Minnesota Sports Forum

So we have a lot of time to kill between now and the draft and instead of making the same arguments everyday I decided to argue about different stuff. Since we have the first pick in the draft I'm going to throw out some past names and see which of the two you would pick. Since we need a big man the most I will start there.

1) Olajuwon or Shaq

2) David Robinson or Patrick Ewing

3) Mourning or Howard

4) Duncan or Garnett

5) Barkley or Malone

1. Olajuwon (Shaq's the most unstoppable force I've ever seen in sports, period. Olajuwon's got more moves, better defense, wiry athleticism and a soft jumper. Wouldn't argue with you if you went either way here.)

2. Robinson (One of the most underrated players in basketball history. I love The Admiral.)

3. Mourning (Dwight's a pussy. Not gonna spend too much time on this one.)

4. Garnett (Duncan had the better career without a doubt, but in their primes, I feel that KG was on the same level. Would still give Duncan the nod for best PF because of his longevity.)

5. Barkley (This one's not close for me at all.)

Camden wrote:1. Olajuwon (Shaq's the most unstoppable force I've ever seen in sports, period. Olajuwon's got more moves, better defense, wiry athleticism and a soft jumper. Wouldn't argue with you if you went either way here.)

2. Robinson (One of the most underrated players in basketball history. I love The Admiral.)

3. Mourning (Dwight's a pussy. Not gonna spend too much time on this one.)

4. Garnett (Duncan had the better career without a doubt, but in their primes, I feel that KG was on the same level. Would still give Duncan the nod for best PF because of his longevity.)

5. Barkley (This one's not close for me at all.)

lol that would have been my list too.

1) Dream Shake - nuff said

2) The Admiral - so much class & heart

3) Zo - a beast in his own right

4) The Franchise - in their primes he did more for his team than Duncan imo.

5) Sir Charles - The Mailman always annoyed me for some reason. Maybe it was his FT routine? lol

Wow, I thought we would have more differences here, but I agree right down the line with cam and grey. There might be some homerism in my Garnett pick, because Duncan's stats and playoff success should put him ahead. But I watched them head to head so many times, and Garnett usually came up on top, so I'm going with KG.

longstrangetrip wrote:Wow, I thought we would have more differences here, but I agree right down the line with cam and grey. There might be some homerism in my Garnett pick, because Duncan's stats and playoff success should put him ahead. But I watched them head to head so many times, and Garnett usually came up on top, so I'm going with KG.

Yeah I expected more debate on some of these. It's still early though.

6) Rasheed Wallace or Chris Webber

TRKO wrote:6) Rasheed Wallace or Chris Webber

6. Webber (Carried those very good Kings teams. Was a dominant power forward for a good five-year stretch it felt like. 'Sheed gets love from me because I loved his intensity and attitude, but Webber was the better player.)

1) Hakeem - Guy was just off the charts talented.
2) Admiral...no doubt
3) Like Zo in prime, but the dominant part of his career was pretty short. Would probably lean towards Howard for this reason.
4) Duncan - I see the appeal for KG, but personally, I think Duncan is in another class.
5) This is a wash for me. Personally, I love "Barles Charkley", but the Mailman was such a devastating force for so long....and Utah was always so competitive....I have to say this is an even split for me. While I always hated watching Malone, he was one of the most consistent player night in and night out that I ever saw.

If it's a tie for you between Barkley and Malone, ask yourself how much better Barkley would be with Stockton spoon-feeding him buckets. There's your tie-breaker if you need one.

Olajuwon or Shaq. Depends. During their era... Shaq by a nose. He was simply a dominant force that changed just about everything. For today's NBA? Olajuwon for his versatility.

David Robinson. Both were greats, but not quite all-time elites. But I think Robinson was clearly a tier above. And that chasm would be even greater in today's NBA.

Howard. I dislike both players. But, whether it's only because of the era or not, Howard proved that an entire team of shooters could be built around him and go to the Finals.

Duncan. I don't know how you can argue against him at this point. He's so impressive in so many ways, some obvious, some subtle.

Malone. Big fan of Barkley. But I think Malone brought it on both ends of the court pretty damn consistently. We'd be talking about Blake Griffin AFTER we mentioned Karl Malone's name. Every time.



[Note: Sorry to nitpick here... but I saw Mourning mentioned as "classy." I don't understand that one. I doubt the fans in New Jersey and Toronto do either.]