good lord if t-mac wins a mvp award before kobe you can just hear all the lame laker fans thinking up excuses
Amare shouldnt be ahead of KG. While he is an athletic beast he averaged about 16 a game before Nash got there. Iverson should be there too.
If i can add my two cents, my top 5 are (in no order because i might get shot): Tmac KG T Diddy LBJ Kobe And i think a second round appearance will definately give Tmac a shot at MVP - Duncan has become routine for selectors (his greatness may be overlooked)
Im taking McGrady because Duncan has had a very solid team for most of his career, Tracy hasn't, he has done what he has done with nobodies, Im sorry guys but Yao hasnt proven anything yet. Not to drag him down or anything but Yao doesnt sit head and shoulders above other centers in the league (maybe literally but not statistically) Duncan does not SOLELY carry his team like McGrady does, mentally or through turmoil. When someone needs their ass chewed who runs over and does it (i.e. Mike James first round) Tracy McGrady. When its crunch time the balls in Tracys hands, compared to the 3-4 other players it could be going to on the Spurs ( Ginobli, Parker, Barry, Horry ) Duncan has Ginobli and Parker and his Mobster Bowen who will take a players knees out when ordered to. McGrady comes out everynight and fights to make his team mates better and win the game. I would rather build my team around him.
"Solely"? All by his lonesome? I don't know about that, bud. If Tracy can solely carry a team of "nobodies" single-handedly like you claim, would he have allowed Orlando to a paltry 21-61 losing record in 2002-03? Tracy is a great player, but let's not get delusional. LOL! I think you are short-changing Yao, Barry, Sura, Juwon and Deke. I believe they had something to do with the Rocket's 51-31 record last season.
Solely"? All by his lonesome? I don't know about that, bud. If Tracy can solely carry a team of "nobodies" single-handedly like you claim he can, would he have allowed Orlando to roll over for a paltry 21-61 losing record in 2003-04? Tracy is a great player, but let's not get delusional. LOL! I think you are short-changing Yao, Barry, Sura, Juwon and Deke. I believe they had something to do with the Rocket's 51-31 record last season.[/QUOTE]
1. Tmac (Don't ask me why. Just take a look at my screenname) 2. Yao (see above) 3. Duncan 4. Lebron 5. KG 6. Nash 7. Shaq 8. Kobe 9. Wade 10. Iverson
wow, duncan carries his team on his back just like any superstar. he doesnt need to chew out his team because they know if they arent doing their job they feel the shame for letting their team and their captain down. are you saying duncan doesnt give out 100% every night? he quietly give you a double double thats overlooked. he provides the leadership as tmac does but in a very different way. why doesnt duncan do more? its smart he doesnt go out and do all as much he can do because he wants to prolong his career and not waste it padding stats like some other players out there, ie kg. if you are saying duncan doesnt make the spurs a better team thats pretty insane. spurs would be nowhere without duncan as rockets wouldnt be anywhere without tmac. if you dont see that, thats homerism at its best
Sorry cant stand homers Dont want this site turns into another Lakers board: "Kobe is the best player in the league, hands down" Granted Kobe still has rings and big stage performance as a proof. What Tmac has proved so far? Nothing. Tmac is a borderline top 5 player. Yao is borderline 15-20. That's about it.
[whipser] psst. This is a homer BBS. Try ESPN's site [/whisper] Really? Looking at results I'd go with Shaq or Duncan...hands down. I'd wouldn't mind ranking Kobe 3rd, however. But since the topic is not "best" but who would you build your team around, IMO, Kobe drops down a few more notches. I'd put Lebron ahead of Kobe if I was picking folks dodgeball style. And I'd take TMac before Lebron AND Kobe. Yes, while TMac hasn't proved anything, he's on the cusp. When buying stocks, the best time to buy is when you see a growing trend that is sustainable. I wouldn't be surprised if TMac blows up this season. We'll see. I also wouldn't be surprised if Kobe doesn't get to the playoffs again for a while. If he does, its one and done.
It took Jordan 7 seasons to assemble the right supporting cast to finally win his first championship at the age of 27. If you discount his first 2 garbage seasons at Toronto, which were more like his substitute for college, McGrady is also coming into his 7th season in '05. Here's to hoping that McGrady celebrates his 27th bday with a ring as well. If so, let's hope he's on track to win 7 or more rings by the time he's done.
The question is "who would you build your team around" and as such, here is how they rate for me. Big men are still the name of the game in basketball. Guards are important, but only a handful of guards (Jordan, IThomas, Iverson, Drexler in Portland) have been able to lead their teams to the Finals without a dominant big man. Because of that, I would generally build my team around big men including: 1. Duncan 2. KG 3. Yao 4. Amare 5. Shaq Before you blast me, I will again give that caveat that these are guys that I would build my team around. Duncan is simply dominant even when he doesn't put up outrageous statistics. He changes the game plan for the opponents so much that he makes the game easier for his teammates and the same can be said for KG, Yao, and Shaq. I would choose to build around Yao or Amare rather than Shaq because they are so much younger. Guard play is also important, but you have to have guards that make their teammates better. As a result, my little guy list includes: 1. TMac 2. Wade 3. Nash 4. LeBron 5. Kobe Right now, I just think that TMac is the most talented and unselfish guy on that list. Kobe is talented but selfish, LeBron has all the tools, but just hasn't put it together yet. Nash makes his teammates much better, but is not a dominant scorer. Wade is very good at both, but I don't think he rises to the level of TMac in either regard. So, combining the lists, keep in mind that in general I would give preference to big men because they tend to have the most impact on opponent's game plans. 1. Duncan is still so good that I would build around him in a second. 2. KG is also so talented and makes his teammates so much better that I would also not hesitate to build around him. 3. Yao has such a massive impact on opponents game plans that he is an ideal player to build around. 4. TMac appears here because he HAD teams built around him and we have seen the results. He had two first round exits and a 21-61 year. 5. Amare is going to be a beast in this league and I would build around him in a New York minute. 6. DWade is so young and talented that he appears here. He also makes his teammates better and is getting valuable playoff experience. 7. Shaq is just too old to appear above this spot. If you build around Shaq, you have to be building for a championship in the next 2-3 years because he won't be around much longer. 8. Nash 9. LeBron could be above this spot except that he hasn't even been to the playoffs yet. 10. Kobe
Yeah my thinking was along these lines- Start the league over. Say all the players went into a draft pool and you had the first pick. Every team was going to draft. So I gave my top 10 picks. Imagine if they did it and to try to even it out the second and third round had reverse order and the rookie draft also had reverse order.(from the 1st round order) So the order to open the draft would reverse for rounds 2-3 and the rookie draft, then go back and alternate for rounds 4-12 until each team had a roster. Would be interesting. Actually if we were re-drafting the league I might consider big man #1 but all in all if I had to build a team today TMac is my guy! More off season dribble.
Drafting right now I would take: TMac: I think last year he really started stepping up and becoming a leader on top of his great all around game. NBA is on notice. Amare: Just a freak, after watching him abuse Duncan in the playoffs, I think he will be awesome. lebron: Awesome all around player with potential galore. Excellent cornerstone. Duncan: best right now but not getting any younger and I am drafting for the future.
Am I the only one that hasn't bought into all of the whole media frenzy surrounding lebron james. I can't remember the last time that a gaurd was ranked so high on everybody's list that can't even shoot a jumpshot. Form your own opinion on this guy by watching him not by just thinking he's so awesome because the media says he is.
