Poe

That doesn't make sense to me. At all. If Jordan never met Pippen or Jackson, he may have never gotten any of those rings, plus the other above solid players around him like Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper. Rings and championships are a team award, this isn't the PGA, and Finals MVPs are simply being the best player on that team. Regular season MVPs can also be a product of the competition around you, inflated numbers based on teammates and role (Allen Iverson for the defensive Sixers, LeBron for Cavs, etc), media bias, and also the level of your team (50+ win standard). Simply put, team awards and maybe even regular season awards shouldn't factor when comparing individual players. Maybe this will help paint the picture a bit better. Take player X and player Y, both of which are equal in talent and are both the best to ever play. Separate X and Y onto team A and team B. Team A has the best coach in the league, including a very well rounded team on both ends, while team B has a mediocre coach and a mediocre team. If player X winds up winning a few championships, but player Y doesn't win any due to a much worse team, does that make player X greater despite being equal in skill? I dunno. Maybe it still makes sense for other people somehow, but amount of ability and level of "greatness" fall under the same line to me. Therefore, the best overall player IS the greatest player.

Gunna go with Larry Bird for now. LeBron James' career is still young, and Bird had a much more complete game while LeBron still relies on physical dominance. I'd like to see how Bron copes with age and learns to adjust his game before crowning him the hands down greatest SF of all time.

I like how they call him Little Rasheed Wallace.

Wow, pause @ :32. His elbows are bent and still even with the rim. I mean, his [expletive] is in Big Baby's face, and Davis was jumping too. Dunk contest next year. No doubt.

I think when a particular player is "forced" to shoot such a high number of shots, it's usually a product of team defense. The strategy was probably to take away Wade's [or insert best player here] options and force the best player to take more shots than usual, throwing everyone out of their rhythm. There's still a huge amount credit to Roy, though, to first of all be reliable enough to put single coverage on such great perimeter players, and then force them to shoot below 45%, 40% (etc) while keeping them from getting to the free throw line. You've got me convinced on Roy. He's definitely risen to a top 5 level. Could be a first or second team defender. I'm still going to leave Afflalo out as a close 6th or 7th.

Kobe Bryant. It's either him or Jordan, and I choose Kobe. Setting aside team achievement and season awards, Kobe is the better overall player. He has a wider arsenal of moves in the post and attacking the basket, a perfected jumpshot that still drops with broken fingers, and overall simply knows how to break down the defense. No matter what defense you play, whether it's manning up with a 6'8'' guy putting a big fat hand covering his eyes, zone defense with a 7'5'' center towering in the paint with a double team coming up and 2 more defenders ready to help, or even a box and 1. He will still find a way to score on you. When comparing Jordan and Kobe, you are comparing two different eras. In Jordan's time, certain defenses weren't allowed, making things much easier for Jordan offensively in comparison to Kobe. Plus not to mention the technology and devices that allow defenders to look at every possession a certain player has played by a press of a button, and the handy statistics on player tendencies that organizations will give to their defenders to get a better chance at stopping the offense more efficiently. Not to take away Jordan's spectacular abilities, we all know he is at the very least one of the greatest of all time. But when comparing defenses to his time and ours, defenses are much superior these days, and continues to grow as the game gains popularity. When comparing Jordan and Kobe's defensive abilities, you have to think of the times as well. As defenses grow, so do offenses, so it is very difficult to say who is clearly the supreme defender. I'm not going to write a novel here, so I'm going to try to keep things relatively short. I'm going to end this by saying that you can't truly compare stats and numbers, since player roles and teammates affect stats (such as having Smush/Kwame on your team versus Pau/Bynum/Odom/Artest), and I personally don't believe championships are a true way to compare individual players, since they are TEAM awards. When comparing who's better, you have to look at their offensive and defensive arsenal, as well as consistency and other things like ability to perform under pressure, and see who is better that way.

It's best dunker, not most influential dunker. It's easily Vince Carter without a doubt.

Well, thing is, so is Arron Afflalo, and Keith Bogans seems to have done some solid work this year as well. It's hard to name just 5 in this category. I haven't watched Brandon Roy that much this year, though. I know he is at least a top 10 perimeter defender, but has he really progressed as far as being a clear cut top 5 in his position among Hinrich, Sefolosha, Afflalo, Jackson, Bryant, Wade, Bogans, Charlie Bell, West, and Ronnie Brewer? Also, I was reluctant to include Arron Afflalo in my own 5 because of the team he plays for. I doubt anyone would have thought to pick him last year, and I'm sure plenty would of have picked Dahntay Jones, who nobody even bothers to mention this year since he plays for Indiana now. I think the team a perimeter defender plays for affects their apparent defensive abilities. Like Shane Battier doesn't seem to be the perimeter defender he used to be because he doesn't have the luxury of having Yao/Mutombo to back him up (though I could be wrong, and age might be playing a factor as well). Same thing needs to be kept in mind when grading a guy like Afflalo's defense, since he's got Nene, Martin, and Birdman. Roy also has had Oden on and off, Przybilla on and off, and now Marcus Camby. Of course, that's not to say that they aren't top tier defenders just because of the big men on their team. I'm just saying it could be a factor and something to keep in mind.

Sure, it may APPEAR to be a baby lion, but in reality it's a manbearpig babycublet!

Wow, Beno is playing fantastic. 2 straight games of 20+ points, 9 assists or more.

In case people forgot the trend, you're supposed to write down your own top 5 in this thread.

I made the list in haste. He's a good shotblocker for being a guard and he's a tremendous defender in the clutch, or whenever the Heat really need a defensive stop. The downside to Wade's defense is that he'll take plays off. Then again, same thing could be said about Kobe and maybe Roy. Even then, his help defense with his ability to block, steal, and deflect should put him in my top 5. I'll edit my list.

Then it shouldn't be a problem either way.

Grading defense only. My list: Kirk Hinrich Thabo Sefolosha Brandon Roy Stephen Jackson Kobe Bryant Honorable Mention: Dwyane Wade, Arron Afflalo, Keith Bogans I might edit this list later. BTW, this is not counting Raja Bell cause of his injury, and Shane Battier since he's primarily played SF this year.

I think Milwaukee picked the right guy with Jennings. Though his shooting percentage isn't spectacular, his speed and ability to push the tempo really helps the Bucks. I don't think there could have been a better situation for both the organization and for Jennings himself. Both he and the team have a bright future together. That said, if he wants to prove that he can improve, it'll start with the numbers. Hopefully by next year his FG% and assist-turnover ratio will increase. That would be a good start.

Dude... the Nets have only won 7 out of 69 games. Quite possibly the worst team in NBA history. No way do the Heat lose. Not at this stage in the season.

Though the Heat lost two of their last three, they made a successful push to the 6th seed and are only one loss behind Milwaukee. Next up is New Jersey, then an injury-ridden Chicago Bulls. Should be two easy wins before facing Milwaukee and Toronto.

The three combined for 27 rebounds. Good [expletive], especially from UD.

Big thanks to the Hawks for taking the Bobcats into OT. Felton, Wallace, Diaw, and Jackson all played over 42 minutes. This will help the Heat greatly. Hopefully they'll take advantage. With the Bobcats facing a bit of fatigue, energy is the main factor. I'm looking for Wright, Haslem, and Joel to provide a big spark off the bench.

Wow. The Spurs were getting quick buckets like they are 10 years younger.

16 games left, only three losses behind Portland. Will the Rockets make a push and capture a playoff spot?

I think every team could use a Gortat

For me, it's the Magic. They just have so many quality guys that can fill in and give productive minutes. Every position has a good back up. - For Jameer Nelson, there's veteran Jason Williams with Anthony Johnson as a third string back up. - For Vince Carter, there's JJ Redick, who is a better shooter and help defender than Vince, with Mickael Pietrus as a third stringer. - For Matt Barnes, there's Mickael Pietrus, who has proven to be a good slasher and defender off the bench, and Rashard Lewis is versatile enough to fill in minutes at the position as well. - For Rashard Lewis, there's Ryan Anderson, who fits in perfectly because of his range and can rebound a decent amount due to his size, and then there's Brandon Bass at third string, who easily deserves more minutes and a better role. - For Dwight Howard, there's Marcin Gortat, who is probably the best back up center in the NBA and could possibly be a top 10 center if given the proper minutes and role. At third string, Brandon Bass has enough size to fill some minutes here as well. The Mavericks are also a team to consider because of the strong quality of players they have off the bench, with Jason Terry making another good case for the sixth man award, Dampier now a back up, and JJ Barea. I still feel the Magic are ahead of them because of the quantity. Every single player they have is solid, and most of them would start for many other teams in the league. Actually, I'm sure there are plenty of teams that would start Bass, Pietrus, Redick, and definitely Gortat. Also, I'm surprised nobody has chosen the Bucks, or at least gave them a mention for second place. Just look at the stats: Luke Ridnour: 10.3 points (48% FG, 39% 3PT, 92% FT), 3.8 assists, 0.7 steals in 21 minutes. Jerry Stackhouse: 8.5 points (42% FG, 40% 3PT), 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 21 minutes. Carlos Delfino: 10.6 points (41% FG, 37% 3PT), 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals in 30 minutes. Ersan Ilyasova: 10.3 points (44% FG, 35%), 6.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals in 21 minutes. Kurt Thomas: 2.6 points (50% FG), 3.4 rebounds, .6 blocks in 13 minutes That's a combined 40 ppg out of the second unit with none of these players averaging over 21 minutes, other than Delfino who's bench demotion only came after the addition of John Salmons. That's pretty damn good.

I think he won defensive player of the year in college. Plus, he's got great strength for his size, kind of like Jason Kidd, and he's excellent at simply keeping his man in front of him. Really, it's been one of the strongest factors in his game since being drafted. BTW, RD and I didn't put Hinrich in our 5 PGs because his primary position this year has been SG.

Simple question: what team has the best bench in NBA this year? Please vote and explain your answer.