To me Duncan being considered the greatest PF of all-time is a sham. The guy played the role of a true center offensively and defensively and is bigger than many of the all-time great centers. I mean... SA calls him a PF and starts a 6'7" guy next to him and calls that guy a Center. WTF?
Even if you call him a PF, I still have my doubts. I'm not a person that sees rings and proclaims a guy. Dirk? Please. Top 10 at the position, yes, but just because he finally got a ring doesn't make him better than Malone or Barkley.
Truthfully, though, PF is the most unclear position to dispute.
Let's break it down.
Duncan - no holes in his game. He's called the Big Fundamental for a reason. He's not the best offensive pf that ever lived, but he's straight up great at everything. He was a tremendous defender.
Mailman - he really had no holes in his game. He wasn't a bad defender and was (imo) without question the best offensive player to play the position
Barkley - He did more at 6'4" than guys half a foot taller than him could even dream of. The guy had desire and it showed. Go back and watch Chuck before his Suns days... he was unguardable. And he did the hustle plays. Only knock was his man defense (he was a really good help defender), and as much as you'd like to blame that on size, it was desire. When it came down to it and he displayed that he wanted to, he could shut guys down much bigger than him (lol @ the Admiral).
Garnett - Offensively he doesn't belong in the same discussion as Mailman or Chuck, yet you cannot deny his defensive prowess (and it's not like he's bad offensively - he's actually really good - just not the same class).
McHale - Ever hear the expression, "He doesn't have Kevin McHale-like post moves" ?? Bad knees and sharing the court with a bunch of hall of famers keeps this guy from being further up the list. At the same time, I think the 2nd part is part of why he's as high as he is. The guy was a stud, though.
Dirk - He's much like chuck in that he's an offensive guru that isn't big on defense. Unlike Chuck, he has a ring. And unlike Chuck, he didn't make the hustle plays (what's a rebound?). Also, unlike Chuck, he didn't play in the Magic/Bird era immediately followed by the Jordan era. But I got to give the guy credit... amazing offensive player and this year he showed me something I always questioned.
Pettit - hard to compare this guy since the game has changed so much, but when he retired he was the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the league (I think?). He set the standard.
Rodman - He's not Bill Russell, but he fulfilled a similar need... and has five rings to prove it. He's gotta be in the discussion for greatest rebounder of all-time... at 6-8 and skinny.
There's other names to go here... fun discussion.
8/11/2011 8:57 PM (edited)