The Unpopular Opinion thread

[wwharton]

Quote: Originally Posted by darkknightrises

An unpopular opinion I have is that Karl malon is the best PF ever. Most people say Duncan but I think Malon was a much better defender then Duncan was and still has quit a few more points the Duncan has.

Not just better but Malone is a "much" better defender than Duncan? lmao

Even if you haven't seen him play enough the stats and awards are overwhelmingly in contradiction to this thought.

[darkknightrises]

Quote: Originally Posted by wwharton

Not just better but Malone is a "much" better defender than Duncan? lmao Even if you haven't seen him play enough the stats and awards are overwhelmingly in contradiction to this thought.

I saw Malone and Duncan both play and Duncan was a is a above average defender but Malone was a great defender. Malone did a better job contesting shoots and stay in front of guys then Duncan and he was really good at pulling the chair on guys.

[wwharton]

Quote: Originally Posted by darkknightrises

I saw Malone and Duncan both play and Duncan was a is a above average defender but Malone was a great defender. Malone did a better job contesting shoots and stay in front of guys then Duncan and he was really good at pulling the chair on guys.

No... just, no. There is absolutely nothing Malone did better defensively than Duncan. I know this is the unpopular opinion thread so I shouldn't even be starting a debate but this is just wrong on so many levels. I'll just say this, in 20 years Malone made the all defensive team 4 times (one of the four was on the 2nd team). In 17 years Duncan has been on the all defensive team 14 times (8 first team, 6 second team) and has a defensive player of the year under his belt.

I don't know what you were watching so I won't even argue against that. This is a case where the accolades are really enough because this is just a silly argument to begin with.

[ojandpizza]

IMO neither Malone or Barkley was very strong defensively, which is part of what baffles me when people complain so much about guys like Love and Dirk on that end, acting like that's the only thing from keeping them at that level..

Malone had plenty of other strengths, and if someone wanted to say he's the best PF over Duncan then I don't really have a problem with that opinion. But defensively I think Duncan in a land slide was a better overall defender than Malone.


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[darkknightrises]

Quote: Originally Posted by ojandpizza

IMO neither Malone or Barkley was very strong defensively, which is part of what baffles me when people complain so much about guys like Love and Dirk on that end, acting like that's the only thing from keeping them at that level.. Malone had plenty of other strengths, and if someone wanted to say he's the best PF over Duncan then I don't really have a problem with that opinion. But defensively I think Duncan in a land slide was a better overall defender than Malone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While I think Malone was a good amount better then Duncan on d. Now I do agree with you about Barkley not being that strong on d but I do think that's the big difference between love and dirk they are not the defenders that Malone or Duncan are. If I where to do a top PF off all time my list would probly go like this.


1. Malone
2. Duncan
3. Garnet
4. Barkley


Not sure who I would have at 5.

[BraedenG33]

Quote: Originally Posted by darkknightrises

While I think Malone was a good amount better then Duncan on d. Now I do agree with you about Barkley not being that strong on d but I do think that's the big difference between love and dirk they are not the defenders that Malone or Duncan are. If I where to do a top PF off all time my list would probly go like this. 1. Malone 2. Duncan 3. Garnet 4. Barkley Not sure who I would have at 5.

My top 5 is

1- Duncan
2- Garnett
3- Malone
4- Barkley
5- Dirk

The best defender on that list is Garnett, then Duncan, then Malone, then Dirk, then Barkley. Dirk is better because he at least had enough length to hold up on bigger players, though both and and Barkley are/were below average defenders. Personally, if you put Garnett on better teams than in Minnesota, I think he would have been number 1 on this list going away with it. At his peak, he was better than Duncan at his peak, unfortunately his prime was wasted with the Wolves. In my opinion (not sure if this is unpopular), he was the most talented of all of them, but he had the worst teams, so he isn't the 'greatest' because he didn't accomplish as much.

[darkknightrises]

Quote: Originally Posted by BraedenG33

My top 5 is 1- Duncan 2- Garnett 3- Malone 4- Barkley 5- Dirk The best defender on that list is Garnett, then Duncan, then Malone, then Dirk, then Barkley. Dirk is better because he at least had enough length to hold up on bigger players, though both and and Barkley are/were below average defenders. Personally, if you put Garnett on better teams than in Minnesota, I think he would have been number 1 on this list going away with it. At his peak, he was better than Duncan at his peak, unfortunately his prime was wasted with the Wolves. In my opinion (not sure if this is unpopular), he was the most talented of all of them, but he had the worst teams, so he isn't the 'greatest' because he didn't accomplish as much.

When it comes to your list and how I rank them has defenders I would go like this


1. Malone
2. Garnet
3. Duncan
4. Dirk
5. Barkley


While when it comes to all time greats I used to have Garnet above Duncan has I think he was better in his prim but his prim didn't hasn't lasted has long. The last 2-3 years garnet has declined a lot and last season he sucked and he should retire. Duncan on the other hand even though he Is not in his prim he is still playing at a high level and I think still has a few more good years left.

[JazzMan]

Malone wasn't so much of an elite defender than he was just an elite athlete. His brute strength and aggressiveness was what made him a competent defender, whereas Duncan is fundamentally sound and always in the right spot. Garnett in his prime was a nice combination of both, so for my money KG is the best defensive PF ever, and out of those 5 consensus top PFs, he's followed by Duncan and Malone.

However, offensively, Malone takes the cake of those 5, followed by Dirk and Duncan. So therefore, my Top 5 would go:

1a. Duncan
1b. Malone
3. KG
4. Dirk
5. Barkley

If Dirk can hang around for another 3 or so years, which he absolutely can with the level that he's playing at, I think he has a nice shot of taking 3rd all-time for me over KG.