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Originally Posted by Dice |
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That was the whole point. He doesn't have the help to make him the type of player you think he could be. He needs the ball because he's the best player on the team. You can't run the offense through anybody else on that squad. We all know Paul is not good enough to win a title BUT that doesn't deter him from being a great player. You can take Paul off the team and replace him with any all-time PG: Magic, Thomas, Stockton and they still don't make it to the conference finals. So you put Jack as your lead guard and put Paul as your 2, then you basically have a smallish backcourt that'll get posted up by the bigger guards. And when I say, 'Being an above average passer' I meant from their respective position. Yes, Jack is an above average passer compared to the other overall positions. BUT as a PG, he no better than average.
And as stated above, when a PG doesn't have the players to get him the ball while he's playing off the ball, what good is he? Of course Magic was a great screener when Worthy's got the ball on the wing about to take some poor sap off the dribble. Or if Kareem's got the ball in the post about to sky hook some poor defender to death. Everybody is watching the ball because guys like Worthy and Kareem can score. And if the defense starts to converge on them, they have enough basketball I.Q. to hit the open man, which may be Magic sitting under the basket.
Same with West. Playing with Elgin Baylor earlier in his career and then Goodrich and Chamberlian latter, he can roam free a little to setup those plays because when those other players have the ball defenses have to worry. Same with Stockton. Defenses playing against those Jazz team concentrated more on Karl Malone, which gave Stockton some leeway to roam. And speaking of Stockton, he to me, wasn't as great as most people make him out to be. He was very good BUT I think guys like Magic, Thomas and even Gary Payton was much better than Stockton.
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Paul is a
good player for sure. But the fact that the ball can be forced away from him is a huge minus. Magic was so big that he could always see the entire court so double teams were useless. Isiah Thomas was a terrific one on one scorer who could always get his shots off. Stockton could hit open shots, screen himself, and was the best screen/roll player of all time. These guys would certainly get more out of the Hornets than Paul can.
While Magic and West were certainly complimented by great players, they were always playing to win. Magic would have been a great screener in any situation. Ditto for West's curling and popping.
I contend that it was Malone who wasn't all that great. His ability to score one on one was just okay and his go to move was a turnaround jumper. More, every coach knew Malone was bound to force passes, miss good shots, and take bad shots in the clutch. It was Stockton's mastery and decision making in the screen/roll game that turned Malone into a scoring machine.
In formulating the all time best points, notch Magic at the number 1 spot, Stockton at 4, and Thomas at 10. Payton has no place among the all time great points. With his ball domination, overhyped D, confrontational attitude, and limited shooting range he doesn't crack the top 20.