I'm a big J.O. fan, and i don't think he's overrated. I see a few of you guys picking on his FG%...if you look back to when the best big man in the league was a one George Mikan, his FG% was pretty low then, yet was very dominant...his career FG% was only 40% ...also this year poor shooting has been contagious around the whole league
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting noogie_da_sheep:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm a big J.O. fan, and i don't think he's overrated. I see a few of you guys picking on his FG%...if you look back to when the best big man in the league was a one George Mikan, his FG% was pretty low then, yet was very dominant...his career FG% was only 40% ...also this year poor shooting has been contagious around the whole league</div> You can't compare Jermaine O'Neal to a guy that played 50 years ago. Hardly anyone mentions Geprge Mikan when mentioning the best big men in history. He played the game when it wasn't as developed, skill wise and tactically. Personally, i've only heard of him and not seen him play, so I can't really make a judgement on him. Come to think of it, I think there would be very few people on this board who have seen him play. Btw... Which state is Geraldton in? Is it in Victoria?
I think it depends on what context you're using when deciding if JO is one of the top big men in the league. You keep saying when compared to Duncan and Garnett, he's overrated. Well, yes and no. In terms of ability and strength of play, who you'd rather have on your team, I don't think anyone in the world(who is in their right mind, of course. a disclaimer) would pick Jermaine over either Duncan or Garnett. They just bring too much to the table, as perpetual all-NBA first team guys. Simple as that. They compete against harder foes, yet they dominate the games that they're in. They both could be said to be among the greatest power forwards of all time despite their youth, while as we can see here, Jermaine is still struggling to get recognition as one of the top power forwards of his day, which he is. Jermaine is still developing, and might one day challenge Duncan and Garnett for supremacy. If you look back at their development, look at their first four years out of HS. Duncan went to Wake all 4 years, where he was the center of attention. KG had a bad team that basically built around him as he got better, which sped his own development. JO played for Portland U, meaning he warmed the pine for guys like Pippen and Sheed. His only real 'test' at that school was guarding Shaq in the WCF during his 'senior' year. So his development was stunted back until he got to Indy, and he'll probably need a few more years to fully come into his own. On the other hand, Jermaine is, in terms of winning value, just as important as either of those other guys. When I say this, I don't just mean the Pacers need him to win games. Obviously they do. I'm saying that through Jermaine's impact on the game, the Pacers are winning a lot, and it is through him more than any other player that his team is first in the East. Neither Garnett nor Duncan has lead his team to first in his respective conference this year(although they're in the West, I know, I know). Jermaine has just as much control over what conference he's in as Duncan and Garnett have over which one they're in. All you can do is ask each player to win with the cards he has, and Jermaine is doing that as well as any power forward in the league. Bottom line, if I had a choice between all the pf's in the league, I'd take 1. Tim Duncan 2. Kevin Garnett 3. Elton Brand 4. Dirk Nowitzki 5. Chris Webber(this is assuming all players are injury-free) 6. Shareef Abdur-Rahim 7. Jermaine O'Neal 8. Ben Wallace 9. Zach Randolph 10. Kenyon Martin the list goes on. but Jermaine ranks among those top guys, its just that Tim and Kevin are top of the heap, and there are enough guys between them and him that he isn't in their league of dominance. Yet. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting VAs Finest:</div><div class="quote_post">..according to Sportsline.com He is the new age Garnett..</div> New Age Garnett? Even though he's only a year younger? <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Magic Johnson:</div><div class="quote_post">Brand has been really outstanding as of late, he's matured and come out of his shell.</div> Brand has been a beast from Day 1! His rookie year he averaged 20-10.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting snailtrail83:</div><div class="quote_post"> Btw... Which state is Geraldton in? Is it in Victoria?</div> It's in Western Australia...Victoria's on the other side of the country
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting starman85:</div><div class="quote_post">I think it depends on what context you're using when deciding if JO is one of the top big men in the league. You keep saying when compared to Duncan and Garnett, he's overrated. Well, yes and no. In terms of ability and strength of play, who you'd rather have on your team, I don't think anyone in the world(who is in their right mind, of course. a disclaimer) would pick Jermaine over either Duncan or Garnett. They just bring too much to the table, as perpetual all-NBA first team guys. Simple as that. They compete against harder foes, yet they dominate the games that they're in. They both could be said to be among the greatest power forwards of all time despite their youth, while as we can see here, Jermaine is still struggling to get recognition as one of the top power forwards of his day, which he is. Jermaine is still developing, and might one day challenge Duncan and Garnett for supremacy. If you look back at their development, look at their first four years out of HS. Duncan went to Wake all 4 years, where he was the center of attention. KG had a bad team that basically built around him as he got better, which sped his own development. JO played for Portland U, meaning he warmed the pine for guys like Pippen and Sheed. His only real 'test' at that school was guarding Shaq in the WCF during his 'senior' year. So his development was stunted back until he got to Indy, and he'll probably need a few more years to fully come into his own. On the other hand, Jermaine is, in terms of winning value, just as important as either of those other guys. When I say this, I don't just mean the Pacers need him to win games. Obviously they do. I'm saying that through Jermaine's impact on the game, the Pacers are winning a lot, and it is through him more than any other player that his team is first in the East. Neither Garnett nor Duncan has lead his team to first in his respective conference this year(although they're in the West, I know, I know). Jermaine has just as much control over what conference he's in as Duncan and Garnett have over which one they're in. All you can do is ask each player to win with the cards he has, and Jermaine is doing that as well as any power forward in the league. Bottom line, if I had a choice between all the pf's in the league, I'd take 1. Tim Duncan 2. Kevin Garnett 3. Elton Brand 4. Dirk Nowitzki 5. Chris Webber(this is assuming all players are injury-free) 6. Shareef Abdur-Rahim 7. Jermaine O'Neal 8. Ben Wallace 9. Zach Randolph 10. Kenyon Martin the list goes on. but Jermaine ranks among those top guys, its just that Tim and Kevin are top of the heap, and there are enough guys between them and him that he isn't in their league of dominance. Yet. New Age Garnett? Even though he's only a year younger? Brand has been a beast from Day 1! His rookie year he averaged 20-10.</div> Dont take that up with me, take that up to sportsline.com, he is on the new Slam Cover and the article is pretty good, he feels people only think that he isnt one of the top 5 big men is because he plays in the east
