May 20, 201511 yr Author Isaiah Thomas??? Until the last 2 years, when has CP3 EVER played with players the caliber of Isaiah during the worst years in Detroit. He played w/ 2 Hall of Famers and had a HoF coach. Not to mention, his time in the league has coincided w/ the Lakers, Heat, and Spurs really running things. Put CP3 in Kyrie Irving's position this year and then we could talk. He's never had that. His #2 in New Orleans??? Tyson Chandler. In LA??? Blake Griffin. No consistent offensive threats. I mentioned Isiah Thomas as another exception to Magic of PGs whose style didn't hurt his team's success. Isiah Thomas is arguably the best PG since Magic Johnson last played and like Magic and CP3 all of them are the best players on their teams. If we really want to talk shop when did Isiah have the talent and caliber of players that Magic Johnson played with? And if you think Blake Griffin isn't a consistent offensive threat then you haven't been paying attention.
May 20, 201511 yr I mentioned Isiah Thomas as another exception to Magic of PGs whose style didn't hurt his team's success. Isiah Thomas is arguably the best PG since Magic Johnson last played and like Magic and CP3 all of them are the best players on their teams. If we really want to talk shop when did Isiah have the talent and caliber of players that Magic Johnson played with? And if you think Blake Griffin isn't a consistent offensive threat then you haven't been paying attention. Come on now, you know that the Pistons were pretty loaded. Isaiah was undoubtedly their best player, but it wasn't like he was carrying the New Orleans Hornets. Should we compare rosters? And if you think that Griffin is a "consistent" threat, then we have different opinions on "constistent." He had a great playoff run, but prior to even the end of this season, you would say that he's been consistent?
May 20, 201511 yr Author Come on now, you know that the Pistons were pretty loaded. Isaiah was undoubtedly their best player, but it wasn't like he was carrying the New Orleans Hornets. Should we compare rosters? And if you think that Griffin is a "consistent" threat, then we have different opinions on "constistent." He had a great playoff run, but prior to even the end of this season, you would say that he's been consistent? So you are saying CP3 is better than Isiah? Is this what you are implying. I'm simply saying Isiah should be included with Magic when talking about the best PGs of our era. If you are saying CP3 is better than Isiah I need to know so I can wrap my head around it and then dig in to this argument. Absolutely. Blake does more than just dunk. He finished 9th in MVP voting. CP3 finished 6th. Blake has come a long way since his rookie year. 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
May 20, 201511 yr Isaiah Thomas. Somewhat true, but the Pistons success was more of a team defense and overall talent thing. He was the straw, but he didn't have to do as much as Magic, Nash, CP3, Stockton, etc. did/do for their teams. That doesn't mean he wasn't just as great as Nash and Paul, or even better, but he played in a much different system.
May 20, 201511 yr So you are saying CP3 is better than Isiah? Is this what you are implying. I'm simply saying Isiah should be included with Magic when talking about the best PGs of our era. If you are saying CP3 is better than Isiah I need to know so I can wrap my head around it and then dig in to this argument. Absolutely. Blake does more than just dunk. He finished 9th in MVP voting. CP3 finished 6th. Blake has come a long way since his rookie year. 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. No, I'm not saying that he is better than Isaiah. I'm saying that it is unfair to pin CP3's playoff shortcomings on him. He's never had the talent that Isaiah or Magic, or DJ, or any champion PG has had. Even w/ Griffin improving this season, their #3 option was Deadre Jordan. So your top 2 contributors in crunch time are very inconsistent shooters.
May 20, 201511 yr Author No, I'm not saying that he is better than Isaiah. I'm saying that it is unfair to pin CP3's playoff shortcomings on him. He's never had the talent that Isaiah or Magic, or DJ, or any champion PG has had. Even w/ Griffin improving this season, their #3 option was Deadre Jordan. So your top 2 contributors in crunch time are very inconsistent shooters. Who is James Harden's third option?
May 20, 201511 yr Who is James Harden's third option? Again, as I stated, CP3 was limited in the past series. It went 7 games. A healthy CP3, IMO, doesn't blow a game 6 like they did this year.
May 20, 201511 yr Again, as I stated, CP3 was limited in the past series. It went 7 games. A healthy CP3, IMO, doesn't blow a game 6 like they did this year. It wasn't his injury that prevented the Clippers from winning. Again, I think it is something in the leadership category in which he lacks. And I do not think he is all that well liked by his teammates. I think I heard his career post-season record is 28-36. May not be fully accurate, but it's close. Here is an article I read a couple years ago on the subject: Chris Paul is the NBA's new 'Teflon Don' - SBNation.com
May 20, 201511 yr It wasn't his injury that prevented the Clippers from winning. Again, I think it is something in the leadership category in which he lacks. And I do not think he is all that well liked by his teammates. I think I heard his career post-season record is 28-36. May not be fully accurate, but it's close. Here is an article I read a couple years ago on the subject: Chris Paul is the NBA's new 'Teflon Don' - SBNation.com Are you saying that his injury didn't play a huge role in the series?
May 20, 201511 yr Are you saying that his injury didn't play a huge role in the series? From blowing a 19 point lead in Game 6 with James Harden on the bench? No, I do not think that is the reason they didn't win that game. Paul was banged up, but he was still incredibly effective. In fact, I thought he played really well and I didn't see his leg injury as playing much of a factor. Not sure how much you watched, but this wasn't Willis Reed limping on to the court.
May 20, 201511 yr I don't think he gets a pass. He has always got the pass because he hasn't had the roster to get deep into the playoffs. Not sure what people think about Blake but he has definitely turned into a consistent offensive player. Back to back triple doubles in the Spurs series shows he is even more than just a threat offensively. I think the Clippers roster was built around Paul and it is definitely good enough to make a push to the Finals. They didn't make it and some of the blame has to fall back on the leader, apparently the other stars don't mesh with his leadership style. If you can't make your teammates better or rally them when needed as the unquestioned leader of that team then I think it falls back on you (CP). I have always considered him the best pure pg and 1 of the smartest players in the game. Have to start thinking maybe I am wrong, or maybe he just doesn't have what it takes to push his team to the finals. Can't be considered elite if you can't close out a 3-1 series with a 19 point lead in game 6 with 14 min to play. Stockton at least made it to the Finals when the league was absolutely loaded. Kidd made back to back finals with a poor man's current Clipper roster. I don't buy the excuse that the talent around him isn't good enough.
May 20, 201511 yr ^ Blake has become a great player in the NBA. I am shocked at how good he has become.
May 20, 201511 yr Blake becoming well rounded is a recent phenomenon. Paul lacks leadership qualities, fine. The guy played a series w/ a strained hamstring. If any of you have ever had one, you know that it is scary mentally b/c you never know when it is going to go into a full pull. If you've ever pulled a hammy, you know the pain. So, he's a battler, maybe not a consumate winner, but he's a battler. However, to pin playoff series losses on him amazes me. JJ REDICK played FORTY-ONE minutes in Game 7. On what talented roster does JJ Redick get that any minutes in a game 7? This roster has 2 players that are All Star caliber, one that is EXTREMELY overrated and then JJ Redick playing 41 minutes. The guy went for 26 (on 9-20, see Harden's 7-20), 5 rebounds and 10 assists. I don't get it. This series was the perfect argument for not having enough around him compared to other teams in the West.
May 20, 201511 yr Stockton at least made it to the Finals when the league was absolutely loaded. Kidd made back to back finals with a poor man's current Clipper roster. I don't buy the excuse that the talent around him isn't good enough. These are bad comparisons until Blake turns into more consistent scorer. Stockton had Malone, one of the greater PFs in history and they were in their what, 10th year of playing together? And Kidd w/ the Nets...the East was terrible.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.