I love CP3. Best at his position without a doubt. But I have to give LeBron the title of Best in the game. We still haven't seen him have a decent cast around him. When he does, look out.
I agree. These are the 4 best players. I think Lebron is the best (and Wade the most underrated, maybe the best playoff performer of them all). Paul I think is the 4th best of this group. Paul potentially could change the order, but he needs to lead his team farther in the playoffs.
To me, Chris Paul is like John Stockton. He's a great player. Probably one of the greatest PGs of all time. I respect him. But I don't like him. He is dirty.
Best player? No, the best player in the league doesn't let Jannero Pargo take all the shots in a game 7. Best PG? Yes.
His defense has improved this year. Every single aspect of his game has improved every year so I have no doubt that defense will be next. None of the Suns play defense,lol. Steve Nash doesn't even try and guard his man. That's why they lost.
Calderon is way overrated. He isn't even a top 5 pg. He would be lucky if Chris Paul let him rebound for him
His last Finals appearance and Olympics play didnt do much to legitimize his MVP award after the fact. Might be just enough for some to think he doesnt lay claim to the top spot. Though I will forever give Kobe credit for the big shots he hit in the gold medal game. Chris Paul, the best player in the NBA for November. Top point guard in the league. Just for right now he's created Magic Johnson like distance between himself and the number 2 point guard.
Still the best basketball 'analyst' on the board, a_3po. And again, you echo my thoughts. How many times have I said that in the past? Ditto all the way...
Are you serious, you actually believe cps has better teammates than lebron. Before cp3, Hornets were a national joke still recovering from the Mashburn, B Diddy, Wesley era. Before cp3, no one knew about west, all chandler was good at was rebounds, now he is setting them up for points daily. All he has are these stars that he made and some quasi ex allstars in Mo P and Stojakovic. Lebron at oen time had larry hughes and gooden, has a scoring center , has ben wallace, wally, mo williams, delonte west, Now look at the roster and determine who has more talented teammates and who made his teammate better. Although i will definitely take Kobe and Lebron over cp3 any day, simply because of the clutch factor
lol, larry hughes, gooden, big ben, wally, mo, and west? One is a wash-up, one is doing nothing at his new team, one is old, one cant play, one just join this season after a carrerr year, and a player that nobody wants. Guess whos who, but actually everyone fit everything. Say what you want about the hornets, they got 2 all stars, a pretty good 7' big man who was flirting with USA duties, and a top 10 3p shooter in the league.
Issues? Paul or Lebron will win MVP this year. He is playing better than Nash did during his MVP seasons. That team is nothing without him.
I agree that CP3 has the better teammates, but we don't know what either would do with each others team. I don't think Lebron would win 70 games if he had the Hornets roster or go 16-1 in the playoffs. Teams rarely do those things, and I doubt he will accomplish either in his career. Wade has a lot to prove again. He was so great in those 2006 playoffs, but hasn't played to that level since. I would think he could will the Heat to a top 4 seed this year if he wants to prove he is a top 5 player.
I agree but why Kobe 3rd? Aren't we supposed to reward winning? I think it's a coin flip between Kobe and LeBron for best in the league. Kobe can do things LeBron can't and vice-versa. And yes, Wade could be right up there too. He's a baller. He just needs some better, more veteran players around him. It looks as if he won't get them for a while, though.
unless chris paul is code for lebron james, then i don't agree. paul is sorta like nash (but better) in his phoenix heyday. both benefit from perfectly tailored teammates and systems. each gets to have the ball every single time, each has a bunch of finishers to pass to, and each got to play very much to their strengths because of this. nash was an amazing shooter and passer who became largely unstoppable when you had to stop the freak that is amare on the PnR and also cover about 3 40% three point shooters. nash probably had more room to operate than any dangerous player i've just about ever seen. paul has enough of a mid-range jumper that it is devastating when combined with his penetration and finishing ability when combined with chandler being a freak that makes guarding the PnR almost as hard as guarding amare. and if you help at all, david west is waiting to hit a 16 footer that he's great at or peja is waiting for an open 3, which he is great at hitting. mo pete is the weak link and even he can hit an open 3 really well. so you're basically left with 2 exceptional point guards, who nonetheless benefit from a plethora of finishers surrounding them, that make it almost impossible for a defense to attack a weak point. but i don't think either could carry an undertalented team where a defense can focus almost exclusively on the star the way a kobe or lebron could. of course, kobe is now on a team loaded with talent where people can't focus on him (and they look damn good) and lebron still has no one. lebron on those prime phoenix teams or on this hornets team? i don't know how you come close to stopping them because lebron is the most unguardable guy in the league AND the best passer in the league. it's almost only fair to have lebron on an offensively challenged team.
I could flip Kobe and CP3. Last season, Kobe maybe had the edge (it's a big edge if you include the playoffs). This season, I think CP3 will step up more while Kobe will either be the same or decline some. We'll see in the playoffs where CP3 really belongs in the group of 4.
