If Magic Johnson was playing in the NBA today..

BeasleyTheBeast · Post #1 » by **BeasleyTheBeast** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:53 pm

Would he be playing the PG position, or would he be a Forward?

spudwebb · Post #2 » by **spudwebb** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:00 pm

Going out on limb here but I think the greatest PG to play the game would play PG

GAME TIME · Post #3 » by **GAME TIME** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:07 pm

BeasleyTheBeast wrote:Would he be playing the PG position, or would he be a Forward?

He is a pure PG unlike Lebron..

You want the ball in his hand at all costs. You want Magic running the show.

PetroNet · Post #4 » by **PetroNet** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:12 pm

why in the world would he play anything but PG?

martypython · Post #5 » by **martypython** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:12 pm

He'll give everyone AIDS and there will be enough lobbyists to demand a cure for AIDS. Just kidding, Magic will run the show like a Johnson would.

pacers33 · Post #6 » by **pacers33** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:27 pm

martypython wrote:He'll give everyone AIDS and there will be enough lobbyists to demand a cure for AIDS. Just kidding, Magic will run the show like a Johnson would.

DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT MAGIC LIKE THAT. :cry:

GAME TIME · Post #7 » by **GAME TIME** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:30 pm

martypython wrote:He'll give everyone AIDS and there will be enough lobbyists to demand a cure for AIDS. Just kidding, Magic will run the show like a Johnson would.

smh

Sedale Threatt · Post #8 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:34 pm

Magic was kind of a de facto forward anyways, particularly on defense, and more and more on offense as he became a post-up threat later in his career. Position is just a label when it comes to a player like him. With today's small ball tendencies, I see him playing at the four in name, but still handling the ball almost exclusively.

Iplaytolose · Post #9 » by **Iplaytolose** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:50 pm

I was too young to watch Magic Johnson play, so I'm wondering did he regularly guard PGs?

aroba · Post #10 » by **aroba** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:51 pm

Would be MVP just about any year if it was his prime. Would make the Bobcats a playoff team also.
That good would be the Magic man

BeasleyTheBeast · Post #11 » by **BeasleyTheBeast** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:52 pm

PetroNet wrote:why in the world would he play anything but PG?

well he is quick enough to guard other PG's. Derrick Rose would eat him up

GAME TIME · Post #12 » by **GAME TIME** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:52 pm

no one can run the point guard position like a Magic Johnson

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Dm0lZTqCc[/youtube]

prs · Post #13 » by **prs** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:02 pm

SG/SF like he did for most of his career. It seems to be a hard concept to grasp for most of the PC board though as everyone likes to jump on the omg Magic is such a mismatch at PG! He was a mismatch but not because PGs had to guard him but because most people guarding him aren't going to be use to guarding someone that plays offensively like a PG.

He'd be basically like Lebron except hes more of a natural PG and obviously a superior playmaker. People would prolly still call him a PG like we do now but you would definitely be playing a guard sized player or 2 with him for the defensive matchups. Especially in the current NBA where there is a ton of speedy PGs.

GAME TIME · Post #14 » by **GAME TIME** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:09 pm

prs wrote:SG/SF like he did for most of his career. It seems to be a hard concept to grasp for most of the PC board though as everyone likes to jump on the omg Magic is such a mismatch at PG! He was a mismatch but not because PGs had to guard him but because most people guarding him aren't going to be use to guarding someone that plays offensively like a PG.

He'd be basically like Lebron except hes more of a natural PG and obviously a superior playmaker. People would prolly still call him a PG like we do now but you would definitely be playing a guard sized player or 2 with him for the defensive matchups. Especially in the current NBA where there is a ton of speedy PGs.

Come on now. He was a PG , and didn't play like Lebron. They both are big that can handle the rock but that's about it. Magic rarely ever let others run the point guard position, unless it was needed if someone was in foul trouble or injured. It's the reason why Nixson got traded, because Magic is the best PG ever. If you call a point guard who can post up like a big, yes Magic could do that or bang with the bigs inside for rebounds and be versatile yes, but don't make the mistake that he and Lebron are the same type of player, not true.

RaptorFansArePK · Post #15 » by **RaptorFansArePK** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:10 pm

Of course he is gonna play PG, He had better lateral quickness, better footwork and better handle than Lebron.

Post #16 » by **nate33** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:23 pm

People on this thread are talking past each other.

Everyone acknowledges that he would be the primary ball handler and run the offense, so in that sense, yes, he would play PG. But I think what prs and others are saying is that Magic wouldn't be the smallest guy on the court for his team. He would probably be the 3rd tallest guy and the team would play two "guards" with him of smaller stature. These "guards" would defend the opposing team's PG and SG with Magic defending the opposing team SF. Offensively, the "guards" would be off-the-ball players with the offense running through Magic. So in that sense, the team would look much like the Lebron-led Cavaliers with Magic playing the Lebron role.

Ettorefm · Post #17 » by **Ettorefm** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:25 pm

Magic to me is the greatest of all time, and my favourite player of all time also. I have jerseys, cups, everything that says Magic Johnson :lol:

.
But if there was one thing that he would not do, would be guard PGs nowadays. He'd have to be hidden guarding some SF, because he not only was bad defensively, but not quick enough for guys like D-Rose, specially in a league that allows perimeter players to do anything and can't be touched

chudak · Post #18 » by **chudak** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:49 pm

Iplaytolose wrote:I was too young to watch Magic Johnson play, so I'm wondering did he regularly guard PGs?

He never guarded PGs regularly. He mostly guarded the opposing SFs and such.

Post #19 » by **dockingsched** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:06 pm

how many teams would guard him with their pg?

none i would imagine

how many pg's would magic guard?

very very few i think

Post #20 » by **Doctor MJ** » Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:58 pm

BeasleyTheBeast wrote:Would he be playing the PG position, or would he be a Forward?

He'd play the same position he played back then but we'd probably call him a forward. At this point we are very comfortable with 2's and 3's being the actual point man, that we don't force a guy to be called a 1 when's the 2nd or 3rd biggest guy on the floor for his team.