Peak Project #8

[trex_8063]

Thru post #80:

Kevin Garnett - 17
Magic Johnson - 13
David Robinson - 13
Bill Russell - 10
Larry Bird - 10
Julius Erving - 4
Bill Walton - 2
Dwyane Wade - 2

I'll give this just a touch longer since it's so close, but if no change by the time I'm going to bed, I'm calling it for Garnett and starting the #9 thread.

[RSCD3_]

I'm gonna sit this one out? I have not enough confidence is What's going on here to make a decision.

[drza]

This has been a pretty split vote so far. Out of 12 ballots counted, no one player has been on more than 7 (and only two have been on seven). And 5 different players got at least one first place vote. This shows that the next several threads should be really fun

[trex_8063]

OK, calling it for Garnett. Will have next thread up shortly.

[bastillon]

Really surprised to see Robinson rated this highly. He's definitely a great player but top-8? This is really reaching. I could understand the argument if this was limited purely to RS. Then, Robinson becomes one of the very best players ever. However, when it comes to the postseason this is a different story. His playoff performances at his best (94-96 is peak D-Rob imo) were very lackluster. Everyone knows what Hakeem did to him, 35 ppg etc. But Karl Malone and Mutombo dominated him just as much.

Remember what I was saying about Duncan and his inconsistency on offense? Well the same applies to Robinson, but to the greater extent.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1994-nba-western-conference-first-round-jazz-vs-spurs.html
-20/10/3.5/47% TS/104 ORtg
-guarded mostly single coverage by Karl Malone
-incredible inconsistency scoring wise:
G1: 25 pts
G2: 12 pts
G3: 16 pts
G4: 27 pts

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1995-nba-western-conference-first-round-nuggets-vs-spurs.html
-19/6.7 (sic!)/3.3/49% TS/105 ORtg
-guarded single coverage by Mutombo
-incredible inconsistency scoring wise:
G1: 14 pts
G2: 19 pts
G3: 24 pts

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1996-nba-western-conference-semifinals-jazz-vs-spurs.html
-19/9/2/53% TS/107 ORtg
-guarded single coverage by Malone
-once again inconsistent
G1: 29 pts
G2: 24 pts
G3: 11 pts
G4: 11 pts
G5: 24 pts
G6: 17 pts

These 3 series, along with 95 WCF, define Robinson's playoff career. He was incredily inconsistent offensively. In these 13 games, there were 6 games where he scored 17 pts or less. That is unacceptable for a player of (allegedly) this magnitude. There were significant problems with his defense in the postseason as well. It's not like he was stopping Karl Malone or Hakeem. Those guys were still playing at a very high level. But the most glaring weakness for Robinson is the ineptitude to generate consistent post offense. Even if he had good games, he was usually scoring a lot of garbage buckets in transition/off rebounds etc. You can't consistently score like that. When the game was on the line and Robinson was supposed to deliver in post up isolations, he did not do so.

If you compare Robinson's peak performance to the guy like Bird. I don't really see how you can reasonably argue for Robinson. His defense is obviously a huge, huge asset but Bird just has a lot more two-way impact in my eyes, and managed to elevate his teams to much higher levels. We don't really know whether Robinson would be able to elevate a great team to all-time status (which is what Bird was doing in 84-87). There are still some issues with Bird's performances due to playoff injuries and what-not, but Robinson was consistently underperforming vs quality opposition.

This player is all about feasting on bad defenses. There he can use his athleticism and dunk or force FTs all game long. But when the game slows down and there are no dunks available, Robinson could not deliver, factually speaking. I couldn't care less what Robinson does through 82 games of the RS. I couldn't care less what he does through 1st rd vs 90s Golden State or Barkley's Phoenix Suns. I do care how he does vs elite post defenders. Sooner or later you are going to face those guys, and that is why you have to be able to beat them. Otherwise you can't win in the playoffs. It's just that simple.