Erick Blasco's Top 30 NBA Power Forwards

[Diesel]

Real, Im really happy for you and Im gonna let you finish, but Shaq is one of the best centers of all time

 

 

Haha even in my tired state that one got me laughing.

[Celtics3420]

Real, Im really happy for you and Im gonna let you finish, but Shaq is one of the best centers of all time

 

[Revis Island]

Well, Bosh is a better primary option than Boozer is (and I don't see how that can be argued).

 

And a Kobe/Bosh duo would have a much better chance of winning a title than that of a Kobe/Boozer duo, and you can do that with any superstar guard or small forward, so that makes Bosh a better second option as well.

 

This is the same Carlos Boozer that is getting dominated by Paul Millsap in practices, and he's a very good rebounder, decent scorer, and a terrible defensive player.

 

Bosh can cry about Shaq all he wants. Yao has a permanent whining look on his face. That doesn't make either of them worse players: Yao is still the best center in the league when he's healthy, and Bosh is a better player than Boozer.

He's Chinese though, so it's different, Bosh is black and is still a [expletive] that's epic fail.

[YugoRocketsFan]

He's Chinese though, so it's different, Bosh is black and is still a [expletive] that's epic fail.

 

http://www.techipedia.com/images/ban_him_sm.jpg

[Celtics3420]

He's Chinese though, so it's different, Bosh is black and is still a [expletive] that's epic fail.

 

how do their race/ethnicity even factor into this smh.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Celtics3420

[Erick Blasco]

This thread's kinda gone downhill in a hurry.

[Smitty]

Real, Im really happy for you and Im gonna let you finish, but Shaq is one of the best centers of all time

 

Hahahahahaha. Well played Slaven.

[Diesel]

What has he carried the team to besides playoff appearances? Dirk's history of choking away in the playoffs is a trend, while Gasol bucked that trend last season. That's why you can use everything Dirk's done in his recent career against him---because he's the same player. It's hard to call Gasol soft anymore when he's learned how to handle physicality so much better than he ever has. It's hard to call Gasol defenseless when he's become so much better defensively in every area. Where has Dirk improved? His offense, defense, and psyche have stayed exactly the same.

 

Go put Dirk on the Lakers, and they don't come close to a title. Put last season's Gasol on Dallas and I bet Chris Andersen doesn't completely shut him down like he did Nowitzki in Games 1 and 3.

 

So just because Gasol has been on a championship team means he is more suited for carrying a team? I'm sorry, but that is bullcrap. The reason Gasol looks so much better this year is because he's on a better team where he isn't the focal point of the defense. He has other 7 footers in the frontcourt defensively to give the Lakers length everywhere. When team's go over gameplans for the Lakers the number one, number two, and number three most important points are Kobe Bryant.

 

Please. Give Dirk Kobe Bryant and see how much that opens up his game. Dirk would see a ton more looks from downtown where he would greatly benefit. His touch around the basket is underrated as well. You seem to be implying that Dirk shy's away from contact too which is definitely not the case. He got the the FT line 6.7 times per game compared to Gasol's 5.4 attempts per game.

 

And LMAO @ Dirk getting shut down by Chris Anderson in Games 1 and 3. In that case Gasol get's shut down every game.

Game 1: 28 Points, 12/22 Shooting, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers

Game 3: 33 points, 11/20 shooting, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers

 

What terrible games I must say. Still wondering why they are the examples shown as each of those games is more impressive than any one game Gasol had in the postseason.

 

 

 

Calling Gasol simply a sidekick is like calling Scottie Pippen simply a sidekick or John Stockton simply a sidekick or Tony Parker simply a sideick. You're so entranced by a player being a first option that you put blinders on to just how good these "sidekicks" are and just how important they are to creating wins. And that Mavs team, playing against the crippled Spurs, the defenseless Suns without an elite scorer, and the one-man gang Heat would've been fine with this year's Gasol. Gasol can actually post Haslem, Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw wouldn't touch him, and Gasol would hold his own with Duncan.

 

Here are Gasol's numbers against the Spurs last year. 10-14 FG, 5 REB, 1 AST, 5 TO, 21 PTS: 4-6 FG, 5 REB, 4 AST, 2 TO, 16 PTS: 10-15 FG, 11 REB, 3 AST, 3 TO, 23 PTS:

 

Those are ruthlessly efficent shooting numbers. Meanwhile defensively he helped hold Duncan to: 9-19 FG, 10 REB, 8 AST, 2 TO, 20 PTS: 6-12 FG, 8 REB, 1 AST, 0 TO, 15 PTS: 6-13 FG, 11 REB, 5 AST, 2 TO, 16 PTS.

 

Obviously Duncan did a number of other things well aside from score (especially in their first meeting), but don't tell me that Duncan obliterated Gasol when 24-35 from the field.

 

Scottie Pippen, John Stockton are both HOFers. Pippen even led the Bulls to 55 wins even after Jordan retired which is remarkable. I don't think Gasol could do the same with the Lakers if Kobe took this season off and if you can find me a Laker fan that thinks so be my guest. Parker can be a better player than Duncan on some nights and shown that as he won Finals MVP a few years ago. Gasol isn't anywhere near any of those guys as far as impact or being option number 1.

 

And even though Dirk hasn't won a championship he has been relatively successfull as the first option. When comparing players you can't judge everything on titles especially when the one guy had the best player in the world on his team while Dirk's best teammate in recent years has been Josh Howard who completely takes the game for granted. The fact that Dirk has led the team to 50 win season with one franchise is remarkable in it's own right. It isn't easy to keep that kind of consistency in the NBA. I'm not sure how many other players did that, but the list can't be too long.

 

And oh really Gasol would do all of those things? Considering here are his averages against those exact teams

Miami:18.5 PPG 45% shooting

Suns: 14.3 PPG 43% shooting

Spurs: 21.3 PPG 57% shooting

 

Good vs Spurs, OK vs Miami, bad versus Suns. And this was the Miami team that wasn't hot as it was in the playoffs when Dirk ran into them. A completely different team. I followed that team big time so I can tell you that. Compare those numbers against the Suns and SPurs to Dirks.....

 

In the playoffs

Spurs: 27.1 PPG 53% shooting

Suns: 28.0 PPG 46% shooting

 

And yes it wasn't last year's Gasol, but he averaged more Points, and assists and still shot 50% over the field. Offensively he's relatively the same player. He actually got into more contact offensively in that year getting to the line 617 times in 80 games while only getting to the line 439 in 81 games.

 

Again, I have to reitirate, the Gasol that played Duncan in the postseason two years ago is not the same caliber player as the Gasol who was outstanding last year.

 

So Gasol suddenly turned into an amazing offensive player over that same off-season? He is the same player except his defense improved. The same Gasol got owned by Duncan.

Go look up the numbers for every fourth quarter Dirk has had in the postseason since 2006, discounting the Suns series (because you and me Diesel could combine for 60 points with Tim Thomas and Boris Diaw defending us). Try to find every turning point in every playoff game Dallas has played since 2006. There have been a few big-time performances. A couple against the Spurs in 06, one or two in every series since then. Then go look at all the times Dallas has needed Dirk to come through and he's absolutely failed.

 

Dirk had to face a plethora of defenders during that playoff run. He was faced with Bruce Bowen, Mike Finley, Shawn Marion, Duncan at points, Hakim Warrick, Gasol, Haslem, Posey, and yes even a little bit of Tim Thomas lol even though Marion was the main guy he faced on the Suns.

 

The reason's why Dirk(or the team) has failed when he doesn't come up is because for the past few years Dirk has had so much responsiblity on that team offensively. He led the league in Win Shares for three straight years from 2005-2007.

The same voters voted Marcus Camby as Defensive Player of the Year. Don't judge a player's worth on the whims of the easily impressed. 9 straight playoff appearances, how many titles? Even during a season in which they received EVERY POSSIBLE BREAK. A Grizzlies team in disarray, a crippled Spurs team, the defenseless Suns without Amare, and a one-man band Heat with a 2-0 series lead? If you want to be a championship player Dirk, that's your chance. It's yours on a silver platter. And he disappears against the Heat, bricks free throws, and makes himself a non-factor.

 

A Grizzlies team led by a guy you percieve as better than him might I add.

 

And I'm not sure where the idea about the Spurs being cripped comes from. They were crippled this past playoff postseason. In 2006 though they were the favorites to come out of the West and win that series vs Dallas. Duncan looked fine averaging about 32 PPG. Ginobili was back for the postseason. The Spurs were still favoirtes in that series.