For example, I think the gap between Immanuel Quickley and Jordan Poole/Tyler Herro is very close and I’d argue Quickley defense might put him over the edge. Most would never put Quick in that tier but I personally would
Another is Trae Young and Shai Gilgeous Alexander. People have no problem talking about shai like he’s a top 10 player but then rank Trae in the 20s and 30s even though we’ve seen Trae preform in the playoffs
Wait people don’t think Quick is better than Poole / Herro?
Embiid and Jokic
Do I think Jokic is better? ABSOLUTELY! Not a doubt in my mind
But people act like Embiid is a scrub and that’s just not true. And I get it, the guy came up short in the playoffs, he flops, and he can come across pretty unlikable at times, but none of that changed the fact that he’s an elite player in this league
Your team would love to have him
They’re completely different players and the only thing they really have in common is both being listed as centers, which itself is pretty meaningless in the modern game. It’s kind of like comparing CP3 to Kyrie, which I don’t find to be very useful.
To me Embid needs to be the 2nd option in some games to win a championship, while Jokic has proved he is the first option every single game he plays, Jokic is alot better
I haven’t seen anyone say Embiid is a scrub, or even a scrub compared to Jokic. They’re only similar in size, neither their defensive nor their offensive skill sets overlap all that much.
I’m gonna do the opposite and say the gap between Maxey and Herro/Poole is a lot bigger than people think
I like Maxey a lot. That being said he’s comically overrated right now
Maxey is exploitable on defense but competes like literal heck nevertheless. Herro is not quite as bad defensively as I think he is made out to be but he sticks out as a liability becasue the Heat defense is otherwise so good. I still agree with this take. Poole did not qualify for comment.
Yeah, Maxey can be a #2 on a good team.
Those guys aren’t more than #3s on a good team.
what has maxey done in the playoffs lol
Maxey as a #3 with an MVP as the #1 has yet to get past the 2nd round.
He’s still on his rookie contract lol, not even done developing
A team with the current MVP as the #1 and Maxey as the #2 probably isn’t a good team unless they have a very good supporting cast. More like a play-in team probably, not taking by any means but won’t have the firepower to take down the “good” teams like Bucks, Celtics, Suns, Lakers, etc.
Depends on the depth and #3 I’d say. A team with an MVP and 2 Maxeys is probably a top tier team, but yeah a team with an MVP, Maxey, and role players probably peaks as a second round exit, if that
Of those 3 names Herro is the best player - by far the most well-rounded.
Maxey is more a version of Poole who actually hits his shots.
Booker and Beal ironically, Phoenix is obviously Book Nation and he just had a phenomenal playoff run but I think a healthy Beal can perform around or at the same level as a healthy Booker.
Quite possibly one of the worst takes I’ve ever read
absolutely not
Kat and kd. I’m here for downvotes. They’re not same obviously but they’re a lot closer than ppl give kat credit for
Cade and luka
Why are people acting like trae and Shai are even close?
Half of basketball is defence and trae young is the worst defender in the nba. Trae young is not that good of a player if you actually watch him, he will never win an nba championship because he’s so bad at defence.
i personally agree with the idea that shai is a definitive tier above trae, but sadly gotta disagree that defense is half of the game in the modern nba. on a literal level yeah, half the players are on defense at any given point, but the game is intentionally geared for offense. an elite defensive player doesn’t have the same value as an elite offensive player. nobody’s taking marcus smart over trae young
“Not that good a player” he led a team to the conference final. What kind of garbage take is that?
Steph Luka
Luka Tatum
Tatum Steph
Booker Durant
Dame KD
Embiid Booker or Dame
Brunson Anthony Edwards
Garland Haliburton
KP jaylen brown
Brian Scalabrine and LeBron James
Quickley is better than both of those guys
Desmond Bane and Jaylen Brown
DeMar & PG
I had a take a couple of years ago that LaVine and Booker were basically the same level. I was just wrong on that one but at the time I believed you could just swap them and nothing would change.
I think Dennis Schroder is better than D’Angelo Russell. The Lakers kept the wrong point guard imo.
I had the same thought yesterday vs the suns
Trae and SGA take is 100% on point, Shai is overrated while Trae is actually underrated