Re: [Celtic_Pride] Re: Adrian Griffin signs with Mavs

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>]

At 19:08 7/28/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>You are kidding us, right? I'd take Robert Parish any day over Dikembe.
>Mutombo is a fine player in the center-
>deficient NBA today , but he is not in  Robert's class as an all around
player
>(or champion).

No, I'm not kidding. It's true that Parish had a more polished offensive
game, but he never dominated the game at the other end like Mutombo does.
As for their respective competition, I don't see such a big difference.
While genuinely elite centers might be fewer now, Parish didn't have to
contend with someone like Shaq. If you compare Shaq, Mourning, Mutombo,
perhaps Robinson and Duncan vs. Olajuwon, Ewing, Moses Malone, and Kareem
(in his later years), I think the centers of the 90s and 00s would do fine
against their 80s' counterparts in their prime. Certainly, all the great
centers of the 80's would have had a lot of trouble with Shaq, had he been
playing then. 
As for being a champion, don't be ridiculous. Championships are largely a
matter of circumstances. Or are you prepared to argue that Karl Malone,
Barkley, Ewing and many other greats are not in Steve Kerr's class as
champions?