Who's Number Two?

Who's Number Two?

In basketball circles, there is a broad consensus that LeBron James is the best player alive (Steve Blake aside, obviously).  The identity of the next best player is not as cut and dry.  Many would posit that Kevin Durant, who is basically a 6'10 2 guard with a good handle and unlimited shooting range, is the clear choice.  I used to count myself among those who support Durant as #2, but I am no longer sure of that.  It isn't because the Thunder aren't playing well; they are in fact killing folks, having won 9 in a row, 22-4 overall, on pace for a 69 win season.  Durant is leading the NBA in scoring, shooting 49% from the field, 43% from 3, gathering over 8 rebounds and almost 5 assists a game with more than a steal and a half and a block per game.  Absurd numbers.  He is also 5th in the league in points per shot, trailing only the otherworldly efficient LeBron and a trio of behemoths in Dwight Howard, Brook Lopez, and DeAndre Jordan, none of whom ever takes shots more than 2 feet from the basket.  Durant is rounding into his prime and may be the league MVP.

Given all of that, how can I suggest that someone besides LeBron can be better than Durant?  The answer is simple: defense.  Paul George, aptly referred to by Jalen Rose as a cross between Tracy McGrady and Scottie Pippen, may be the best perimeter defender in basketball.  Friday night against the Rockets, I watched Paul George do to James Harden what only LeBron in the Finals was able to do: shut Harden down and make him look average at best.  Harden wasn't able to get by George often, due to the latter's combination of length, height, intensity, wits (although Chandler Parsons did at one point fake him out of his shoes), and quickness of foot.  George is 6'9 with a massive wingspan, and has figured out exactly how to use that wingspan to both stay in front of a ball handler and to be in the right place to contest shots and go for errant dribbles (he is averaging more than 2 steals a game, to go with his 6 rebounds, 24 points, and almost 4 assists).  George does a good job of not gambling too much, recognizing that making someone take a contested jumper is a defensive win in most situations.  Last year in the playoffs, PG had his defensive coming out party, as he D'd up both Carmelo and LeBron with great aplomb.  Against Carmelo, arguably the toughest perimeter scorer in the league to guard due to his weight, first step, handle, post play, and midrange game, George was giving up a lot of weight, but used his length and quicks to make Melo work.  Anthony scored 28.5 points per game in the series, but on 25 shots per game, a 1.14 points per shot ratio which this year is tied for 104th in the league.  That puts Carmelo's performance squarely into the land of volume shooters, where me-first team-killers like Rudy Gay are king.  

He also has the so called "alpha male" gene: George does not flinch when the going gets tough, as we saw in the playoffs against both the Knicks and more notably Miami last year, when he played LeBron to a standstill.  George showed the handle, hops (go to the 1:39 mark to see PG make LeBron pump the brakes), tenacity, shooting, and quicks to both guard LeBron, and to make him work on defense.  I don't think anybody will forget when he blew by LeBron and dunked on Birdman's head like it was nothing, or when he gave a similar facial to Chris Bosh.   I got the sense in that series that not only did George relish playing against James, but that he felt he was better than him, too.  He has a smooth stroke from 3 (shooting almost 41% this season), and his midrange, off the dribble game is one of the best in the league.  I am looking forward to seeing the Pacers vs Thunder in the Finals this year.

Other NBA Notes:

1)  All hail Les Boulez! The Wizards are really good.  Call me a homer, sure, but I can't recall the last time Wiz games mattered this late in a season.  Usually they are already eliminated from playoff contention come January, but this year they are almost at .500 (which, ridiculously, gives them the 4th best record in the Leastern Conference), and unless John Wall gets hurt (always a possibility), they are playoff-bound.  Actually, come to think of it, I do remember the last time the Wizards/Bullets were good (hint: it involves Gilbert Arenas raping Kobe's soul).

2) W.O.A.T.  The Leastern Conference is the worst in the history of basketball.  If the playoffs started today, 5 of the playoff teams would have sub .500 records.  Amazing.  Philly is 12 games below .500 and only 4 games out of first place in the Atlantic division.

3) Josh McRoberts, passing savant.  If you check the assists/48 minutes category on espn.com (and you should), you will notice the usual suspects leading the pack.  CP3, MVP candidate Steve Blake, Curry, Parker/Ginobili, etc.  One thing that might shock you is that around #30 among league leaders, sits none other than high-flying white boy Josh McRoberts, made famous when Kobe said of a McRoberts alley oop jam off a feed from Ron Artest, “I’ve never seen a black guy throw an alley-oop to a white guy before.”  McRoberts is the only PF among the top 40, a cohort made up almost entirely of point guards (and best passer alive Manu Ginobili and LeBron).  

4)  Michael Carter-Williams, making history.  MCW, a string bean of a rookie point guard from Syracuse, is currently leading the NBA in steals.  I checked the intrawebs, and no rookie in league history has ever done that.  Ever.  Ruminate on that.