Sportsnation poll: Best Backcourt in the East

Okay, so if 8.6% of the people agree with you, then how do you figure that 99% of NBA fans are idiots. In my mind, I really think you have to clarify on this "we" business.

 

i'm not sure who i'd vote for. probably lebron and anyone and then steve and cuttino second.

he's definitely up there.

 

They are the biggest names, at least, and that's what people are going after. Doesn't mean they'll be the best, mind you, and I think the more appropriate listing would be Kidd and Jefferson, seeing as how Vince is on the all-star ballot as a forward. And, quite frankly, I think that duo is better than Kidd and Carter.

I've give the edge to LeBron and whichever of Cleveland's PGs you want to pair with him, followed by Francis/Mobley, Billups/Hamilton, and Kidd/Jefferson. Hughes/Arenas is a decent tandem, albeit not a classical PG-SG duo. Payton's over the hill and Pierce has sulked all year, Marbury and Crawford are a lot of flash with not a whole heck of a lot of substance, and while Wade is good, Eddie Jones really isn't.

 

LOL Just curious, do you think thats why:
A. Every NBA star wants to play with him.
B. The Nets prior to Kid were a dismal team
C. The Nets after Kid became one of the top teams for 3straight years
D. Every NBA coach praise and wants him.
E. Hes accumulated so much awards/accolades despite of his stats
F. Made a substantial positive impact on every team on every level.

Of course it is possible you TWO are right and Kidd is just sooooooo overrated.

 

i didn't say he wasn't good, just that he's overrated.

like i think jordan is the best player ever, but i also think he's the second most overrated. behind bill russell of course.

 

Have you ever seen Bill Russel play? It's hard to make statements like that unless you've seen him play before.

 

I never seen him play, but I've talked to people who have and ALL of them say GREAT things about him, most say he had the biggest will to win of anybody, in any sport, in history. Hearing them dudes makes me wish I would of seen him play, all I got is recorded specials from NBA TV, he's now one of my favorite players just from those specials. His winning speaks for itself, people who didn't see him play say he wouldn't of won so much without all those Hall of Famers, people who did see him play say they wouldn't be in the Hall if it wasn't for all the winning he led them to.

 

I'd say a Carter and Kidd backcourt being the best in the East is about right IF we are considering them being healthy playing at their full ability.

 

Chauncey and Rip are grossly underrated. Right now, I'd have them at #1, LeBron and McInnis at #2, and Wade and Damon Jones at #3.

 

If Steve and Cuttino don't lead their team to the finals this year, they have no business being mentioned with Jason Kidd.

Steve+Cuttino+Hill+Howard should be just as good as Kidd+Jefferson+Martin+Kittles (talent wise)... so lets see them rise thru the east and make it to back to back finals.

Kidd is NOT overrated... if he's at full strength, he can make any team's offense exponentially better.... and the fact that his shot isn't reliable, and yet he's so effective, only makes him seem even more remarkable.

 

i'm not saying steve is as good as kidd, but that's a silly argument. the top of the east is FAR FAR better than it was during new jersey's reign. new jersey was the #1 seed with 50 wins one year. 50 wins. they were running unopposed. indy at full strength and detroit (assuming they start caring eventually) are much better than that new jersey team. and this heat team is looking at a 55+ win season. also much better.

i don't think any of this is up for debate.


edit: whoops, not #1 seed with 50 wins, #2 seed with 49 wins. good ol' detroit got the #1 with 50 wins.

 

Howard's a rookie coming out of high school and Hill's coming off of having hardly played in 4 seasons. You don't see that with the Nets that won two back-to-back East titles, nor did you see them win it a year after the entire team was blown up. The East was also weaker at that point, without Shaq in the conference, without a complete Pistons team, and without Indiana playing to the level they showed last year. That comparison is off-base.

But, Kidd isn't overrated....nor is he really underrated. He's a very good PG who has done some very good things in his career. He's one of the best at the spot in the game -- whether he's #1 is certainly up for debate -- but he's also not the best thing since sliced bread.

 

That doesn't make any sense. You think MJ is the best ever, and many others think the same, so how in your mind is MJ overrated?

 

Detroit has the best starters by far. New Jersey has the best name recognition - and potentially talent, assuming Kidd and Vince can bounce back. But let's remember, these are the Nets... they have been plagued by injuries throughout their franchise history. Boston has the most depth (because they have a log-jam of guards.)

And tinman... Kidd may not be Magic Johnson, but when he was healthy he wasn't overrated. And don't forget Cassell when he was on the Bucks... remember them? When Kidd made New Jersey the best team in the conference, Cassell's team quit on their coach and couldn't even make the playoffs in the east despite having himself, Ray Allen, Anthony Mason, Tim Thomas, Glenn Robinson, etc.

 

Russell was an average-at-best post defender by today's standards and he was no Hakeem in the low post offensively. In today's NBA, he's only slightly better than Kenyon Martin.

 

Only someone with a very short perspective could make an illogical comparison like this. Let's totally neglect that Russell played in an era when the medical profession said cigarette smoking was good for you, that sports travel was conducted with public transportation in propeller driven aircraft, that most Americans wanted athletes of color to travel, dine, and board in segregation, that state of the art athletic footwear consisted of Converse high-tops, and that sports training technology was years if not decades away.

Even with this back-drop, Bill Russell can easily be seen on old 8mm film as one of the fastest players off of their feet to ever play the game. And that totally neglects Russell's unrelenting personal desire to succeed.

Is your next comparison Babe Ruth and some marginal MLB All Star outfielder? Kenyon Martin indeed.