Dat2U wrote:Mike Miller? Ugh. Maybe I became a hater when I saw him in DC but that guy was the perfect example of an advanced stats king who consistently hurt his team because he would literally refuse to take shots at times. He would pass up wide open looks to force teammates to take contested shots. It was so frustrating to watch....
Interestingly, what you describe really did characterize the 2d half of his career. It began his last year in Minny when his FGAs per 40 minutes suddenly dropped by 30%, then it continued w/ us & thereafter. But in '04-5 & '05-6, he had really outstanding seasons.
Gilbert was really good both those years too. Not trying to knock one of my favorite players ever to watch! But, ranking him in the top 10 players even in those years means ignoring not just the guards I mentioned but also Ben Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Andrei Kirilenko (who killed it in '05-06), Shawn Marion, Gerald Wallace, Alonzo Mourning, Tyson Chandler, Marcus Camby (big year from him), LeBron, Elton Brand, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Shaq, Pau Gasol, Chris Bosh....
You can argue about 1 or 2 or 3 if you want, but, come on... that's a long long list (w/o even mentioning the previous list of guards). There's just no way to maintain the idea that Gilbert was in the top dozen players in the league once you're reminded of those guys.
Still pretty great, though.
Edit: did I forget to mention Kobe Bryant? Why, yes, I did.