Which Team Wins?

[Scepticalscribe]

But who would win in a rhubarb pie eating contest?

Yes. This is the question that I, too, would like to have an answer to. Do you get bonus marks for eating your rhubarb pie neatly?

Re basketball, the game, I also admit to no knowledge whatsoever.

However, as politics interests me (hugely), and, as I do pay heed to that strange intersection where sports and politics sometimes collide, (which often offers a fascinating perspective on matters) I do recall the commentary - and surprise - which surrounded the demise of the so-called 'Dream Team'.

Yes, I suppose demographics matter in this sort of bizarre recall. The year was 1988. The venue was Seoul. And the occasion to which I refer was the Olympic Games, specifically, the basketball competition which featured what US commentators referred to as 'the Dream Team', which was comprised of US players, some of whom, apparently, were extraordinarily talented. They lost. To a political entity that no longer exists (tempus fugit)......

 

[loon3y]

That team would be a dynasty in the making. Harden is already the best SG in the league. (Sorry Kobe or DWade).

best SG in the league? you got to be kidding right?


Harden is the best shooting guard in the league? and he comes 5th in scoring on team where he virtually carries most of the scoring load?


when a kobe and wade have to share the ball from the likes of lebron, howard, gasol, bosh, and nash? AND kobe averaged more points? and do NOT tell me parsons, lin, and friends are comparable to these accomplished players. harden has the green light on that team.


dont give me that kobe ball hog crap, harden has the ball as much as kobe and kobe is a grandpa compared to the kid, if he was "better", im sure he'd average more than a player who is 70 in basketball years.



lol one year after this kid chokes in the finals, now this guys the best SG in the league?

i need to see more than one year, and an actual playoff run before i say any of that.

D-wade is going down hill, and it will be nothing like how kobe matured, because wade THRIVES on athleticism, which is his main strong point in the game. u can make an argument that harden maybe better than wade, but still give wade a team that compliments him, and he'd be up there in scoring too, the fact is he has to share the ball.

harden is a beast, no doubt but hes not proven in the playoffs, he hasnt proved that he has just better than "putting up numbers"

these numbers need to mean something, they need to equal in playoff wins. than ill put him up there.

hes an amazing player, hes a combo guard that has a nice shooting stroke and court vision.

but him putting up numbers, and especially just for one year, considering him the best SG is just so disrespectful.


its funny how espn and the nba try to market certain players, while some players that have been putting up consistent numbers go unnoticed and are virtually invisible.

if james harden didnt blow up in OKC and got drafted by the pistons or bobcats, hed just be another monta ellis, al jefferson, kevin martin.

so no i do not believe hes the best shooting guard in the NBA,

all hes shown me is losses in the playoffs, and houston in the playoffs made what noise this year? no noise.

look at derrick rose in his rookie year, right off the bat in the first round they had a legendary classic series with the celtics,

see the difference?


kobe at 34 had one of the best statistical (i mean who really values on stats except for BSPN and horrendous coaches like mike brown) seasons last year.

no player, especially a perimeter player is ever going to mock that, no way. almost like reaching stocktons assist record, how having productive years like kareem at age 39

 

[2298754]

^ maybe I should have prefaced that statement and said that I'm a diehard Lakers fan and love Kobe.

Ill answer the rest of your reply later (I'm on my phone), but yes, I believe that Harden is the best SG in the league right now. The way he played last season, he's at a superstar level.

Him, Paul George, and Kyrie are the NBA's next superstars.

 

[leftywamumonkey]

^ maybe I should have prefaced that statement and said that I'm a diehard Lakers fan and love Kobe.

Ill answer the rest of your reply later (I'm on my phone), but yes, I believe that Harden is the best SG in the league right now. The way he played last season, he's at a superstar level.

Him, Paul George, and Kyrie are the NBA's next superstars.

I agree. Harden is the best SG in the league at this moment, sure Kobe has had a better career, but he's also near his end. Harden is still only 24 years young. He's the SG I would pick if I had to rebuild. He's also more efficient than Kobe, which is what really matters.
Kyrie and Paul George are going to have one hell of a season too.
Oh and mark my words, Drummond will be the best center in a few years. The guy has a body of a center and the quickness of a guard.

Drummond strips Wade twice. Even though he didn't make that Euro step at the end, it's really impressive for a guy his size.

 

[loon3y]

I agree. Harden is the best SG in the league at this moment, sure Kobe has had a better career, but he's also near his end. Harden is still only 24 years young. He's the SG I would pick if I had to rebuild. He's also more efficient than Kobe, which is what really matters.
Kyrie and Paul George are going to have one hell of a season too.
Oh and mark my words, Drummond will be the best center in a few years. The guy has a body of a center and the quickness of a guard.

Drummond strips Wade twice. Even though he didn't make that Euro step at the end, it's really impressive for a guy his size.

one year.


all hes shown us is one year,

until hes shown any consistency ( i dont doubt he will) at least for me minimum 4 years than ill accept it.

hell look at the steve francis's, marburys of the league.

and now hes going to have a legit 2nd fiddle player (no way dwight is the first option) on the team, where as last year it was just hyped up role players in parsons, lin, and with asik doing pretty good last year.


but best shooting guard in the NBA already? after simply one year? with kobe putting basically better numbers then him at age 34?

and again hes not proven at all in the playoffs, last time he was in a significant series (which was the NBA Finals against the Heat) he choked, he choked pretty hard.

give me more consistency, the ability to adapt with the roster, 'PLAYOFF' Clutch moments where he stepped up.

i havent seen those, any player that gets the keys to the car and has the green light is going to put up exceptional numbers (given they have the talent)

hes a nice combo guard, he has much more to prove. i think is pretty disrespectful to proclaim him the best SG having one good year after a change of scenery. D-Wades breaking down, but i havent seen one play or instance where ive seen harden show that hes the best SG in the NBA. no way.

 

[ejb190]

I have always thought that this kind of exercise was pointless. You take outstanding players out of their time and compare them against players of another era. It's a loaded argument. The games have evolved. The qualities that made one player great might no longer be applicable in the modern context.

Okay, How about we compare Jesse Owens vs. Usain Bolt? Or how about the 1966 Green Bay Packers vs. the 2006 Indianapolis Colts? Though I grant the players listed are all relatively recent.

The other problem is you can hand pick a team of All-Stars and still end up with a lousy team. Coaching and player chemistry is a huge factor in winning a game.

Just enjoy a player's performance and abilities in the time in which they played.

 

[loon3y]

I have always thought that this kind of exercise was pointless. You take outstanding players out of their time and compare them against players of another era. It's a loaded argument. The games have evolved. The qualities that made one player great might no longer be applicable in the modern context.

Okay, How about we compare Jesse Owens vs. Usain Bolt? Or how about the 1966 Green Bay Packers vs. the 2006 Indianapolis Colts? Though I grant the players listed are all relatively recent.

The other problem is you can hand pick a team of All-Stars and still end up with a lousy team. Coaching and player chemistry is a huge factor in winning a game.

Just enjoy a player's performance and abilities in the time in which they played.

pointless?


this is pure fun, if you the thought of having all time greats playing against each other isnt enjoying to you, than i have hard time believe you love basketball.


we're not comparing the 60s to the 2000's, we're comparing early 00s to the late 00s

im not sure what you're trying to get at, considering anyone that watches basketball right now would of seen those 2 eras given that theyre in the same decade. so i dont know how your comparing your 1960s to a 1996 foot ball team analogy even works for this topic.


lol most players on those teams all played together in the league at one point, im not sure how this "different era, cant compare" argument comes from.

chemistry of course matters, but when you have great talent like that, it works, WHY? look at the dream team, look at the 2008 olympics, the 2012 olympics.


look at team 1 (starting line up), virtually everyone can shoot minus shaq, and nobodies stopping shaq inside the paint, so you cant double anyone, so it leaves one on one coverage for each player, which each of these players can overcome easily (with garnett being the weakest)


with team 2, you have only one player in the starting line up that actually has a shooting stroke, which is bosh. CP3 got really consistent with his J, but in no way i consider him having a complete shooters/scoring stroke, its just not him, and lebron and wade you already know, so initially you can leave wade and lebron outside in the perimeter to double howard or bosh, vice versa.

AI can guard cp3, but no way CP3 can guard AI (Proven through their meetings in the league AI won most of the time, i think CP3 only did better than AI twice in the match ups and tied once, i really dont understand how you're saying you cant compare when most of these players played each other against the league)


and theres kobe, well in his prime its proven neither lebron or wade can cover him. and T-Mac with a kobe and AI and SHaq on his team? how free'd up is this guy gonna be? a swingman thats constantly doubled and put pressure on is gonna get one man coverage? and god fordbid the other team doubles someone. T-Mac is a 6'9 Swingmang (shooting guard/small forward) lebron is going to have hard time guarding him, but that situation is vice versa, T-Mac is goingto have a hell of a time guarding him.


than you look at the front court, KG+Shaq over Dwight+Bosh? do i really need to explain this? first of all, KG is a better passer, and post player than bosh, not to mention a much smarter player, and a player thats proven to be much more clutch and o yeah, A MUCH BETTER DEFENSIVE PLAYER, than you have Shaq, someone dwight tried to be, but dude cant even score 20 points by creating for himself.

shaq is the last center to win a scoring title, with what averaging over 30 points?

you can easily analyze them, and all in team 2, they're basically in their prime, they're not gonna get much better, only slower and older at this point.

so basically we've seen the primes of everyone that was listed in this thread.

nobody on team 2 is going to get significantly better, these guys been in the league for 10 years

if they we're going to significantly improve, they would of done it by now, and if you wanna debate that than im for it.


and say you did compare to the 60s 70s 80s,

the hell? wilt, kareem, hakeem, ewing, robinson, would school ANY of the centers today, i mean who the hell do we have as top centers? Dwight? Bynum? i mean hibbert is a beast, but dude is a scrub compared to these legends.


their footwork was so great, of course they can transistion to todays game,

especially kareem and hakeem who were finesse centers.

im sure Magic, West, the Big O, gervin, drexler, Jordan, the mailman all cant play in todays game because it "evolved"


and say and old school team plays a modern team?

whos to say a run and gun team can beat a team that runs half court sets?

you dont, and run and gun teams hardly ever win titles.

so really, i dont know what you're trying to get at. maybe its different for football, but i wouldnt know, i dont speak on sports that i have limited knowledge on, because you look like a fool.