I'll take Worthy at his peak. Pippen couldn't guard him. Rodman said he was the hardest player to defend. People are too quick to forget that Worthy was leading the NBA in playoff field goal percentage for much of his career. (Graphic)
Pierce doesn't belong in this conversation. He was on Aguirre's level.
Worthy and Pippen are close. James was great in the playoffs, very efficient and ran the floor really well. I go with Pippen for his better overall game. He beats James a defender, passer, rebounder and ball handler.
Generally, in rankings of all-time small forwards, I see Pippen about 5th, James about 8th, and Pierce about 10th.
every so often, I see Pierce ranked above James. I think there is a sizeable group who think James is a little overrated, and he was boosted by playing with Magic and being the third banana on Showtime. He played his entire career in the ideal situation for him, and he never had to be the main guy, so it's a little hard to judge exactly how good he was.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35857 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 11:18 pm Post subject:
JUST-MING wrote:
I'll take Worthy at his peak. Pippen couldn't guard him. Rodman said he was the hardest player to defend. People are too quick to forget that Worthy was leading the NBA in playoff field goal percentage for much of his career. (Graphic)
Pierce doesn't belong in this conversation. He was on Aguirre's level.
I feel like Pierce is actually the best overall offensive player though, or at least in terms of creating his own shot. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144474 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 11:54 am Post subject:
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 20510 Location: UCLA -> NY
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 12:03 pm Post subject:
venturalakersfan wrote:
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid.
Pippen is the better all around player IMO. Worthy was better offensively but a tad worse defensively. Pierce can chuck and cry.
yes, but then take this into account. pippen was far weaker mentally. MJ played with both, worthy in college, pippen in pros. in college, worthy was MJ's leader. the only prop player that can say he was the leader on a team with MJ. worthy joined the superteam lakers as a #1, highly unusual. this is not a gimmick like duncan sacrificing for the team, blah blah. real deal. worthy, if treated like a normal top pick would have been a leader on another team.
pippen is more athletic, but worthy wasn't non-athletic, if some people think that.
pierce is nowhere near this conversation. he's better suited for the modern game of hitting threes. but everything else is not comparable.
bird is the goat of forwards. worthy and pippen can be in that discussion. lebron, despite accolades, should also not be in this discussion, but a lot of people will place him on top of these forward lists.
and there are also several basically forgotten names that are not in these discussions, but should be. english, baylor come to mind. lebron was not better than baylor. my point is that the greatest for forwards is a very muddled discussion obscured by modern play and hype.
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 22854 Location: La Jolla, San Diego
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 1:12 pm Post subject:
JUST-MING wrote:
I'll take Worthy at his peak. Pippen couldn't guard him. Rodman said he was the hardest player to defend. People are too quick to forget that Worthy was leading the NBA in playoff field goal percentage for much of his career. (Graphic)
Pierce doesn't belong in this conversation. He was on Aguirre's level.
Pippen hands down. Two-way player. Worthy was something to watch in 88. But Pippen will hound you and guard four positions the full length of court if he needed to. Offensively, he wasn't chop liver. There was a game where I think Pippen and MJ combined for over 90 or something? I remember it was like watching two Jordans. Pippen also has longevity, whereas Worthy broke down pretty early and retired at 33, and even then was already several years removed from his prime. Worthy's high FG% was also a sign of the times, most super stars, especially front court players, in the 80's through mid-90's shot over 50%. But what made Worthy especially efficient was being surrounded by Kareem and Magic who set him up. How would Worthy do with more volume, and without Magic making his life easier? When he got his own team in 92, his FG% dropped big time. But that's probably a combination of life without Magic and nagging injuries. Then he pretty much fell off the map the next two years then retired.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35857 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 1:19 pm Post subject:
venturalakersfan wrote:
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid.
Are you actually just mentally challenged or something? _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid.
Are you actually just mentally challenged or something?
lol cc.
i respect that lebron waasn't included, because he shouldn't be. good call.
Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 20510 Location: UCLA -> NY
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 1:24 pm Post subject:
CandyCanes wrote:
venturalakersfan wrote:
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid.
Are you actually just mentally challenged or something?
I'll take Worthy at his peak. Pippen couldn't guard him. Rodman said he was the hardest player to defend. People are too quick to forget that Worthy was leading the NBA in playoff field goal percentage for much of his career. (Graphic)
Pierce doesn't belong in this conversation. He was on Aguirre's level.
Pippen hands down. Two-way player. Worthy was something to watch in 88. But Pippen will hound you and guard four positions the full length of court if he needed to. Offensively, he wasn't chop liver. There was a game where I think Pippen and MJ combined for over 90 or something? I remember it was like watching two Jordans. Pippen also has longevity, whereas Worthy broke down pretty early and retired at 33, and even then was already several years removed from his prime. Worthy's high FG% was also a sign of the times, most super stars, especially front court players, in the 80's through mid-90's shot over 50%. But what made Worthy especially efficient was being surrounded by Kareem and Magic who set him up. How would Worthy do with more volume, and without Magic making his life easier? When he got his own team in 92, his FG% dropped big time. But that's probably a combination of life without Magic and nagging injuries. Then he pretty much fell off the map the next two years then retired.
worthy would be fine without kareem and magic. you can paint that picture both ways with worthy. yes, worthy joined a superteam. but worthy, individually, was also a #1 pick, a college champion, and the only guy that was the leader of a team with MJ. So, that's a lot. pippen is not necessarily better than worthy. pippen is better than lebron, though.
sidenote...if lebron and worthy played 1on1, i think lebron would lose by a lot.
I'll take Worthy at his peak. Pippen couldn't guard him. Rodman said he was the hardest player to defend. People are too quick to forget that Worthy was leading the NBA in playoff field goal percentage for much of his career. (Graphic)
Pierce doesn't belong in this conversation. He was on Aguirre's level.
Pippen hands down. Two-way player. Worthy was something to watch in 88. But Pippen will hound you and guard four positions the full length of court if he needed to. Offensively, he wasn't chop liver. There was a game where I think Pippen and MJ combined for over 90 or something? I remember it was like watching two Jordans. Pippen also has longevity, whereas Worthy broke down pretty early and retired at 33, and even then was already several years removed from his prime. Worthy's high FG% was also a sign of the times, most super stars, especially front court players, in the 80's through mid-90's shot over 50%. But what made Worthy especially efficient was being surrounded by Kareem and Magic who set him up. How would Worthy do with more volume, and without Magic making his life easier? When he got his own team in 92, his FG% dropped big time. But that's probably a combination of life without Magic and nagging injuries. Then he pretty much fell off the map the next two years then retired.
worthy would be fine without kareem and magic. you can paint that picture both ways with worthy. yes, worthy joined a superteam. but worthy, individually, was also a #1 pick, a college champion, and the only guy that was the leader of a team with MJ. So, that's a lot. pippen is not necessarily better than worthy. pippen is better than lebron, though.
sidenote...if lebron and worthy played 1on1, i think lebron would lose by a lot.
Damn. Did Lebron date your mother or something? The hate is real. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
it's a laker fan basketball forum, yinoma. not sure if you think this is unusual.
again..."I don't understand why laker fans are so mean to lebron?!"
i imagine 80s laker/celtic games. at the forum. one sensitive fan in the corner there all "Why are you guys cussing out Larry Bird?! he's a great player! deserves our respect. Cmon guys, this is not right." lol
it's a laker fan basketball forum, yinoma. not sure if you think this is unusual.
again..."I don't understand why laker fans are so mean to lebron?!"
i imagine 80s laker/celtic games. at the forum. one sensitive fan in the corner there all "Why are you guys cussing out Larry Bird?! he's a great player! deserves our respect. Cmon guys, this is not right." lol
And when was lebron a rival to Kobe or the lakers like bird was to magic? Lol. It's comical how much you hate this guy and any one who is mentioned in the same sentence as Kobe.
And this is why we have a "general discussion" forum to talk non Lakers. So much lol. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144474 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 7:36 pm Post subject:
CandyCanes wrote:
venturalakersfan wrote:
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid.
Are you actually just mentally challenged or something?
I'm not the one asking two different things _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid.
Are you actually just mentally challenged or something?
Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 20510 Location: UCLA -> NY
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 9:34 pm Post subject:
venturalakersfan wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
venturalakersfan wrote:
Best SF is Lebron. Nice thread, yet again the poll says something different than the thread title. Epic failure by CC once again. To not include Lebron is stupid.
Are you actually just mentally challenged or something?
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
