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Rank the All Time Great Power Forwards

The Higher Power said:
I'm partial to Barkley because he had to make up for his height and actually has a higher PER and VORP than Duncan.
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Offensively, he was better than Duncan. Duncan was never an overly dominant offensive force. He was just top tier at every aspect of the game for a big man. The difference between them defensively is much, much larger than Barkley's advantage on the offensive end though. Duncan was the only player who could reasonably defend Shaq 1-on-1 and he could still defend against the smaller, quicker PFs.
 
Kemp+on+Elliot.gif
 
1. Duncan-has the stats, accolades, longevity. GOAT 4 man.

2/3. Barkely/Malone-too close to call. Great rebounders, defenders, played well with back to the basket or facing up, both could shoot, could run the floor, and knew how to close games.

4. McHale-one of the greatest post players to have ever played. He basically set the template for the Arsenal of moves a post-player should possess. Put up consistently great numbers as second option, and has a nice collection of rings.

5. Dirk-the best pure shooter in the history of big men. Consistently great scorer, great defensive rebounder, and made his teammates better. Led the Mavs to a dozen or so 50+ win seasons, despite not having the best supporting casts.

Honorable mention: KG
 
Ranking the PFs is always weird because at the top you have Duncan who was a C masquerading as a PF. Of course he had a yuge defensive advantage over the other legit PFs. Like it kinda pisses me off cause if a guy like Olajuwon wanted to play PF he could've (much more mobile/athletic and better shooting range than Duncan) and Olajuwon would be the #1 PF all-time (imo). But instead Olajuwon stuck to being officially listed as a center where he's typically raked as the 4th or 5th best center all-time (I personally have him 2nd tho)

Anyways, my top 5 based on career:

1. Duncan
2. Malone
3. Barkley
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

My top 5 based on primes:

1. Duncan
1. Barkley
3. Malone
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

It's worth noting that Barkley is one of the game's most underrated legends imo. If Phoenix doesn't lose two heartbreaking game 7s to Olajuwon's Rockets then there's a very good chance Barkley has two rings. If Kevin Johnson doesn't miss 33 games in '93, there's a very good chance MVP Barkley's 62-20 Suns challenge for 70+ wins. Imagine where people would be ranking him all-time had any of this occurred
 
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faustian said:
Ranking the PFs is always weird because at the top you have Duncan who was a C masquerading as a PF. Of course he had a yuge defensive advantage over the other legit PFs

Anyways, my top 5 based on career:

1. Duncan
2. Malone
3. Barkley
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

My top 5 based on primes:

1. Duncan
1. Barkley
3. Malone
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

It's worth noting that Barkley is one of the game's most underrated legends imo. If Phoenix doesn't lose two heartbreaking game 7s to Olajuwon's Rockets then there's a very good chance Barkley has two rings. If Kevin Johnson doesn't miss 33 games in '93, there's a very good chance MVP Barkley's 62-20 Suns challenge for 70+ wins. Imagine where people would be ranking him all-time had any of this occurred
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Good post though I think Malone was much better than people realize. Malone played in Utah in a time when highlights were limited but he was basically unstoppable for 10yrs with only one other player of note on his team.

Re: 1993

That series could have easily gone to Phoenix. Take a look at Bulls line up. Easily the worst line up to win a championship in the time that I've been watching basketball. And before anyone goes into "but Horace Grant!!!!". Horace Grant was the lesser of the Grant brothers. He was the ultimate garbage man. Teams were so caught up in guarding Pippen and MJ that half of Grant's buckets came on unguarded put-backs.
 
I was always puzzled when thinking of how dominant of players Malone and Barkley were in their hey day yet the championships were so difficult to win at the time. What it boils down to is do you grade/evaluate based on team accomplishments, individual player accomplishments, or a combo of both?



 
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faustian said:
Ranking the PFs is always weird because at the top you have Duncan who was a C masquerading as a PF. Of course he had a yuge defensive advantage over the other legit PFs

Anyways, my top 5 based on career:

1. Duncan
2. Malone
3. Barkley
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

My top 5 based on primes:

1. Duncan
1. Barkley
3. Malone
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

It's worth noting that Barkley is one of the game's most underrated legends imo. If Phoenix doesn't lose two heartbreaking game 7s to Olajuwon's Rockets then there's a very good chance Barkley has two rings. If Kevin Johnson doesn't miss 33 games in '93, there's a very good chance MVP Barkley's 62-20 Suns challenge for 70+ wins. Imagine where people would be ranking him all-time had any of this occurred
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If it was as simple as "Duncan was a 5 playing the 4", any team in the league could've done the same thing. He probably would've been equally effective at the 5 spot. At 4, he has a size/leverage advantage, and at 5, he would've had a massive skill advantage. And at any position, he's one of the smartest in the game. Very few players I any generation, that can bring what he does to the table.
 
gspieler said:
Great player, but too much flash and not enough substance, to be considered in the all-time discussion.
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Yeah just thought I'd throw his name in the hat. Filled up the box scores from top to bottom but was still considered soft. Should have had a championship in 02 though.
 
faustian said:
Ranking the PFs is always weird because at the top you have Duncan who was a C masquerading as a PF. Of course he had a yuge defensive advantage over the other legit PFs

Anyways, my top 5 based on career:

1. Duncan
2. Malone
3. Barkley
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

My top 5 based on primes:

1. Duncan
1. Barkley
3. Malone
4. Nowitzki
5. Garnett

It's worth noting that Barkley is one of the game's most underrated legends imo. If Phoenix doesn't lose two heartbreaking game 7s to Olajuwon's Rockets then there's a very good chance Barkley has two rings. If Kevin Johnson doesn't miss 33 games in '93, there's a very good chance MVP Barkley's 62-20 Suns challenge for 70+ wins. Imagine where people would be ranking him all-time had any of this occurred
Click to expand...
What about ya boy and 3x NBA champion Udonis Haslem?
 
faust keeps ducking 24th best PF Los Booz.
 
Duncan
Malone
KG
McHale
Barkley

in that order.
If McHale wasn't on a team with Larry Bird and Robert Parish, his stats would have been ridiculous. Same is true for Chief.
 
iwhoopedbatman said:
Offensively, he was better than Duncan. Duncan was never an overly dominant offensive force. He was just top tier at every aspect of the game for a big man. The difference between them defensively is much, much larger than Barkley's advantage on the offensive end though. Duncan was the only player who could reasonably defend Shaq 1-on-1 and he could still defend against the smaller, quicker PFs.
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Great point.

Barkley's unstoppable-ness on offense sets him apart, IMO. Duncan, Malone nor Garnett could take over a quarter and drop 18 points while handling the ball from the top of the key, driving, posting, and taking it coast to coast from a defensive rebound like Chuck did.

Malone's numbers are better but Barkley was far more skilled and clutch.
 
Dirk had a bigger influence on offenses than Barkley did.
 
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