Thoughts about the NBA
Over the past few weeks, the sports world has been awaiting to see where the best pound-for-pound player in the NBA will be traded.
Allen Iverson demanded a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers after spending his entire career there. After all that he has done for the franchise and the city of Philadelphia, the least they can do is give him this final request.
Throughout a career in which A.I. has never played with an adequate supporting cast, the constant mediocrity from teammates and especially the front office has finally frustrated The Answer beyond repair.
Now, although Iverson would be a great addition to basically any mediocre team, he would not be a player who I pick in my Top 10. Basically my Top 10 is who I would use to form Team USA. For an NBA team, Iverson is without a doubt a player I would want on my team until he is finished, but the players I'd rather have are as follows:
Guards: Gilbert Arenas, Chris Paul, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade
Forwards: Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion
Centers: Marcus Camby, Dwight Howard
Honorable mention: Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Emeka Okafor, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Terry, Deron Williams
Here's why:
Arenas: 60. That should be all I need to say. Like my boy Stipe said earlier today, "Gil is one of two players who, as a fan, you always feel can put up a game like he did against the Lakers." The other player being Kobe. Yea BronBron and D-Wade are better all-around players, but we expect them to do so much more than score. Gil can straight up light it up (By the way, so Stipe doesn't sue me for plagiarism, this analysis is basically a combo of his ideas with mine. YEA NAWTEE).
Paul: He is a completely opposite player and point guard than Arenas. Whereas GA needs to score to have a significant impact on the game, Paul can be held to single digits and still control the flow with his passing and defense. Although he went to Wake Forest, I think I even secretly rooted for him then. As a bonus, who doesn't want a GQ cover boy on their team? I mean, if they Dream Team won't win, at least they can look good, right?
Redd: Ok, so it seems as if I'm being generous with dishin' out props tonight, but I'll give my teammate, we'll call him the Psychologist, credit for calling this a while ago. Maybe it's because he's the biggest Buckeye fan I know, or maybe its because Redd can shoot with the best in the world, but either way, the Psychologist has been trying to get me to see Redd as a premier player for the past few years. Well Doctor, I think you have finally succeded. Not only can he shoot, but he's driving to the basket and scoring in other ways now. I believe he dropped 57 the opening week of the season. He makes the team.
Wade: The other day I realized that I have seen Wade play. Then I was upset I didn't pay closer attention when I was at the Marquette/Cinci Conference USA Championsip his junior year. I don't know that I cared about the outcome then, but I'm pretty sure I was cheering for UC in fear of getting shot in the 'Nati. Anyways, Wade's the best player of his draft class to this point for the same reason Brady is better than Manning at this point. They win championships. 'Nuff said.
Carmelo: In the Wade/Bron/Melo draft, I was rooting for Carmelo to have the best career. Like I said, Wade was almost unknown to me then, so Melo was my protagonist to silence all the LeBron fans. Finally, he seems to be embracing his talents as the leagues leading scorer. The best news of all is, if this whole basketball thing doesn't work out, he can try out for the next season of the Contender with that nice right hook he delivered to Mardy Collins (I can hear the lame ring announcer now... "...and in the red corner, coming in at 6-8, 230 pounds, "The Syracusa Bruisa" Carmelo Anthony).
Boozer: Excellent post player. Great hands around the basket. Quick enough to defense. Decent jumper from 15 ft. and in. Duke "almost" graduate. Basically, the epitome of solid play. Now, let's stay healthy.
Brand: See Above.
Marion: The Matrix is the best All-Around player in the game. He should be taken first in every fantasy draft. He scores inside. He scores outside, even with the "sweetest" jumped I have ever seen. He is repeatedly the game-high rebounder. He can pass. He can play defense on a variety of players. He always plays hard. I love Shawn Marion.
Camby: I never liked him at UMass. Again, my Fantasy league connections with Camby have brought me to appreciate his game. Another player plagued by injuries, Camby will get you a double-double more often than not (at least it seems that way), and then he'll go out and block a handful of shots and alter even more.
Howard: D-Ho is the best center in the game at this time. He has about 3 20-20 games this year. When he wants to get a rebound, he does. I have not seen much regarding his offensive game, but his athleticism probably makes up for some of what is probably unpolished scoring skills at this point. He'll do nothing but improve for the next 15 years. Prediction: D-Ho = hall-of-fame career (No more D-Ho remarks. It sounds too dirty... my bad).
I'll be looking forward to what my loyal readers have to say. Especially since LeBron is not on my list (mostly for personal reasons). And before anybody criticizes Dirk not being on this list, he's UN-American and probably writing songs with David Hasselhoff.
Allen Iverson demanded a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers after spending his entire career there. After all that he has done for the franchise and the city of Philadelphia, the least they can do is give him this final request.
Throughout a career in which A.I. has never played with an adequate supporting cast, the constant mediocrity from teammates and especially the front office has finally frustrated The Answer beyond repair.
Now, although Iverson would be a great addition to basically any mediocre team, he would not be a player who I pick in my Top 10. Basically my Top 10 is who I would use to form Team USA. For an NBA team, Iverson is without a doubt a player I would want on my team until he is finished, but the players I'd rather have are as follows:
Guards: Gilbert Arenas, Chris Paul, Michael Redd, Dwyane Wade
Forwards: Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion
Centers: Marcus Camby, Dwight Howard
Honorable mention: Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Emeka Okafor, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Terry, Deron Williams
Here's why:
Arenas: 60. That should be all I need to say. Like my boy Stipe said earlier today, "Gil is one of two players who, as a fan, you always feel can put up a game like he did against the Lakers." The other player being Kobe. Yea BronBron and D-Wade are better all-around players, but we expect them to do so much more than score. Gil can straight up light it up (By the way, so Stipe doesn't sue me for plagiarism, this analysis is basically a combo of his ideas with mine. YEA NAWTEE).
Paul: He is a completely opposite player and point guard than Arenas. Whereas GA needs to score to have a significant impact on the game, Paul can be held to single digits and still control the flow with his passing and defense. Although he went to Wake Forest, I think I even secretly rooted for him then. As a bonus, who doesn't want a GQ cover boy on their team? I mean, if they Dream Team won't win, at least they can look good, right?
Redd: Ok, so it seems as if I'm being generous with dishin' out props tonight, but I'll give my teammate, we'll call him the Psychologist, credit for calling this a while ago. Maybe it's because he's the biggest Buckeye fan I know, or maybe its because Redd can shoot with the best in the world, but either way, the Psychologist has been trying to get me to see Redd as a premier player for the past few years. Well Doctor, I think you have finally succeded. Not only can he shoot, but he's driving to the basket and scoring in other ways now. I believe he dropped 57 the opening week of the season. He makes the team.
Wade: The other day I realized that I have seen Wade play. Then I was upset I didn't pay closer attention when I was at the Marquette/Cinci Conference USA Championsip his junior year. I don't know that I cared about the outcome then, but I'm pretty sure I was cheering for UC in fear of getting shot in the 'Nati. Anyways, Wade's the best player of his draft class to this point for the same reason Brady is better than Manning at this point. They win championships. 'Nuff said.
Carmelo: In the Wade/Bron/Melo draft, I was rooting for Carmelo to have the best career. Like I said, Wade was almost unknown to me then, so Melo was my protagonist to silence all the LeBron fans. Finally, he seems to be embracing his talents as the leagues leading scorer. The best news of all is, if this whole basketball thing doesn't work out, he can try out for the next season of the Contender with that nice right hook he delivered to Mardy Collins (I can hear the lame ring announcer now... "...and in the red corner, coming in at 6-8, 230 pounds, "The Syracusa Bruisa" Carmelo Anthony).
Boozer: Excellent post player. Great hands around the basket. Quick enough to defense. Decent jumper from 15 ft. and in. Duke "almost" graduate. Basically, the epitome of solid play. Now, let's stay healthy.
Brand: See Above.
Marion: The Matrix is the best All-Around player in the game. He should be taken first in every fantasy draft. He scores inside. He scores outside, even with the "sweetest" jumped I have ever seen. He is repeatedly the game-high rebounder. He can pass. He can play defense on a variety of players. He always plays hard. I love Shawn Marion.
Camby: I never liked him at UMass. Again, my Fantasy league connections with Camby have brought me to appreciate his game. Another player plagued by injuries, Camby will get you a double-double more often than not (at least it seems that way), and then he'll go out and block a handful of shots and alter even more.
Howard: D-Ho is the best center in the game at this time. He has about 3 20-20 games this year. When he wants to get a rebound, he does. I have not seen much regarding his offensive game, but his athleticism probably makes up for some of what is probably unpolished scoring skills at this point. He'll do nothing but improve for the next 15 years. Prediction: D-Ho = hall-of-fame career (No more D-Ho remarks. It sounds too dirty... my bad).
I'll be looking forward to what my loyal readers have to say. Especially since LeBron is not on my list (mostly for personal reasons). And before anybody criticizes Dirk not being on this list, he's UN-American and probably writing songs with David Hasselhoff.
posted by SteveO at 7:47 PM
5 Comments:
My list would be Greg Oden vs. the World.
You said u were picking a top 10 not a bottom 10. If this is for team USA i guess i understand, but you said top 10. SO, where the hell is steve nash. obvouisly you know my thoughts on dirk. and no lebron. he might be the only all-star in the league who is willing to give up his roll as go to man and run the point and get rebounds. ohio state could beat ur top 10
Well, as you can clearly tell, the topic here is discussing the best players for Team USA. So the reason Steve Nash is not listed here would be because he is CANADIAN. It is very difficult to play for Team USA when you are CANADIAN, actually impossible. My only question is, where's Kobe? I've never been a big fan of his, but its undeniable that he is one of the top 3 guards in the NBA. Obviously, his offensive game speaks for itself, but he is a very dependable defender as well. He regularly guards the opposing teams best scorer, and at this point in his career (See the Shaq disaster) he's matured enough in my opinion to share the spotlight with someone else. Nonetheless, the team represented here would make a very good showing.
"he would not be a player who I pick in my Top 10. Basically my Top 10 is who I would use to form Team USA.?
Actually Trey, it says that basically his top 10 would be his team USA, which means that his top 10 players in the league are from America. So when you get off Steven's nuts, maybe you can actually read what he wrote.
dwight howard would swat your shit
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