Nitro

No, it's called context. The more 3 pointers you take, the worse your 3pt % tends to be. Last year CP3 took a career high number of 3 pointers. The previous 2 seasons he took less 3's, and shot 41% from 3 one season, and 39% the other season...both higher than Holiday. Also, factor in the defensive attention both receive. CP3 is one of the top 5-6 players in the league in terms of being game-planned for an receiving massive defensive attention. Holiday, meanwhile, wasn't even the primary playmaker on the Sixers last season (Iguodala was), 'nor was he the go-to scorer. He is simply an average role player on offense...nothing less, nothing more. And despite this, Paul is still far more efficient as a scorer while scoring more, and he averages the same number of turnovers while more than doubling Jrue in assists. I don't even know what you're trying to argue. That Jru is even in the same tier of PG's that Paul is? He's not, and he's not even the tier below him. Paul, Williams, Nash, Rondo, Westbrook, Rose, Parker and Irving are MILES ahead of him...Wall, Curry, Lawson, Rubio, and Lowry are clearly a step up from him...and Collison, Conley, Kidd, Lin, Miller, Jennings and maybe a few more are all probably better as well. You can even make cases for guys like Teague, Thomas, Hincrich, Chalmers and Nelson being better as well. That leaves Holiday as one of the worst starting PG's in the league. To compare him to a former #2 MVP candidate who has led multiple teams past the 1st round and is one of the greatest players statistically in NBA history is RIDICULOUS. To think the gap between the two isn't a mile is just crazy talk.

Oh, and the stats you highlighted are retarded. 3pt% difference is so minimal, and deceiving since far less of CP3's 3 pointers were assisted, and he took more per game which is harder to maintain from an efficiency standpoint. And are you REALLY pointing out a .2BPG difference at the PG position...REALLY?!? Jesus.

He had a 9.3 : 2.1 AST:TO ratio last season...that is turning the ball over at an historically low pace. That is a considerably better ratio than guys Nash, Kidd, and Magic ever had. Hell, that is a full TO less than what Kobe, Dwighr, LeBron, Wade, Nash and others had last season. Holiday is a scoring PG who does so inefficiently, and he is not even an average playmaker. He's a solid player, but only above average on the defensive side of the ball. Paul is one of the best scoring PG's in the league, one of the most efficient, one of the 3 best playmakers, one of the better rebounding PG's, and one of the best ball thiefs in NBA history. He's statistically one of the best clutch performers in the league. Based on advanced stats like PER he is among the greatest players ever (top 30). He's proven as a #1 option to be able to carry a team deep into the playoffs and he's proven to be a top 2 MVP candidate in the past. You are either retarded or just being difficult.

Explain please. He's a very efficient scorer, an amazing playmaker who never turns the ball over, a solid rebounder, one of the best ball thiefs in NBA history, and a fiery competitor. The only two knocks I have of him is he sometimes defers too much as a scorer (he proved he could be a 23PPG scorer when he wanted to in the past), and his size defensively hurts him sometimes. Besides that, there is absolutely no way you can say he is overrated, especially to the degree you are saying he is. The impact he made on the Clippers last year was enormous, and it showed in their huge jump in the standings compared to the previous season . If he had a more capable coach and balanced roster, I feel they could be true championship contender.

Only listened to a few songs so far. Came into it with very low expectations after Lasers and the fact that this got so little promotion... But damn, he really came hard as [expletive] on this album. Definitely along the lines of F&L and The Cool, and definitely not Lasers. Production seems on point, and lyrically he's a monster. So much god damn talent, it was easy to forget that after his last effort, but he really came with tight verses. Around My Way, with the Pete Rock sample...[expletive].

Meh. Kinda disappointed, though I'm not a big fan of most of the label's artists (Kanye, Common and Cudi are dope, though).

Apparently it dropped a few hours ago. Any got linkage?

Teams starting taking more 3's towards the late '90's/early '00's also because it was the first generation who grew up with the 3pt line, and that was also when the line got shortened. Above all else, it is the most efficient weapon in the game next to layups/dunks. Which brings me back to the point that the higher overall FG% of the '80's is generally equivilent to the efficiency you see with lower FG%, but increase in 3pt attempts. And you are right about him never having a 2nd reliable scorer, but neither did T-Mac in Orlando, LeBron in Cleveland, Wade in Miami '08-'10, or Kobe '04-'08. All of them had close to/their most efficient seasons during those years. There is no excuse for shooting below 40% in your prime twice. Iverson's successful teams were ran by defense. He was an extremely inefficient volume scorer who turned the ball over at a historic pace. They needed his volume scoring, but I have no doubts there was at least 4-5 wing players and a few PG's at the time who would have made that Sixers offense better. You do know during AI's best years (early '00's) he didn't even lead the team in assists, and was nearly doubled in assists per 36min? I didn't check past '00-'02, but McKie led the team in assists that first season, and nearly doubled AI in assists per 36min, and Snow led the team in assists the next season. And keep in mind, AI had only one season, when the East was at its weakest point ever, where he got past the first round. He did have the DPOY, a HoF coach, and a solid cast of role players. Definitely no stars or variety of offensive weapons, but he did have some help. Obviously you know what happened with him and Melo. I just don't see how high volume scoring with awful efficiency, a nearly 1:1 AST:TO ratio in his prime, and only one season out of the 2nd round is better than Clyde's career. Clyde was generally way more efficient, was about the same level in terms of assists, obviously a better rebounder and shot blocker (the rebounding thing shouldn't be disgarded...it is a big advantage to have a 6-7RPG SG on your team), averaged the same amount of steals in his prime while having better size defensively, and he went to the Finals 3x and has a championship under his belt. I just don't see the argument for AI.

Maybe so, although TS% tends to show a better picture. A big reason FG% took a dip into the '90's and '00's was because players were taking far more 3 pointers. It hurts FG%, but because 3's are so efficient, it tends to balance out in the form of a TS%. Either way, Iverson was pretty much always grossly inefficient as a scorer in every form. Even if you want to call Drexler just average in that regard, it is still a step up from Iverson. I wouldn't call Drexler the better scorer, and maybe give AI the edge, though. Drtg's are always altered by their teammates, although the truly elite defensive players tend to break that barrier (check out Dwight's Drtg's on the Magic, it's pretty ridiculous). I'd say defense is a wash. Drexler was a hell of a ball thief as well in his prime, being up near 3SPG. However, what he had on AI was size, and wasn't consistently at a disadvantage physically like AI was. And I deleted the part of your post about the passing, but AI's numbers aren't better...maybe his best seasons he has a slightly higer APG average, but Drexler always hovered around and below 3 TO's. AI was consistently over 4 TO's, which is awful. Carried the team on his back much more? I don't know about that. Drexler carried his team to the Finals as well, and did it twice. Besides the year Philly made the Finals, AI never sniffed the Conference Finals ever again. And here's the difference between the two in my eyes...the issue with AI is he HAD to dominate the ball to be effective. He could not play off-ball, was badly inefficient as a scorer and primarly ball-handler, and couldn't do other things at an elite level to help his team get far. So, he was great at "carrying his team on his back," but could you blend him into a true championship contending team? From what we saw throughout his career, probably not. With Drexler, he showed he could carry a team at an elite level, as well as be a 2nd option on a championship team. He didn't have to get his points and assists off sheer volume like AI did.

Gervin never won an NBA title, and I believe only made it out of the 2nd round only once in his career. Wade has two NBA titles, has been to 3 Finals, has a Finals MVP, and has made it past the 2nd round 4x. Better scorer? Maybe, I'll give you that although it's pretty close. Rebounding is almost identical in terms of rebounding %, which adjusts for pace (since back in the '70's there were a lot more possessions/opportunities for rebounds, so raw RPG doesn't work as well). But in terms of passing/playmaking Wade has a HUGE advantage. Gervin wasn't a guy you could run your offense through because he didn't have the ballhandling or passing abiltiy to consistently make plays for his teammates, while Wade is one of the best swingmen of the last 20 years at doing so. And by everything I've heard, Gervin wasn't know for his great defense, while Wade has been on All-Defensive teams multiple times in his career. FWIW, Wade's career PER is 25.7 to Gervin's 21.4. Wade's best season was a 30.4, while Gervin's was a 24.7. Wade's playoff PER is 24.1 to Gervin's 21.2. You have to put the All-NBA selections in context. Gervin made his in one of the weakest era's in NBA history, especially for guards. When Wade didn't make it, he lost out to MVP's like Kobe and Nash. When Gervin made it, he was beating out guys like Dennis Johnson and Paul Westphal, and Gus Williams, who were great players, but not of the Kobe/Nash caliber. If Wade was around in those years, he would easily have the same number of 1st team selections.

Gervin and Iverson over Drexler? I'm curious as to what your reasoning is. And Ray Allen deserves a ton of love, but he is nowhere near Wade/Drexler territory. Those two guys in their primes were all-time greats, and top 3 players in the league. Allen's never, ever been a top 5 player, and usually was borderline top 10 at best.

I'd say that is perfect, including the order.

1999 is definitely the mixtape of the year for me. I heard good things about this mixtape, I'll check it out when I get the time. Not a Big Sean fan, so I'm going into it with kinda low expectations.

This. With an elite, experienced PG running the show, a talented supporting cast and a solid coach, he could actually be pretty effective with a big upside. And if he fails, they can always sign Eddy Curry to eat him.

For fun, took a quick glance at the OKC 08-09 stats, and the only major difference with KD on and off the floor was defense...they were about the same with him on the floor offensively, but a -8 with him on the court defensively. That makes these stats more understandable. Keep in mind, those numbers were from his first 2 years in the league, he's vastly improved in all aspects since then. Besides, raw +/- is often deceiving. Adjusted +/- tends to do a much better job of supporting what really goes on over the course of a season.

2 things regarding Wayne- 1) He got extremely rich, popular, went to jail, and took up skateboarding to the extreme....all things that can take away from your love of the music, and dedication to pushing your own boundaries. It seems like he's settled on a certain style that he knows gets radio play and will bring him in money, and he's basically recycling a thousand times over. 2) He was never that talented to begin with. When his old stuff came out it was pretty different from what was coming out at the time, specifically in regards to flow and voice. Now that people have become saturated with his music, it simply doesn't hit us like it used to. That is where lyrical talent comes in. When you are one of the elite rappers, you can successfully create new concepts, go in new directions, and talk about new things while keeping true to yourself and style. That is how guys like Jay and Nas have remained so consistent over 20 years. Talent will always prevail.

I'm sure he would have been if Ledger was still alive. It would have been nice if they threw a Joker card in one of the scenes just as a little ode to him, though. From what I understand, Leonardo Dicaprio was supposed to be the Riddler, but Nolan wanted to go with Bane instead.

Only listened to a few songs...not impressed. Hate the Eminem pop-ish influence on some of the songs I've heard. Lyicis are usually my #1 priority, but none of the 4 members of Slaughterhouse really know how to channel that ability into interesting concepts. They are all really, really talented, raw MC's, but need direction. That is where Em comes in for a project like this, but he's so off the path he once was in terms of sound and concept that it killed some of the potential this had. Another Reocvery/Bad Meets Evil style album from Em and I am done with him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVh66cuoU_E Still GOAT.

Last year was kind of a tossup, with Kobe getting a slight edge due to the fact that he played in a lot more games. Wade was more efficient (pretty big difference in FG%, decent advantage in TS%), and per 36min averaged more rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, and less TO's. Kobe scored more points, but that's about it. Wade was also a much more impactful defender...his help defense made a big difference much of the time, and occasionally showed strong man-to-man defense. Still, Kobe was more important to his team, and did have a nice season, and probably faced a little more defensive attention. So, with health considered, Kobe had the better season. The previous 2-3 seasons Wade was without a doubt the better player. And I see him being better next season.

You're right about Dwight, but I'm looking at the Nash effect...Nash will get more attempts than either Fisher or Sessions ever did, and he will get the role players (Jamison, Artest, Barnes, etc...) more looks than any offense they ran before. And with a much better all-around team that won't have to rely on Kobe, I expect Kobe's minutes to decline a bit, as well as his shot attempts. His efficiency may increase, but I can't see him over 25PPG.

Lol I love how any time something negative is brought up about a republican, you immediately respond with an Obama attack. This topic isn't about Obama, it's about Christie. And have fun arguing about Christie to people who LIVE IN NJ, see the fat [expletive] every day on TV and live his political strategies.

No way is Kobe averaging 28PPG this season. Maybe 23-25, not 28 unless Dwight is out most of the season. Remember, he now has a lot more weapons at his disposal who are capable of big scoring nights than he has had...maybe ever. And prime Shaq was > MJ during his last year or two on Chicago, though this is a pretty different arguement (Kobe hasn't been as efficient as that MJ was the last few seasons 'nor is he as good defensively, and Dwight is certainly no prime Shaq and won't be averaging nearly 30PPG like Shaq did).

Probably Dwight. Will be their primary option down low and will anchor their defense and the boards. I could see Kobe having a really strong season offensively, though.

Lol Christie...