Does D12 have the up-side to be a Bill Russell?

Or is he more of a Greg Oden with better offensive skills? although he does lack inside offense I think it should be interesting to see what kind of player he blossoms into he still has 2-years left until he hits his prime.

Maybe a filter that doesn't allow anyone with under 50 posts to make a thread?

how do we compare him to a Greg Oden when he never played a full season?

While the post isn't great...

I think he does actually. He has the defensive instincts that a Bill Russell had, just not the defensive smarts. He still spikes the ball. Stop spiking it and just control the ball. Give your team an extra possession. Russell also spent hours and hours analyzing his opponents, analyzing the floor, analyzing his players.

I think Howard has the ability, but maybe not the brain power and competitive instinct that Russell had.

Sure, but only if he has the desire. You have to have huge heart and be able to sacrifice everything if you want to be a player like Russell. He was the leader of his team and he put it all on the line. I'm not sure Dwight is that kind of guy. I haven't seen that from him. With Russell it was about the willingness to do anything to win and to give your all more than skills or athleticism, per se. No one has anywhere near as many rings as him so that kind of speaks volumes. D12 has none yet. We'll see.

The difference between the average player and great players in the NBA has little if anything to do with natural ability. It is mental approach, dedication and learning ability..... That's why guys like Larry Bird and Bill Russell are all time greats and guys like Bill Willoughby and Michael Ray Richardson aren't.....

Howard has impressed me over the years as a guy that's satisfied with his current level of success and he seems to treat Basketball as his daytime job..... compare that to a guy like Kobe that lives, eats and breathes the game with every fiber of his being... Russell was a lot like that as well.

Now before I get accused yet again of being a Howard basher.... His approach is better than most in this game currently..... just not at the dedication level of a guy like Russell.

Bill Russell was a genius. I don't think Howard has that in him.

Athletically, Howard is absolutely amazing. But after. Nearly a decade in the league he has a rudimentary post game and lacks fundamentals like dribbling and FT shooting. He is what Oden dreamt of being: Ben Wallace with better offense. That's pretty darn good, btw.

What? Oden was compared to Bill Russell when he came out of Ohio, he was not compared to Ben wallace at any sort.

Ben Wallace was a pretty good rebounder / shot blocker but besides that he did nothing that a guy like Sacre can't do..... so if D12 is Ben with better offense then we might as well build this team around someone else.

overtherainbow wrote:What? Oden was compared to Bill Russell when he came out of Ohio, he was not compared to Ben wallace at any sort.

Ben Wallace was a pretty good rebounder / shot blocker but besides that he did nothing that a guy like Sacre can't do..... so if D12 is Ben with better offense then we might as well build this team around someone else.

You've been banned at least twice. Nice try with a make nice thread.

http://m.bkref.com/m?p=XXplayersXXwXXwa ... .html&t=11
Four ASGs, four DPOY, etc. for Ben. Sacre?