Nope. MJ could be as good or better than Pip when it was necessary, but he didn’t play defense on every possession the way Pip did. Plus Pip guarded every position and had unmatched range. It’s not even a contest with Rodman, he was more hype than anything. He was a very good defender and got in peoples heads, but he didn’t have nearly the range, hands, speed or reliability as Pippen or Jordan. There were a lot of guys that just abused Rodman because he was so undersized, but people remember him fondly because of how he always punked Malone. A noble endeavor indeed.
Apologies to the OP for the derailment here, but I stand by my statement. Pippen checked the wing spots terrifically, probably among the best, but not tops, and he did not check bigs the way that Rodman did; I’d rank LBJ, Ron Artest, and Rodman in his prime ahead of Pippen for ability to defend all positions.
Sullinger might turn out to be the steal of the draft at #21 if he can get over his bad back. I didn’t like him in college because he was a whiner, but he’s got a decent post game and can rebound. The C’s need rebounding, so I like both those picks, too.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, kind of baffled me with their #20 pick. Even Fournier from France is, by all accounts, not ready for the NBA. He’s 19, skinny and unseasoned. He can shoot it, which is what Denver needs, but I’ve read they’ll probably leave him in France for a year to continue to develop. John Jenkins from Vandy was available and I thought for sure they’d take him. Oh well.
Jordan is not making the pick… JORDAN IS NOT MAKING THE PICK… Rich Cho is in charge of the organization now. The guy did a good job in Portland… Can we lay off Jordan now… everyone loved Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison…
Don’t like that pick… Dion Waiters is a syracuse guy… and pretty much outside of melo they’ve sucked in the pros. Also… he’s pretty immature… when they start losing… I wonder how he’ll hold up… He likes to play “Show you back”… .Ie if some one gets a dunk or hits athree… he immediately looks to duplicate whether then just play through…
Wes Johnson and Jonny Flynn have been the only lottery picks since Melo. Flynn I’ll give you, but it’s not his fault that Minnesota reached for him at 6 when they had already taken Rubio. Johnson is going into his third year, so I’m not ready to declare him lousy yet.
And as far as I can tell, Waiters’ immaturity issues were mainly in his freshman year. He may be cocky, but he was willing to come off the bench, which says “team player” to me.
I think this draft will be fascinating to follow in the coming years. Because so many players were grouped together as similar talents, and this is considered such a deep draft, it’ll be great fun to see who emerges and who can become a future star.
A few thoughts on some of the top players:
• I think Anthony Davis’ ceiling is Alonzo Mourning. Which is a lot better than it sounds. I get comparisons to Kevin Garnett, but anyone who compares Davis to Tim Duncan is instantly discredited and I’ll distrust anything they say. That’s just not close to valid.
• I don’t understand what makes Anthony Davis a “once every decade or two” talent. He seems like an elite “energy/motor/athlete” guy. I personally think you need an advanced offensive repertoire to be a foundation guy in the NBA, and he doesn’t have it (yet). I really wonder if he can ever score 20 a game over a whole season. I guess I didn’t get to see him play enough.
• MKG is labeled the same way, “energy/motor/athlete.” I have a problem with these guys being a cornerstone of your team. Here’s the thing: if MKG is such a hard worker, how come he can’t shoot? Shooting is the one thing, above all else, that can be taught. Why hasn’t he learned it yet?
• Blazers fan here. I needed 3 total minutes of Youtube highlights to see that Lillard and Leonard will both struggle early in the NBA getting their shots off. Both have head-level release points on their shots, and in the NBA, that just won’t get it done. Really like Lillard though, I think he’s going to eventually be a great player.
Anthony Davis is a big who can patrol the painted area and block shots…but he’s quick. Like, “get out and a block a 3 point attempt” quick. He’s going to be a very versatile defender.
Offensively, he shot over 60% last year, he can hit the mid-range shots, he can get out in transition…I think the Garnett comparison is a good one.
The guy I’d compare Davis to-Joakim Noah.
I would also throw Marcus Camby in there as a similar skill set and body type with Davis.
MKG is, in my opinion, a product of summer basketball. Summer ball meaning AAU and pick up, where the games have more transition, more slashing, more dunking than winter ball, which much more systematic. MKG is a great finisher, can get to the rim at will; he’s likely always been bigger and stronger than those he’s played against, so there’s never been any need for him to work on his outside shot. I can name at least 2 NBA players that I would label as athletes, that both have suspect jumpers that are the cornerstone for their teams - one of them jumped over a car to win a slam dunk contest, and the other one just won the Finals. I’ll throw in Julius Erving and Clyde Drexler as historical players whose outside shots were much weaker than their overall game who happened to be cornerstone plavers.
The Bucks drafted John Henson, a skinny shotblocking no-offense power-forward in the 1st round. Their frontcourt already has four such players (Sanders, Udoh, Dalembert, and Moute).
I am confused.
They drafted Doron Lamb, a guard who can shoot the lights out, in the 2nd round. This makes much more sense.
Re: Davis and MKG, I saw every minute either of them played. I’m a Kentucky fan, so probably if I just give my actual perspective on what the facts are I’m going to seem like I’m screaming it at my monitor. I’m not going to pretend I can be perfectly neutral about it, so apply whatever discount you feel is necessary, but in no particular order:
They’re 18 and 19 years old. I have a feeling that when people hear a comparison to Duncan or try to make a comparison to Alonzo Mourning (or Noah, for goodness’ sake), they’re either forgetting what they saw of those players as teenagers or that they just never saw them as teenagers, and assuming that Davis is mostly already who he’s going to be, the way that juniors and seniors are when they come out. Duncan scored 350 points as a freshman. Players get better.
Second, regardless of who’s better than who, Mourning or Duncan or anybody else who is kind of stiff and plays as a center offensively is the wrong kind of comparison. Davis moves better by orders of magnitude than a Mourning or a Duncan, is a very comfortable shooter out to 23 feet and is actually a threat off the dribble. He handles the ball, makes tough passes, and doesn’t turn the ball over. He finishes in transition and has incredibly good hands and feet. Meanwhile he’s pretty soft in the post and weighs like 220. He’s closer to a small forward than a center, skills-wise. He just happens to have a seven foot five wingspan or whatever. Garnett’s an interesting one, except Garnett’s a career 1.5 block guy, and Davis might be the best shot blocker in the league right this second. There’s not anybody like him, which doesn’t mean he’s the best ever or in the last 20 years, it just means it’s silly to try to paint by numbers and say he can’t be a “foundation guy” because he was the 5th option in terms of volume on maybe the most talented starting 5 there’s ever been in college.
In the NBA you win because of how good your best guys are at what they’re best at. If you get a player who is an elite-level plus-plus-plus on defense, and as a rebounder, and in terms of athleticism, that is an incredibly great player. Davis and Gilchrist are all those things plus Davis has a very attractive offensive skill set, and MKG is the closest thing in the world to LeBron in transition. Even if you think they deserve some kind of second-class status because you don’t think they can score – and again, you have no reason to be confident you’re right at this point in their careers, given the history of 18/19 year old NBA players – you’re getting really good value for your money.
And anybody who thinks his jumper shows that Gilchrist doesn’t try hard has either never played basketball or they’ve never seen him do it. Peja Stojakovic: a real grinder. Magic Johnson: worthless piece of shit.
The reason I likened Davis to Noah: Defensive studs with limited offensive games.
I don’t think it’s an accurate comparison. Davis is limited compared to Chris Webber, not compared to an average power forward.
As a nineteen/twenty-year old freshman, Noah attempted 60 field goals and scored 102 points. I think he played 2 minutes in the NCAA tournament and scored no points.
As an eighteen/nineteen year old freshman, Davis attempted 337 field goals and scored 567 points, and he averaged about 14 a game in the NCAA tournament, matched up against Royce White, Cody Zeller, Perry Jones/Quincy Acey, Gorgui Dieng, and Thomas Robinson/Jeff Withey, every one of whom has been or will be drafted in the NBA, and most of whom are top 20 picks. He isn’t the guy you’d ideally run your offense through, but he can score in the NBA.
Not yet. We have to see if he can actually play the game. He’s got all the measurables, but his college stats really don’t jump out. Well, except for his 29% FT shooting.
I’d say the steal of the draft was Perry Jones going to OKC at 28.