Post#3 » by penbeast0 » Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:32 am
Point Guards -- Chauncey Billups was suprisingly efficient and solid on both ends of the court once he got established in Detroit. Nate Archibald was the most dominant PG left for 4 years, but was neither terribly efficient nor played any defense. Penny was similarly flashy in his short peak but without Tiny's superior playmaking and less dominant overall.
Wings -- On the wings, there are still great scorers left . . . the more spectacular but less consistent Bernard King, Mark Aquirre, or David Thompson, or the statistically most efficient Adrian Dantley or the 60s stars like Sam Jones and Hal Greer -- I lean to Sam Jones.
Big Men -- Bobby Jones came up as a PF but won 1st team all-defense awards during years where he played PF/C (Denver), PF/SF (most of career), and even SF/SG (Philly when they added Barkley) plus he was a consistent top 10 in the league in fg% while scoring in the 10-15ppg range; his disadvantage is that he was an energizer bunny type player whose coaches consistently limited his minutes to about 30/g after his first couple of years. On the offensive end, Amare Stoudamire and Chris Webber just have too many issues to rank above Jones; Pau Gasol may be the best alternative to Bobby Jones -- championships do matter and both are more great second bananas than primary stars though both were the best player on their teams early in their careers (Bobby Jones's 75 Denver team had the best record in either league with him as top star).
The centers left all have some issue with their games. Neil Johnston and Mel Daniels played against inferior competition during their primes and were more limited besides. Robert Parish played forever but as a 3rd option and seemed more a complementary player than a dominant one despite very nice numbers. Dikembe Mutombo wasn't a scorer but brings great shotblocking. Dikembe Mutombo; Parish is close here.
Playoffs between these. Billups led the big playoff win over the Lakers and earned the nickname Mr. Big Shot, Sam Jones was the lead scorer on a lot of those Celtics champions, Bobby Jones led Denver to the best record in either league in 75 as the best player then was the glue guy on those great Philly teams that competed with the Showtime Lakers and the Bird Celtics for league dominance. Gasol was the 2nd star on the back to back Laker champions. Mutombo helped get Allen Iverson to a title game and upset 1st seed Seattle as an 8th seed in Denver.
Willing to go with any of these 5 and open to arguments for others as well. For now, will throw a tentative vote for Bobby Jones as arguably the most consistent and versatile defender outside of the dominant centers ever . . . 10 1st team All-Defense in his first 10 years is unmatched by anyone, ever and an efficient and heady offensive player with great intangibles. Again, like last thread, open to change.
“Most people use statistics like a drunk man uses a lamppost; more for support than illumination,” Andrew Lang.
