Who is the third best player in the NBA?
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Leonardo
I think we can all agree LeBron/Kobe are 1-2 in whichever order you prefer, so who is number three? -
sleeper
Lebron is #1
Durant is #2
Howard is #3
Kobe is #4
Wade is #5 -
hoops23
Good topic.
Obviously, the safe pick is Dwayne Wade, then going Carmelo 4th..
However, I think Kevin Durantula has quickly elevated himself to that 3rd-5th best player range.
Tim Duncans time has come and gone.. Brandon Roy is great, but not to the level of these guys. Dirk? Nah. Great scorer, but doesn't do the "other things".. Chris Bosh? Again, great scorer and rebounder, but can't really carry a team by himself..
Now, CP3? I know I'll get my balls busted for this, but I don't even think he's the best PG in the NBA.. I think Deron Williams is.. Also, the gap is closing between those two and a guy like Derrick Rose..
Dwight Howard? Nah.. He looks so great because of the guys around him. He's definitely a great player, but he doesn't have those "go-to" moves to put him in the elite echelon.
So I'd go, imo of course..
1.LBJ
2.Kobe
3.DWade
4.Melo
5.Durant (I do think Durant can find himself within the top 3 if he keeps this up) -
SQ_Crazies
Wade.
Durant is good, picking up a lot of steam with his play of late--but he's been good since he came into the league. Just took his little streak for people to notice him, which is stupid. But it doesn't mean he's as good as Wade. Or Melo. Or Howard. Or a healthy Chris Paul. He's definitely real good.
I love that he's the next in line to be called the best scorer in the league. I just love this argument because it really makes people look dumb. REALLY dumb. They keep a stat to tell who is the best scorer in the league--it's called PPG. -
wes_mantooth
From what I have seen of Anthony this year.....I will give him a very slight edge over Dwade. -
Swamp FoxI think when you factor in what the team would be like without his presence, I'd have to lean in Dwayne Wade's direction. He can do just about everything on the court and do it very well.
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hoops23
Well, to be fair, DWade is playing with a bunch of nobodies.. Though B-Easy should turn into a very good player here soon, he's definitely shown potential of doing so this season..wes_mantooth wrote: From what I have seen of Anthony this year.....I will give him a very slight edge over Dwade.
And, we've seen what DWade can do with a good supporting cast. He had the best supporting class of any of the '03 draft superstars, though I think the Cavs this year may be better..
Melo hasn't really done much. His teams never really advanced deep into the playoffs until they got Chauncey.. Which brings me to my next point, Melo isn't even the leader of his own team... Billups is no doubt the leader of that squad.
DWade, like LeBron, has been the leader from day 1.. -
se-alum
D-Wade. I want to see what Durant can do when the pressure is on, a situation he hasn't been in yet. -
Pick6
durant. nobody has done what he just done(consec games of 25+ since mj). -
Gobuckeyes1Kobe.
Wade is #2. -
dat dude
And he's currently ranked the 2nd highest scorer, .1 behind Lebron. Doesn't seem too unreasonable to me, unless I am not understanding your post correctly.SQ_Crazies wrote: I love that he's the next in line to be called the best scorer in the league. I just love this argument because it really makes people look dumb. REALLY dumb. They keep a stat to tell who is the best scorer in the league--it's called PPG. -
goldengonzo
It's because SQ Crazies has this ridiculous argument where a .1 difference makes everything in the world when it comes to being the best scorer in the league. Everything is black & white, where things like free throws, supporting cast and type of shots are completely irrelevant.dat dude wrote:
And he's currently ranked the 2nd highest scorer, .1 behind Lebron. Doesn't seem too unreasonable to me, unless I am not understanding your post correctly.SQ_Crazies wrote: I love that he's the next in line to be called the best scorer in the league. I just love this argument because it really makes people look dumb. REALLY dumb. They keep a stat to tell who is the best scorer in the league--it's called PPG. -
killdeer
Wade -
mtrulzD Wade
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SQ_Crazies
No, everyone else has a ridiculous argument that someone with a pretty jump shot is a better "pure scorer". I don't even think people read what they're actually typing. How does that even make sense? The best scorer is the guy averaging the most points. It's incredible that he goes on that long a streak of 25+ and he's still behind LeBron. I'll make this argument for any guy who is at the top of the scoring list. The point is, there is no argument when you're talking about who the best scorer is. If there was, then why even keep PPG stats?
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ytownfootball
They don't award style points in the NBA, it's not figure skating. -
goldengonzo
Because when the top three players in the PPG stat are all averaging 29 points a game and only separated by a decimal point, then it can warrant an argument.SQ_Crazies wrote: No, everyone else has a ridiculous argument that someone with a pretty jump shot is a better "pure scorer". I don't even think people read what they're actually typing. How does that even make sense? The best scorer is the guy averaging the most points. It's incredible that he goes on that long a streak of 25+ and he's still behind LeBron. I'll make this argument for any guy who is at the top of the scoring list. The point is, there is no argument when you're talking about who the best scorer is. If there was, then why even keep PPG stats?
This isn't like a race where the fastest time wins and that person is clearly the best quickest person. This is basketball. There are tangibles to the sport. Shot attempts matter. Teammates matter. Injuries can play a part. Again, it's not black and white. -
SQ_Crazies
It is black and white.
LeBron 1766 points.
Durant 1667 points.
1667 is not more than 1766.
If shot attempts matter then LeBron is shooting 50% from the field, Durant 48%.
Anything else?
29.9>29.8
They keep the stat for a reason. They give scoring titles based on it. They give scoring titles to the best scorer in the league in a given year--there is no BS argument, because more points is more points, period. -
dat dudeAgreed. I fail to see how it is "REALLY dumb" to consider someone averaging .1 less to be a better scorer than said person.
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SQ_Crazies
Because it isn't up for consideration. There is a stat that tells us this at any given time--you don't even have to think about it, just look the stat up.dat dude wrote: Agreed. I fail to see how it is "REALLY dumb" to consider someone averaging .1 less to be a better scorer than said person. -
goldengonzo
I'm not even saying Durant is a better scorer than LeBron, I'm just saying it's debatable. I believe KD, LJ and CA have all led the league in scoring at one point or another during the season. Do you change your opinion on who the best scorer is depending on who is at the top of the stat sheet everytime?SQ_Crazies wrote: It is black and white.
LeBron 1766 points.
Durant 1667 points.
1667 is not more than 1766.
If shot attempts matter then LeBron is shooting 50% from the field, Durant 48%.
Anything else?
29.9>29.8
They keep the stat for a reason. They give scoring titles based on it. They give scoring titles to the best scorer in the league in a given year--there is no BS argument, because more points is more points, period.
Stats are numbers, but they don't totally tell everything. -
goldengonzo
Because it isn't up for consideration. There is a stat that tells us this at any given time--you don't even have to think about it, just look the stat up.SQ_Crazies wrote:
[/quote]
Ok, now I'll just remember you don't THINK when it comes to discussing basketball. -
dat dudeI would agree that the PPG stat would create a presumption. However, just looking at that stat in a vacuum without considering variables would be faulty analysis.
Consider if Lebron were on a team with Kobe, D Wade, Dirk, etc and therefore only averaged 20 PPG because there are only so many shots to go around. If Durant were on a team with 4 other no-namers and averageed 20.1, that would automatically make him the "best scorer" by default? -
SQ_Crazies
Ummm...clearly. Because it isn't an opinion. You're right, stats don't tell everything--but PPG tell me who the top scorer in the league is.goldengonzo wrote:
I'm not even saying Durant is a better scorer than LeBron, I'm just saying it's debatable. I believe KD, LJ and CA have all led the league in scoring at one point or another during the season. Do you change your opinion on who the best scorer is depending on who is at the top of the stat sheet everytime?SQ_Crazies wrote: It is black and white.
LeBron 1766 points.
Durant 1667 points.
1667 is not more than 1766.
If shot attempts matter then LeBron is shooting 50% from the field, Durant 48%.
Anything else?
29.9>29.8
They keep the stat for a reason. They give scoring titles based on it. They give scoring titles to the best scorer in the league in a given year--there is no BS argument, because more points is more points, period.
Stats are numbers, but they don't totally tell everything. -
SQ_Crazies
If that was the case and they were at the top, then Durant is the better scorer. Who would the NBA give the scoring title to? LeBron, because he's on a team of All Stars and if he wasn't...well, he'd have more points! LOL, no. They'd give it to Durant. There is no argument for who wins the scoring title--it's whoever scores the most points. They are the best scorer in a given year. It IS that black and white. There are no variables, if the ball went in the hoop it went in the hoop--if not, then it didn't. That's the only variable.dat dude wrote: I would agree that the PPG stat would create a presumption. However, just looking at that stat in a vacuum without considering variables would be faulty analysis.
Consider if Lebron were on a team with Kobe, D Wade, Dirk, etc and therefore only averaged 20 PPG because there are only so many shots to go around. If Durant were on a team with 4 other no-namers and averageed 20.1, that would automatically make him the "best scorer" by default?