bravenewworld

=( I never had a chance to meet that generation of Jayhawk =(.

Wow. Its been a long time since i got to sit down and watch Jordan play. Brings back a lot of old memories of the 90s and... Nirvana and.... Dr.Dre.. and MTV spring break with Polly Shore. Anyway, i think what these videos did most for me was make me realize how similar these two players really are, how Kobe learned so much from MJ personally and begs the question; Will Kobe be labeled as a greater player then Jordan if he can match or surpass MJs titles? I think it is a tougher question then some consider it to be. Of course you have Uber-Kobe fans who will say yes without any extensive thought to the subject, and you will have oldies like me who watched MJs entire career and will say "absolutely not" simply because of stubbornness. But im thinking about this and im looking at the NBA as a whole. The NBA in the main days of Jordan was down, lets say 90-00, 10 years. If you really look at this era the NBA seemed to be in a transition period between the slow lumbering big men of the 80s, and the quick fast paced smaller guard action of the late 90s and 2000s. Then i take a look at talent. Talent back then was not even close to what it is now. Fact is when MJ was winning his titles he did not face players like Kobe on a nightly basis while Kobe is matched up with players like Pierce, Manu, Iverson, AI2, Wade, Lebron, Roy, TMac, Carter, ect. And im not talking about just facing on another team, but actually matched up against. MJ never had to guard Magic, and Magic never had to guard MJ, same holds true with most of the stars back then that were not in the 2 position (the 2 position was pretty lacking then). I dunno.... This ending up as a tougher question then i ever considered it to be.

I cannot see the TWolves at the top of this list. Granted they did not make the most of KG when they had him, their trading him was not bad at all. And they are actually in a good position with Rubio and Flynn. While Flynn will not be as good of a player as Rubio (at least that is with everyones assumption that Rubio is the next coming of Jesus or should i say... heɪˈsus)there is a good chance that he could become a very solid leader/starter PG in the NBA. Which if this is the case then the Wolves are open to the idea of trading the rights to Rubio for a star player. Top 3 in no specific order... Clippers Bucks GoldenState With the Raptors as runners up. Yea.. the Raptors. The reason i picked the Raptors is because every time they are close to actually becoming a really good team, the front office some how [expletive]s it up with no real reason behind their moves.

Durant only averaged 3 points less, 1 rebound less, 1 block less and 5 assists less. Considering Durant was on his second year last season vs Lebrons 6, id say its a pretty dumb statement to say Durant would be "lucky" to ever reach Lebrons level.

You fail to mention that this revamp was the gaining of two extra (for a total of three) franchise-all star-HOF-players. One being one of the most dominate big men in the past 15 years and the other being one of the greatest pure shooters in the past 20. Yea... You really could have added any second year guard to that roster and have been just as successful. All those young guys on the Celtics roster did better because the leadership and drive on the team was fantastic.

KGs production is not what it used to be, add that to injury and age... yea... you can consider him overrated simply because a lot of people want to view him as the same KG of '03

Totally agree with Arenas as he is one of the most worthless point guards in the league. KG is a bit overrated now as well considering how much he has fallen off from what he once was. Dont think Bosh and CP3 are overrated though.

Its not a bad list really. One thing about Jarrett Jack is his basketball IQ is very high, so in essence it can be like having a coach on the floor. Parker and Brown are not bad players either, in fact both are very solid role players for any contending team. Brown needs to stay healthy though.

pretty much every game i watched last season i saw Kidd at the 2, Terry and Barea at the 1. Which makes sense, Kidd has always been a great post up at the 3 and shoot guy.

Right now? 1.LBJ 2.Wade 3.Kobe 4.Joe Johnson 5.AI2 6.Roy Honorable Mention: Kidd (Played the 2 mostly last season)

Considering that they do average the same numbers as those who did go to college, don't you think it would have benefited them greatly to have actually gone to college and polished their skills to the level where they were better than those around them? Why? There will always be players who accept the 3rd rank role, what makes these guys different? Andray Blatche is a guy I've been watching for a few seasons now. Has all the skills to be a great big man, but it seems like everything is just left a little unpolished. His post moves, although good, are basic; his jump shot, although it falls, doesn't fall enough; his defense, although productive at times, is inconsistent; his IQ just isn't good. These are the things star players work on in college. Had Blatche gone to college, I guarantee, he could have been at least a 16/10 center/power forward on any good team. Do you actually realize how many college big men i could apply your reasoning (for not trusting blanche as a true big)to? Thousands... Greg Ostertag for example.. 20/10 big man, took the blocking record at Kansas and went on to become a back up center in the NBA. Had great fundamentals and basics, hell has pretty good advancements, but it never really happened for him.

Im still confused here. We do not know a productive healthy or advanced Bynum. Out of 328 games this man has only played 213. This is a HUGE factor when considering which young players are developing. And who cares about what stats this player was averaging before injury or pre end of a season... lets make stats matter! If we nit pick stats like that then i can make nearly any player in the NBA look like jordan.

Reason being?

Now wait.... What exactly are you saying here? That Bynum who has spent the last 2 years of his career injured gets more "consistent" minutes then Webster, Blatche or Amir? And why label it as minutes? Why not production? Every last player who was drafted in 05 right from the NBA produces similar or better numbers then THOUSANDS of college grads who went on to the NBA in the past 20 years.

I can now stop reading this article since Nelson is mentioned as a "top offensive coach" and pop is not.

What? WTF? Do some of you guys not realize that Kobe just got the closest thing to a "Pippen" he will ever get? Odom would be a great piece to the puzzle, but to think he is needed for them to even win multiple titles is inane.

B/S - tracy mcgrady returns to the tmac we know? Sell, Did Hill? B/S - The Wizards trade off all their main pieces within the next 2 seasons and attempt to rebuild.

B/S - Dwight Howard wins the dunk contest next season. Sell, Howard entertained us enough. B/S - Mike Brown continues coaching in Cleveland if LBJ leaves.

B/S - Nate Robinson won't be on the Knicks when the 2009 season begins. (Meaning he may be on another NBA team or playing for the team in Greece, etc...) Buy. Knicks are not done making moves and could get something decent for Nate. B/S - Bobcats nab a 5,6,7 seed in next seasons play offs.

1. Brandon Roy 2. Rajon Rondo 3. Rudy Gay 4. LaMarcus Aldridge 5. Paul Millsap 6. Andrea Bargnani 7. Randy Foye 8. Ronnie Brewer 9. Kyle Lowry 10. Shannon Brown

Indiana Milwaukee Or Washington

6'10 is not undersized for a PF at all, his wing span is nearly 7 foot (about as good as it gets and third best in the draft) and yes he is insanely athletic. His post moves need some work, but mix that with his athletic ability and yes, he probably is the best post player in the draft. Add to his basketball IQ, ability to get to the rim and create his own shot, his ball handling ability, and mostly the fact that he is physically ready to bang with NBA big men, there is really no reason at all to legitimently consider him more "bust-prone" then anyone else in the draft. He will have an immediate impact in the NBA, not just the Clippers.

No way should any of those guys outside of maybe Odom be on the list above Ron Artest. Artest is at that perfect age of experience mixed with peak ability, arguably the best defender in the game while still having an ability to average 20 a game.

Offensively he is questionable. Has a lot of work to do to become a true high valued big man. Defensively he is sound but that is only considering his college career and not against NBA talent. I dont understand why you have Griffen has a higher bust value then Thabeet, Derozan, Curry, Rubio and Evans.

1) Clippers - Blake Griffin (10) 2) Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet (5) 3) Thunder - James Harden (8) 4) Kings - Tyreke Evans (3) 5) Timberwolves - Ricky Rubio (8) 6) Timberwolves - Jonny Flynn (3) 7) Warriors - Stephen Curry (4) 8) Knicks - Jordan Hill (6) 9) Raptors - DeMar DeRozan (5) 10) Bucks - Brandon Jennings (3)