If you took Melo with second pick in first round, ouch. The reason he fell was that last year he averaged around 5 boards and 5 assists, horrible stats for a superstar like him, so other people took safer picks. Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett are the two marquee fantasy players.
Kobe because he offends people around him and everyone seems to hate him. It's not Kobe's job to be playmaker. I think both Kobe and Nash forces teams to adjust to him, but when I think of who to give the ball in the final minutes to hurt the other team the most, I choose Kobe.
And it's not really Nash's job to score but I've never seen anybody stop the guy when he set his mind to putting points on the board. He won't score in the same ways as Kobe, for obvious reasons, and he'll likely never score huge amounts on a regular basis (he'd never force enough shots in the first place), but if I need to score on a final possession and I have to put the ball in one of those guy's hands, it's going to be Nash. Now, if I have to put it in a guy's hands and he's not allowed to pass it, I'll give it to Kobe. That's not what I'm voting on.
WADE 29 points 8 assists (4.4 TO's) 47% FG 24% 3PT 81% FT 40 minutes PPS 1.41 [/QUOTE] If I am trying to win a playoff series I choose Wade over Nash, and Nash over Kobe. Kobe is the best (regular season) scorer of the group, but not the best offensive player or best basketball player of the group. The other two are better able to make their teams better offensively, not merely raise their individual scoring average. Wade is the most underrated guy in the league. For the 1st guard to carry his team to a championship since Jordan it is weird.
I guess you could use those stats to argue Wade > Kobe, although the case wouldn't be that strong on just numbers. I just hope it wasn't your intent to persuade me to think Wade > Nash by way of showing those stats, because all they are is Kobe + 3 assists, an additional turnover, and lower %'s across the board (especially from 3). Of course you could take into account the manner in which Wade got to the line in the Finals and he starts looking like a much better candidate And I'm not touching your "Wade is the most underrated player in the league" comment. I don't even know where to start and I need some lunch.
I am not going to argue Wade's stats are better than Nash's to this point of the season. But sometimes I wonder whether people have actually watched the playoffs the last 2 years if they actually have doubts as to who is the best and most unstoppable guard in the game right now. There has been only 1 guard the peaked Detroit team (94-96) had no answer for, and it wasn't Kobe Bryant (though he had his chance). There has been only guard to carry his team to an NBA championship since Jordan, and it wasn't Bryant or Nash. Last playoffs 1 guy showed himself to be the best player--it really wasn't close. And the Wade ref call stuff is bogus, unless you want to discount Jordan, Iverson, Tmac, Bryant, etc., peak seasons. All the great guards (and other outside in players like Dirk) get those calls, Wade is just the most aggressive guys going right now in getting to the rim and breaking down defenses once things get bogged down (AI has played this way for years as well). It is not their fault Tmac and Kobe (to a lesser degree) settle for more jumpers and make themselves less impactfull (playoffs in particular ).
I know that one game does not define a season or a career, but I would like to point out that Kobe and Nash supported my argument perfectly with their respective games tonight. Kobe 19 points 6-19 FG's 0-5 3PT's 4 assists 4 TO's Nash 10 points 3-9 FG's 3-4 3PT's 15 assists 3 TO's Both guys had terrible shooting nights...didn't do much scoring at all. The difference is that Nash dished 15 assists with only 3 TO's while Kobe only managed 4 assists and equally as many TO's. Plus Nash played 10 less minutes, and his team won their 15th straight game. Again, it doesn't prove what I said, but it sure does support it.
From this list I would say Dirk, because he has more weapons than the other players. Nash would be second because his shooting and passing are both top notch. Kobe is a scoring machine, but he is not incredibly efficient and doesn't create much for his teammates either. Nobody else on the list merits consideration.
If you're talking about complete offense, I pick Nash. Scoring offense, probably Kobe, even though I'd love to vote for my boy Gilbert.
I voted Kobe, but if T-Mac was without the back problems he would be. And i see a best offensive player as one that can create his own shot/score at will, and can drop 30+ every night on you.
You missed Yao Ming off the list. He is a great offensive player , especially with the limited number of shots he gets!!
