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Stephen A. obliterates LeBron James


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I wouldn't leave LeBron out of my top five, but a great deal of what they are saying is true. Physical talent, LeBron is easily on top of the league.

 

Factor in everything, and he's #4 on my list, behind Wade, Kobe, and Howard (mix the order however you want, I can make an argument for all three at #1).

 

The one thing that's hurting LeBron is the fact that he can't adjust very well, because he has one speed. He still doesn't have that post game, something he would MURDER teams with if they weren't giving him the lane. He still doesn't hit free throws over 80%, which is bad for a guy that can get to the line 10-15 times any given night. He doesn't play off the ball, at all, unless he's going for an oop at the rim (and good defensive teams don't allow that every play). He's not a good enough three-point shooter to rely on his long range shot when the opponent is pushing him out to the three.

 

Deep down, I was worried that, if the Lakers didn't stop the Heat in the Finals, nobody was going to. LeBron had Wade and Bosh, Haslem was back, and the Heat were clicking and obviously set as the best team in the East, once they found an identity on the offensive end. However, nothing came of it, and this is the result.

 

I'm not going to put Durant or Melo over LeBron. Quite frankly, neither play defense or have the passing ability LeBron does. CP3 doesn't take over games like James, and while he's a good defensive player, he's only defending one position. LeBron is all over the court.

 

So, in no particular order...Kobe, Howard, Wade...and then you can give me LeBron.

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What does Dwight Howard do in big games? Turn the ball over and miss FT's? :lol: At least LeBron gets assists in big games, Dwight had 3 in 6 playoff games last year, what a teammate.

If people were giving James a pass back when he was in Cleveland, they better do the same with Howard in Orlando...because, quite frankly, the Magic are ranked dead last in defense without Howard, and a top five with him (which is astounding, and I'm not sure if I can name another player that has ever done that with a team before). And, he's super efficient with an improving offensive game, 20+ PPG on top of that, and the ability to completely tear into a defense and erupt for 40+ (and that's with 2-3 people on him).

 

People give Shaq a lot of crap for not being able to score very many 50's in his career, but there's a reason for that. At least Shaq had arguably the best player in the NBA, at that time, as his teammate.

 

Give Dwight Howard a superstar teammate (Durant), and suddenly, shit gets real in Orlando. Dwight would average 25-30 a night, easily, with Durant getting his 25-30, Howard starts racking up assists because he actually has someone to pass to, and Orlando goes to the Finals.

 

I'll put it this way: Orlando was 16th in FG% last year (near/below average). They were a respectable 10th in 3PT%. Unfortunately, they were 27th in assists. The Magic didn't pass the ball, and that's partially because they didn't convert shots when they DID pass the ball. There was no strategy to play inside-out, because their opponents would allow them to launch threes all game long (ranked 1st in 3PT attempts, by the way), and as the old saying goes, "Live by the three, die by the three."

 

Orlando is toxic for Dwight Howard. Despite everything he does for the team (basically everything), they are still an average NBA squad...and almost none of that rests on Howard's shoulders.

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I doubt, you can think that sure, but I disagree. I think Dwight averages a lot of points because he's in an offense that is built completely around him. It is predicated upon him getting 1 on 1's inside by spreading the floor with shooters. It also gives him ample oppertunities for rebounds and put backs because with more lower % shots more rebound oppertunties. I feel the one dimensional Dwight with his 6 foot maybe now what 10 foot range? Would struggle in a different offense which didn't see him as the number 1 option. Even when Shaq was on the Magic he still got a good amount of assists and didn't get a ridiculous amount of turnovers.

 

No need to bring up Dwight's defense. Although I would like to see what would happen if Dwight had to actually guard his man instead of going up against Joakim Noah and Ronny Turiaf.

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I doubt, you can think that sure, but I disagree. I think Dwight averages a lot of points because he's in an offense that is built completely around him. It is predicated upon him getting 1 on 1's inside by spreading the floor with shooters. It also gives him ample oppertunities for rebounds and put backs because with more lower % shots more rebound oppertunties. I feel the one dimensional Dwight with his 6 foot maybe now what 10 foot range? Would struggle in a different offense which didn't see him as the number 1 option. Even when Shaq was on the Magic he still got a good amount of assists and didn't get a ridiculous amount of turnovers.

 

No need to bring up Dwight's defense. Although I would like to see what would happen if Dwight had to actually guard his man instead of going up against Joakim Noah and Ronny Turiaf.

If Howard had a CP3 or a Deron Williams throwing him lobs and perfect post entry passes, again, Orlando would be in the Finals.

 

The offense is built for the three, not Dwight. While SVG may want his team to play inside-out, they can't because none of them can throw the post entry, none of them can penetrate and dish to Dwight under the rim (ala Kobe/Shaq), and none of them can draw enough defensive attention to give Howard room to operate. We've seen this over and over again, though.

 

Why not talk about his defense? He's the best defensive player since Dennis Rodman (the GOAT defender). Howard's defense is better than most anyone's offense in the NBA, and it's really the only reason why Orlando makes the playoffs.

 

If people thought the Cavaliers hit rock bottom when LeBron left, I'd hate to see what would happen to this exact Magic squad if Howard took off (or was injured an entire season).

 

--------

 

As far as Howard defending his own man, there's no other way to determine how well he does that other than stats, and without digging up those numbers (the allowed FG%), he has been one of the best in the league every time I look those stats up. He was holding his opponents to 45% shooting (yes, centers), and I'm sure not even Tim Duncan was able to pull that off back in 2007 (when he went to the Finals), and Duncan was defending a lot of PF, who shoot lower percentages.

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As for the Stephen A. Smith thing...that's what happens when a man doesn't get his cheese doodles before the cameras start rolling.

 

 

 

I doubt, you can think that sure, but I disagree. I think Dwight averages a lot of points because he's in an offense that is built completely around him. It is predicated upon him getting 1 on 1's inside by spreading the floor with shooters. It also gives him ample oppertunities for rebounds and put backs because with more lower % shots more rebound oppertunties. I feel the one dimensional Dwight with his 6 foot maybe now what 10 foot range? Would struggle in a different offense which didn't see him as the number 1 option. Even when Shaq was on the Magic he still got a good amount of assists and didn't get a ridiculous amount of turnovers.

 

He rarely ever gets 1 on 1's. He's constantly double and triple teamed anywhere near the rim, and if he gets the ball low enough it's an automatic foul. Factoring in FT%, he is still disgustingly efficient from the field. And on a 3pt shooting team like Orlando, which generates a ton of long rebounds, I'd say that hurt his rebounding average, not help it.

 

Who cares if he only has a 10ft range? That's all he needs. He's developed a nice little 10-15ft banked shot, improved his versatility in the post (very nice spin move, efficient hook shot, some added nuances with his footwork to get himself past his man in post/face-up positions, etc...), and he's still damn-near unstoppable within 5ft of the rim (which he gets to almost at will considering his strength, size and athleticism). He's no longer one dimensional.

 

Yes, he gets too many turnovers and too little assists, which are both generated from the same problem (he rushes at times and gets careless on some moves). But bottom line is he scored with terrific volume and insane efficiency, is a top 2-3 rebounder in the NBA, is the most dominant defender in the NBA, and he's already proven that you can build a Finals team around him (when he wasn't as well-rounded as he is now).

 

No need to bring up Dwights defense.

 

Yeah, he's by far the most dominant defensive player in the league...let's just throw that to the side and give him a minimal amount of credit for it in the overall picture because, as a C, he's not great passing out of the post.

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Still can't take either over Dennis, though.

 

I don't know if I'd take Ben over Rodman, but it's damn close. He could do a lot of the things Rodman could defensively (and did those things in a similar way), but also could do things Rodman couldn't, which was truly anchor a defense with absolutely elite shotblocking. Prime Wallace was a 13-15RPG guy who blocked 3+ shots, had close to 2SPG (led the post-season 3x in that regard), and had the versatility and could defend PnR's like Garnett (not quite as well, but they are abilities guys like Dwight and Duncan don't possess to half that degree). To win 4 DPOY's in the same era as a prime Duncan and Garnett is absolutely insane, and in '04 he got robbed a 5th. He led arguably the greatest defense of all-time, has some of the best advanced defensive stats of all-time, and was just insane.

 

As I said, it's close with Rodman, and guys like Hakeem, Duncan, Garnett, Russell and some other deserve a huge mention, but in one of the greatest defensive era's of all-time (early '00's) Wallace was IMO the best of the bunch.

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Hey so yeah, I don't like thinking about Ben Wallace or the 2004 Detroit Pistons. HISTORY. Thanks Nitro!

 

FYI - Yes, Ben was the best defender in that era, and I can't name anyone else who I'd consider over him, even though KG and Timmy were true anchors.

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