Showing posts with label New Orleans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Orleans. Show all posts
Who is the Best Player in the NBA? Semi-Finals # 2
1/30/2009 | Posted by
Scott Lunn
In my quarterfinal edition of Who is the Best Player in the NBA, LeBron James got the nod over Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Paul edged out Dwight Howard as well. Today, James and Paul go head to head, with the winner facing off against Kobe Bryant in the Final.
Chris Paul vs. LeBron James
Interestingly enough, both of these players have drawn many comparisons to the same Hall of Famer in their short times in the league. Due to their ability to fill up a stat sheet in multiple ways, many have called both Paul and James the next Magic Johnson. While Paul is a true point guard and certainly has Magic's ability to pass the ball as well as score, LeBron is much closer to the actual mold. Magic had size much like James does, and while LeBron might not be quite as good of an assist man, he's certainly not a slouch, and the argument could be made that he's a superior scorer. Both Paul and James also have great ability defensively as Paul leads the league in steals with James right behind him in 5th.
Since the last article, both players have been named starters for the upcoming All Star Game via fan voting, adding to their already impressive list of accolades in their young careers. Here's a quick look back at their career highlights discussed in the previous article.
Chris Paul:
- 2006 Rookie of the Year
- 2006 All Rookie Team
- 2 Time All Star (2008, 2009)
- 2008 All Defensive First Team
- 2008 All NBA First Team
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
LeBron James:
- 2004 Rookie of the Year
- 2004 All Rookie Team
- 5 Time All Star (2005-2009)
- 2 Time All Star Game MVP (2006, 2008)
- All NBA Second Team (2005, 2007)
- All NBA First Team (2006, 2008)
- 2007 NBA Finals Apperance
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
While the two are quite close in age, James is just 6 months older, LeBron got a major jump start by heading straight to the NBA from High School, while Paul put in 2 years at Wake Forest before heading to the league. At 23, and 24 years old, the future for these two superstars looks incredibly bright. The question however, is who is the best so far in their careers. Stats and accolades aside, LeBron James has done more with less so far. He took Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2007 despite little help from his supporting cast, and he currently has them amongst the best records in the NBA this season as well. While he has gotten a bit more help this year, Paul seems to have the better teammates in general.
Purely from a gameplay standpoint, there is perhaps no other player in the NBA that can dominate a game like James can when is at his best. He's 6'8, 260 lbs. and has incredible strength and power. He also shows uncanny quickness for size and is quite possibly the most explosive player in the league. Top it off with his ability to handle the ball and set up his teammates, and there is little to be desired, outside of a sometimes streaky jumpshot which has improved throughout his career.
Paul on the other hand has a fairly typical point guard build, and while he can score proficiently if needed, he is best served as a setup man, easily leading the league in assists this season at 11.1 per game. He has been known do take over games from time to time, but just not at the same level that LeBron can. While a very good player, at this point he still has to rely on teammates to help him get the job done, much more so than James.
Winner: LeBron James
Chris Paul is certainly one of the best young players in the NBA and is already on pace for an incredible career, but James, while only a few months older, already has Hall of Fame type numbers and accolades. LeBron came into the NBA with more hype than any player in memory and has yet to disappoint in the least. It's likely only a matter of time before he begins to rack up MVP trophies and quite probably NBA Championships as well.
Don't forget to check back next week as Devin and I go head to head and make our cases for the best player in the NBA. Can LeBron overcome the cagey veteran, Kobe Bryant? Or is the Mongoose too much for King James to handle?
Chris Paul vs. LeBron James
Interestingly enough, both of these players have drawn many comparisons to the same Hall of Famer in their short times in the league. Due to their ability to fill up a stat sheet in multiple ways, many have called both Paul and James the next Magic Johnson. While Paul is a true point guard and certainly has Magic's ability to pass the ball as well as score, LeBron is much closer to the actual mold. Magic had size much like James does, and while LeBron might not be quite as good of an assist man, he's certainly not a slouch, and the argument could be made that he's a superior scorer. Both Paul and James also have great ability defensively as Paul leads the league in steals with James right behind him in 5th.
Since the last article, both players have been named starters for the upcoming All Star Game via fan voting, adding to their already impressive list of accolades in their young careers. Here's a quick look back at their career highlights discussed in the previous article.Chris Paul:
- 2006 Rookie of the Year
- 2006 All Rookie Team
- 2 Time All Star (2008, 2009)
- 2008 All Defensive First Team
- 2008 All NBA First Team
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
LeBron James:
- 2004 Rookie of the Year
- 2004 All Rookie Team
- 5 Time All Star (2005-2009)
- 2 Time All Star Game MVP (2006, 2008)
- All NBA Second Team (2005, 2007)
- All NBA First Team (2006, 2008)
- 2007 NBA Finals Apperance
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
While the two are quite close in age, James is just 6 months older, LeBron got a major jump start by heading straight to the NBA from High School, while Paul put in 2 years at Wake Forest before heading to the league. At 23, and 24 years old, the future for these two superstars looks incredibly bright. The question however, is who is the best so far in their careers. Stats and accolades aside, LeBron James has done more with less so far. He took Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2007 despite little help from his supporting cast, and he currently has them amongst the best records in the NBA this season as well. While he has gotten a bit more help this year, Paul seems to have the better teammates in general.
Purely from a gameplay standpoint, there is perhaps no other player in the NBA that can dominate a game like James can when is at his best. He's 6'8, 260 lbs. and has incredible strength and power. He also shows uncanny quickness for size and is quite possibly the most explosive player in the league. Top it off with his ability to handle the ball and set up his teammates, and there is little to be desired, outside of a sometimes streaky jumpshot which has improved throughout his career.Paul on the other hand has a fairly typical point guard build, and while he can score proficiently if needed, he is best served as a setup man, easily leading the league in assists this season at 11.1 per game. He has been known do take over games from time to time, but just not at the same level that LeBron can. While a very good player, at this point he still has to rely on teammates to help him get the job done, much more so than James.
Winner: LeBron James
Chris Paul is certainly one of the best young players in the NBA and is already on pace for an incredible career, but James, while only a few months older, already has Hall of Fame type numbers and accolades. LeBron came into the NBA with more hype than any player in memory and has yet to disappoint in the least. It's likely only a matter of time before he begins to rack up MVP trophies and quite probably NBA Championships as well.
Don't forget to check back next week as Devin and I go head to head and make our cases for the best player in the NBA. Can LeBron overcome the cagey veteran, Kobe Bryant? Or is the Mongoose too much for King James to handle?
Who is the Best Player in the NBA? Quarterfinals #1 and #2
1/22/2009 | Posted by
Scott Lunn
It's an often asked question these days. Who is the Best Player in the NBA right now? Here at D & S Sports Report, we're going to attempt to answer the question, tournament style. Devin and I will take who we view as the Top 8 players in the league and face them off against one another to see who reigns supreme. Today, we bring you the first 2 quarterfinal matchups. LeBron James will be taking on Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Paul is head to head with Dwight Howard.
Quarterfinal #1: LeBron James vs. Dirk Nowitzki
LeBron James has had to live up to more hype than perhaps any athlete on the planet, and thus far has done an admirable job in doing so. Since being drafted by Cleveland at the age of 18 in 2003, James has been responsible for single handedly carrying his team on his back. For his career, he is averaging 27.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game. It's not just offense for James though as he also averages just under 2 steals per game. His accomplishments include 4 all star game apperances (MVP twice), All NBA 2nd Team twice, All NBA 1st Team twice, and All Rookie First Team. He also lead his team to an NBA Finals appearance in 2007.James has improved virtually every year of his career thus far and is currently the leading candidate for MVP this season, as he once again has his Cleveland Cavaliers near the top of the standings. Teams have already begun to make moves anticipating his free agent status in 2010, and at just 24 years old, his best years are still ahead of him.
Dirk Nowitzki was the 8th overall pick in the 1998 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, but was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he has spent his entire career. The German born forward is best known for his remarkable shooting ability considering his size at 7'0". HIs career numbers include 22.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He is currently 5th in the NBA this season with 26 ppg and has not scored below 23.6 per game in the last 5 seasons. Dirk has made the all star team 7 times, been named to 8 All NBA teams, and was the league MVP in the 2007 season. In 2006, he took the Mavericks to the NBA finals, but was beaten by the Miami Heat in 6 games.Nowitzki is widely recognized as perhaps the best International player to play in the NBA. He has been the cornerstone of the Dallas franchise for many years now, but after repeated postseason flameouts, their is talk of him leaving town in the near future. At 30 years old, he still has some valuable years left in him, and his numbers are still amongst the best of his career.
Winner: LeBron James
James simply has too much upside to be ignored. He's already among the elite in the NBA and is still so young, that his potential is almost frightening to think about. Dirk has been a very good player, but simply hasn't been able to get it done when it counts the most, and his time to do so is starting to run out.
Quarterfinal #2: Chris Paul vs. Dwight Howard
Now in his 4th season out of Wake Forest, Chris Paul has been redefining the point guard position since entering the NBA. His numbers improved each of his first three years and he continues to be a statistical machine. For his career, he is averaging 18.7 points, 9.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and an amazing 2.4 steals per game. Paul has made all of his teammates in New Orleans better players with his incredible ability to distribute the ball, but he's not afraid to do it himself when the situation calls for it either. He's already established himself as one of the best clutch shooters around, and his defense speaks for itself. The 2006 Rookie of the Year also earned himself honors in 2008 by being named to the All Star team, the NBA All Defensive Team, and the NBA First Team.Paul currently leads the league in assists (11.0) and steals (2.7) per game this season and has been mentioned by many as a potential MVP candidate, an award which he placed 2nd in voting to last season behind Kobe Bryant. At just 23 years old, the future is very bright indeed for both him and the Hornets. He lead the team to their first postseason in 5 years last season, where they advanced to the 2nd round before losing to the Spurs in 7 games.
Dwight Howard was drafted first overall straight out of high school by the Orlando Magic in 2004. His play has gotten increasingly better with each passing season and he has become one of the most dominant big men in the NBA. He's averaging 16.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game for his career, but is putting up better numbers in all categories this season. In addition to his 20.2 points a night, he leads the league in rebounding at 14.1 per game, as well as blocks with an astounding 3.2 per game. Howard has become a virtual walking double double, having accomplished the feat 31 times so far this season, also good for best in the league. Howard has been an All Star each of the last two seasons and won the Slam Dunk contest at last year's festivities. He was named to the NBA 3rd Team in 2007 and both the NBA 1st Team and All Defensive 2nd Team in 2008.Howard has restored the Orlando Magic to prominance in the Eastern Conference where they are currently tied for 1st place. Last season he took them to a division title as well as the 2nd round of the playoffs where they were defeated by the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. Like Paul, Howard is just 23 years old and steadily improving.
Winner: Chris Paul
This is a very close contest with both guys still extremely young and constantly getting better. Both will be forces for years to come in the NBA, but Paul gets the nod at this point for having more overall success as well as finding so many ways to lead his team. His stat line is just a bit better and more diverse than Howard's, but ultimately it's his team's success that makes him the better player right now.
Labels:
Cavaliers,
Chris Paul,
Cleveland,
Dallas,
Dirk Nowitzki,
Dwight Howard,
Hornets,
LeBron James,
Magic,
Mavericks,
NBA,
New Orleans,
Orlando
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