Deng Does It Again!

[cyman3]

chillz and diesel both bring up good points

heres my perspective

1)MLB and NFL are growing sports. u have guys breaking records left and right and the popularity is only increasing. w/ NFL, on any given night- any team is capable of being a top 5 team. however, i cant say the same about the NBA.

yes the NBA is getting less popular. hell, if it wasnt for LeBron/Carmelo- the NBA wouldnt get 10 minutes on ESPN (i might be exaggerating a little)!

2)Yes its true. Athletes are a bigger asset in the league than someone with pure skills. i think thats why guys like JASON RICHARDSON are drafted higher than the MICHAEL REDDs.

i think GMs have that idea that ATHLETICISM is something u cant teach (like SIZE). talent/skills can improve over time, but ur not gonna get any more athletic/taller once u land in the NBA.

[chillzatl]

Big Dog vs. Marion? You consider Marion a "pure athlete"? He's slightly more Athletic than bigdog was in his prime. But he's far from deserving the "pure athlete" lable. Beyond that, what has his athleticism earned him? He's nowhere near the scorer Bigdog was and is only a slightly better rebounder. Their comparison really has nothing to do with Athlete Vs. Technician. Bigdog was a LOAF. His shortcomings had nothing to do with a lack of athleticism. He was simply lazy.

Where you do put guys like Duncan, Nowitski, Pierce, AK-47, etc etc etc. Those guys are far from being high flying Athletes and are more technician than pure athlete. Are you going to tell me they "don't get it done"?

Athleticism is nothing but marketing material for guys who don't YET have the skills to compete. "Oh he can't shoot a lick, But have you seen him jump". You're gambling on something that may or may not pay off. More often than not in the last 10 years, it has failed to pay off. For every Garnett there are three Tyson Chandlers.

[Diesel]

Kerry Kittles vs. Vince Carter.

Ray Allen vs. TMAC..

Kirk Hinrich vs. Dwayne Wade..

Reggie Miller vs. Jordan..

If you want an Penultimate example....

Tim Duncan vs. KG.

Duncan being the best technical player in the game since Bird. KG is one of the best atheletes to play this game... They both have their good points, but KG is the better player.

As far as your silly question where does it get him... One player does not a team make. If you don't believe that, then you need to start praising Scott Williams on his championship Rings.

The thing is this... You can't teach atheletic ability. Either you have it or you don't. However, you can teach an athelete to do technical things... Therefore, it's easier for an athelete to evolve. Whereas the technicians like Big Dog, Kittles, and others will have their skills erode quicker than the athelete.

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

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Whereas the technicians like Big Dog, Kittles, and others will have their skills erode quicker than the athelete.

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Yeah, That's why Karl Malone outlast Dominique Wilkins...

That's why a Karl Malone lasts longer than a Shawn Kemp.

[Diesel]

first off,

Who ever said Karl Malone:

1. Was a technician.

2. Wasn't an athelete??

When Karl Malone got to the league, all he could do was Dunk with his hand behind his head.

Thanks for proving my point !!

Malone is another example of an Athelete who evolved...

[Plainview1981]

Malone was a pretty good athlete... But after that left

he was still a 21/9/5 player. After Nique's athletic

ability was going he was nothing but a hasbeen.

[Diesel]

Again... You are looking at the case of an athelete vs. an athelete. There was nothing technical about Karl Malone's game when he first entered into the league. He could use his atheleticism to score but he could barely shoot a free throw and hitting a jump shot was a gift from God. His free throw shooting was so bad that as the years went by, he started talking to himself and taking up the whole 10 seconds at the line.

Malone is an example of an Atheletic player who evolved.

BTW....

Nique's last full year in the league(1996-1997)... He played for SA. He led them in scoring with :

18/6/2

This was the year that Popp put the Spurs in the tank so that they could get Duncan.

After that year, Nique Begged Babcock for a chance to play with the Hawks:

(Mutombo/Smith/Mookie/Hendu) and Babcock ignored Wilkins. Nique went overseas and continued his legend. He came back and played part of a season for the Magic (Strike Season).

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

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Nique's last full year in the league(1996-1997)... He played for SA. He led them in scoring with :

18/6/2

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Somebody had to score didn't they? They had a really

bad roster that year...

Malone might have started out as an athlete... But he

played well for several years after he started losing

it.... Once Niques athletic ability was gone there

wasn't much left. Just a has been and that's why he

became unwanted.

[Traceman]

I'd love to have them both! Besides, many here think Big AL would be better at PF rather than SF. If indeed that is the case, why could they not play together? Deng is coming off the bench for the Bulls, why couldn't he come off the bench for us and backup Big Al and Toine? Toine is not likely to be here next year anyway.

As for everyone KNOWING Chill will get better and not knowing that Deng will get better, exactly why is that the case? Deng is 2 years younger than Chill, isn't it likely that Deng will improve as well? Besides Chill can hardly help but improve at this point. He will have to improve a LOT just to get where Deng is right now!

[Diesel]

So you leave all the shooting to AW and then you leave all the shooting to ??? Diaw?

What about J-Smooth. I guess, we need not have him...

Let's just wait and see...