The Lakers with prime Kobe or the Nets with prime KG?

[therealbig3]

Instead of current Kobe, assume the Lakers have prime Kobe (for the sake of argument, 03 Kobe). Instead of Humphries starting at PF, give the Nets prime KG (04 KG). Who has the better team?

Nets

PG - Deron
SG - JJ
SF - Wallace
PF - 04 KG
C - Lopez

Lakers

PG - Nash
SG - 03 Kobe
SF - Artest
PF - Gasol
C - Howard

[drejeronfire]

I think the Lakers still have the edge in terms of pure talent... Would really depend on what kind of defensive effort a prime KG could coax out of this club.

[enetric]

No one loves KG more than me. But history will remember Kobe as ahead of KG as an all time player. Lets say for a sec that its close. I think it is personally and could make an argument for KG. I already think if you swap TD and KG Minny to SA that KG wins MORE than the 4 rings TD has. But that's another debate. One about how legacy is colored by championships even when results are not solely in the hands of the player as that this is a team sport where draft, cap space and good moves by your front office shape everything.

Anyway...lets just stick with this conversation.

Make it easy. Take Kobe and KG off the team as the two best players in the conversation. Who wins? Well, I think the flaw in these conversations is that people try to compare by positions. I say rank them 1-5 and match them up.

Dwight beats Deron
Pau-JJ....career Pau. Now? Close.
Nash beats Crash
Artest to me is done so even with all the hate Hump gets I think Hump is the better player.


When you look at it like this...its clear that a prime Kobe Vs. a Prime KG doesnt matter. They are better.

Hey Dre...how was that for objective on your boy Kobe?

[therealbig3]

But KG gets a lot more out of his teammates than Kobe does, and I would definitely take 04 KG individually over any version of Kobe, legacy be damned.

That's kind of why I picked these two players, because I totally agree that the Lakers without Kobe are better than the Nets without KG. But KG at his best was clearly a bit better than Kobe at his best to me.

[enetric]

Hey you might as well be rubbing my tummy and feeding me cookies right now with all that talk of KG over Kobe. I love it. But there is also a reality. Most will disagree with you. At the very least...its close. And yes...him and Deron do more to for others around them than Kobe does. But here is the thing. When you have Nash...you can be as much of a chucker as you want.

I dont know. I like what you are saying...but I am trying really hard to be objective. Maybe its close. Hell, to me KG in his prime destroys Dwight. While Dwight is miles ahead of all centers in the NBA today...I have said many times that his game has plenty of flaws. The lack of any great centers in the NBA right now exaggerates how good Dwight is. When you are the best at your spot by such a wide margin you are unquestionably of major value. But value is not the same thing as being an all time great.

Maybe I am just not as high in several of our guys. Perhaps that is what holds me back. I have always felt Paul was much better than Deron. I have noticed that even many Nets fans who once argued that with me have come around. Deron is very good. But I would point out that so far he hasnt made a dent at putting this team on his back and improving it one drop since he was acquired. When Kidd came here we were god awful. Took him one year. That's what a great player does. I am waiting to see Deron do that. This is his make or break season to me.

I feel Crash has declined and so has JJ to a lesser extent. Jury still out on Brook Lopez. So as much optimism as we create to the upside for our team...its all good until we actually have to play.

[llemon]

This is an incredibly moronic thread

[therealbig3]

This is an incredibly moronic thread

Coming from the guy who thinks Andrew Bynum is better than Dwight Howard...

[jeff1624]

This is an incredibly moronic thread

This was an incredibly moronic post.

As for the thread, I think E was on point (though I disagree with the Duncan<KG part). The rest of the team clearly gives the Lakers the advantage here.

[drejeronfire]

Duncan was always better than KG by a noticeable margin. Not only was KG a terrible "leader" in Minnesota, but he also had this bad tendency to disappear and shy away from contact when the pressure mounted.

People often confuse post-prime Duncan with Prime Duncan. In his Prime Duncan was a dominant two-way threat whose only weakness was his inconsistency from the free throw line.

Prime Duncan closed games in ways that Prime KG never did... Defensively I would contend that Prime Duncan was also better than Prime KG. KG has always been the more versatile defender and as they have aged his defense has fallen off less, but Prime Duncan's superior help defense / ability to anchor a defense kept many a players out of the lane and second guessing themselves.

(Duncan had more talent in San Antonio than KG did in Minnesota but part of KG's problem was that his theatrics and inability control his emotions often led him to running the talent the team did have out of down)

[enetric]

I dont mind someone picking TD over KG. Legacy makes for a good argument. But that's the most ridiculous break down of KG vs TD I have ever heard. Or rather I should say "extreme" nonsense which clearly I am getting is Drejeronfire's calling card. Just saying something you feel with absolute extremes and doing a crap ass job of backing it up? I mean come on.

TD played on great teams his entire career. They werent just better teams...they were ridiculously better teams. He JOINED that team as a great team.

KG played with the worst supporting cast in the entire NBA and still dragged them to playoffs every year. No joke. That team was a lottery team as bad as the Cavs supporting cast LBJ left behind his first year in Miami through MOST of KG's seasons in Minny. Sure Marbury was a could have been early on but that never had the time to gel or be realized. The best team KG played with might have been one to feature an OLD Cassell and tired Spreewell. And that's just sad. In between KG played with trash.

The Joe Smith fiasco is what went wrong in Minny. Being capped out and being punished to the tune of 5 years worth of draft picks? That team was stuck. it had a bad supporting cast and couldnt sign anyone, couldnt draft anyone and without prospects or contracts had little ability to trade for anyone of merit. Cant over look that detail its of huge importance. No superstar has ever had to overcome so many obstacles in the prime of their career.

KG made everyone on that team better...as awful as they were. You are talking about a 7' PF who led his team in points, rebounds AND assists every year. Consistent 20-10-5 guys? We are talking Bird...and KG. Compare the numbers for TD and KG in their primes. KG was other worldly across the board.

Spurs getting TD? Well, top 50 all NBA player David Robinson missed a year and their 55+ win team won a lottery. A little bit of luck goes a long way in this game.

I dont confuse or forget anything from any era. I am most likely older than you and knew this game well when you were still playing with your Pokemon cards. Acting like you have some sort of better recollection of this era or that one in your posts directed at me? Condescention added to ignorance and a lack of homework is going to start a routine of me pimp slapping you around thread after thread there skippy. Ask around. You do not have the knowledge base to come strong like that at ME. If you are going to speak with authority you better bring more than because "this is my opinion" or I will make you my bitch.

I left you a mountain of info on Kobe from 2004 in that other thread. Feel free to show me that you have any objectivity at all. You make these all encompassing silly statements and do a terrible job of supporting your arguments. And in that thread you werent just wrong...you were off your meds delusional. In this one? Its not picking TD over KG. Many will do that...and its perfectly fine. Its the absurd, laughable way you did it. The EXTREME to what you said and the facts you got totally F-ing wrong.

As for TD and the two way threat...he was no where near the two threat KG was. EVER. He NEVER guarded the other teams best big for primary minutes. He was a weak side shot blocker and great rebounder. Yes excellent help defender but his overall D has always been overstated as that he got his rest on D by guarding the big man who stood there holding towels for men's room most of the time.

KG...guarded the best player on the other team even if it was Tracy McGrady at the top of the key and then he rebounded even MORE than TD did on the same night. KG wasnt as much of a shot blocker...but in their primes KG was an all world do it all player. TD was as his nickname stated...fundamental. He was a classic throw back of what a PF does. And he was great at it. But switch them on each team and the legacy argument of titles removed...we have a different conversation. One was fundamental the other was spectacular. Breaking down their skill sets in their prime?

KG was the more versatile offensive player who could set up and beat you anywhere. In fact...I recall Bill Russell regarded as the greatest defensive big man in history (long before KG was a Celtic) say...that of the three great bigs in the NBA at that time, KG was the one he would have had the hardest time guarding. That his ability to beat you in NON fundamental ways was a weapon the likes of nothing in a big man we had ever seen before.

KG was the better man to man defender by a mile not even close. He was the better rebounder as well.

He was by far the better passer and play maker.

He was the better ft shooter.

As for his offensive versatility...in addition to the low blocks, he could put the ball on the floor and drive past you. He could set up on either wing. He could hit the three.

As for TD's help defense? Yes he was a great help defender and yes he anchored the inside and rarely guarded the other teams best offensive big man as a result. This is why many debated that he was really a center and NOT a PF in his prime. But you know what? its a lot easier to do that when you are playing with one of the NBA's greatest big men of all time in David Robinson. And even as Robinson declined he was a fantastic defender and took on the harder assignment. Anchoring the middle isnt harder when you have a guy like that next to you compared to playing on trash teams where you have to score, be the play maker...then defend against the other team's best offensive threat from Cweb, to Shaq to TD. Then, get on a plane and and defend McGrady and other self creators. KG literaly HAD to do it all.

So you want to say you pick TD over KG...he won titles...look at him fundamentally..so great...etc? No problem. TD is an all time great player. No argument from me.

But you come in with over the top nonsense like TD was better and its not even close and lets look at their primes????? NOT EVEN CLOSE??????????????

Stop it. I take KG but to say its not even close I would be talking out my ass just as you just did.

Its extremely close and the argument you gave was simply a distortion of reality. Any honest breakdown of their skill sets in their prime goes heavily to KG. Intangibles, results how to build around a guy? Those are reasonable arguments to support TD. Overall...of course its close!!!

[enetric]

This is an incredibly moronic thread

This was an incredibly moronic post.

As for the thread, I think E was on point (though I disagree with the Duncan<KG part). The rest of the team clearly gives the Lakers the advantage here.

See? Jeff and I disagree. But that's OK. He wasnt arrogant and all encompassing about it.

[therealbig3]

FWIW, I don't rank players by legacy, and I still rank Duncan over KG, but I do agree that it's extremely close (I have Duncan like 7th all time, and KG 10th).

Duncan imo was a better defensive player, a little worse offensively, but I felt there was a bigger gap defensively (not much, just a bigger small gap than the small gap on offense). It's tough, they're pretty much equal across the board.

Where I give Duncan the benefit of the doubt is his playoff performance. He had an extra gear he could go to, and he got even better in the playoffs. KG didn't seem to have that extra gear (still a ridiculously high impact player though). I'm not even talking about winning games, I'm talking about how they individually played.

[therealbig3]

BTW, Duncan did defend Shaq for a significant amount of time when the Lakers and Spurs played against each other. Robinson was his primary defender, but TD guarded him more than he gets credit for, and he actually did a better job than Robinson.

TD did guard KG and Sheed head to head as well, after Robinson was no longer there.

Just because he didn't have to do something doesn't mean he couldn't. I'm sure if Minnesota had a guy like an older D-Rob, they wouldn't have KG doing literally EVERYTHING and they would probably let D-Rob guard the tough assignment on defense.

Duncan was a much better low post scorer. KG was better from midrange. Comparable defensively (probably take Duncan overall), comparable on the boards (prime vs prime, KG peaked higher, Duncan was more consistent). KG was a better passer (Duncan was a great passer too though)...KG did handle PG duties though and averaged quite a few more assists than Duncan, so I'll give him a decent edge in this department (I might take KG as the greatest passing big man ever).

So they overall seem pretty even in terms of how they impact a game. That's why to me, playoff performance decides it, and Duncan was better than KG in that regard.

[jeff1624]

This is an incredibly moronic thread

This was an incredibly moronic post.

As for the thread, I think E was on point (though I disagree with the Duncan<KG part). The rest of the team clearly gives the Lakers the advantage here.

See? Jeff and I disagree. But that's OK. He wasnt arrogant and all encompassing about it.

I was trying to be, though.

[drejeronfire]

I dont mind someone picking TD over KG. Legacy makes for a good argument. But that's the most ridiculous break down of KG vs TD I have ever heard. Or rather I should say "extreme" nonsense which clearly I am getting is Drejeronfire's calling card. Just saying something you feel with absolute extremes and doing a crap ass job of backing it up? I mean come on.

TD played on great teams his entire career. They werent just better teams...they were ridiculously better teams. He JOINED that team as a great team.

KG played with the worst supporting cast in the entire NBA and still dragged them to playoffs every year. No joke. That team was a lottery team as bad as the Cavs supporting cast LBJ left behind his first year in Miami through MOST of KG's seasons in Minny. Sure Marbury was a could have been early on but that never had the time to gel or be realized. The best team KG played with might have been one to feature an OLD Cassell and tired Spreewell. And that's just sad. In between KG played with trash.

The Joe Smith fiasco is what went wrong in Minny. Being capped out and being punished to the tune of 5 years worth of draft picks? That team was stuck. it had a bad supporting cast and couldnt sign anyone, couldnt draft anyone and without prospects or contracts had little ability to trade for anyone of merit. Cant over look that detail its of huge importance. No superstar has ever had to overcome so many obstacles in the prime of their career.

KG made everyone on that team better...as awful as they were. You are talking about a 7' PF who led his team in points, rebounds AND assists every year. Consistent 20-10-5 guys? We are talking Bird...and KG. Compare the numbers for TD and KG in their primes. KG was other worldly across the board.

Spurs getting TD? Well, top 50 all NBA player David Robinson missed a year and their 55+ win team won a lottery. A little bit of luck goes a long way in this game.

I dont confuse or forget anything from any era. I am most likely older than you and knew this game well when you were still playing with your Pokemon cards. Acting like you have some sort of better recollection of this era or that one in your posts directed at me? Condescention added to ignorance and a lack of homework is going to start a routine of me pimp slapping you around thread after thread there skippy. Ask around. You do not have the knowledge base to come strong like that at ME. If you are going to speak with authority you better bring more than because "this is my opinion" or I will make you my bitch.

I left you a mountain of info on Kobe from 2004 in that other thread. Feel free to show me that you have any objectivity at all. You make these all encompassing silly statements and do a terrible job of supporting your arguments. And in that thread you werent just wrong...you were off your meds delusional. In this one? Its not picking TD over KG. Many will do that...and its perfectly fine. Its the absurd, laughable way you did it. The EXTREME to what you said and the facts you got totally F-ing wrong.

As for TD and the two way threat...he was no where near the two threat KG was. EVER. He NEVER guarded the other teams best big for primary minutes. He was a weak side shot blocker and great rebounder. Yes excellent help defender but his overall D has always been overstated as that he got his rest on D by guarding the big man who stood there holding towels for men's room most of the time.

KG...guarded the best player on the other team even if it was Tracy McGrady at the top of the key and then he rebounded even MORE than TD did on the same night. KG wasnt as much of a shot blocker...but in their primes KG was an all world do it all player. TD was as his nickname stated...fundamental. He was a classic throw back of what a PF does. And he was great at it. But switch them on each team and the legacy argument of titles removed...we have a different conversation. One was fundamental the other was spectacular. Breaking down their skill sets in their prime?

KG was the more versatile offensive player who could set up and beat you anywhere. In fact...I recall Bill Russell regarded as the greatest defensive big man in history (long before KG was a Celtic) say...that of the three great bigs in the NBA at that time, KG was the one he would have had the hardest time guarding. That his ability to beat you in NON fundamental ways was a weapon the likes of nothing in a big man we had ever seen before.

KG was the better man to man defender by a mile not even close. He was the better rebounder as well.

He was by far the better passer and play maker.

He was the better ft shooter.

As for his offensive versatility...in addition to the low blocks, he could put the ball on the floor and drive past you. He could set up on either wing. He could hit the three.

As for TD's help defense? Yes he was a great help defender and yes he anchored the inside and rarely guarded the other teams best offensive big man as a result. This is why many debated that he was really a center and NOT a PF in his prime. But you know what? its a lot easier to do that when you are playing with one of the NBA's greatest big men of all time in David Robinson. And even as Robinson declined he was a fantastic defender and took on the harder assignment. Anchoring the middle isnt harder when you have a guy like that next to you compared to playing on trash teams where you have to score, be the play maker...then defend against the other team's best offensive threat from Cweb, to Shaq to TD. Then, get on a plane and and defend McGrady and other self creators. KG literaly HAD to do it all.

So you want to say you pick TD over KG...he won titles...look at him fundamentally..so great...etc? No problem. TD is an all time great player. No argument from me.

But you come in with over the top nonsense like TD was better and its not even close and lets look at their primes????? NOT EVEN CLOSE??????????????

Stop it. I take KG but to say its not even close I would be talking out my ass just as you just did.

Its extremely close and the argument you gave was simply a distortion of reality. Any honest breakdown of their skill sets in their prime goes heavily to KG. Intangibles, results how to build around a guy? Those are reasonable arguments to support TD. Overall...of course its close!!!

I enjoy a good debate. But it is difficult to have a good debate when the other side is, close-minded, pompous, and incapable of articulating themselves in a concise manner.

You are entitled to your opinion, but understand that your opinion does not amount to concrete fact.