crzymdups wrote:i'm rooting for artest to win a title. that whacky dude.

also, i don't like kobe as a personality or anything, but i respect the way he plays the game. possibly more than anyone else.

and, i hate the way kg carries himself.

go lakers.

Hmm, I've been rooting for the Celtics but I forgot about the Artest factor. It would be nice to see that nut get a ring for Queensbridge. Still like the Celts though, but that's a good angle, crzy.

Nalod wrote:Objectivly, I am reluctant but Frazier top 6 guards of all time is a stretch. Kobe with 4 rings, maybe 5 and his dominance I'd put him a head of the Big O. Clyde still gets bumped but Kobe is ahead of oscar. Maybe its the fact he was stuck on mostly not good teams is why his star does not shine as bright.

I do have a problem with Havlichek. No, Im not saying "bill bradley" ahead of him at forward Im thinking Karl Malone might be ahead of him. If we going "small forward" only then one might say just leave a spot open for Lebron.

Overall its a good list with proper respect to the old timers. Petit is very much forgotten.

Archibald would have been my 3rd team but he did have longevity to really qualify. Might have to put Pistol Pete in the same area.

Maybe an all time top teanm based on first 5 five years but cut down by injury:

Bill Walton
Pistol Pete
Tiny Archibald
Larry Johnson
Ralph Sampson

I would put Grant Hill in as sixth man - dunno about the 5 seasons though, but Hill was definitely unfortunate with his injuries

DrAlphaeus wrote:

Marv wrote:3rd team
G - cousy
G - frazier (kobe if he has a big series and lakers win)
C - jabbar
F - erving
F - duncan

Jabbar over Olajuwon?

oh yeah. i love olajuwon but jabbar was a more dominant player for a longer period of his career. he was ringing up season after season of 30 points 16, 17 boards, 3, 4 blocks. teams were changing their approaches to the game to try to deal with him.

Pharzeone wrote:

Marv wrote:

Pharzeone wrote:

Marv wrote:you see that guys? kobe laying it all on his study of the greats - oscar, west and baylor. nice clips too.

I always felt that the West led Lakers underachieve. Too much talent to have only a single ring.

it was russell. west met him in the finals 6 times - russell won all 6.

Too much talent on that Laker team. Why doesn't he take a hit like Chamberlain does concerning not beating the Celtics? From a Lakers standpoint, I always thought Magic passed West awhile ago and now I feel that Kobe has left him in the dust as well. One of the all-time best scorers and all but too many opposing players had career games against him as well. I factor all that in my evaluation.

Pharze,

West’s nickname – what he was known as universally around the league – was mr. clutch. All I can say to explain it is that boston was an unbeatable team. The ONLY team that could beat west and the lakers. 6 times in a row in the finals!! West was incredible in the playoffs, but just could not push past that boston team, nor could any other teams. It truly wasn’t a reflection of west’s greatness. His career regular season ppg average was 27 - in the 10 years he went against Russell his playoff ppg was 31. All fans at that time agreed that west, and the lakers were absolutely phenomenal, but the 60’s Celtics played at a mythical level. The game simply could not be played any better, and russell was always the final say on an outcome of a series, just like Jordan was in the 90’s.

Pharzeone wrote:How do you explain 1970 then? Sorry for all that talent one ring is underachieving. Even West admitted this. Not groundbreaking news here.

“In the 1969–70 NBA season under new coach Joe Mullaney, the Lakers' season began with a shock when Wilt Chamberlain seriously injured his knee and missed practically the whole regular season.[30] As after Baylor's injury years before, West stepped into the void, leading the NBA in scoring average with 31.2 points per game, and averaging 4.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, earning him his first of four All-Defensive First Team vote and another All-NBA First Team berth after two Second Team years.[5] The Lakers won 46 games, and in the 1970 NBA Playoffs, they narrowly beat the Phoenix Suns in seven games and swept the Hawks in four, setting up the first NBA Finals between the Lakers and the rugged New York Knicks, led by Hall-of-Famers, such as Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, and Walt Frazier.[31] L.A. and N.Y. split the first two games, with both games respectively decided by centers Reed and the still-hobbling Chamberlain.[31] In Game 3, DeBusschere hit a mid-range jump shot with three seconds left to put the Knicks ahead 102–100, and the Lakers had no time-outs left. Chamberlain inbounded the ball to West, who raced past Walt Frazier and threw up a 60-foot shot. Frazier later commented: "The man's crazy. He looks determined. He thinks it's really going in!"[1] West incredibly connected, and this basket was later called one of the greatest moments ever by the NBA.[32] As the three-point line had not been introduced yet, the shot just tied the game.”

We know what happened from there. Look, you’re right about him only getting one ring, but it doesn’t refute in any way his greatness. In fact he’s the first and only player to ever win the Playoff MVP Award – from the losing team!