Yeah, pretty much what I thought. I'll concede Yao's a top-ten darkhorse a heck of a lot easier than I'd agree Shaq still belongs on that list. I'm glad The Big ________ got a triple-double last week though, it seemed to make the national media quite happy. I've always liked Shaq. Though I am surprised so many people here think Yao comes up on the short end of the stick when compared to Shaq. I do understand why Yao's not been a big story this season, but for anyone who's been paying attention... Regarding the whole Shaq v. Yao thing I'm not looking forward to the inevitable day when Yao tears The Big ________ up. It's been clear to me for awhile that Shaq only intends to pass the baton to only one guy. And if I were Shaq or any other one of the living great centers I wouldn't either, yet. But I'll bet Shaq will do it before he gets hammered, and before the national media acknowledges Yao for much. This season I'm thinking Yao makes the third team on the All-Pro list. Which is no big deal, but it is patently absurd.
I wouldn't put Tracy up there right now. Sure, you can argue "if he's healthy and playing as well as he's capable of he's as good as anybody around" But therein lies the problem, he's frequently not healthy, and often in some sort of mental slump if things aren't going well for him on or off the court -- at least to a much greater extent than Kobe, LeBron, et al. And you have to factor that in - we don't play in the hypothetical universe with a healthy T-mac who's always on his game - we play in a much less rosy one.
the fact that Wade can't shoot js and mostly just drive in and get fouled bother me.. also lebron uses brute strength too much to get his way lebron's js + wade's acrobatic moves = tmac.
Duncan is maybe, not a No. His age and injuries could justify this trade. And a MAYBE next to Nowitzki? If by maybe you mean that Mark Cuban would have to give $1000 to every clutchfans member along with Dirk. Then maybe.
you need to get your head out of his a $ $ anyway T-Mac will have to deal with back injuries for the rest of his career, not because of what happened this year, but because since his Toronto Raptor days the guy has always had issues with his back, never major, but they soon enough will become major, EVERYONE gets old.
This list has to be based on this season, thus no T-Mac and anybody who thinks Peirce shouldn't be on this list based on this season really has no clue. I will also say that T-Mac is the best player in the league--and he will prove it next season. His points will drop with the emergance of Yao, and Tracy will happily defer for three quarters. But T-Mac will take over and show LeBron what clutch really is. I think LeBron is great--but every one of these superstars lacks a quantity that T-Mac has--and that is what makes him great. If you want a clutch play--T-Mac is your guy. Kobe is a fourth Qtr killer and LeBron is starting to show us something so they all get an equal rating...but when compared to say Kevin Garnett?? This keeps KG from getting top billing, for he himself needs a 4th qtr assassin to take that big shot. Defense--Once again this is a battle between T-Mac and Kobe. Both can lock down anybody when they want to--but LeBron and Wade are no where near this level. We all saw what T-Mac did to LeBron this season, just wait till he's healthy and determined. Playmaking/team inclusion--LeBron tops this list, But T-Mac was our offensive initiator last season and did a damn good job, his ability to create off double teams and find the open man is amazing and truly unappreciated. If so many of his passes this season weren't dropped or fumbled, there'd be some nifty dimes goin around. Kobe isn't there yet, he will make an open pass if the oppurtunity screams for it, but the guy looks to score---nothing wrong with that, but it's true. Shooting---This is where Wade falls well short of anybody--this guy might break down soon if he keeps taking some of the hits he's been taking. Adding a jump shot would definately take a nightly beating away from his body. You could say T-Mac is streaky, i just think he takes too many bad shots, with better shot selection his percentages would be alot higher, hopefully with a third scorer next season he won't find the need to take these shots. Killer Instinct--Kobe all the way, But i feel T-Mac draws a short straw with people here. Wouldn't a lazy/heartless player shrug his shoulders and say "oh, well maybe next time" when his team is down double digits with under a minute to go against a conference powerhouse? I think so. His will to win is there. It isn't as visible as it is with Kobe or KG. But the man wants to win. So there's my argument. All of these playrs are great, but T-mac has that one thing that each of the others don't. It makes him the best--and he'll show it next season.
It's understandable for sports writers to not include T-Mac in anything this year since he hasn't really played and wasn't his usual self when he did. Don't worry, next year we will have justice.
Brand is there. I agree that Marion should be in too, perhaps before Yao. But if Yao isn't there, Shaq shouldn't be either.
well said my man think about it. Tmac had back problems all his career and he survived 8 or 9 years in the league already. this was just a bad season both mentallly and physically. With enough rest and treatment, hell be back next year and bring us a championship
Agreed. I think Yao should be 1st team all NBA, because Shaq has been injured almost as much as Yao and his numbers are just worse than Yao's. He deserves for sure 2nd team all NBA. But you know the media; they'll put Ben Wallace ahead of him. Now what I don't get is how someone who score 1/3 as much as Yao, and only makes up for it by 1 extra steal, 1 extra rebound, and .6 extra blocks per game is better than Yao. The Pistons have played much better than the Rox, but this isn't MVP, this is the All-NBA teams, which are there for the players who have played the best, not whose teams have played the best.
My list is straight up, "Who are the best players in the league ranked 1-25." Honorable Mention: 25. Ray Allen 24. Marion 23. Jermaine O'Neal 22. Redd 21. Gasol 20. Joe Johnson 19. Vinsanity 18. Artest 17. Arenas 16. Pierce 15. Melo 14. Amare 13. Shaq 12. KG 11. Iverson The Top 10: 10. Billups 9. Yao 8. Brand 7. Nash 6. Wade 5. Dirk 4. Lebron 3. T-Mac 2. Kobe 1. Duncan EDIT: I forgot Tony Parker.
Uhh...Neither McGrady nor Yao played throughout this season, both have missed a significant number of games. They don't deserve to be on the list, may be next year, we'll see...
my top 25 players in the NBA: 25: Jermaine O'neal 24: Carmelo Anthony 23: Tony Parker 22: Chris Paul 21: Jason Richardson 20: Ray Allen 19: Jason Kidd 18: Chris Bosh 17: Vince Carter 16: Pau Gasol 15: Paul Pierce - the truth 14: Shawn Marion - stats guy, thanks to nash. 13: Tracy McGrady - with better health, he'd be able to make some noise in the top 5...or higher. 12: Chauncey Billups - floor leader. 11: Gilbert Arenas - great scorer with good all-around numbers. 10: Elton Brand - legitimate MVP candidate. 9: Allen Iverson - h.e.a.r.t. 8: Yao Ming - best center in the league. 7: Dwyane Wade - a three-point shot away from having a shot at the top three. 6: Tim Duncan - i don't even know for sure if he's the best on the team, but i know i'd rather build a team on this guy than anybody behind him on this list. 5: Steve Nash - the best point guard and offensive leader in the league. if he had defense he would be top 3 for sure. 4: Kevin Garnett - would rate him higher if his team was doing better. 3: Dirk Nowitzki - great scorer and leader. 2: Kobe Bryant - i hate him, but the man scores at will. 1: Lebron James - great shooting percentage, good rebounder, good passer, amazing scorer. the "almost made it" list: baron davis, amare stoudemire, rasheed wallace, ben wallace, marcus camby, mike bibby, michael redd, andrei kirilenko, dwight howard, ron artest, and co.
shaq played basically the same number of games as yao (like two more) and his stats were worse. now if you don't think shaq should be there then fine, but yao beats out shaq for this year.
