Retro POY '87-88 (Voting Complete)

[Doctor MJ]

In this thread we'll discuss and vote on the top 5 best player seasons of '87-88. Some pointers:

-Change in schedule. We will now operate by splitting the week into thirds: Mon-Wed, Wed-Fri, Fri-Mon. I will label each thread with it's deadline.

-The voting panel is not officially closed. However, if you'd like to be a part of it, contact me - more dedicated, knowledgeable voters will always be wanted.

-This includes both regular and post-season. You should be weighing both in to some degree, and should not be ranking one star over another just because of how far each got in the playoffs.

-Vote sincerely. Do not move a player down in your voting to give another player an advantage. I would encourage every voter to give some explanations while they do their voting - but particularly if you have a top 5 that deviates strongly with the norm and you haven't expressed your thoughts on it earlier in the thread. If I'm not satisfied, I may ask you for more of an explanation - and it may come to actually booting people out of the project.

Some things to start us off:

Season Summary http://www.basketball-reference.com/lea ... _1988.html
Playoff Summary http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... _1988.html
Award Voting http://www.basketball-reference.com/awa ... _1988.html

Topics for '87-88

-Lakers repeat, back when repeats were rare
-Jordan takes first MVP
-Pistons take over the Eastern Conference

[JordansBulls]

Ranking thus far.

1. M.Jordan - Won League MVP and DPOY, Led in Win Shares on the season and WS per 48 minutes, Led in Season PER. Led the league in scoring in the season. Was 2nd in Playoff PER, averaged 45 ppg in the 1st round, Was 2nd in WS Per 48 minutes. All NBA 1st Team And 1st Team Defense.


2. Magic Johnson - Finished 2nd in MVP voting, was 1st in Win Shares in the playoffs, 5th in Playoff PER and All NBA 1st Team.


3. Larry Bird - Finished 3rd in MVP voting, 3rd in Win Shares, 2nd in PER in the season and 3rd in WS Per 48 in the season.


4. Hakeem Olajuwon - Finished 7th in MVP voting, finished 1st in Playoff PER and WS PER 48 minutes, All NBA 1st Team and 1st Team Defense


5. Charles Barkley - Finished 4th in MVP voting, 2nd in Win Shares, and 3rd in PER, and 2nd in WS per 48 minutes, All NBA 1st Team



HM: Dominique Wilkins, Clyde Drexler

[sp6r=underrated]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZXFFD6 ... 1&index=27

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZXFFD6eSM&feature=PlayList&p=18B3B105CF74E328&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=27[/youtube]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm

Bird's Shooting

First two rounds: 112/220 (.509)
ECF: 40-114 (.351)

Game 1 NYTIMES

There have been some strange happenings at the Boston Garden these last eight days to go with the power failure Tuesday.

The Boston Celtics' power has also faltered. A week ago, the Atlanta Hawks snapped a 13-game Boston Garden losing streak in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal. Tonight, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Celtics, 104-96, in the opening game of the conference final.


The Pistons ended a string of 21 losses on the parquet floor of the Garden, where Boston has a 134-10 record since the start of the 1985-86 season.

Laimbeer Injured

Moreover, the Pistons, led by Isiah Thomas's 35 points and 12 assists, accomplished the feat while losing Bill Laimbeer, their starting center, who suffered a bruised muscle in his right shoulder in a collision with Robert Parish and Danny Ainge.

The collision happened while the players were chasing a missed Celtic shot with seven and a half minutes left in the third period and Boston ahead, 62-56.

''I was trying to box out Ainge,'' said the 6-foot-11-inch Laimbeer. ''The ball was loose and as I went for it, I felt something pop in the shoulder.''

About an hour after the game. Dr. Benjamin Paolucci, the Pistons' team physician, said X-rays taken at a local hospital were negative. He listed Laimbeer as questionable for Thursday night, when the second of the four-of-seven-game series will be played.

It was almost as if the Pistons did not need Laimbeer tonight. James Edwards, whom the Pistons got from the Phoenix Suns just before the trading deadline in February, virtually shut down Parish in his 22 minutes of playing time. Parish, who had 14 points, made only 5 for 14 shots from the field, going 2 for 7 in the second half.

A Strong Bench

The contribution by Edwards was another example of the Pistons' bench strength, which could play a key role before this series is over. It did tonight.

With the score tied at 19-19 in the first period, the Piston reserves ran off 15 straight points. When K. C. Jones, the Celtic coach, went to his bench at about the same time, he got 4 points.

''It looked like they came out of a tough seven-game series, like they did,'' said Chuck Daly, the Piston coach. ''They looked and played a little tired. They missed shots they normally hit in this building.

''We were fairly rested. We got a lot of play from a lot of people and leading it all was Isiah. He made some big, big shots over some big people.''

Thomas, the All-Star playmaker, appeared as though he were trying to make up for the inbound pass Larry Bird intercepted in the closing seconds that cost the Pistons a victory in Game 5 of last year's Eastern final.

Playing 44 minutes, he penetrated, found the open man with his sharp passes, shot 12 for 17 from the field and hounded Danny Ainge, who missed 11 of 18 shots. And he was at his best in the final quarter with the game on the line.

With the Pistons ahead after three quarters, 75-73, Thomas took over the game with a 15-point final period. He hit a 3-pointer at the start of the period to make it 78-73, and made another with five and a half minutes left in the game that gave the Pistons an 8-point advantage.

''I'm learning to assert myself in games,'' Thomas said. ''Tonight, my shot fell from the outside and I was able to hit some big shots when we needed them.''

While Thomas was stepping to the forefront in the final period, Bird disappeared, which is unusual for him. His 20 points came the hard way: 8-for-20 shooting that included misses on his last four shots. He was 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter. Bird had to work without the picks that McHale and Parish usually set for him when he comes off the screen, but the Pistons' interior defense had something to do with that.

''They only scored 104 points,'' said McHale, who scored 31. ''If you can't beat that, your offense isn't that good and ours was not very good tonight.''

Game 2 NYTIMES

Several times tonight at the Boston Garden, the message board flashed ''C'mon Celtics,'' as if it were begging for a victory.

After 58 minutes of grueling basketball, marked by several almosts when both teams thought they had the victory locked up, the Celtics won in the second overtime, 119-115.

The Celtics tied the four-of-seven-game series at one game apiece and sent it to the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., for games Saturday and Monday afternoons.

Boston needed heroic performances from Kevin McHale in the first overtime and Dennis Johnson, who scored 6 points in the final 1 minute 25 seconds of the second extra session.


McHale Hits 3-Point Shot

A second overtime would not have been played were it not for McHale, who hit a 3-point shot with 5 seconds remaining to tie the score at 109-109. Two seconds earlier the Pistons were celebrating after Isiah Thomas, the playmaker, who had 24 points and 11 assists, hit a 3-point basket from the left sideline.

The Celtics called a timeout to map a 3-point play of their own, but the plan didn't call for McHale to make the shot. McHale, the 6-foot-10-inch power forward, scores most of his points on shots shorter than the 24-footer he made.

The 3-point play was designed for Larry Bird, but tonight was not his night. Bird, who shot 8 for 20 in Game 1, had another off night, shooting 8 for 20. He had 18 points but contributed with 12 assists and eight rebounds.

McHale had made only one 3-pointer (in the 1983-84 season) in 21 attempts during his career. As soon as his first 3-point attempt of this season cleared the net, he thrust both hands straight up, the signal for a 3-pointer. So did Jack Madden, the trailing official, who was at midcourt at the time.

Pistons Complain

The Pistons complained bitterly that McHale had stepped over the 3-point line and that the shot should have been a 2-point basket. The game was halted for several minutes as Madden conferred with Mike Mathis, who was working the game with him, and Bill Saar, the alternate official.

After the game, Madden issued a statement explaining his decision. ''I went to my colleague Mike Mathis,'' Madden said. ''His position did not offer a clear angle. Then I went Bill Sarr, who did not have a real good angle either and was involved in watching the game clock. So I went with my call.

''At that point, Skip Caray, the TBS play-by-play man, said the replays were inconclusive. Caray said, 'There was no way we could call it with a replay. It was that close.' ''

After the game, McHale had no doubt that it was a 3- pointer.

''I know when the ball's going in and that shot felt and looked good,'' he said. ''When I saw it, I said, 'Hey, that's going in.' Do you think I was concerned where my feet were? I'm out there in no man's land. I was not worrying about taking a step back at that point.''

But before the game went in to the second overtime, there were some anxious moments for the crowd of 14,890 when Bird was called for traveling, giving the Pistons a chance to win the game with one second left. The Pistons never got a shot off. McHale opened the second overtime with a fall-away jumper, but seconds later, James Edwards tied the score with a pair of free throws.

McHale again put the Celtics ahead, but again Boston was unable to protect the lead. Joe Dumars tied it, 113-113, with an 18-foot jumper with 3:57 left. Dumars scored again with 1:39 left to put the Pistons up by 2, setting the stage for Dennis Johnson's final 6 points. The first 2 on an 18-foot jumper on a pass from McHale tied the game. Then came the two free throws that decided the game.

''It was a very big game for us,'' said Johnson, who had 22 points. ''The opportunities presented themselves for me. When Isiah hit that big 3-pointer over Kevin and those big, outstretched arms of his, it kind of dashed our hopes a bit. But with this type of team we have, we always feel that we're in it. Tonight we proved it several times.''

Game 3 NYTIMES

In the Detroit Pistons' scheme of things, Joe Dumars's role first and foremost is to play defense. He's the stopper Coach Chuck Daly calls upon to try to shut down the hot scorers, be it Michael Jordan or a small forward.

With the Boston Celtics leaving him free today so they might concentrate more on doubling Adrian Dantley, the 6-foot-3-inch guard, Dumars scored 29 points, double his regular-season average, in the Detroit Pistons' 98-94 victory at the Silverdome in Game 3 of the National Basketball Association Eastern Conference championship series. The Celtics' ninth consecutive loss at the Silverdome gave the Pistons a 2-1 edge in the four-of-seven-game series that resumes here Monday afternoon.


''We played the percentages and lost with Dumars today,'' said Chris Ford, the Celtic assistant coach. ''Dantley is such a creative player and he has a knack of getting our people in foul trouble that we set our sights on him. The Pistons saw that and did a great job of spreading the floor and putting the ball in his hands.''

Dumars, missing once in six attempts from the field, had 13 points in the opening quarter and 19 at halftime on 7-for-11 shooting.

The Celtics tried to make an adjustment in the second half by not rotating as much on him but it hardly helped, especially when he hit three of his first four shots in a span of less than two minutes to open the third quarter.

Dumars, who averaged 14.1 points, in the first two games of the series, said he was aware of his reputation as a defensive player.

''I like to think of myself as a proven all-around player,'' said the 25-year-old Dumars, the Pistons' 1985 draft choice out of McNeese State College, ''but my role here is to play defense and I'm willing to sacrifice because I want to win.''

The Pistons got only 21 points from their starting front line: 15 from Dantley, 4 from Rick Mahorn and a surprising zero from Bill Laimbeer. They got 23 from Isiah Thomas and 11 each from Vinnie Edwards and James Edwards, both reserves.

''Joe is a complete player,'' said Thomas, who also had six assists, ''he can shoot the ball. He showed that every once in a while. Remember, he scored 31 points in that seventh game against the Celtics. The Celtics deferred to concentrating on A.D. today. They left Joe open and he stuck the ball.''

The Celtics, who led the league in shooting percentage in the regular season, shot 42 percent from the field and were held to under 100 points for the second time in the three games. Today's shooting percentage would have been a lot lower were it not for Kevin McHale's 32 points, which brought his three-game total to 88. Subtract McHale's 11-for-17 shooting today and Boston was 24 for 65.

Bird in Slump

The biggest mystery continues to be Larry Bird, who struggled offensively for the third consecutive game. After making his first two shots to open the game, Bird was 4 for 15 thereafter. Bird is 20 for 57 in this series.

Especially missing today was the arc in Bird's shot. Near the end of the game with the Celtics' trailing, 98-90, and a minute left in the game, he was hestitant about taking a 3-point shot, which normally he would not be, and passed to Artis Gilmore inside instead.

''I haven't seen Larry shoot this badly since he had that bad elbow in the 1985 championship series against the Lakers,'' Thomas said. ''True, we're putting a little extra defensive pressure but that never has stopped Larry before. I would be curious to know if his elbow was bothering him again. But you never know with Larry, he never lets on about injuries.''

Bird, in one of the worst shooting slumps of his nine-season career, said: ''To tell the truth I feel pretty good. I have been looking to go inside more with my passes but maybe it's time for me to go back to be more offensive minded. I'm going to do that Monday. In my case if I can hit four of my first five shots, it will get me going.'

Game 4 NYTIMES

The adjectives used to describe today's Boston Celtic-Detroit Piston game weren't the ones usually heard in locker rooms after playoff games.

''Bizarre, crazy,'' said Kevin McHale, the Celtics' power forward.

''Weird,'' said Chuck Daly, the Pistons' coach.

''Most unusual,'' Jimmy Rodgers, the Celtics' assistant coach, said of the game that the Celtics won, 79-78, on a Dennis Johnson free throw with 8 seconds left to tie the four-of-seven- game series at 2-2.


It might have been easier to say it belonged among the worst played games in National Basketball Association history.

And there were plenty of statistics and odd happenings in the 2-hour-26- minute game to support that claim.

To begin with, the Pistons, leading by 8-4 the first quarter, missed their next 20 shots before Dennis Rodman scored on a driving layup 10 minutes 11 seconds later.

The combined 26 points in the opening quarter by both teams - 10 by Detroit and 16 by Boston - was the lowest total in a playoff quarter since the Chicago Bulls (13) and the Pistons (17) combined for 30 points on April 5, 1974.

Not only did the Pistons set a club low in the first quarter, they matched it in the fourth quarter.

The Pistons shot only .167 for the first quarter, .288 for the half and .333 for the game. The Celtics tossed in a 14-point third quarter in which they shot .214, Boston shot .400 for the game.

Among the strange events were Adrian Dantley trying to inbound the ball to John Salley for an alley-oop only to have his pass go through the basket. Since the ball came from out of bounds it didn't count.

There were consecutive air balls seconds apart by Bill Laimbeer, who led the Pistons with 29 points, and Larry Bird, who had 20 to lead the Celtics.

Bird was called for a technical foul, a rarity, when he complained about being charged with a fourth foul with 6:41 left in the third quarter. He spent the rest of the period on the bench.

And there was the controversial finish.

After Johnson made one of two free throws to put the Celtics ahead by 79-78, the Pistons called timeout. When the huddle broke, Isiah Thomas threw the inbounds pass to Laimbeer, who passed up an open shot from the top of the key and got the ball instead to Joe Dumars. The Piston guard, the hero of Game 3 with 29 points but who had made only one of nine shots to that point, fired up a 10-foot jumper. Some thought the ball fell short before it was grabbed by Robert Parish. Others thought it was goaltending. ''I don't know,'' said Daly, obviously disturbed by his team's play, ''I'm not in the officiating business.''

Ed Rush, one of the two officials, said: ''The prerequisite for goaltending is that the ball has to have a chance to go into the basket. The defensive player, Robert Parish, pulled the ball straight down. As he did, the ball ticked the front of the rim.''

''So was it goaltending?'' he was asked again.

''It was short,'' Rush said. ''The ball was clearly outside the rim. It would not have gone into the basket, therefore it was definitely not goaltending.''

The victory that restored the homecourt advantage to the Celtics, broke a nine-game Boston losing streak at the Silverdome. The Pistons now must win a game at Boston Garden, where they have lost 21 of their last 22 games, to win the series. The one victory, however, was last Wednesday.

''It was a defensive struggle to say the best,'' said Daly, ''It was game in which both teams struggled to score, probably because of the intensity of both teams. What hurts most is that they got a split here and that's what they were here to do. Now we start over with a three-game series.''

Bird, who has been shooting badly in the series (.351 going into the game), had one short span when he looked like the Bird of old when a game is on the line. He scored 7 points in 84 seconds at the start of the fourth quarter on three straight jumpers, including a 3-pointer, to slice the Piston lead to 68-67.

''I felt good after the rest,'' Bird said. ''I felt like starting the game over, rather than finishing it.''

Bird was also critical of Laimbeer for passing up the final shot of the game and passing the ball to Dumars.

''I guarantee you I would have taken that shot,'' Bird said. ''I would have taken the shot even if I would have missed 300 of them. He even surprised Dumars by passing it to him.'' ----Daly's Contract to End Under an unusal expiration date, negotiated two years ago, Daly's coaching contract with the Pistons will end Tuesday night. ''I guess they didn't think this would go this far,'' the Piston coach said. ''I guess they will continue to pay at the same rate I have been getting.''

Daly and the Pistons have been at odds over a new contract for some time. ''They just won't come to an agreement,'' he said before the game. Daly said his average salary for the five seasons he has coached the Pistons was $185,000.

Jack McCloskey, the general manager, said: ''Chuck has a very lucrative contract in his pocket when he is ready to sign it. His agent wants to wait until after the playoffs.''

Game 5 NYTIMES

A year ago the Detroit Pistons had Game 5 all wrapped up, but Larry Bird stole Isiah Thomas's inbound pass with five seconds left and passed to Dennis Johnson for a basket that won the game.

Tonight, the Celtics thought they had Game 5 wrapped up when the led by 16 points in the first half, but Thomas came along to steal the victory, 102-96, in overtime at the Boston Garden.

The Piston playmaker, after a 6-point, 3-for-10 shooting first half, finished with 35 points, 16 in the final quarter.

The victory gave the Pistons a 3-2 lead and a chance to reach the National Basketball Association's final for the first time since the franchise moved to Detroit from Fort Wayne, Ind., for the 1957-58 season. That can happen Friday night in the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich. If Detroit fails, much the way the Atlanta Hawks did in Game 6 of the conference semifinal, it would be forced to face they Celtics in the deciding seventh game here Sunday afternoon. The Pistons lost in that situation a year ago.


But these are not the same Celtics. They showed their age in the second half when the Pistons went to a pressure defense and played an up-tempo game that appeared to tire Boston, which relies primarily on its starting five. It didn't help much when Kevin McHale, who scored 26 points, fouled out with 1 minute 59 seconds remaining and Boston ahead, 87-86.

McHale's departure left a missing link in the Celtic offense on a night when Danny Ainge failed to score. He was 0 for 6 and Larry Bird, though he had 27 points, 12 in the second half, was 9 for 25, including 4 for 15 for the second half and the five-minute extra session.

The Celtic collapse came after they played their best half of the series, shooting 52 percent, compared with the Detroit's 39. They also dominated the boards, 27-14.

But it was different in the second half when the Celtics scored 38 points, 16 in the third period when they shot 6 for 20. Between Bird's backdoor layup with 3:53 remaining in the third quarter and McHale's basket with 7:05 left in the fourth period, they went 8:48 without scoring a basket.

The only reason there was an overtime was because the Celtics went to the free-throw line for 16 attempts and made 14. The other 8 points came on 4 field goals in 16 attempts.

While the Celtics were staying alive at the free-throw line, the Pistons, led by Thomas, shot 61 percent.

The free throws, plus a 7-foot turnaround jumper by Fred Roberts, who replaced McHale after he fouled out, with 69 seconds remaining, sent the game into overtime, tied at 92-92.

After a series of misses by both teams, Dennis Johnson put Boston ahead by 2 on a layup with 3:52 remaining. The Celtics did not score again until Bird's 7-foot leaner with with 57 seconds remaining. But that could only slice the Piston lead to 4 points.

Adrian Dantley, the Pistons' co-leading scorer, who failed to score in the final period, put the Detroit ahead to stay, 96-94, with 2:43 remaining when he flip in a drive past Roberts with 2:52. Fouled by Roberts, he completed the 3-point play.

''It's getting to a point right now where we're wondering what's wrong with our offense,'' said McHale. ''We've never had trouble scoring points before. But all of sudden we're getting into some big problems. We can't score a 100 points, we've done yet in regulation play in this series.

''It was frustrating sitting on the bench and watching the offense sputter. We were totally impatient with our shots and out of sync. I wanted to be in there. But while we should never allowed ourselves to get out of sync, Isiah was fantastic. He just carried them. He made some tough shots.''

Could Have Been Goat

Thomas could easily have been the goat in the closing seconds of the game when he showed some impatience by throwing up a poor shot with 18 seconds remaining on the 24 second clock.

Bird rebounded the miss, and it gave the Celtics a chance to win the game with 50 seconds left. But Bird failed them.

''I had a lot of easy shots in the first half,'' said Thomas, ''but I just missed them. I was forcing the ball. In the second half, what I tried to do was to relax and let he came to me. I told myself that if we are going to lose here, I was going to shoot us out or shoot us in.''

Game 6 NYTIMES

An era in the Boston Celtics' history ended tonight.

The younger, deeper Detroit Pistons, who may be on the threshold of becoming a National Basketball Association powerhouse, dethroned the injury-riddled Celtics tonight as the Eastern Conference champion, 95-90, before a Silverdome crowd of 38,912, the third-largest in league playoff history. With the Celtics, shooting 37.6 percent from the field - including a 4-for-17 performance by Larry Bird and a 1-for-11 effort by Danny Ainge - the Pistons won the four-of-seven-game playoff series, 4 games to 2.

The Pistons' victory was made much easier when Robert Parish, the Celtics' 7-foot-1-inch center, suffered a bruised left knee when Joe Dumars charged into him with 7 minutes 34 seconds remaining in the first period. The loss of Parish, who only played 59 seconds thereafter, made driving the middle and rebounding much easier. Boston went into the game with its starting backcourt of Dennis Johnson and Ainge, who was suffering from back injuries sustained in Game 5.


Injuries Disrupt Celtics

The injuries disrupted K. C. Jones's substitution pattern to the point where the Celtic coach, who rarely plays more than six or seven players, had used all 12 by early in the second quarter.

The loss put an end to his five-year Celtic coaching career in which Boston won four Eastern Conference and two N.B.A. titles. Jones, who will move into the front office as a vice president and director of player personnel, will be replaced as coach next season by Jimmy Rodgers, his chief aide.

The victory, which was more one-sided than the final score, moved the Pistons into the N.B.A Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to Detroit from Fort Wayne, Ind., 31 years ago. The Pistons reached the final twice in Fort Wayne but lost both times.

The Pistons will meet the winner of the seventh and deciding game of the Western Conference playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks Saturday afternoon. The four-of-seven-game championship series will begin Tuesday at the Forum if the Lakers win and at the Silverdome if Dallas wins.

When Adrian Dantley hit a 16-footer with 5 minutes 27 seconds remaining, the Pistons' lead grew to 17 points. The Celtics' 17-7 finish threw a little scare into the Pistons before the final buzzer started the celebrating . Kevin McHale had 11 of his 33 points in the period, but there was little offensive help elsewhere.

''It's hard to describe how I feel right now,'' said Isiah Thomas, the Piston playmaker, who had two 35-point games earlier, ''but this was something I waited for and promised the fans when I got here seven years ago. When reality meets your dream, it's an indescribable feeling. But the person I feel happiest for is A. D. After 12 years in this league, no one deserves to play for the championship more than Adrian Dantley.''

Chuck Daly, the Piston coach, paid tribute to the Celtics.

''I can't say enough about them,'' he said. ''They are a great operation from the top on down. They got a tough break when Parish went down, and it didn't help them any that Johnson and Ainge were hurt. I think the big difference tonight and throughout the series was our bench and the help they gave us.''

Throughout the series, Bird and the Pistons had declined to discuss the reasons Bird finished with a 35 shooting percentage. But both Bird and Daly spoke out tonight.

''They had guys coming from the weak side, and you're not able to look over your shoulder and see who's coming,'' Bird said. ''I didn't see Salley a couple times and he got a couple of blocks. We couldn't get the ball to move and when you do that you invite some double-teaming.''

Daly said: ''When the playoffs began, we dedicated ourselves to playing defense. We had a lot of great scorers to take on. We took care of Jeff Malone in the Washington series then Michael Jordan when we met the Bulls. But taking care of Bird was the toughest of all. We hounded him and the people that make him the great scorer he is.''

[shawngoat23]

My top 3 is pretty much set, but I have a tough time with the other guys.

Some things to consider:
1) Hakeem had monster playoff numbers on a per-game basis. Unfortunately, he only played 4 games in a losing effort to the Mavericks.
2) Isiah Thomas' raw numbers aren't that impressive, and he certainly had a great supporting cast. But that epic game 6 goes down as the greatest performance I can think of in a losing effort. If the Pistons get just two more points, I'd consider him as high as #4.
3) Charles Barkley stuffed the statsheet and looks good in terms of advanced stats, but his team didn't even make the playoffs. How do you judge him? Contemporary voters had him #4 in MVP balloting.
4) Clyde Drexler was 5th in MVP balloting and led his Traiblazers to a #3 seed. Statistically, he was impressive in the regular season, but his team was knocked out 3-1 in the first round.
5) Dominique Wilkins finished 2nd in scoring, 6th in MVP voting, and had that epic duel with Bird in which he fell just short. He has a reputation for being more flash than substance on RealGM, but does he deserve love for taking a decently talented team this far?
6) The Jazz had a solid playoff run, losing in 7 to the Lakers. Malone put up his usual great numbers, but I wanted to draw some attention to Stockton: 14.7 ppg, 13.8 apg, 3.0 spg, on 57.4% FG (64.5% TS). Jesus. He actually blew away Malone in pretty much every aggregate advanced stat in both the regular season and the playoffs.
7) Denver and Dallas were great teams this year. Denver seemed to be led by the collective efforts of Fat Lever, Alex English, and Michael Adams, all of whom received MVP votes. Dallas had a surprisingly great year, winning 53 games before losing to the Lakers in the WCF in 7 games. On paper, I would say this crew led by Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman overachieved, but they look to be a pretty deep team.
8) James Worthy lived up to his nickname with a solid regular season effort but an even better postseason performance, culminated by his series clinching triple double in Game 7 of the Finals.

[ronnymac2]

5) Dominique Wilkins finished 2nd in scoring, 6th in MVP voting, and had that epic duel with Bird in which he fell just short. He has a reputation for being more flash than substance on RealGM, but does he deserve love for taking a decently talented team this far?

Nique is like current Carmelo Anthony. I think Nique should be in the discussion for the fifth spot, though I don't think he'll end up getting a vote from me (or anyone else really). He definitely deserves an honorable mention this year.

That Hawks team isn't that great; he had a solid supporting cast. Yet he carried the team to 50 wins- the same number of wins MJ carried Chicago to. Chiacago and Atlanta were in the same division, too. Nique actually outplayed MJ in at least one of the regular season games, dropping 24 points in the first quarter (41 to 38 for the game in a Hawks win). He lost in the second round to a great team- same as Jordan. He had the balls and ability to go toe-to-toe with prime Larry Bird himself.

I don't usually choose Nique in comparisons, and he isn't my favorite type of player (though his dunks are amazing), but what he did impresses me this season.

[Optimism Prime]

2) Isiah Thomas' raw numbers aren't that impressive, and he certainly had a great supporting cast. But that epic game 6 goes down as the greatest performance I can think of in a losing effort. If the Pistons get just two more points, I'd consider him as high as #4.

I have a big problem with this. Two points--that in your eyes could have happened with him on the bench--should not send a player streaking up the rankings. Sorry man, but that's kind of ridiculous, don't you think?

[Optimism Prime]

Another pretty clear top three: Jordan, Bird, Magic.

My usual breakdown:

35/6/6/3/1.5 on .603 (36/7/5/2/1 on .598); 31.7/28.4 PER and 21.2/2.1 WS. (An aside: I'm one of the people who actually likes PER as an advanced metric, and Jordan has consecutively put up four of the top ten PERs. And this year he had the 8th best WS in history.)

30/9/6/1.5 on .608 (25/9/7 on .538); 27.8/20.2 PER and 15/2.4 WS.

20/6/12 on .581 (20/5/12 on .600); 23.1/22.9 PER and 10.9/4.0 WS.

Another year, another historic performance from Jordan... another exit from the Pistons. They just had his number. Now I understand how MVP voters felt--I'm tired of voting him at #1, and wish I could justify someone else over him, but... nope. Can't do it this year.

For #2, is Magic's team success and championship a bigger deal to me than Bird's better individual numbers? I look at that Boston team with a starting five of Parish/McHale/Bird/Johnson/Ainge, and I wonder how they didn't make the finals. Magic has to win this one for me.

Last two spots are between:
Barkley - 28/12/3/1/1 on .665 with 27.6 PER and 16.7 WS... but no playoff numbers. Sorry Chuck.
Drexler - 27/7/6/2.5 on .564 (22/7/5 on .529) with 24.1/15.5 PER and 13.2/0.3 WS, 1-3 against the Jazz. Not a great playoff resume this year.
Dominique - 31/6/3 on .534 (27/8/3 on .527) with 23.7/18.8 PER and 9.8/0.7 WS. Second-round exit against the Celtics.
Hakeem - 23/12/2/3/2 on .555 (38/17/2/3/2 on .641) 23.4/39 PER 10.7/1.3 WS
Malone - 28/12/2 on .568 (30/12/2 on .537) with 20.7/18.4 PER and 10.1/1 WS

So we've got one guy who didn't make the playoffs, one who went from great to "barely above average," two who dropped significantly, and one who futilely elevated his game into the stratosphere. Gotta go with Hakeem at 4, and Malone at 5.

[tkb]

Another year with a pretty clear top 3, and once against the two MJs fight for 1 and 2.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Magic Johnson
3. Larry Bird
4. Hakeem Olajuwon
5. Karl Malone

[lorak]

Bird's Shooting

First two rounds: 112/220 (.509)
ECF: 40-114 (.351)

Anybody knows Jordan's FG% against Pistons?

[ItsMillerTime]

Early rankings

1. Jordan
2. Magic
3. Bird
4. Dominque - Had the weakest supporting cast of any player in the top 5 or HM, and came within a 3 of beating the Celtics.
5. Hakeem - First round loss, but not because of him. Probably his best defensive season.

HM. Barkely (no playoffs), Malone (dissappointing finish), Drexler (poor playoffs) , Lever (too many good candidates to be a serious top 5 contender), Stockton (see Malone)

[JordansBulls]

Bird's Shooting

First two rounds: 112/220 (.509)
ECF: 40-114 (.351)

Anybody knows Jordan's FG% against Pistons?

This post is from DA_Realist a while back.

The Celtics themselves struggled against this brand of defense. The 87 Celtics barely survived and in 88 was eaten alive by this brand of basketball. In the 90's, the Knicks and others took this and escalated it further. It allowed less talented teams to beat on better teams and give themselves a better chance at winning.

Don't believe me? We do have a reference here. Larry and MJ both played the 88 Pistons. Look at how much Larry struggled against that type of defense -- shooting only 35%.

This is what MJ did against those same Pistons that same year.

1988
Game 1 -- 29 pts, 6 assists, 11 rebounds, 10 for 22
Game 2 -- 36 pts, 1 assist, 11 rebounds, 14 for 21
Game 3 -- 24 pts, 3 assists, 7 rebounds, 8 for 20
Game 4 -- 23 pts, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 11 for 22
Game 5 -- 25 pts, 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 10 for 22
Series Avg -- 27.4 points, 4.6 assists, 8.8 rebounds, 49.5 fg%

Defense.

[semi-sentient]

Not much time for analysis yet and I don't know if I'll be able to give this one more thought, so I'll give my initial rankings just in case I can't make it back.

1) Magic Johnson
2) Michael Jordan
3) Larry Bird
4) Hakeem Olajuwon
5) Dominique Wilkins

Edit: The arguments for Magic were convincing so he's my #1 this year. I was leaning towards him as it were, so I'm glad to see others giving him the nod for having a great run from start to finish. Also, I'm in the boat with those that doesn't think Jordan deserved DPOY.

[Jordan23Forever]

Anybody knows Jordan's FG% against Pistons?

1988
Game 1 -- 29 pts, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 10 for 22
Game 2 -- 36 pts, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 14 for 21
Game 3 -- 24 pts, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 8 for 20
Game 4 -- 23 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 11 for 22
Game 5 -- 25 pts, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 10 for 22
Series Avg -- 27.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 50 fg%

[ronnymac2]

Right now I have Magic at number one and Bird/Jordan battling for number two, with MJ having an edge. Hakeem is right behind them. Drexler, Malone, Barkley, and Nique are battling for the fifth spot.

Magic isn't guaranteed the top spot though. I want to read what other's think.

[JordansBulls]

Right now I have Magic at number one and Bird/Jordan battling for number two, with MJ having an edge. Hakeem is right behind them. Drexler, Malone, Barkley, and Nique are battling for the fifth spot.

Magic isn't guaranteed the top spot though. I want to read what other's think.

MJ has the statisical edge over Magic but also the fact he became the first player and is one of only two players to win MVP and DPOY the same year IMO, gives him the edge over Magic.
Magic won the title this year, but didn't win Finals MVP. His teammate did so in a game 7 getting 36/16/10. I think if Magic has Finals MVP this year, then it is much closer with him and MJ.

[Sedale Threatt]

I'm thinking about squeezing James Worthy into the fifth slot on the strength of his Game 7 performance alone. Not only did he set season-highs in all three categories, he did so en route to the only triple double of his career (1,069 games). As Hollinger wrote about recently, the odds of doing all that in a single game, especially against a good defensive team, are staggering. The fact that it came in probably the most important game of his life speaks very, very well of James.

[lorak]

I'm thinking about squeezing James Worthy into the fifth slot on the strength of his Game 7 performance alone. Not only did he set season-highs in all three categories, he did so en route to the only triple double of his career (1,069 games). As Hollinger wrote about recently, the odds of doing all that in a single game, especially against a good defensive team, are staggering. The fact that it came in probably the most important game of his life speaks very, very well of James.

So 2010 finals game 7 speaks very bad of Bryant?

[shawngoat23]

I have a big problem with this. Two points--that in your eyes could have happened with him on the bench--should not send a player streaking up the rankings. Sorry man, but that's kind of ridiculous, don't you think?

I don't agree that it's ridiculous. Isiah is clearly already a top 10 player, and there's not much that separates top 10 from top 5 this year. If the Pistons win in 6, he clearly has a better resume than what James Worthy has put together (leadership, statistics, clutchness, historic performance, etc.), and I don't think it's ridiculous to consider James Worthy as a borderline-top 5 (although that's pushing it).

I always thought Isiah was a guy whose statistics don't reflect his true impact. Yes, he had a great supporting cast (arguably one of the best of all-time), but I really think it was his intensity, competitiveness, toughness, and leadership that gave the Bad Boys its character.

[ronnymac2]

Right now I have Magic at number one and Bird/Jordan battling for number two, with MJ having an edge. Hakeem is right behind them. Drexler, Malone, Barkley, and Nique are battling for the fifth spot.

Magic isn't guaranteed the top spot though. I want to read what other's think.

MJ has the statisical edge over Magic but also the fact he became the first player and is one of only two players to win MVP and DPOY the same year IMO, gives him the edge over Magic.
Magic won the title this year, but didn't win Finals MVP. His teammate did so in a game 7 getting 36/16/10. I think if Magic has Finals MVP this year, then it is much closer with him and MJ.

Michael Jordan didn't deserve the DPOY, and I'm not penalazing Magic Johnson for having good teammates.

[Sedale Threatt]

I'm thinking about squeezing James Worthy into the fifth slot on the strength of his Game 7 performance alone. Not only did he set season-highs in all three categories, he did so en route to the only triple double of his career (1,069 games). As Hollinger wrote about recently, the odds of doing all that in a single game, especially against a good defensive team, are staggering. The fact that it came in probably the most important game of his life speaks very, very well of James.

So 2010 finals game 7 speaks very bad of Bryant?

What the hell does Kobe Bryant have to do with the '87-88 POY?