rating Pierce

[Alex Goldblatt]

Have to disagree with this premise of equals:

- even though Kobe tried to present the situation of being equal, it always
been Shaq's team. Proof came right after he's left to Miami - he's got
another ring, Kobe failed miserably even to make the playoffs.

- Kobe's ego destroyed the team - who said that he can fit into any team now
at all? 2 players I hate the most: AI and Kobe. Both are the ultimate
overblown ego carriers, both represent everything opposite to my
understanding and love for this game.

On adding the equal talent: typically you have 2 ways to accomplish things
in the team sports:

- you surround your star with the best supporting cast to cover the holes,
and build your team strategy around single dominant player (triangle, etc.)

- you build the TEAM - see Det, Spurs, Celtics of the past, Bad Boys, etc. -
the way I like it the most (and actually the only way to be a dominant force
in basketball). It also gives you huge flexibility in the long run because
you do not depend on any particular player anymore. You just need to keep
the puzzle as the whole finding new pieces to fit. Then it comes down to the
competition of which team is actually better vs. some weird comparison of
Shaq vs. Kobe, LeBron vs. Paul, etc. In basketball - only TEAM wins. This is
a constantly overlooked factor (thanks MJ) for the past 20 years or so. I
hope Danny will be able to resurrect that for us, but it will take Paul
finally growing up as a player in his role as a team member. That's the
biggest challenge for him this season - to distance himself from 'Toine's,
Kobe's and such. I'm not worried about the other two, btw (i.e. KG and RA) -
I rate both of them as team players much higher than Paul.

AG



On 10/10/07, gene kirkpatrick <gk_tyler at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Ravi,  good point about Kobe.  As a co-equal? to Shaq, it worked.   I
> agree that LeBron plus Garnett plus whomever would be a title
> contender.  The problem is, when you start with LeBron or Kobe, it's hard to
> add on an equal talent.  They may want another big time player, but no one
> wants to hand them the chance.  We've done it somehow, so it's
> possible.  I'm a fan of LeBron because of his talent and attitude, and I'm
> not suggesting that he's fostered the LeBron mystique--the media did that
> before he hit the NBA.  I just wouldn't want to go through that whole image
> thing.  I don't see it with Oden or Durant, who may be in LeBron's league.
>
> Anyway, good points as always.  New posters should note that, when Ravi
> speaks, it's worth listening.
>
> Program note:  today's game is televised on ESPN 2.  Gene
>
> keltsfan <keltsfan at comcast.net> wrote:
> Gene,
>
> Kobe has already "fit" into a championship team given that he's got three
> rings. The problem now is the Lakers are not a championship caliber team.
>
> Put Garnett and Ray Allen alongside LeBron James and the Cavaliers may
> have
> won it last year because the one player in this league who matches up
> reasonably well with Tim Duncan is Kevin Garnett.
>
> Ravi
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On
> Behalf
> Of gene
> > kirkpatrick
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 12:24 PM
> > To: celtics
> > Subject: rating Pierce
> >
> > I would choose Pierce or Havlicek or D. Wade, for example, over LeBron.
> LeBron is a
> > force of nature. He is likely, if not certainly, to be an
> all-timer--perhaps one of the top 15
> > ever. Maybe. But I resist those players who become an "institution." Le
> team, c'est moi!
> > Unlike Garnett and Duncan, he is part of management, it seems. I like
> his
> demeanor and his
> > teamwork, but he's not the type player I'm comfortable with on my team.
> He's like a Kobe,
> > but nicer.
> >
> > Not that this was the question, but I think that Pierce or Wade are the
> types who are more
> > likely to fit into a championship team. No, Pierce is not more talented,
> but then Wilt and
> > Dr. J were more talented than our guys. Gene
> >
> >
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