1). Let me shut you up by asking you this. Stop throwing me random stats and tell me, do YOU believe in player rankings? Coz as I said in two of my posts, which you've conveniently ignored, I don't. And you know what, if you look around the web (including ESPN), there aren't a lot of NBA player rankings like this. It's stupid and makes no sense and analysts know better than to do a broad and generic ranking. I personally think it's meaningless and everyone will give you a slightly different top 5 list. According to Hollinger's latest PER, your boy Lebron isn't even in the TOP 5. Granted Kobe didn't even make the top 10. We all know ESPN loves Lebron with the whole "The Decision" and all...but hey it's all just marketing and ratings right? I'm not surprised if you turn out to be a Lebron fanboy with a name like TMAC. Heck, they both have a lot in common. Tremendously gifted but come up short when it really matters. Stat padding can get you ESPN highlights and scoring champs but it won't win you respect in the league. I would say that in the SF position, Lebron is tops...but if you look at the stats, Durant is on his heels. Last season, Durant posted higher PPG (27.6 vs 26.7) and FT% (88 vs 75.9). Durant's rebound is also catching up to Lebron (6.8 vs 7.5). The only thing he needs to work on is his assist, which makes sense for Lebron since he tends to play the PG role a lot. 2). What do you mean Heat can't do jack with Lebron putting up low numbers? What happened in the Finals??? I think Wade and Bosh did just fine keeping their team in the mix. Mavs won coz they're a better team whereas Heat have three stars and a bunch of scrubs. You can't win championship without a cohesive team. In fact, there's only so many points and possession to go around amongst the 5 players on the court. If Lebron has a monster game, say 40+ points, it'll probably cause other plays to score less and getting less touches. In this case and in your own words, the Heat really can't do jack if Lebron takes over and goes off on a one-man show. If he score 18, it's actually a good thing for the Heat. But he needs to dominate in the 4th quarter more often, which is usually when games are decided. 3). Lebron may be a SF but he ain't small. Lebron did shut Rose down, as he should. He's much bigger physically than Rose, which is why it's called mismatch. It's not because Rose is a worse player. 4). By the way, I don't think Dwight does everything. He rebounds and blocks very well. Has a well documented one-dimensional but pretty efficent low post game. And that's about it. His turnover ratio (21.2) is one of the highest in the league and the highest amongst the so called superstars. His assist numbers are apg is abysmal at 1.4 and he wasn't even the best rebounder in the league last year. Kevin Love had a higher RPG than Dwight. Not to mention he's a FT liability like Shaq at around 59.6%. Basically Dwight dunks and blocks shots really well and does everything else average. That's it. 5). Lastly, Bryant was voted into last year's NBA All-Defensive First Team. I don't know if you can call Bryant as having weak defense. Rose got pretty good votes for First Team but just missed the cut-off.
LOL, Kobe had much better performance than LeBron against the same Championship team. In finals LeBron couldn't even top Bosh in terms of performance. LeBron needs to worry about being the top dog in the team first. Case closed.
Bynum didn't outperform Kobe in playoff, unlike Wade and LeBron. You can talk about future all day long. But you can't change the history.
Are you sure about that? Have you seen the advanced stats for their playoff performances? And you can talk about the past all day long. But you can't change the present.
Your way off base mate. I don't understand how you can still think Kobe is a top 5 player and Dwight isn't. At this point I think its debateable whether Kobe is better than Manu right now.
1) I do believe in players' rankings b/c the MAJORITY of the people do believe Lebron James is the best player in the league RIGHT NOW. Obviously, no ranking is EVER unanimous. But if you watch the NBA, you do have a sense of which players are truly in that top exclusive top 5. If you dont' believe in player's rankings, then how you do judge one player is better than the other? Lebron is not a unanimous choice yet b/c he hasn't won yet. If he did win a ring, it would be 100%. Right now, it's not, and understandably so. It's VERY EASY for me to rank my top 2 and you can flip them however you want, but they are Lebron and Howard. They are THE ONLY TWO players right now who actually dominate games on BOTH ENDS on a consistent basis. And I'm not even talking about stats, just watch them play on both ends and how their team revolves around them on both ends. 2) For you to compare Durant to Lebron shows you don't even watch basketball. Does Durant have the responsibility to create plays for his team? NO Does Durant have to anchor his team's defense? NO 3) For Wade's point, my point was to counter your point that Wade was the lead dog. Wade played worse in the conference finals vs the Bulls and the Heat had no problems eliminating the Bulls. Lebron didn't need Wade to dominate for the Heat to win. The first series Lebron struggled in, the Heat lost. That tells me that Lebron is more key to the Heat's success, b/c he does so much for that team on both ends. 4) Tell me another player who can shut down Rose 1-on-1 with no help. Please suggest another player. You're reaching now. A small forward is SUPPOSED to shut down arguably the quickest guard in the L that year? Stop reaching. 5) Dwight doesn't do everything? Now I know you don't even watch basketball and just box score-watch. For a center like Dwight, they don't necessarily gets the assists stats b/c they don't count the hockey assist. That includes centers like Dream or Yao who get doubled a ton. When a center gets doubled in the post, they swing the ball out, and usually it gets swung again for the best open jumper. I'm sure you know that. Dwight is easily the best defender in the NBA. He can change a game just by his defense. And he also developed into the best post player in the NBA. 6) Kobe Bryant has got on those teams with reputations. Again, WATCH KOBE PLAY DEFENSE. If you tell me he has all-nba 1st team defense, I can point you to this: <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qaiUkuSIVXM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> And this is on a regular basis. You have Bynum and Gasol to anchor your D, and you let this white dude burn you like that? C'mon now, get some league pass please.
You do know Lebron's first 10 championship game performances = Kobe's first 10 game championship performances right. But I don't disagree Lebron has been extremely disappointing in both of his Finals appearances. Truly a step down in my eyes. But he is still the best player in the L.
I do not believe that normally a SF could shut down a PG. Derrick Rose was pathetic in the playoffs. I think apart from Dirk no one has played as bad as a current MVP in the playoffs. If he was close to the same level as Wade, the Bulls would have won. He just isn't.
I agree with you on this. But then again, you can't make a generic statement like SF could or could not shut down a PG. It really depends on the matchup. In a even match-up where you have an average or above-avereage PG, usually the opposing team assigns their PG to guard him. Please don't tell me SF like Carmelon Anthony could stop Rose. Hell, Carmelo Anthony can't even stop me. But if you have a other-worldly PG like Rose who could win the game for you single-handedly, then you need a defensive specialist or the best defensive player on your team to stop him. With the Heat, it was either Lebron or Wade. What I was trying to say in my earlier post is, everyone knows Lebron, given his size, athleticism and quickness, is one of top defensive players in the league. Putting him on Rose will create an obvious mismatch even if that person is a the reigning MVP. I think with another season or two under his belt, Rose can overcome that mismatch. But he did welt under the smothering defense. Props to Lebron for that. But other than Lebron, Luol Deng (not possible since they're teammates) and MAYBE Durant due to his length, I don't think any other SF in the league can stop Rose.
I don't know if Lebron only had ONE bad postseason series....oh, I don't know...how about the Boston-Cleveland series two seasons ago, right before The Decision, where he just quit on the team. Or in 2007 when the Spurs swept the Cavs and Lebron had several subpar performances.
If this is purely Best players NOW. Then Kohe doesnt belong there. Right now i wouod put Dirk 1st wih Lebron a close 2nd
I don't know about that. I did know although Kobe got a bad sprained ankle in 2000 finals game 2 and had to miss game 3 entirely, he still managed to win game 4 in OT all by himself when Shaq was fouled out in regulation. If LeBron = Kobe with a sprained ankle - clutch performance, it's nothing to write home about. Never heard of best player choked like that when it counts.
Kobe Bryant is not #1 in the league, at least not anymore. If anyone should be #1 is Dwight Howard. In a league without legitimate and dominating Centers, Dwight just out-muscles, out-hustles, and beats every Center in the league right now. LeBron is a close #2 in my rankings. He's in his prime and just downright impossible to guard. His biggest problem is his mental inability to overcome outside-of-the-court distractions. Everyone else is a wash. No one in the league has as big an impact on any given team like these two players can. Durant, Rose, Wade, Bryant, they're great players, but they don't make a team into a contender just by there mere presence. Saying that, I would love for Rose or Durant to be on the Rockets.
After watching the NBA Finals,where a player's legacy is really made: 1. Howard 1b.Dirk 3. Wade 4. Durant 5. LeBron
