I was having an argument with some of my friends about the best swingmen in the NBA. I think its safe to say that the top tier are: Tmac Kobe Lebron Agent 0 Wade Carmelo Scoring wise, they are all pretty equal with Kobe and Tmac being at the very top. But what separtes Tmac from the rest of them is his AMAZING ability to find the open teammate. Watching on tv I dont see the open man myself and yet Tmac finds him while dribbling and not even looking in that direction. The others, especially Lebron are good passers also, but Tmac is also very willing to pass the ball. Seems like he doesnt care whether he gets points or assist. But yet is smart enough to realize exactly when he needs to take over a game.
arenas is always so underated. the guy has hit how many buzzer beaters this year? he defiently is up there with tmac and kobe now
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the following: T-Mac, Kobe, Lebron, Wade. Let's just be glad we have him, there is no point in having these silly, endless debates about who's better...I would kill for anyone of those guys on my team. I am just thankful we have not just one, but two of them...
agreed. i think t-mac's wandering eyeball is really a cybernetic radar, allowing him to track all 9 players on the court at 4GHz clock speed. i don't know where Nash hides his, but he's got the deluxe model.
the special thing about Tmac is his super long wingspan... Wade and Kobe can be really good passers too if they want to, cause they attract a lot attention... but the incredible length of Tmac made him a slightly better passer than those two... also, Tmac's game is slow and patient..which make him a best fit for a typical half-court game.
That is great.. you must like sci-fi right?? LOL love it! We could make a movie.. it will be like flubber only better.. "the cyra" don't hit the court without it!
Ah, the buzzer beater stat. What's funny is, when he misses most of them next year, nobody will mention it.
Arenas is just as good a scorer nowadays. And I think Wade can find the open teammate as well as TMac. And Kobe is getting there this year, though he's not quite at their level yet. Somehow Lebron isn't there..even though he has the ability to be there.
That's darn right. T-mac is the most unselfish non-PG superstar. People might argue Nash or Kidd is more unselfish but those guys are PG's. They are getting paid to rack up assists. T-mac also has the humility to take a back seat and let Yao become the primary option because he knows that that's what's best for the team. Here's my take on the players you've mentioned: Kobe - Me, Myself and I. If it was T-Mac/Shaq instead of Kobe/Shaq, the Lakers would have won at least 5 straight titles. Lebron - Overhyped. T-mac would have produced similar or better numbers in his Toronto years if he wasn't overshadowed by Carter. By the way, Carter is only better than T-mac at dunking and that's it. And it's really close. T-mac is a better player overall by far. Agent 0 - A ballhog PG. Gets decent amount of assists because he plays crazy minutes plus the fact that he is a PG. T-Mac plays not as much minutes but still dishes & scores quite a lot. Arenas is also a whiner and is full of excuses. I remember him complaining to adidas about not having a signature shoe back then and said that fans are being brainwashed to vote players with sig shoes to the all-star game. Now he's riding fame like crazy. His NBA blog, another shot to drop 84 or 85 on Duke.. Whatever. I just hate him. Oh by the way, T-Mac took Arenas to school for his career high 62 pts. Wade - Limited shooting range. Had all the help he needed to win it all. Life has been very unfair to T-Mac his whole career. It's just now that he's got the help he needs to make a title run. Carmelo - B!tchslappin' ***. A turnover machine. T-Mac has way higher basketball IQ than Melo.
Until Tmac gets his team out of the first round of the playoffs, he will always be known as a Kevin Garnett type of player. Great in the regular season... THIS is his year ! DD
I'm a DIE-HARD Rockets fan and think T-Mac is a great player, but the question should be asked in a different way: What separates Kobe from T-Mac, Wade, Arenas, LeBron, and Melo. Answer: Kobe's relentlessness! The guy has this ability to not only beat you but crush you by himself if he wants to. Thats why eveytime we play them, I just hope Kobe's not in his killer instinct mode b/c he is almost impossible to stop. Now T-Mac has that same relentlessness, but it takes a lot more to get it out of him. I don't know why, but Kobe just goes off for no reason, where T-Mac needs a reason to go off (ie the Blazers situation last week). By far, Kobe is #1 and T-Mac is #2 b/c Kobe plays defense more than T-Mac does. Don't get me wrong, I know T-Mac can do it (ie 04 Playoffs against Dallas), but he doesn't bring it on every single night. So for those reasons, Kobe has to be put at #1. However, offensively, there are the same person in terms of being unstoppable. T-Mac relies more on the jumper, but his jumper is the best looking in my opinion b/c he does it with so much ease. As far as the rest of the group goes, LeBron hasn't shown me the killer instinct that Kobe and T-Mac have so until I see that, he can't be put above either Kobe or T-Mac. LeBron is a "man-child" and his passing ability and selflessness should be praised, but he also needs to know when to take over and become selfish. Wade's jumper and 3 point shooting are there yet so he can't be put up there with T-Mac and Kobe. 'Melo doesn't play defense and also hasn't shown the killer instinct (as well as an ounce of brain) so he isn't there yet. And Arenas is a great player (went to same HS so I love to follow his games) and he has developed that killer instinct, but his defense is still no up to par. He can't be counted on like Kobe and T-Mac to shot down the other team's best player if called upon!
Mental approach. While Tmac has the dominant braintype, his approach is different than Kobe's and that isnt to say he can't kill you. One reason tmac can pass so well is because his braintype has the ability to understand angles well. He shares that same one as MJ, AI, J Kidd, Shaq... all either great slashers or great passers. Tmac approaches the game with, I'll do whatever it takes to win, get my teammates involved too. He trusts the teams system. Kobe's approach is, I'm going to do the winning. I have to take the last shot, I have to do something. Doesn't trust the system in those tight situations. Ability wise, talent wise, they are equal. I say give Tmac that spot on the 00-03 Lakers and they win those rings still. Not only that, but Tmac would never have a qualm with Shaq over shots because he loves passing (on top of them being friends).