It was Wade or Lebron, you have to be completely blind not to see that. That, or maybe all you watched was a 2 minute stretch in the last game instead of paying attention to the other something like 318 minutes played. Your nuts. Lebron doesn't have a teammate near the level of David West. He doesn't have a 3rd scorer/shooter like Peja either. Go back and watch game 7 versus the Celts, Lebron almost single handedly beat them. Neither CP3 nor Kobe could come close to doing that--and Kobe had his chances with better teammates than Lebron had and got blown out by what 40. Lebron is the best overall player in the league, pretty clearly so. Kobe, Wade and CP3 are fighting for the next spots--though come playoff time if all were healthy I'd take Wade based on what he did the last time he was healthy and from what he has shown this summer and on. I'd still take Kobe over CP3 until CP3 at least does what Lebron has done, which is carry his team to the finals and/or keep his team in a dog fight with the best of the best deep in the playoffs.
I have to go with Desert Scar. If you think LeBron had better teammates last year than CP3, you are nuts and out of your mind. Either that or you don't watch the Cavs. CP3 is a great player, but he cannot carry a team over an 82-game season. He must have good players to pass to. Wade was the best player on the Olympic team. Period. However you define most valuable is up to you.
BTW, where are all those people who said that the only reason Wade was so good was because of Shaq? He's been incredible this year.
When the Heat made the Finals, I had a debate with someone here about that. They said Shaq helped to "make" Wade the player he was. Complete nonsense.
Well he did in those Finals. You can't deny Shaq's presence. Wade is a guard that loves to penetrate, and when you drive with Shaq on your team it's easier to convert at the rim because you always have to have a body (or two) on Shaq. Even against the Mavs, it's not like you saw them sending 2-3 players at him on occassion. Additionally, one of the reasons he shot so many freebies in those Finals was because the Mavs kept fouling Shaq early (lord knows why), and the Heat were always in the penalty. Shaq is the peefect compliment for a penetrating guard. Lucky b*stard always seems to land on a team with one..... As far as the question, Bron and Kobe are clearly better. What can CP3 do that they can't? They are almost as good as initiating offense as he is, because you have to double them to stop them. Both are better defenders and just bigger in general.
I'm not saying Shaq wasn't important to them winning the championship. But the idea he helped Wade develop as a player is just wrong. From late in his rookie season, you could see what Wade might become. When the Heat went to the ECFs in 05 and won the championship in 06, Wade was Batman and Shaq was Robin. Shaq missed the first two rounds of the playoffs in 05 and Wade carried the Heat on his back without missing a beat. His greatness as a player is within him and it doesn't matter who is on his team. Same for Kobe & LeBron. Of course, you cannot win championships without good teammates and a decent coach.
Develop as a player....no. Get less defensive pressure against Dallas because they couldn't leave Shaq....most def.
This is a fallacy. The Heat played terrible with Shaq in the game. The Heat won the series when they went offensively entirely through Wade and they had Zo in so their defense was quicker. Shaq was good the previous series, but even then not as good as Wade. You don't have to take my word for it, you can check the stats.... http://www.82games.com/0506/playoffs/playoffs.htm http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams...6&season=3&sort=pts&order=true&avg=pg&split=6 http://www.82games.com/0506/playoffs/0506MIA.HTM http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams...6&season=3&sort=pts&order=true&avg=pg&split=0
friends, I submit to you, Aaron Brooks locked down the "hands down best player in the league".. 2-10? oh crap! hold on hold on, I know your come back, "he had a bad game and yet he piled up a double double with 12 assists!".. um, yeah, and 3 turnovers.. when you're handling the ball every single damn play for the team and you don't give the ball up until late in the shot clock, I'd expect your teammates would make 12 shots..
On a side note, I'm pretty sure Jason Thompson of the Kings is Chris Paul's long lost, overgrown brother.
29 pts (11-17 FG, 1-1 3PT, 6-7 FT), 10 reb, 16 ast, 3 stl, 1 bs, 2 to against OKC tonight. Bad team or not, that's a sick line.
??? Look at the OP. This thread isn't about Kobe. Edit: I stand corrected. I forgot the OP said Paul was the best.
1.Kobe 2.Lebron 3.Wade 4.CP3 Wade is back and he does things I haven't seen anyone do on the court. The way he attacks the baskets and makes ridiculous shots is insane.
Last time I check, basketball is played on both ends of floor. Between Kobe, LBJ, Wade and CP3, who actually play defense? Kobe has 8 all defensive team honor, Wade has one, the other 2 have none. Case closed.
he will follow jason kidd's career path. always making teams better and leaving spectators in amazement yet winning nothing real. he may even end his career in dallas... sorry, i hate chris paul.
No doubt the officials were too tight officiating Wade in the 06 Finals. But he hit plenty of shots without a foul being called. It was almost robotic at times. And I guess you didn't see any of Wade's other games besides the Finals.
Kobe is way behind all of them in steals. Besides, Bird and Magic were not all NBA defense yet they were better players than Kobe too. Total offensive package and floor leadership count more in the NBA. Anyone who still thinks Kobe is better than Lebron is looking in the way back past. Like Lebron's rookie year (or at most soph). For all these Kobe lickers, how do you explain in his past two NBA finals he has appeared his opponents cleaned his team's clock while his efficiency plummets. That doesn't happen to the true greats of the NBA game near their prime.
