McHale / Garnett Comparison

[Laimbeer]

McHale / Garnett Comparison

[Prolific Scorer]

I like McHale as an offensive player (because of his post game / desire to score), KG for everything else.

I'd say KG is significently more complete as a basketball player, i don't know about being alot better when you factor in intangibles.

[Harison]

McHale had one THE best footworks in the game, as good as Garnett's footwork is, there is a difference. Other than that, KG is pretty much better in everything else, defense, rebounding, passing, etc. Intangibles is another factor why KG is better, for example McHale played like a game (nothing wrong with it, just the lack of intense drive to win is what separates him from Bird, MJ, Rus, KG, etc.). Bird even collided over it with McHale, he didnt liked laid-back attitude.

[CellarDoor]

Went with Garnett being significantly better. McHale was a great post scorer-- better than KG--but that was negated somewhat by his tendency to be a black hole and kill ball movement.

[ronnymac2]

Kg and it's not that close. Mchale was a great player, but he's overrated. He's not on KG's level all-time. Imagine if you replaced Mchale with KG on the 80's Celtics.....

[kooldude]

Mchale had the greatest post moves in the history of the NBA by a giant distance. KG is severely overrated all-time by today's young viewers who only rely on youtube and box scores. Mchale is easily a better scorer and offensive player than KG. His defense is also underrated as it is at minimum, comparable to KG's at his prime. He played with Larry Bird and Robert Parish who would be the best and 2nd best players if they played in this era, and Mchale were still able to put up great numbers. If today's fans watched the game instead of just the box scores, then you will know Mchale is 7X the player KG is. Today, Mchale wouldn't even be drafted because having the best post moves in league history isn't good enough opposed to a wannabe SF in a center's body that takes 15 footers and overrated defense.

[CellarDoor]

Mchale had the greatest post moves in the history of the NBA by a giant distance. KG is severely overrated all-time by today's young viewers who only rely on youtube and box scores. Mchale is easily a better scorer and offensive player than KG. His defense is also underrated as it is at minimum, comparable to KG's at his prime. He played with Larry Bird and Robert Parish who would be the best and 2nd best players if they played in this era, and Mchale were still able to put up great numbers. If today's fans watched the game instead of just the box scores, then you will know Mchale is 7X the player KG is. Today, Mchale wouldn't even be drafted because having the best post moves in league history isn't good enough opposed to a wannabe SF in a center's body that takes 15 footers and overrated defense.

Are you just trying to be cute, cause i'm not seeing any votes for McHale on the board yet.

[Laimbeer]

Mchale had the greatest post moves in the history of the NBA by a giant distance. KG is severely overrated all-time by today's young viewers who only rely on youtube and box scores. Mchale is easily a better scorer and offensive player than KG. His defense is also underrated as it is at minimum, comparable to KG's at his prime. He played with Larry Bird and Robert Parish who would be the best and 2nd best players if they played in this era, and Mchale were still able to put up great numbers. If today's fans watched the game instead of just the box scores, then you will know Mchale is 7X the player KG is. Today, Mchale wouldn't even be drafted because having the best post moves in league history isn't good enough opposed to a wannabe SF in a center's body that takes 15 footers and overrated defense.

Well, don't know if I'd go quite that far, but having seen McHale and his effectiveness, particularly low post offense, Garnett doesn't seem to have more, if even equal, impact on a game.

I'd rate McHale at least even.

[tsherkin]

This isn't close.

Garnett is a way better rebounder and defender, a VASTLY superior passer and he scores well enough that McHale doesn't make up enough ground there.

McHale was a really good 2nd/3rd player behind one of the 6 greatest players in the history of the game. He had a host of really nice moves, including a mid-range J that he used to get a lot of assisted buckets from Bird.

But there is absolutely no question that he doesn't approach and MVP/DPOY player in terms of on-court impact.

A lot of McHale's work was from short-range Js, a simple move that took him into the paint for a fadeaway and put-backs on offensive boards. He also got the hi-lo thing happening because of his long-ass arms.

McHale was really good, don't mistake me, but not THAT good, not Garnett good.

[The Main Event]

KG all day

[Sedale Threatt]

Some good summaries already. I saw both and I'd take Garnett pretty comfortably. It's somewhat ironic that the one thing he lacks -- a dependable low-post game -- is exactly what McHale thrived at. As for everything else, I'd take Garnett, especially his passing, defense and all-around IQ.

[Laimbeer]

McHale was an exceptional defensive player - three times each first and second all-NBA. Not Garnett type acolades, but he was outstanding.

As for passing the ball, it was a shortcoming, but did you really want him giving it up?

[Point forward]

I'll probably take the MVP, DPOY and triple double threat Garnett over McHale, although Kevin was one of the most dangerous #2 options of all time. As mentioned, he was a post move magician who played tight D (both perimeter and post) and almost perfectly complemented his #1 guy on D and O. But in the end, the gap between Garnett and McHale is about the gap between D-Wade and Tony Parker. There is a reason why McHale was a backup to Cedric Maxwell at first and only once cracked the Top 10 of a MVP vote.

EDIT: also look at durability! Garnett already has played 1,055 NBA games and still is one of the best big men in the game. McHale's career ended at 971, and the last third of his career was blighted by overexerting his broken foot in the 1987 NBA Finals.

[drza]

McHale was an exceptional defensive player - three times each first and second all-NBA. Not Garnett type acolades, but he was outstanding.

As for passing the ball, it was a shortcoming, but did you really want him giving it up?

Mchale was a very good defensive player, no doubt, but it's about who he's being compared to. KG is quite arguably the best defensive player outright of this decade, and if he doesn't win there's really only at most 2 or 3 others in the conversation. As an analogy, it's like saying that Mark Price was a comparable point guard to Magic Johnson because Price made a few All-NBA teams. There is a difference of degree that shows up at the very top, and KG's defensive advantages over Mchale are pretty significant.

And to truly be a first-option offensive player, yeah, I would want Mchale to be able to give up the ball to his teammates. It's the same issue that his last protege, Al Jefferson, has been trying to overcome in Minnesota. It's great to be an efficient low-post scorer, but if you're going to be the best player on your offense you've got to be able to get the rest of your team involved. It worked out for Mchale because he got to just be a secondary offensive player with Larry Bird as the engine, but it is definitely a weakness when being compared to someone like KG who's been the offensive general for most of his teams.

[Roger Murdock]

If you had to rank their top 10 seasons collectively you would get 8 or 9 that belong to KG.

[LebronsCavs]

Easily Kg, Mchale gets over hyped because of the bling.

[rrravenred]

Garnett, due to his all-court defence and particularly due to his passing.

Versatility wins the day for this comparison.

[call.me.dude]

(...) His defense is also underrated as it is at minimum, comparable to KG's at his prime. (...) He played with Larry Bird and Robert Parish who would be the best and 2nd best players if they played in this era (...) Mchale is 7X the player KG is.

Yeaaaaaah riight.