Bynum?
Actually, now that I typed that, I only could see Lamar hurting someone in that lineup for some reason. Never mind!
October 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Ian says:
austin
who started the caron argument?? hehehe
well if kobe moves to the three then caron is 3rd or 4th best sf over marion and melo
imo of course
October 6th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Tyrone says:
The Black Mamba is the shit y’all. Cat’s got mad, mad game and will excel at any position. Cat can get mad hoops, dish some wicked dimes and make sick buckets.
True thugz never lie.
Tryone
October 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
cesar says:
this is BS
October 6th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Ian says:
tyrone
at every position really???
October 6th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Blue says:
i saw kobe and his wife on friday over at Knott’s Halloween Haunt. dude had all of Knott’s security with him!! it’s funny how grown men turn into 15 year old girls when a sports star comes around…
anyway, they let him on the ride we were waiting in line for…just straight up, making us all wait while he gets to ride TWICE without waiting in line!!! i wanted to go up to him and ask him if he could get me D-Wade’s autograph! hahaha
October 6th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
MC3PO says:
I think it’s unnecessary to make a post that says, “Kobe is really good at basketball.”
True Teachers Never Grade at Home.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
kfb says:
and if they move him to the 3 he’ll be second best to Lebron.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Tyrone is a Queer says:
Tyrone go back to the ghetto from whence you came… uneducated dumb arse.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Tyrone says:
All them haters do is hate y’all. Haters go to rest - ain’t nobody care what shit y’all believe in.
True thugs never lie.
Tyrone.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
Kobe’s the best 2 guard in the game, and i really dont expect him to be playing any other position when its clutch time.
But if he does move him to the 3, Kobe would excel, but why fuck with a situation that already works? He would have to adapt his game tremendously to become the best 3 in the game, different position means he’ll be graded differently.
Its not worth it, they’re better off keeping him at the 2.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Tbeezy says:
He played a decent amount at the 3 last year. They would bring in Farmar, Sasha, and run Kobe at the 3 and everything went just fine. Lakers will figure it out. Lamar will get in where he fits in and The Zen Master will make it work.
October 6th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
craig990 says:
Loll.. i think it was me and you Ian.. that started the Caron argument!
We had diff.. opinion’s… u cant start an argument if there is only one side.
October 6th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Dagomar says:
Sorry Austin, if Kobe’s at the three Bron’s still the best SF in the league.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Pete Casey says:
I second Dagomar.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Big V says:
I highly doubt that this “experiment” will last a preseason quarter.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
BMW says:
I guess that leaves D Wade to be the best two guard in the league
October 6th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
the mamba says:
Lamar is actually a lot better passer than fish and phil loves having hieght at that pg spot.
Odom
Sasha
Kobe
Pau
Bynum
I like that lineup, especially with 1 through 3 able to get the break started
October 6th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
biggeddy says:
Here is one thing about the triangle… the “Jordan” role is the team’s #1 scoring option, while the “Pippen” role is the desgnated playmaker. During the Shaq/Kobe days, Shaq played the Jordan role (much differently then Jordan would) and Kobe played the Pippen role. Since Shaq’s been gone, he’s been playing the “Jordan” role and will continue to do so no matter what position he plays on the court. I still like the idea of bringing Lamar off the bench and letting him abuse the 2nd team defenses more. Hey, Manu comes off the bench and he was an MVP candidate, Odom could definitely do some damage there.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
xstatic says:
Tyrone says:
All them haters do is hate y’all. Haters go to rest - ain’t nobody care what shit y’all believe in.
True thugs never lie.
Tyrone.
______________________________
True thugs never post in message boards.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Hoosiers says:
Haha, careful, tyrone might have some thuggish emoticon to throw up!
October 6th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Magnifico says:
article falls short of its intention to create another angle of discussion between LBJ and Kobe fans, both lebron and kobe are the best players regardless of position so kobe moving to the 3 is like saying lebron will move to the 2 just because. it doesn’t matter for these players - they will dominate.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
JRUF says:
No need for a real ball handler in the tri anyway, so…
PG Odom
SG Sasha
SF Kobe
PF Gasol
C Bynum
might just work. I’d try it, at least in spurts. No one can match up with that team and Sasha or Kobe can guard the opposing team’s PG, just as long as its not Paul, Deron, Parker, or one of the other quick cats.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Ian says:
craig
yup lol and the best part is that it lasted 3 days
but really u can make a case for all the players we mentioned except prince
October 7th, 2008 at 1:20 am
yoda says:
well, few years ago kobe played some kind of sf for lakers, when he bulked up during summer, just so he could play sf. it might be year when caron played for lakers too, can’t be sure. but i remeber that kobe was way slower back then, due to all those muscles and additional weight.
October 7th, 2008 at 2:51 am
JC says:
Kobe’s entire career under phil he did NOT play the Jordan position in the triangle. Kobe did a TV interview a few years back where he talked about how he played the PIPPEN role his entire time while playing with Shaq. If you think about it, it makes sense. In the jordan-era triangle MJ spent a lot of time posting or catching in the mid post area in the half court set. While Jordan may have had the ability to step out and do other things, he and Shaq still had the same role in the O. I wish someone could find that interview Kobe did. talkin about it. Either way, Kobe’s role doesnt change on offense much honestly. Now Odom is intiating the offense where it used to be D-Fish… i like it! Maybe this will help O… although it wont change his matchups really.
October 7th, 2008 at 2:55 am
Sam says:
Either way, LeBron is the best player in the world.
October 7th, 2008 at 8:49 am
M Intellect says:
Tyrone,
I understand that’s your trademark signoff and rather then knock it, I can understand it and EVEN agree with what your trying to say… but please can you abbreviate that shit to ‘TTNL’ or something because everytime I read the full ‘quote’, I laugh so hard the rest of my desk starts laughing too.
Then I obviously have to try and explain the whole situation to them, all the while translating it in into the ancient langugage of NERDISH, which ends up in them ultimately asking me why I frequent a website where people say that type of stuff, they then assume I am an undercover hoodrat, apply negative social stereotypes thus fucking up my promotion prospects.
In short - YOU ARE FUCKING UP MY CAREER. PLEASE CAN YOU STOP IT.
October 7th, 2008 at 8:58 am
control says:
biggeddy,
Don’t be getting too crazy with Manu being an MVP candidate. He’s a fairly skilled player who adds some energy off the bench. That does not equal MVP, he will never win MVP while Kobe, Bron, KG, Nash, etc still play.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:23 am
justice says:
kobe will stay in the scorer role no question, but having bynum they can go smaller with sasha and kobe on the wings and bring L.O off the bench, as long as vlad doesn’t start!
October 7th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Kudabeen says:
It’s not a video game. If Lamar, Kobe and Fisher are on the court together the defensive matchups are still the same. Now if LO Kobe, and Ariza was on the floor, that would be a problem matchups
October 7th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Ian says:
control
u didnt understand the post biggeddy wrote
he didnt say he was going to win but manu was a candidate if you are top 8 in the voting u r a candidate
October 7th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
control says:
How is Manu in the top 8? Hard to make a case for him being in the Top 2 for his own team…
Please don’t be saying he is more valuable to the Spurs than TD, that would just prove you have drank the Koolaid (directly out of Manu’s dick).