Does anyone feel that there is a lack of competition in today's game? More good/very good players instead of great players? A league that hasn't matured, and probably won't for another 5 years? Don't know..........maybe it's just me.
Teams? Perhaps the Lakers. Maybe. I don't really think so though. Players? Shaq and Kobe, of course. Then Duncan. That guy should be in the Top 50 list when it's all said and done. Other guys that were great are now too old (Jordan, Stockton, Malone, Robinson, Ewing, etc). Only other guys that leap to mind are Kidd and Payton. Garnett hasn't gotten out of the first round, and Iverson, to me, is overrated. When he shoots more than 40% I'll be impressed. Hmm... then there's Nowitzki, he's pretty unstoppable on offense when he's on. Can't really think of anyone else. The league is kind of shoddy right now, isn't it?
Nowitski can't play D and he really isn't an inside threat for a guy his size. But his numbers are impressive... There aren't great teams because there's too many right now. If the league wasn't a cash money sell out they would contract by axing off 5 teams. Instead of listing the great teams of today, we could start by listing the 5 worst overall teams and selling it off for spare parts.... Teams that should've never been... 1. Grizzlies 2. Cavs 3. Clippers 4. Heat 5. Mavs Without Riley and Don's blank check, the Heat and Mavs would be in lotto hell right now.
I'm sorry OverRRated, if this is an attempt to voice your opinion of the 2001-2002 Orlando Magic as a great team, then it has failed. I feel (and the people at Adidas, Mickey D's, Sprite, Spalding) that Kobe himself has excelled the Lakers into that GREAT catagory. Shaq was what Kobe needed to win the Championships...I feel that T-Wack should've stayed with the Raptors, and more importantly, he should've stayed and got guidance from his cousin Vince. but I guess his eyes didn't help him make that decision. P.S. - Kam leaves tomorrow at 9am...i need that money...turn on ur IM and IM me
And what kind of advice could McGrady get from Vince and his momma? Make flashy dunks and have no heart? Let the other guy burn you on the other end, and only show up the day after when the press sez you have no D? Or drag down the team with your bum knee and "leadership" so they could make a dramatic comeback without you? I'm not a fan of McGrady's arrogance, but if Vince had learned to play second fiddle or side-by-side to T-Mac in Toronto, even if that wasn't likely then, that'd be a team to fear...
invinsible fan; vince should learn to play 2nd fiddle to tmac? at that time, vince was taking over the league. they're cousins, you think vince didn't want t mac to shine? at that time everyone said vince was the better player. tracy left because HE didn't want to play in vince's shadows. vince wanted tracy back. what does this mean? either way, i'm saying, it looks pretty clear tracy mcgrady didn't need any guidance from vince. he's doing fine on his own except for the arrogant quotes. mcgrady wanted to leave toronto, and for whatever reason his decision, i don't really think much of it or blame anyone. and he said something about how he didn't think vince would stay in toronto. and vince carter didn't run tracy out of canada. they were civil until the last moments when tracy was officially a magic.
First off Vince and Tmac AREN'T even cousins. And to address Iverson I think he is great. So many people think he's a thug and doesn't care about basketball. People can bash him all they want about the "bad field goal percentages" etc etc and call him overrated but theres nobody tougher than Iverson at 165 pounds. And he alway seems to make the big plays down the stretch. Definite winner. "and Iverson, to me, is overrated. When he shoots more than 40% I'll be impressed." Iverson is a career 42% shooter so you should be impressed Drexlerfan22.
i know they're not cousins like your mom's sister's kid. but they have family relations and they've used the word 'cousins' to each other. so. kind of like how y'all are my brothers.
fba34, It wasn't likely then for the reasons you described. Vince was the better older player. It wouldn't make sense for Vince to defer to T-Mac. But if these guys were close and played a lot together, Vince could've made more of an effort to bring his game out instead of his contract season. This is more hindsight I guess. And T-Mac might've left anyways to be closer to his home.
I'm tired of this "back in my day, things were better" talk. I don't see much a difference in the league today and the league back then. There are lots of good and great players in both eras. They're spread out all over the league, some good guys are stuck on sorry teams, and the teams with more than one good player are winning championships. The only difference is that the average role player now is probably better than the average role player back then. Oh, and todays players are freaks when it comes to athleticism and strength compared to the guys of yester year.
I guess I should have been a bit more precise.....I meant as a comparison to the '80s and the majority of the '90s. Maybe it's because the majority of the best players are 26/27 and under, they haven't made a name for themselves yet? Could it be that for the next several years any team can come out of the east........literally? Or that the second best team in the League is lead by a player like Chris Webber.....supposedly, and the team second to them is the Spurs? Love Timmy....favorite PF of all time so far, but not exactly a team that will be worth mentioning and probably be forgotten in a couple years. Maybe it's just me. Oh..and EVOL......if you want, I'll hook you up with an Italy "World Cup Champion" shirt after they beat who ever the lamb is the at the end of the month.
The Twolves, Hornets, Heat, Grizzlies, and Raptors joined the league in the late 80's and 90's. Man... where would KG, Zo, Shaq, Glen Rice, Shareef, Vince, and Tmac be if the league hadn't expanded? Then there's so many early entrees in the draft that the whole drafting process has evolved into developing players based on potential. It's like, how many seniors are gonna make the first round. And if you're a senior, does that mean he sucks because he didn't declare early and cash out? Tim Duncan is one of the last of a dying breed. Now that process has evolved into drafting International players and stashing them for later use when their overseas contracts run up. Maybe International players will help prop up the competition, but once that happens, you can bet Stern will want to expand again. Especially after we payed a billion bucks to get the NFL's expansion rights. Then there's other excuses like the lack of fundamentals in today's modern players, the reliance of the three point line, coaches emphasis on defense, modern scouting by satellite TV. I mean, if the other team knows that your favorite sweet spot and when you drive before you even get on the floor, at least it's gonna frustrate you later in the game. There's a lot of excuses, but none of it can cover up how ugly the game is played today. Like Rudy T's penchant for ISO plays after the defensive rule changes...
I can't say players were better in old days but they could shoot the jumper better back then. You had guys like Rudy who shot 50% from the outside. Guys today are more athletic but they can't make open 15 ft jumpers. How do professional athletes making millions of dollars miss open shots from within the paint.
