NbaTalk recently posted a poll, "what is the best draft class of the 90's?". To take that same idea a bit further, I was wondering what you all thought would be the All-90's draft team. It's interesting because many of you have labeled Steve Francis as the best guard to come out in years. Mine would have to be: F Garnett F Hill C O'neal G Iverson G Kidd Second team: F Webber F Carter C Mourning G Sprewell G Francis
Duncan is on your third team? I wouldn't have a problem sending this team out against your 2nd team. F R Wallace or A McDyess F SAR C T Duncan G G Payton G A Houston or K Bryant Mango [This message has been edited by Mango (edited March 10, 2000).]
Man, I forgot all about TD and Kobe. 1st Team: F Duncan F Garnett C Oneal G Iverson G Kidd 2nd Team: F Hill F Carter C Mourning G Bryant G Francis
thacabbage-- I'm okay with your first team except for Iverson. He would never start ahead of Kobe on mine.
DoD: Yes, I definitely would. Payton looked like a bust in his early years and didn't come on as a superstar until a few years back. Francis and Iverson have already shown us, very early in their careers, that they have the ability to carry their teams. I'm not embarrassed when I predict that Francis will become the best point guard in the NBA by the time he ends his 3rd year in the league.
Ok, maybe I'm just misunderstanding the intent of the thread. I thought we were looking at the best players drafted in the 90's irregardless of how they started out. In my opinion, there's no way Francis makes the top team in that respect (at least not yet) and no way Gary Payton doesn't make the top team. Anywho : F Grant Hill F Kevin Garnett C Shaquille O'Neal G Jason Kidd G Gary Payton I agree with your comments about Francis having the potential to become the best point guard in the league in about 2-3 years. His biggest competition for that title is Jason Kidd. ------------------ <this space for rent>
Cabbagehead You'd put Francis and Iverson ahead of Payton? ------------------ <this space for rent>
If I were trying to put the best team together--not neccesary the best five players, my team would be Oneal, Duncan, Garnett, Kobe & Payton. Hey isn't that the Western all-star team except for Payton/Kidd switch? My second team would be Zo, Hill, Carter, Iverson & Kidd, very similar to the East team this year, no? My first team would pound them inside and beat them 7 or 8 out of 10 times however. If you substituted in Webber at a forward and Penny at a guard (we forget because of how he plays now, but he was damn good back about 5 years ago) they would have a better chance because of size. My 80's team of Hakeem, Barkley (yes you could go with Malone for longevity, but for a shorter period, Chuck was more dominant), Bird, MJ & Magic would thoroughly kick all there a**es though.
McHale was a great player, but I think Barkley and Malone were better. You put them in their primes along side Bird and Parrish and those Boston teams wouldn't skip a beat. McHale probably would be #3 at PF in th 80's, but I haven't thought about it real closely. Maybe Rambis or that clone of Rhambis for the 6ers (named IvanaTrumpAroni I think) was better than McHale too. [This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited March 14, 2000).]
wow, sir you dissapoint me. McHale was "The Most Unstoppable" forward in the NBA until he hurt his foot. He was way better than Barkley, and Malone isnt even in the same league. McHale's stats dont reflect how good he truly was because the celtics played a team game. McHale specialized, like Malone at the pick-n-roll, however, in the low post he was unstoppable. He also possesed a mid-range jumper. He was the total package.
Bob, just got to disagree on this one. Malone can do just about anything McHale could, and is more of a physical presense. Also, Barkley, in his prime, could do things that allowed him to dominant the court in ways both the others couldn't dreamed of, so I would still pick him first. You surround either Malone or Chuck with Bird and Parrish (dropping McHale), they might have gotton over the Lakers one extra time, IMHO.
Just to politely interject... I don't think Malone and Barkley could do all the things McHale could. Kevin was a master in the post. He invented soooooo many post moves it isn't even funny. Ive seen Hakeem use several of McHales post moves. Not too mention he could stroke it from outside, rebound, play great individual and team D, and pass. McHale too me was a better all around player than both of those guys if you go prime years compared. But Barkley and Malone get the nod for the years they put in.
McHale was drafted in 1980. http://www.nba.com/history/draft8081.html Parish was drafted in 1976 by Golden State. He was mentioned in the context of playing on a Boston team with Bird and McHale and not in the sense of being a top 80's drafted player. Bird and Magic had their first NBA seasons in 1979-1980. So if you want to be technical on that, you are right. Summary: Your corrections are right on two out four players that you named.. Mango [This message has been edited by Mango (edited March 15, 2000).]
Barkley and Malone were both way better than McHale. Isn't Malone 2nd only to Jabaar now in total points? Of course we know about Barkley and his combination of pts, rebs, and assists. McHale never saw double teams. You can do whatever you want when you're not double-teamed. Bird made McHale into a great player, much like Magic made Worthy into one, and Jordan made Pippen into one. Barkley and Malone were great on their own, they didn't need anyone else. Stick McHale on the Suns or the Jazz and tell me if you think those teams ever go to the Finals. Do you think a tandem of Stockton/McHale or KJ/McHale would ever have a chance at a ring? Heck, McHale didn't even start for a while. If McHale's the best power forward ever, Pippen's the best small forward ever, followed closely by Worthy. ------------------
Freak: You obviously never saw McHale in his prime. Try to get a hold of some video of celtic games in '85. Bird was injured and McHale carried the celtics. I agree Malone and Barkley performed over a longer period of time, but, they were not better than McHale in his prime. ------------------ I took a course in speed waiting. Now I can wait an hour in only ten minutes- Steven Wright
