Re: Who are the 6 pure point guards left ?

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:54 AM 8/8/03 -0400, Tammo29@xxxxxxx wrote:

> >>Who do you think Ainge was thinking of, when he said there's only 6 pure
>point guards left in the league?>>
>
>   This article seems very timely.  If nothing else it should be good for 
> some
>discussion.
>
>August 7, 2003
>NBA Point Guards-- The Coming Season
>Joe Schaller
>
>The Greatest Point Guard of All Time
>I rate Magic Johnson as one of the greatest players of all time however John
>Stockton is easily the greatest point guard of all time with his far superior
>ballhandling skills. Magic's strengths were scoring and rebounding while
>operating more as a point forward. It is a little known fact that Johnson 
>is one of
>the all time point guard leaders in turnovers per minute for his career.
>Stockton's assist/turnover ratio is stellar and his 19 year career with 
>one team
>is maybe the greatest individual achievement in NBA history.

Dear Joe,

You have written a fascinating bit of fiction here, trying to pass off 
Magic as the "Greatest Point Guard of All Time".  Of course, I realize that 
in your universe, Bob Cousy obviously never picked up a basketball.

Over here, in "reality as the rest of the world knows it", Bob Cousy 
eclipses Johnson with no problem whatsoever.  Cousy redefined HOW to 
pass.  He made his teammates better.  He did this at a time when his style 
was so new, so different, that he had to convince his high school, college, 
and NBA coaches that he wasn't simply showboating.  He knew when to 
distribute the ball and he knew how to get it to where each player could 
make the most of the opportunity.

And don't give me any guff like "Cousy had Russell".  Magic had Kareem, and 
while I think Russell was a better player than Kareem, that doesn't by any 
means make Kareem chopped liver.

Also, hate to tell you, that rebounding, while nice to have from ANY 
player, is not the primary job of the Point Guard.  So the fact that Magic 
rebounds is nice, but nor really relevant.

Is Magic a great player?  Absolutely.  There's no question he had 
extraordinary talent.  But the best Point Guard of all time?  No.  That 
honor belongs To Bob Cousy.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the <http://www.celticsbeagle.net/>Celtics Beagle Website