Kobe Bryant, World's Top Defender
FanHouse —
Down goes Brazil
Lakers Blog —
Kobe Will Guard You 80 Feet From the Action
The Association —
... Kobe completely shut down Leandro Barbosa during USA's 113-76 beatdown of Brazil. Barbosa was previously leading the tournament in scoring at 27 per game, but ended up with just 4 points on 1-7 shooting with Kobe all over him. Chris Sheridan explains how Kobe locked down Barbosa from the very beginning: ...
Bryant becomes ‘pacesetter’ for Team USA
The Lakers Nation —
This Is Kobe's Time
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... when he stated he would love to leave Indiana and play for the Lakers, but he has since rescinded perhaps at the request of Larry Legend that comment. Bryant is stranded. No man is an island but Kobe will give it a shot. You think Mitch Kupchak, the same man who traded Shaquille O Neal, will trade Kobe Bryant? Nah, me neither. Well, not unless he wants death threats every day for the rest of his life. Bryant isn t going anywhere, and if the Lakers are looking for a better supporting cast, then re-signing Luke Walton (their only off-season move to-date mind you) isn t probably gonna do it. So what is going to happen? Well, Bryant will play with the proverbial chip on his shoulder this season. He will treat every opponent like he treated Leandro Barbosa in the TOA. He will have little regard for his supporting cast (Walton, Kwame Brown and the highly-skilled yet consistently under-pe ...
FanHouse: Tue AM 'Vick Post-Mortem' Edition
John Clifford Ness —
... : Barbosa certainly noticed a difference. From ESPN.com: "He don't guard like that in the NBA, but he did tonight and I was impressed," Barbosa told ESPN.com. "He came to guard me, and that was good practice for me. I learned a lot of things the way he was guarding me." To put things in perspective: this is the Brazilian Blur. The fastest guy in the NBA, and nearly unstoppable if he gets any room to accelerate. ...
