Pierce vs. Carter

["Joshua Ozersky" <jozersky@stny.rr.com>]

You know, I think everybody is buying into this Carter hype a little too much.  I think that while

he is clearly having a much better year than Paul, and is definitely in much better shape, the

two are about equals.  Pierce is a much, much better defensive player than Carter, and while Carter puts up gaudy scoring numbers, he is after all the focal point of the entire offense on that team.  He

took over thirty shots to get his fifty the other night.  He made a great play to beat us last night, but prior to that he was just another guy.  I don't think we should all get so caught up in his meaningless dunks

that we get to thinking he is something he's not.  Kobe Bryant is a special player, on offense anyway; Vince isn't in his class as a scorer. But neither Vince nor Kobe can block shots and shut their man down like Paul can.  Paul definitely needs to get in Vince Carter shape so that he can show the world what he can do.  I think you need more than one go-to scorer on a title team, though, which is why I'm leery of trading Antoine for a Dale Davis.

 

Josh Ozersky