There are so many players in the NBA that can't play defense but are excellent scorers, yet people consider these players to be great or elite (Carmelo Anthony is one that comes to mind.. I love the guy but he is not defensive minded) . However, any time you talk about a player that is good on defense but doesn't score that many points , people debate whether the guy is actually a good player at all (example : Kendrick Perkins) . I don' t get it. I would think that in order to be considered a great player you must be great on both sides of the ball. hmm....
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Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
No ... We consider them as an overrated player such as Carmelo, Monta and many more. Scoring wins games and defense wins championships kinda the reason why everyone loves Tony Allen and why everyone says Karl Malone is overrated -
Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
For the media as a whole, it's simply because offensive highlights are more "entertaining" to the masses. Sure they'll throw in a block here and there but you'll never see real defense being played unless you actually watch the game. Luckily the guys I talk hoops with are all "student" fans and appreciate guys like Tony Allen, Eric Bledsoe, Avery Bradley, etc.
Also, some guys just have specialties, and if you excel in your specialty then technically you are a "great" player because you're great at what you do. I don't consider Melo to be overrated because I personally think he's the best inside-outside scorer in the league. If Melo is overrated, then so is Durant."To the last minute, to the last second, to the last man, we fight"Comment
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Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
Durants scoring leads to something if it DIDN'T then he would be overrated . Melo is a great player and I think some people see improvements in him that others haven't see but until he can at least bring he Knicks to be second round nobody caresComment
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"To the last minute, to the last second, to the last man, we fight"Comment
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Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
Certainly, his defense has improved rapidly .. I think he's still allowing over 100 points per 100 possessions on basketball reference but under Woodson he's got a high ceiling for the future of NYC .
But I still don't see the Knicks ever advancing past the second round with stoudemire playing how he is now. And to be honest I believe the Knicks were BETTER without Anthony and Stoudemire and Melo have somewhat the same mindset and they're stars that should be alone unlike Wade and LeBron they're trying to show of their own skills not compliment each other.Comment
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Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
Agree, Carmelo is definitely the "center of attention" type of player you have to build around. Will building around him produce a title? Maybe not, but until him and STAT learn to play together, New York doesn't have a chance at a title with Boston, Miami, and Chicago being in the East."To the last minute, to the last second, to the last man, we fight"Comment
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Knicks should have kept Nate Robinson & David Lee and built around them 2. I love Amar'e & Melo but they are the exact same player; they don't compliment each other at all. Both of them are ball stoppers.
Back to Ops topic, I love defensive stoppers. Back when I was younger I used to play hoops in this church league & my team would always put me on the opposition's best player. More times than not I'd make him a non-factor in the game. I remember one time I was guarding this guy who was 2 or 3 times my size; I shut him down & he got so frustrated that he got kicked out of the game. I always loved playing defense and doing the little things when I played, so I tend to like players who play like that.
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Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
I don't think there's a Spurs fan alive that thinks this.
Bruce Bowen HOFComment
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Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
Almost every real basketball fan agrees with the OP that you need to be a good-to-great on both sides of the ball to be considered a great player.
Monta and Melo get flack because they're one dimensional...they're scorers. It's not just that they are below average on defense, it's also that they don't make their teammates better and are difficult to build a winning team around. Ballstoppers don't win titles, it's that simple.
As for defender-only guys, it's a similar thing. If you're terrible at one end of the court people won't think as highly of you."You make your name in the regular season, and your fame in the postseason." - Clyde Frazier
"Beware of geeks bearing formulas." - Warren BuffetComment
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Great scoring tops great defense nearly every time. No matter how great you are defensively there will always be those elite players who will score regardless. Example, Jordan vs. Dumars, Durant vs. Artest.. I don't think there is any one guy in the league who can go out and stop Melo or Durant or LeBron or Kobe etc..
Also being a great defender means almost nothing unless your team is also great defensively. Team defense is 100 times more important than individual defense. Recent teams that come to mind Garnett on Boston, Bowen on SA, Ben Wallace in Detroit..Comment
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Also: Tony Allen is absolutely horrible, don't care how good his man defense is the guy can't do anything elseComment
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Re: why is it if you can play shut down defense but cant score you are a terrible pla
Would you really want a guy like Tony Allen over Melo or Monta?Comment
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