Theocy wrote:Kolkmania wrote:akhan786 wrote:Which is why Kyrie had to leave. People can't mentally separate how good he is from Lebron because most people didn't watch the Cavs until Bron came back.
There aren't 5 players in the league I'd rather have in the Finals let alone 20.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Paul George, John Wall, Gordon Hayward and Anthony Davis are the names on top of my head.
Can't imagine that the consensus here thinks that Kyrie is better than the list above right now(!), again the emphasis on right now, not multiple years from now.
There are debatable ones like Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Klay Thompson and Rudy Gobert who I personally value higher, two-way players who have value on both sides on the court. Next is a whole crop of PG's who are really similar in their offensive impact (Irving, Thomas, Lowry, Lillard, Walker) and other one-way players (Cousins, Jokic and KAT).
you really value Gasol Klay and Gobert higher than irving? Really? I get that you are trying to make a point about players liike Leonard and Anthony Davis but REALLY?
Those guys are listed in the "debatable" category and also dependent on the situation. Klay's ability to defend 1 through 3, with his ability to shoot the ball is so so valuable next to a primary initiator like Curry and James. As the primary option I obviously prefer Kyrie over Klay.
Gobert gets drastically underrated, he's the best rim protector in the league which limits the points allowed in the paint (the most efficient shot in basketball) and above all he's a really good and smart passer with great coordination to finish around the basket. Yeah I do think I'll choose Gobert over Kyrie in isolation.
My point is that Kyrie is an incredibly talented player, but he's sort of in the 15-25 range to me, with all those players being incredibly close in terms of value. That said, Irving is still 25 years old, so he has all the time to improve, but that's not the point. Theocy stated that he couldn't list 5 players in the league he'd rather have in the Finals, I find that idiotic.