Please, don't even compare MoPete to Kobe. MoPete isn't even as good as Raja Bell. MoPete is not a stopper, he doesn't stop people, he's an above average defender who is good at beating people to the spot and taking charges, but Raja is even better than him at that. When Kobe wants to, he can shut down players, he's definately far superior to MoPete. Also Kobe in Bowen's role where all he does is play defense would be a superior defender. Also AK47 doesnt really shut people down man to man, his strength lies in his help defense and disrupting with his length, but Kobe is a better man to man perimeter defender than him. Also with Wade learning from Kobe, he's practiving agaisnt someone who's actually good offensively. Practicing with Bowen and having to stop him offensively does not prove anything about your defense.
you know why he's falling in love with his jumper??? coz' it's easier! nobody, and i mean nobody can play like wade is right now for the whole of their career! duh! just like MJ, KOBE, TMAC, VC... everybody will learn when to force it and when to lie low... nobody's body would last if you beat it up like that... look at AI, he's good but you could see that his body is slowly fading away in terms of athleticism
AI just had his highest career PPG, and you're arguing that his body is fading away? He's not dunking or anything, but his quickness and speed hasn't gone anywhere. You're not wrong though, players do need to get an outside game. Thing is Wade has had one since last year, not in terms of three's, but mid-range. Having an outside game does not mean three's, but now with three's in his arsenal it also helps.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 02civic:</div><div class="quote_post">Wade with defence WOULD be great...but why do people make a deal about him learning defence from Kobe. I mean kobe is a solid defender...but he's not THAT much better than a Mo Pete and he's certainly not a Ron Artest, Bruce Bowen or AK47 or Billups. Hell i'd actually say he would be better learning defence from the Battier's, Eddie Jones' and the Gerald Wallaces of the world. Kobe's a solid defender, but he's not among the best in the league like the million people with Kobe Bryant sigs would have you believe</div> Last time I checked, Kobe made the All-Defensive First Team while MoPete got...nothing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Hell i'd actually say he would be better learning defence from the Battier's, Eddie Jones' and the Gerald Wallaces of the world</div> Gerald Wallace? Gerald Wallace is a guy who's defense comes from athleticism. Obviously he also has the timing for blocking shots, but Wade would probably know as much or more about man to man defense than Wallace. What would he learn from him, how to jump higher? How to hustle? Gerald Wallace is a good and improving defender, he get's blocks and steals, and hustles, but he's not yet shutting people down man to man, and he doesn't have team defensive impact. Again, a big thing about playing with Kobe is the fact that you're practicing agaisnt a 35 PPG scorer. The best scorer in the NBA right now. Playing against Bowen definately does not give you anything close to that, none of the guys you mentioned give that. Kobe's effort on the floor in terms of being a consistent defender in games has nothing to do with how he would be in a practice situation. When Kobe is putting his all into it, he's as good as Ron Artest, Battier or Bruce Bowen man to man, and better than everyone else mentioned there. Eddie Jones is old now, though young Eddie was nice. Eddie could teach some tricks and stuff, but again, constantly defending against a 35 PPG scorer > whoever else. Also I'm pretty sure he said he would work with Payton too, so he's getting all the tricks and everything along with practicing agaisnt a great offensive player. Payton in his prime was a better man to man defender than anyone we've mentioned here. Lastly I don't know why you would mentioned Billups along with Ron, Bowen and AK. Billups is not a stopper, not even close. He's a good defender who is advanced to very good defender because he plays on an excellent defensive team. Billups could teach Wade even less than Kobe can, as Kobe is a better defender, no doubt. How good do you think Kobe would defensively on the Pistons? I'm very stunned at that one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 02civic:</div><div class="quote_post">Wade with defence WOULD be great...but why do people make a deal about him learning defence from Kobe. I mean kobe is a solid defender...but he's not THAT much better than a Mo Pete and he's certainly not a Ron Artest, Bruce Bowen or AK47 or Billups. Hell i'd actually say he would be better learning defence from the Battier's, Eddie Jones' and the Gerald Wallaces of the world. Kobe's a solid defender, but he's not among the best in the league like the million people with Kobe Bryant sigs would have you believe</div> Kobe Bryant learned a lot of his defensive techniques from Eddie Jones. Kobe is world's better on defense than MoPete. Ron Artest and Chauncey Billups use strength to out muscle the offensive player, Wade isn't built like those two so it's a bad comparison. I've always felt Bruce Bowen is overrated on defense from a technical standpoint. What he's good at is irritating players by being over aggressive with his hands. He'll slap, grab, scratch, trip, and under cut you to get you off your game mentally and frustrate you into taking bad shots. Shane Battier would be a great mentor on defense, but if you read the post, Wade wants to learn how Kobe approaches the game mentally on defense. Both players have the added responsibility to be the 1st or 2nd option in most games (something Battier doesn't have), so Wade needs to learn when to choose his spots. Also like OG15 mentioned, going one on one with Kobe all summer is going to vastly improve his defense. Wade will probably pick up some of Kobe's moves as well to add to his offensive portfolio. Imagine how effective Wade would be if he learns the fade away jumper from the elbows and/or swinging his arms up and under the defender to draw the foul and still get his shot off. This was a move Kobe picked up from Tim Duncan two years ago.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe picked up from Tim Duncan two years ago.</div> And boy, are they good at it. And yeah, for a perimeter player, there simply is no one better to train with than Kobe. I simply can't believe that Kobe and Mo Pete were mentioned in the same sentence that didn't say anything about a poster. As for Bruce Bowen, he can be pretty good at getting his hands on the ball, too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post"> Shane Battier would be a great mentor on defense, but if you read the post, Wade wants to learn how Kobe approaches the game mentally on defense. Both players have the added responsibility to be the 1st or 2nd option in most games (something Battier doesn't have), so Wade needs to learn when to choose his spots. </div> That's a great point. I've never thought of that. I guess theres an added element of knowing when to go all out on D and when save some gas in the tank for offense. Didn't Wade elbow Kobe? If so wouldn't there be a bit of friction b/w them?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NaKz:</div><div class="quote_post">Didn't Wade elbow Kobe? If so wouldn't there be a bit of friction b/w them?</div> Yeah he did, it was out of frustration because Kobe elbowed him first but didn't get called for it.That kind of stuff isn't personal, its part of the game. The still hugged after the game. I play in a rec league every year that my high school coach plays in. I talk trash everytime that I score on him, and use sneaky defensive tactics (slapping his arms where the ref can't see, etc). but its not personal. You learn to leave that kind of stuff on the court. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Please, don't even compare MoPete to Kobe.</div> LOL, OG15 I'm putting that quote in my sig.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LOL, OG15 I'm putting that quote in my sig.</div>
Whatever....if you want to talk about Wade benefitting from defending a solid offensive player in Kobe, thats fine...MoPete cant offer that. If you're talking about one player giving tips, advice and helping establish a defensive frame of mind I dont see the big drop off from Kobe to MoPete. Do i think Kobe is a better defender than MoPete? Yes, for sure. Do i think that Kobe is worlds better than MoPete STRICLTY defensively? No, not personally. Kobe's a solid defender, but in my opinion he gets to much credit because of the simple fact that not that many incredibly talented offensive players also play defense. So when one comes along that DOES, its blown out of proportion.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 02civic:</div><div class="quote_post">Wade with defence WOULD be great...but why do people make a deal about him learning defence from Kobe. I mean kobe is a solid defender...but he's not THAT much better than a Mo Pete and he's certainly not a Ron Artest, Bruce Bowen or AK47 or Billups. Hell i'd actually say he would be better learning defence from the Battier's, Eddie Jones' and the Gerald Wallaces of the world. </div> I'm fine with people saying Kobes a great defender, but when someone said with payton and kobe another kid completly ignored payton... Payton was one of the greatest guard defenders of all time, certainly above Kobes level.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post"> I've always criticized Wade's defense and have gone as far as to say it's piss poor. +</div> Piss poor? While Wade doesn't have empecable defence, it is surely not piss poor. Hes actually a very good defender. If you watch him, hes always giving the other guy a hard shot, coming up with steals, blocking shots, or ripping a ball to give a steal to someone else. He seems like hes always with energy on defence, and has good, if not then very good defence. But piss poor???
