RealGM Greatest Peaks Project (2022): #1 - 1990-91 Michael Jordan

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Re: RealGM Greatest Peaks Project (2022): #1 

Post#181 » by MyUniBroDavis » Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:25 pm

Colbinii wrote:1) LeBron James (2016)
B) LeBron James (2017)
C) LeBron James (2013)
D) LeBron James (2012)

2) Tim Duncan (2003)
3) Wilt Chamberlain (1967)


#1 LeBron James
Spoiler:
I have LeBron James at #1 as I believe he reached a level in the post-season no other player has reached. He was impacting more possessions (Offense and Defense combined) in games no other player in NBA history could have impacted and did so for multiple games per series.

This is my quote from Odinn's Top 12 seasons of Player X and Y thread, which I still standby to this day.

The first tier are the 4 seasons where these players had the combination of physical imprint combined with a clear understanding of the system and could bring their games to levels, when needed, that no other perimeter players in NBA history have achieved. I value Lebron's offensive heliocentrism here and his team defense more in a vacuum than Jordan's scoring and turnover economy with his risk-defined style on the defensive end.


Focusing more on Jordan and LeBron versus the rest of the perimeter players, I am not seriously considering another perimeter player until #10, which shows just how incredible Jordan and LeBron were as two-way players, high volume scorers and offensive savant's in offensive systems they understood inside-and-out.

Jumping into some statistics maybe not covered in the 10-series novel posted earlier in this thread (which I haven't read in-full yet)...

LeBron James vs Detroit: 4 Games, 22.8/9.0/6.8, 1.8 steals, 21.1 3P%, 3.3 TO

Essentially a mediocre to below average prime LeBron series by the box-score, but the most important part of every player at this stage in the Top Peaks (and really all 40 of the top peaks) is how much impact a player has beyond the box-score. Kyrie Irving, for example, had a spectacularly efficient series: 27.5 Points, 6.5 TOV%, 58.5 TS%. The point emphasis and focus though should be this: The Cavaliers played at a net +16.8 Points/100 with James on the court and +3.0 Points/100 with Kyrie on the court. The Cavaliers offense exceeded 120 Ortg with James on the court, a level reserved for the GOAT offensive players.

LeBron James vs Atlanta: 24.3/8.5/7.8, 3.0 steals, 4.25 TO, 57.3 TS%

Box-Score looks a bit better, but let's back up. Atlanta is a 101.4 Defense Rating (2nd in NBA) and 3.49 SRS team. This team is significantly better than either opponent Jordan faced in round 1 or 2 in 1991. The Hawks are coming off a series played in 2016 holding their opponents to a 94.5 Ortg. That's incredible, and the team was Boston who was respectable (2.83 SRS, 8th in NBA, 10th rated Offense and 4th Rated Defense).

Now, look at what LeBron and the Cavaliers did to dismantle this defense--the 2nd best in the league and one looking like an all-time great defense through the regular season and 1st round of the playoffs...The Cavaliers played at a net +19,1 Points/100 with James on the court and +18.4 Points/100 with Kyrie on the court and +23.3 with Kevin Love. If anyone think LeBron is difficult to play with or diminishing his teammates efficiency...
LeBron James On-Court Ortg: 122.2
Kevin Love On-Court Ortg: 123.7
Kyrie Irving On-Court Ortg: 124.6

These numbers are against a 101.4 Rated Defense, that's producing an offense over +20 points per 100 better than what this defense gave up in the regular season and nearly +30 points per 100 better than what they gave up against the 10th best offense in round 1 over 6 games.

Next-up, LeBronto--the team that wins the championship in its first year after LeBron leaves the conference.

LeBron James vs Toronto: 26.0/8.5/6.7, 2.0 steals, 66.5 TS%

There is the ultra-efficient LeBron scoring series but perhaps not even the best part of the series from LeBron. While he posted an all-time great scoring series, and led the Cavaliers to a 121.3 Ortg when on the court resulting in a +19.2 Net Rating per 100 when on the court, it was his defense against the 5th best offense which leaves me the most impressed. The Cavaliers best defenders by on-court rating were point-of-attack defenders (We saw this in 2020 with Caruso as well where LeBron and a POA defender were all-time great levels defensively) and this is something when combined with LeBron James makes his defense unfair. LeBron is so cerebral and intelligent defensively, having someone be able to disrupt and force the offense into making a decision on your clock is playing right into the hands of a defense and IQ Savant like James. This skill is also something which made Jordan so amazing at getting steals and being disruptive when his Point-of-attack point guards like Armstrong and Harper where running around hounding the ball.

NBA Finals--It has been talked about extensively. Best Finals ever and best 3-game stretch in NBA History and not just because LeBron was hot shooting.


#2 Tim Duncan
I voted him #1 in the last peaks project. Simply able to appreciate Jordan and LeBron as defenders a bit more as well as their volume/resiliency as scorers carrying more weight for me than it has in the past. I like Duncan the best as a two-way guy out of all the big-men which makes him #3 overall [and #2 for my remaining peaks].

Most of this is copy-paste from the previous peaks project and this first part is simply me explaining how 2002 and 2003 were similar and the differences between the two seasons.

This season starts as a follow-up to what many believe as Tim Duncan’s “real peak”, circa 2002. Duncan came off a productive regular season in 2002 and a great playoff run which resulted in an unfortunate [for non-Laker fans] end in only the Western Conference Semi-Finals where Duncan showed why he was worthy of the MVP trophy by outplaying the dynamic duo of Shaq and Kobe. While Duncan and the Spurs lost in 5 games to the eventual NBA-Champions, the ever-silent Tim Duncan put on a showcase while missing his career-long running mate David Robinson to injuries while his second option Tony Parker experienced major growing pains as a 19-year old Rookie. Duncan showcased an ability in 2002 to carry an offensive load many doubted while still being the best defender in the league.

2003 Featured a new strategy for Popovich, Duncan and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs. After David Robinson’s body ended 2002 on the pavement the Spurs decided to rest Robinson during the season [78 GP in 2002, 64 in 2003] while actively grooming Tony Parker and featuring him more offensively as he buds into an NBA-level Point Guard. Knowing the aforementioned changes, the Spurs decided to “run it back” with a similar roster while bolstering the bench with the addition of Steve Kerr to add much needed spacing and a veteran presence; an aspect Antonio Daniels failed to deliver on in 2002. Ultimately this deal doesn’t show up in the box-score as Kerr was a DNP for a majority of the playoffs [averaging a mere 4.6 MPG in 10 games] while young players like Tony Parker (20), Manu Ginobili (25) and Stephen Jackson (24) took on larger roles on both ends of the court.

Spoiler:
Statistical Comparison

RS Per Game: 23.3 Points, 12.9 TRB, 3.2 ORB, 3.9 AST, 0.7 STL, 2.9 BLK, 3.1 TOV
PS Per Game: 24.7 Points, 15.4 TRB, 4.0 ORB, 5.3 AST, 0.6 STL, 3.3 BLK, 3.2 TOV
RS Per 100: 31.6 Points, 17.5 TRB, 4.3 ORB, 5.3 AST, 1.4 STL, 4.0 BLK, 4.2 TOV
PS Per 100: 30.6 Points, 19.1 TRB, 5.0 ORB, 6.6 AST, 0.8 STL, 4.1 BLK, 3.9 TOV
RS Individual Ortg/Drtg: 112/94; +18
PS Individual Ortg/Drtg: 116/92; +24
RS Advanced: 26.9 PER, 56.4 TS% [+4.5 Rel League Avg], 45.5% FTR, 19.5 AST%, 12.9 TOV%, 28.0 USG%, 16.5 WS [.248 WS/48], 7.4 BPM, 7.6 VORP
PS Advanced: 28.4 PER, 57.7 TS% [+5.8 Rel League Avg], 56.3% FTR, 25.5 AST%, 12.9 TOV%, 26.4 USG%, 5.9 WS [.279 WS/48], 11.6 BPM, 3.5 VORP
RS On/Off (Offense then Defense): 107.9/97.5 +9.7; 98.1/103.2 -5.1; Net: +9.1 On Court, +14.8 On/Off
PS On/Off (Sample too Small): 105.3/90.0 +15.3; 96.2/104.0 -7.8; Net: +9.1 On Court, +23.1 On/Off

When doing a side-by-side comparison it is quite evident [and clear] that Duncan performed even greater in the post-season than he did during his MVP-level Regular Season. This alone should be a tell-tale sign that Duncan performed at his highest level against the highest level of competition. Duncan’s ability to be an elite playmaker from the post in combination with his elite rim protection has never been duplicated since the merger. Only 4 other times has a player averaged 5+ Assists and 3+ Blocks in a series: 1977 Walton and 2002 Tim Duncan and then two other times in 3 game series from Chris Webber and Bob Lanier. Duncan’s gigantic scoring advantage over Walton [24.7 PPG on +5.8 TS% vs 18.2 PPG on +1.6 TS%] makes Duncan’s run one of the most statistically unique Playoff Runs in NBA History.

Looking back at the 2003 season as a whole the league was in a slow, grindy and defensive era. With League Average Offensive Rating at 103.6, True Shooting Percentage at 51.9% and Pace at 91 Possessions/Game the game was at it’s apex for defense [Post-Merger] while yet to adapt to the space provided by the 3-point line. This resulted in the post being cluttered offensively and big men to have a great impact on the defensive end.

The Spurs figured out how to capitalize on the Slow and defensive minded era; Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan was utilized in a way to generate 3 point shots and specifically the corner 3. The Spurs led the league in Percentage of Corner 3’s taken with 40% of their 3 point shots being corner 3’s. This was in large part due to the driving ability of a young Tony Parker [still 20 years old] and the gravity which Duncan encompassed offensively. The second most important part of the Spurs offense was the ability to generate lay-ups; again generated by the ability of Duncan’s passing from the high-post, low-block and free-throw area.

The Spurs offense in the post-season, with the catalyst Tim Duncan, was able to play the type of game [Spurs Ball] in all of the series they played in. The Pace in their 4 series were 90.8, 90.4, 92.6 and 87.8 [FWIW the Spurs Pace for the season was exactly 90.0, the average of the 4 series being 90.4]. This was in large part because of Tim Duncan’s ability to control the game as a PF/C; a rarity in the history of the NBA.

When the Spurs were unable to play at the exact pace they wanted they were able to adapt and outplay their opponents at what they did best; specifically the Nets and Mavericks. As you may know, the 2003 Mavericks and 2003 Nets were each the best in the league at one aspect of the game. The Mavericks were the best offense in the NBA while the Nets were the best Defense in the NBA. Ultimately both teams were dismantled by the Spurs by their own game.

Mavericks: 110.7 Ortg played at their pace [92.5 RS, 92.4 PS] and outscored by 30 points over the 6 game series. The Mavericks were held to a 104.0 Offense [-6.7] while the Spurs nearly matched Dallas’ season Offensive Rating in 109.4.

Nets: 98.1 Drtg played at the Spurs pace [91.6 RS, 87.8 PS] which took away the ability to run with Jason Kidd, one of the most dynamic playmakers in the open-court in NBA History. The Nets were unable to stop the Spurs as the Spurs eclipsed the 98.1 Drtg the Nets had in the regular season [Spurs put up 100.0 Ortg] but the slower pace affected the Nets greatly, posting a mere 93.3 Ortg in the lopsided; 6 game series.

NBA Finals Deep-Dive:

While the Spurs and Nets faced off in the 2003 Finals the biggest match-ups were Parker/Kidd and Collins/Duncan. The Nets were going to win if Collins could help keep Duncan in check [Collins is an all-time great post-defender] or if Kidd could run up-and-down the floor. While I highlighted earlier in my post about the Spurs [and Duncan’s] ability to slow down the Nets by eliminating transition opportunities, one often major aspect to the series was Collins inability to stay out of foul trouble while guarding Tim Duncan [and Kenyon Martin].

Kenyon Martin fell into Foul Trouble in Games 1, 2, 4, 5 while Collins fouled out in Game 3 and was routinely in foul trouble throughout the series. This was, in large part, due to Duncan’s post-presence [averaging 9 FTA/G and a 49.5% FTR].

FWIW, Jason Collins was absolutely dominant in the post-season as a defender. In his 529 minutes on the court the Nets posted a 92.2 Defensive Rating [Absurd] but in his 446 minutes on the bench the Nets were a measly 106.1 [A difference of 13.1 Points per 100]. I understand it is a small sample size, but the fact remains that Jason Collins was a key part for a Nets victory in 2003 and Duncan single handedly took him out of the game [as well as Kenyon Martin].

Individual Offensive/Defensive Ratings: I know many people love these, I have been more interested in these statistics lately [in part because of E-Balla calling me out on not understanding them fully] and re-analyzing them with-in the statistical landscape and scope. They often line-up with my personal eye-test [though I do wear glasses] and they happen to capture a good part of the game.

Duncans in the 2003 NBA Finals: 109 Ortg/83 Drtg [Net + 26]
Jordan 1991: 125/102 [Net +23]
James 2012: 117/109 [Net +8]
Shaq 01: 115/101 [Net +14]

Scoring: Duncan was able to score 27.5% of his teams points in the post-season.
Jordan 1991: 30.8%
LeBron 2012: 28.0%
Shaq 01: 32.8%


#3 Wilt Chamberlain
I will go into this further in the next thread(s) but I think this is the year he put it all together, dialed back some of the volume scoring and had his largest impact on the game of basketball. Interesting to think he could have had the highest peak from 1967-1991.


Wrong thread lol
iggymcfrack wrote: I have Bird #19 and Kobe #20 on my all-time list and both guys will probably get passed by Jokic by the end of this season.


^^^^ posted January 8 2023 :banghead: :banghead:

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