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For the third best player how about Kwahi Leonard? The numbers may not say it, but the numbers can lie too. I know the Spurs won by committee this year. But Leonard's defense is some of the best perimeter defending you will find in the league. Defensively he's right up there with LeBron and Paul George.
Defense is half the game. A host of players can score points. In fact we over-reward offense. There are not many two way players in the game anymore. And Leonard could score just as many points as other big name players if he was given the chance. The Spurs just don't run an offense that lends to one guy scoring a high a volume of points every night.
Plus, playoff performance matters. The best players in the league perform in May and June. Clearly Leonard fits the bill in that regard as well.
For the third best player how about Kwahi Leonard? The numbers may not say it, but the numbers can lie too. I know the Spurs won by committee this year. But Leonard's defense is some of the best perimeter defending you will find in the league. Defensively he's right up there with LeBron and Paul George.
Defense is half the game. A host of players can score points. In fact we over-reward offense. There are not many two way players in the game anymore. And Leonard could score just as many points as other big name players if he was given the chance. The Spurs just don't run an offense that lends to one guy scoring a high a volume of points every night.
Plus, playoff performance matters. The best players in the league perform in May and June. Clearly Leonard fits the bill in that regard as well.
Leonard was 2nd team behind both Chris Paul and Paul George on 1st team.
While he is a heckuva player....it's a stretch to call a guy that has never even made 3rd team all-nba a top 3 player in the league. Maybe in a few years, but right now it's extremely premature.
I'm as big a spurs fan as there is, and kawhi is quickly becoming one to watch, he's nowhere near a top 10 guy let alone a top3 guy.
Honestly I don't see him ever breaking top 10. MAYBE top 15.
For the third best player how about Kwahi Leonard? The numbers may not say it, but the numbers can lie too. I know the Spurs won by committee this year. But Leonard's defense is some of the best perimeter defending you will find in the league. Defensively he's right up there with LeBron and Paul George.
Defense is half the game. A host of players can score points. In fact we over-reward offense. There are not many two way players in the game anymore. And Leonard could score just as many points as other big name players if he was given the chance. The Spurs just don't run an offense that lends to one guy scoring a high a volume of points every night.
Plus, playoff performance matters. The best players in the league perform in May and June. Clearly Leonard fits the bill in that regard as well.
This is precisely why I said Paul George for my 3. I tend to value defense more than offense as well. You sure do make a good case for Kawhi Leonard, and that's hard to do considering the epitome of a team the Spurs were this last season. Joakim Noah should be considered too if we're looking at defense, but I'm more keen on perimeter defenders than someone who dominates the paint. Players like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard still haven't reached their full potential yet, and I imagine they will be in more people's top 3 in the near future. Kawhi will be the guy in San Antonio in a couple of seasons (assuming he stays and continues his progress), and it'll be interesting to see what he does with that opportunity.
1) Lebron James: Duh! Clearly the best overall by far.
2) Chris Paul: I rate him above Durant and Westbrook because I think he's a more consistent and complete player. Durant is a fantastic scorer, but an average defender and passer. When Westbrook is on his game he's a great all-around player, but he's inconsistent.
3) Kevin Durant: It was tough for me to decide between him and Westbrook. While I think Westbrook is probably a more complete player -if nothing else he's better defensively- Durant is more consistent. Durant will score at least 20+ almost every game, while Westbrook seems to have more peaks and valleys, both in terms of scoring and distribution. Sometimes he jacks up bad shots even when nothing is falling.
Paul is not even the best player on his team anymore Blake was better last year so I would not put him in my top 3. My top 3 would be
Ok there is NO WAY Westbrook is the 3rd best player in the nba. If he was the thunder would be THE best team in the league. Period!
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