Dennis Johnson/Sidney Moncrief vs. Gary Payton/Jrue Holiday

[AStark1991]

All at their peaks, which backcourt duo would you rather have?

[Mr Ringer]

All at their peaks, which backcourt duo would you rather have?

I really like Dennis and Sidney and do believe they would fit together

However, Payton is by far the best player here and it definitely a tie-breaker

[AStark1991]

All at their peaks, which backcourt duo would you rather have?

I really like Dennis and Sidney and do believe they would fit together

However, Payton is by far the best player here and it definitely a tie-breaker

It's a close call, but personally I would take Moncrief over Payton on a peak for peak basis. Payton undeniably had the longer and better overall career, but I think early/mid 80's Moncrief was better than mid/late 90's Payton. And Seattle/Phoenix era DJ easily clears peak Jrue. Due to him being mostly remembered for his time with the Celtics, it seems like a lot of people have forgotten that DJ was a bona fide star during his earlier years in the league. Finals MVP in 1979, 5th in MVP voting in 1980, and First Team All-NBA in 1981.

[penbeast0]

I would agree that peak Sid is better than peak Glove and peak DJ better than peak JRue. I am less thrilled about the fit with Moncrief and DJ (especially peak DJ) as neither were lead guards in their peak years though Nelson's system in Milwaukee was able to make it work well with Moncrief and Brian Winters who were both mainly 2 guards as well. Both did play some PG and both played in systems at their peak without a ball dominant lead so it will work well and I chose them, just clarifying that DJ in Seattle (peak) was not yet the decision maker he became in Boston though his athleticism, defense, and scoring were more explosive.

Career Moncrief goes from the strongest of the four to the weakest pretty clearly.