AlexBrady's Blog
But in truth, Ewing was merely a good player. For starters, his go to move was a jump shot that usually split the net early on in a game but became more erratic as the game progressed. In the fourth quarter, Ewing's patented jumpers routinely banged off the front rim which constitutes a "bad" miss and indicates tight hand mechanics. This was damaging to his team since he was the go-to scorer.
His other problems were handling, passing, and moving laterally. And his rebounding, while good, was never great because he had bad hands and couldn't get crowd rebounds. Lets remember what kind of player Ewing really was, a good center who played in New York.
# 2
EmmittSmithx22x @ Jul 8
come on dude. what is this? built up frustration because he didn't win a title? Ewing was a genius of a basketball player. An Amazing Center. For a Person who "Clanged" his jump shots. He sure had a high FG%. 50.4%.
# 3
shayne1000 @ Jul 10
sorry, but I had to make an account for this just to inform you how incorrect you are. Patrick Ewing is not just one of the greatest centers of all time, but one of the greatest players period. After leading his high school team to three consecutive state championships, he led the Hoyas to an NCAA championship and is considered to be one of the greatest college players of all time. Despite him never winning a ring in the NBA, he was hands down responsible for leading his team to numerous playoff series that he unfortunately had to compete against some of the all time greats like Jordan and other great centers like Hakeem and Shaq while still being world renowned.If your going to critique his jump shot, keep in mind Ewing is considered the greatest jump-shooting center of all time! 50.4% from the field! He also was an excellent defender and rebounder despite what you say. Dream team?? 13th highest scorer of all time? They didn't call him the warrior for nothing dude.
# 4
AlexBrady @ Jul 10
shayne1000, while I respect your passion I have to disagree with most of your points. Ewing doesn't rank among the top centers or players that I've ever seen (and I've seen almost all of them). Almost every player who has made the NBA dominated in the High School and College Levels, which are miles below NBA competition. Ewing didn't have the well rounded game to beat the best, which is why he consistently lost in the only games that matter. Ewing's offense was predictable and lacked the versatility of a true all time great. He was a good shot blocker but his man to man defense was limited because of his poor lateral movement and his bad hands prevented him from crowd rebounding. Good player, nothing more.
# 5
Silverspoon @ Jul 11
Ewing was a great player, but Hakeem and Shaq had his number the whole time.
# 6
Galarius @ Jul 11
let's see...he has beeen retired for how long now?i hated the Knicks back in the day but the truth is he was a GREAT player, not simply good....he did not have all that much talent around him compared to some teams, so how did he win all those games?I am a Bulls fan, so if anyone would jump to agree with this article, it would be me...but seriously.....Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, John Starks, and Derek Harper were hardly a cast you could hide behind.Very talented in their own ways(especially Starks) but he never had another top of the line all star player around to pick up the slack
# 7
AlexBrady @ Jul 11
Hakeem Olajuwon won a Title with a cast of marginalia. Why? Because he was truly an all time great and played like it in the NBA Finals against Ewing's Knicks. In contrast, Ewing had a dismal performance shooting 58-160 and failing to produce in the endgame.
# 8
Galarius @ Jul 11
yes, Hakkem was better..so what?Jordan was better than Barkley, doesn't mean Charles wasn't great too....For Hakeem's 2nd title he had that 'scrub 'Drexler....Kenny Smith, Sam Cassellfor both of them...without Drexler Hakeem only had to beat the immature Magic.Great team, but they never won a title either...Shaq had Kobe and D Wade when he won, doesn't mean he wasn't great just because he had a superstar sidekick.By no means am I a Ewing fan, but this is patently absurd and pointless.David Robinson didn't win until Duncan got there...does that mean he is mediocre too?
# 9
AlexBrady @ Jul 11
Hakeem's offense was more advanced than Ewing's. Hakeem had drop steps, turn around js, face up js, jump hooks, drives, and spins. And he delivered in the clutch on a routine basis. Say what? Hakeem's Rockets beat the Knicks without Drexler. By my count, the supporting casts of the Knicks and Rockets were about equal. The Magic were a great team? No way, they lacked any bench support and the second guy (Penny Hardaway) was just a one on one scorer who lacked leadership skills. Robinson was mainly a softee who missed clutch free throws before Duncan arrived. Good player but not an all timer.
# 10
tarek @ Jul 11
By what you've written in the blog and subsequent comments it is clear that your opinions on what are great players is extremely flawed. David Robinson and Patrick Ewing were great players. Players who greatness is determined by both actions on the court and impact made to the game and their teams.
I wonder what you think of guys like Pippen, Maravich or McHale or countless others who graced the basketball court and left lasting memories and made a huge impact on the sport.
I'll give you a hint, nearly every player who makes the NBA is a 'good' player. Some never get a chance, some get stunted by injuries, some never adjust to the demands of being a prOfessional and don't develop their games or skillsets. Happens all the time. But the ones who step above, who make long career with massive impact and are the ones you think about when you talk about a specific era in the sport, those are the great ones.
Either your measure for what you consider great is a little too high, or you just don't have a good appreciation of baskeball talent.
I wonder what you think of guys like Pippen, Maravich or McHale or countless others who graced the basketball court and left lasting memories and made a huge impact on the sport.
I'll give you a hint, nearly every player who makes the NBA is a 'good' player. Some never get a chance, some get stunted by injuries, some never adjust to the demands of being a prOfessional and don't develop their games or skillsets. Happens all the time. But the ones who step above, who make long career with massive impact and are the ones you think about when you talk about a specific era in the sport, those are the great ones.
Either your measure for what you consider great is a little too high, or you just don't have a good appreciation of baskeball talent.
# 11
nolan273 @ Jul 11
I'm with you all the way Tarek. The cream always rises to the top. Patrick Ewing is an all-time great. It says a lot about a guy who puts up numbers like he did when the entire league knows you're THE guy that has to be stopped on your team.
# 12
AlexBrady @ Jul 12
I've been watching the game for a very long time. I think I know a great player when I see one. Robinson had two offensive moves, foul line jumper and left handed drives with decent headfakes. Very good shot blocker. DRob couldn't pass, handle, defend straight up, or make clutch shots. A bit better than Ewing was, but still not an all time great. Pippen and McHale were all time greats, Maravich however was highly overrated. Just calling it like I see it. xbreezex, Ewing was solid in all of those areas but was never exceptional in them. Like I said, good player. nolan273, ahh if only putting up numbers was the sole requirement of NBA basketball.
# 13
tril @ Jul 12
Ewing is a top 5 center in the modern era of basketball. Im talking about the last 20-25 years.
He put upconsistent numbers against a league which had a good number of quality centers. he dominated an era that was post Jabbar and pre Shaq.
IMO, you cant metion Olijuwan without mentioning Ewing.
He put upconsistent numbers against a league which had a good number of quality centers. he dominated an era that was post Jabbar and pre Shaq.
IMO, you cant metion Olijuwan without mentioning Ewing.
# 14
nolan273 @ Jul 12
Putting up numbers consistently is a big part of NBA basketball. I'll guarantee you wouldn't get Olajuwan, Shaq, Jordan, or any other player you may consider to be great to say Ewing was merely a good player. Besides, when the all-time greats say you're an all-time great, the opinions of fans like you and me don't matter...
# 15
AlexBrady @ Jul 12
Making winning plays is the biggest part of NBA basketball. Playing smart, hard, being in the right place at the right time, coming through in the clutch. Ewing didn't get it done in those areas. Again, he was supremely talented but that isn't enough.
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