Real Deal

@matt_barnes22 For real?

Everyone that is participating in the contest needs to vote on these. We aren't getting enough votes.

Rajon Rondo is the better point guard. If he develops his shot, he's going to be a handful for any top defensive player. Westbrook is certainly a top ten, though. His surge has helped the Thunder more than most can imagine.

We will give you Morrison for Chase and fillers.

I agree that he could improve more, and he has from where he was last season. Bigger role, bigger play. Some don't have the ability to handle that (Ariza). Same happened with Curry. Nelson played him at odd times, moved him around in the lineup, didn't play him in the fourth quarters, etc. Finally, he took on a bigger role, started running the point, and he's playing really well. Brooks can improve, and so can Curry. The only thing is, Curry is a rookie. Too much potential there. If I were to pick who would be the better player in the long run, I'd take the kid out of Davidson, but that's probably not the popular pick among Houston fans...even though I really think you guys would make that trade immediately, if given the chance. At least Morey would.

You're right, things do get easier with additional scoring options, which is why you should understand Curry's situation in Golden State. Difference is, teams are more prone to letting Monta get his because he drives to the rim the majority of the time. Curry is a three-point threat, like Brooks. The argument you're making for Aaron is the same I could make for Curry, which is why I came to the conclusion that they are next to each other in the rankings. I take Curry over Brooks because he's a better playmaker, which you shouldn't argue, and that's all she wrote. Once Brooks starts shooting 46-47% from the floor, maybe that will overlap the fact that he's not a playmaker, and I will change my mind...but until he does that for more than just 10 games, Curry is the man, even as an unexperienced rookie.

Kobe gets upset with the refs more than Jordan did, and Jordan was a bigger jackass to his teammates. I actually don't like seeing either of that...but Jordan picking at his teammates like a vulture made them better, and Kobe complaining about calls has helped him every now and then as well (much like when Phil Jackson takes a fine for post-game comments), so it has worked in positive ways for both players.

I think the Heat have the best chance at getting Amare than any other team in the league, really, so go after him. Wrap him up ASAP, then hope that it attracts other FA's. The BEST answer is to negotiate a sign-and-trade with Wade, but I'm assuming we're not diving into that.

The current one is far better on paper, but that's not how you judge a team's play, either. You also can't say that this current team would be worse if they don't make it to the Finals, because the Lakers are better than any of those West teams in 2006, and if they find Dallas in the WCF and take them out, it doesn't mean much in this argument. So, basically, we're just looking at what they are on paper...and the answer is the current team. You can draw a better conclusion if the 2010 Mavs make the Finals, though.

Do everything you can to get Amare, draft two-guards, and throw the rest of your cash out to every two-guard free agent in the league.

A player like that would average 40 PPG, 10 RPG, 10 APG and hold all of his opponents to 40% shooting or worse.

At 39% shooting, and he had problems with Dunleavy. Everyone on the top ten list is from a winning team minus Stephen Curry, and Curry's numbers are better than Baron's.

1) Lakers 2) Mavericks 3) Nuggets 4) Jazz 5) Suns 6) Thunder (9 road games left) 7) Blazers 8) Spurs (12 road games, Parker out 4-6 weeks) The Spurs play the Magic, Hawks, Thunder, Celtics, Lakers, Kings, Nuggets, Suns and Mavericks on the road to end the season, with home games against the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Magic. Tough, tough way to go out. I would be amazed if they finish in the top six. And I was almost ready to stick Dallas in the first seed, to be honest. The Lakers are going to have to finish strong in these last 17 games, and a lot of them are on the road (11 of them), including a five-game roadie.

Yeah, I don't know. For me, it's like the Williams/Paul debate. I think Gasol has enough around him to limit his numbers a bit more than Duncan does, especially with Parker in and out of the five, and Manu playing like a shell of his former self. It shows in the Spurs' record recently as well. I don't put much into EFF and PER ratings. If I did that, I'm sure I could say Kobe isn't even a top five player...and everyone knows how ridiculous that statement would be. Duncan is easily the greater of the two, career-wise...but he's never truly lead a team without another scoring option. From David Robinson to Parker and Gino, that's nothing to complain about. Gasol took Memphis to 50 wins, and 49 sometime before or after that (can't remember) with defensive-minded players, much like Iverson and LeBron did. Only problem is, he never won a playoff series. This season though...this season only...I think I'm still going with Pau. I think he would get the best of Duncan if they played each other 10 times.

I think Kobe's offensive game is the best of all-time, if you drop Wilt from the list (because Wilt was being defended by 6-9 players most of his career). Kobe's post game is as good as MJ's, and I'd say better. I've never seen any guard or forward with the post moves Kobe has. Bryant also has more range. Jordan added a three to his game back in 1992 or 1993, but Kobe can hit from 25 feet out with a guy in his face. Passing? I'd take Kobe. He's flashier and more accurate. I think this was already put into place during the Kobe/Shaq era, to be honest. Bryant squeezed a ton of passes into areas Jordan probably wouldn't be able to put them in off penetrations. By the numbers, Kobe is a better clutch shooter, and I've seen him hit more game-winners with two guys in his face than Jordan did. Defensively, it goes to MJ. When he gambled, it paid off most of the time, resulting in a high number of steals. On-ball defense, help defense, I'll still give to MJ. People don't realize how good of a defender he was because they were so used to watching Scottie lock up players. Take away all of the rings and MVP awards, and Kobe is the better player. So, let's put it this way: Michael Jordan is the greatest player to play the game. Kobe is the best overall player to play. I have watched Jordan since 1990, and seen old games in the 80's...watched him more than any other player, really. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyKgaeAoa-g If you watch that, and compare the two games, you'll agree with me.

I'll write my list later, but Gasol is better than Duncan this season. I'd put him third, behind Dirk and Bosh.

By the way, this is the NBA. There is more to it than athletic ability. James has been biting on Kobe's pump fakes ever since he came into the league. He's also not smart enough to defend Bryant's post moves, which have shaken the life out of everyone from Raja Bell to Shane Battier, nailing their feet to the floor. Keep in mind, Shaquille O'Neal was dominant...but he sure the hell couldn't defend Hakeem Olajuwon because Hakeem was smarter and had a better offensive game. While Hakeem couldn't defend Shaq as well, he did a better job than Shaq did on him. Today, Kobe is Hakeem, and LeBron is Shaq. O'Neal may have been the most dominant center in NBA history (or at least next to Wilt), but Hakeem has always been the more complete player.

He did it twice last season...with minimal help. Sure, neither can defend the other without help, but Bryant did in fact have minimal help in both of those games, and he locked him up pretty good, despite having the flu in one of them, and dislocating a finger in the first quarter of the other one. But okay, LeBron is the most dominant player in the history of the game.

Eyes on the championship, Sean. When guys like Gasol speak to the media about not getting their shots/touches, we expect them to step it up. For Gasol, it was his time to play like a top three power forward, and he didn't...again. I wouldn't say many are trashing Bynum for his play tonight. It's just rare to see him playing that good, though. Usually, he's too busy creating mental errors everywhere on the floor, and allowing bigs to have huge nights against us. Odom, same thing. We don't know what we'll get out of him. If you look at his previous games, he's all over the place. Some nights he'll play good, a few GREAT, some terrible. No matter how bad Bryant is playing, we always know we can rely on him in the fourth, and for that final shot...and that's why you rarely see others bashing him. Hard to bash a guy that is playing with more injuries than everyone else on our team combined. But, he usually gives us great games to begin with. Little things lose rings in June. Whining to the media hurts chemistry, loses focus, deteriorates drive. If Gasol wasn't crying about touches, at all, I probably wouldn't bring up his 4-11 shooting, because earlier in the season, he was giving us a consistent 16/10, easily, grabbing 15-20 boards at times. Non-contenders take what they have. Contenders need to play like a championship team. Basically, that means our starters need to play like champs, and for the most part, there's only one of them that puts fear into his opponents.

The Baron Davis in New Orleans, or Golden State?

It became bad when he gets a lot of wide-open shots. I've watched probably 25-30 Rockets games this season, and most of the time, Brooks either gets open looks from downtown, mid-range, or he's got one man on him to the rim. That has a lot to do with the offense being ran, and also guys like Landry (when he was there), Scola and Ariza being scoring threats. As good of a shooter Brooks can be (like he was in college), he should be netting at 46% or better right now, 48-50% when Yao gets back. Instead, he's throwing up numbers similar to Allen Iverson. Problem is, Iverson was the only scoring option on his team when he was young, and teams would double him all night long, non-stop. You're still sitting here arguing that Brooks is better than Curry. Honestly, it shouldn't matter. He's not a top five, and it's not even close. Debate-worthy, he's 9-12. I respect the debate because there IS reason to argue it...Curry isn't that much better. If this were Brooks vs. Rose, I would've already hung up the phone.

Tony Parker is also twice the point guard Brooks is. They don't compare. I just calculated all of his stats, monthly...and it looks like Brooks is consistently struggling with his shot, so that's my bad. October/November 16.3 PPG on .432 FG, .364 3PT, 2.2 RPG, 5.5 APG, 0.75 SPG, 3.18 TO December 19.8 PPG on .427 FG, .414 3PT, 2.5 RPG, 4.6 APG, 0.69 SPG, 2.56 TO January 21.9 PPG on .433 FG, .396 3PT, 2.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.14 SPG, 2.79 TO February 21.4 PPG on .427 FG, .395 3PT, 3.1 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.82 SPG, 2.82 TO March 22.8 PPG on .450 FG, .289 3PT, 3.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.20 SPG, 2.8 TO But, again, these last five games (the month of March, in other words) have averaged out to be better than the previous months. Five games, though. That's not enough to tell me that he's a better player than Curry.

Updated.

Ball went down low to our bigs quite a bit throughout the first three quarters against the Raptors tonight, once again, and the Lakers were still losing the game to start the fourth. Then, Kobe takes over, scores 14-16 points in the fourth. We catch up, take the lead, eventually win the game off of his contested jumper. Surprise, surprise...Gasol shoots 4-11, and Bynum scores three points in the fourth. Result? Lakers make the comeback off of Bryant, and we snap the three-game losing streak. Just one example. I guess I could've given more throughout the season. There's a reason Bryant has the ball in his hands in the fourth, and why he has 6-7 game-winners. We play big, and we STAY within a jumper or two. We go to Bryant, and we win the damn game. This team needs to play off of Kobe. They need to move and get open, let him draw doubles and then have him pass the ball out of them, instead of standing around and hoping he splits through or chucks a lucky shot. They need to move. Practice what they preach. You play through the player you build around, not the complete opposite. /end thread.

There are a lot of ways to score. Curry can shoot off the dribble better than Brooks. His mid-range shot is better (it doesn't need to be on a break). When Curry is on a break, he makes the extra pass to finish the play, and that's what a true point does. Brooks is a two-guard in a point guard's body, and the problem with that is, he plays like that. Brooks is struggling, and so is Houston. Are the Rockets in the playoffs right now? Were they when Brooks was going nuts at the beginning of the season? I don't know how you can argue against that. Houston is a far better team. They don't have the super-chucker in Monta Ellis (although the Rockets did bring in Martin, but he hasn't been with them for that long yet). They don't have a player who pushes Brooks out of the play. Instead, they have a legit big (Scola) who can pass the ball back out to Brooks, and guys who will find Brooks cutting through to the corner. It's Adelman's system, and Aaron is perfect for it. You stick Stephen Curry in Adelman's system, and Houston is a better team. Slightly, not significantly, but they are still better. Brooks is right behind Curry, if I were to fill the rankings out past ten. He's close. But I can't put him above Stephen because of his recent struggling with his shot, and there isn't really anything he does better.