Posted by longtallbrad on 8/22/2011 8:22:00 PM (view original):
Posted by eleibowitz on 8/22/2011 5:23:00 PM (view original):
Ive been following this thread and love the arguments!! Keep it up! Snydie you are putting Worthy at PF? I think that's his natural postion, playing out of position all those years in LA! Ewing one of the best defesive centers ever?? Absolutely! Amazing foot speed!
I assume you're being sarcastic, but Worthy did play PF at times and is considered a combo forward by many analysts and hoops historians. I wouldn't say PF is his natural or best position, especially on defense, but it's not crazy to give him minutes there.
Ewing is getting bashed in this thread because of some - perhaps - overly enthusiastic claims. But he certainly was one of the best defensive centers of his era, and in any case was no slouch on the defensive end. If he were in his prime today or anytime in the past 10-12 years it would be easy to say he's second best center in the league at worst. Just kind of his weird misfortune to play during the golden era of real centers. As a defender, he was a step behind Robinson and two steps behind Olajuwon. No one seems to remember that he was thought of as a great defender coming out of college. His career just evolved differently than expected.
I remember Ewing perfectly. I am also well schooled in the Ewing Theory. I said from the beginning that he was a very good defender, but behind some of his contemporaries....namely Dream, Admiral, Eaton, Zo, and Mutombo. All of whom were defensive players of the year and were total stoppers. Ewing had a better supporting cast that allowed him to be great. Would he have been half the defensive power without knowing he had enforcers around him like Mason and Oakley.
My biggest issue here is that Ewing is the exact wrong player for this team. snydpie contends, incorrectly so, that since he drafted Ewing as a PF (or Olajuwon..not sure which really) then he can reprogram those players to play how he wants them to. Ewing could play inside, but he was a midrange player. Same with Olajuwon for that matter. Offensively you just can't say this is what I want this player to be because I drafted him. It would be like turning Wilt into a slasher or Mo Cheeks into a pure 3pt shooter.
To further expound on this point snydpie wants us to swallow that Grant Hill and James Worthy are deep threats and no one could keep up with Pistol Pete. Look I will never say Maravich sucked, because he didn't, but is he really better than a guy like Bob Cousy? No. Maravich was a the only gun on his team and he had to score. He did so very well, but his teams never did ANYTHING. Not unlike a pre-Pippen Jordan.
What I want here is a trip to the real world. Ewing is great, but not for this team. Worthy was good, but not when you need another deep threat he may not be the guy you need. Then putting him at PF for even a couple of minutes is a terrible idea with the all-star teams people are building here.