Adrian Dantley's 7 year run (1980-1986). 29.6 ppg on 56%

[ClipperRevival]

To go with .632 TS%. That's some serious production over a 7 year stretch that few have ever matched. I was a little too young to appreciate his work during this time but describe his offensive game for those of you that saw him. I know he didn't do much of anything else but score and he supposedly had personality conflicts but his 7 year stretch is unbelievable.

[Marchesk]

That's quite a run. Also,

In the 1988 finals, he led the Pistons in scoring:

21.3 on 57.3%

[kennethgriffin]

for people that actually watched his impact on the floor. he was a cancer/a negative with empty stats


detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champs

[ClipperRevival]

Even more surprising is during this stretch, he averaged only 19.0 fg attempts per game. So every night, for 7 years, he gave you close to 30 ppg, on 19 attempts with a 56% fg pct. So he was incredibly efficient and wasn't chucking up shots all over the place.

[warriorfan]

for people that actually watched his impact on the floor. he was a cancer/a negative with empty stats


detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champs


this is true, detroits offenses sucked even with his amazing production, detroit started winning as soon as he was dealt, empty stats

[Rocketswin2013]

He had a higher Free throw rate than even James Harden at his highest.

[kennethgriffin]

this is true, detroits offenses sucked even with his amazing production, detroit started winning as soon as he was dealt, empty stats


the stat geek analytic department will turn dantley into a modern day saint

its amazing how different players are perceived when you actually sit down and watch a game vs the box score 30 years after the fact



why do people think it took so long to get him into the hall of fame

[inclinerator]

wasnt he a blackhole

[ClipperRevival]

for people that actually watched his impact on the floor. he was a cancer/a negative with empty stats


detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champs

Yeah, that's why I mentioned his personality issue. But I am mostly discussing his stats. But the Detroit issue could all be a moot point had Detroit won in 1988, which they very well might have had Isiah not gotten hurt in game 6. But yeah, everyone knew him and Isiah didn't get along.

[ClipperRevival]

the stat geek analytic department will turn dantley into a modern day saint

its amazing how different players are perceived when you actually sit down and watch a game vs the box score 30 years after the fact



why do people think it took so long to get him into the hall of fame

Well yeah, stats aren't the be all, end all. Some guys can put up empty stats while some guys might impact the game much more than their stats suggest. But like I said, this is purely an observation of his stats, which is very impressive, even if they were Melo type, empty stats.

[warriorfan]

wasnt he a blackhole

yes


blackhole

didn't provide spacing

ate up long periods of the shot clock

poor defender




the stat geek analytic department will turn dantley into a modern day saint

its amazing how different players are perceived when you actually sit down and watch a game vs the box score 30 years after the fact



why do people think it took so long to get him into the hall of fame


yea, this guy should be the poster child for the advanced stat geeks about how just scoring efficient points doesn't make you a game changer




Well yeah, stats aren't the be all, end all. Some guys can put up empty stats while some guys might impact the game much more than their stats suggest. But like I said, this is purely an observation of his stats, which is very impressive, even if they were Melo type, empty stats.


he was a savvy player, he didnt beat you with his athleticism he had tons of moves and fakes with his post game and knew what spots to be on the floor and when. unfortunately it never translated into team success

[LiLharvard]

Stats aside and retarded posts aside.

Dantley is a Great human



Proof

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DR55RSpLRQ

[Jacks3]

You know how LBJ has dominated during this post-season despite the terrible efficiency numbers? Dantley was the exact opposite. Dude is the perfect example of the box-score being deceiving and the value of individual efficiency being overrated.

[ClipperRevival]

Stats aside and retarded posts aside.

Dantley is a Great human



Proof

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DR55RSpLRQ

Wow. He was born 30 years too early. He wouldn't need to do that if he was playing today.

[Fawker]

a lot of flukey things before the kobe, lebron , modern era. nothing matters before them.

[ClipperRevival]

A lot of you guys bashing the guy. And I agree that some players can put up empty stats. Like if you get yours at the expense of the offense instead of within the flow of the offense, you can hurt the team. But just looking purely at the numbers, how can you not be somewhat impresssed? The guy was 6'5" and 210 lbs and wasn't blessed with great athleticism. For him to put up the numbers he did, it's still impressive, even if they might've been empty stats. Because he did it at the highest level in the modern era. Nothing is give to you.

[Round Mound]

Best Scoring SF of All Time.

[Shep]

- Missed the playoffs 4 of those 7 years.

- 1 of those years he missed 75% of the season.

- Only managed to be Utah's 3rd best player in the 1985 post season, and 2nd best overall.

- Second best player on 1986 Jazz team.

- Highest positional rank in those 7 years was top 4 small forward (once)

[Young X]

for people that actually watched his impact on the floor. he was a cancer/a negative with empty stats


detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champsHe was one phantom foul away from winning a ring with the Pistons.

Alot of what's being said about him is true but the Pistons were still the best team in the east with him on their roster. They did him dirty.

[KevinNYC]

this is true, detroits offenses sucked even with his amazing production, detroit started winning as soon as he was dealt, empty stats

No, Detroit's offense didn't suck with Dantley, it just got even better without him. They went to the NBA finals with him. However, he was a one on one player (among the very, very best ever in the NBA) and trading Dantley helped their offensive flow (http://ascreamingcomesacrossthecourt.blogspot.com/2013/08/amazing-individual-scoring-losing.html), even with Aguirre scoring less. With Dantley other guys were standing around while Dantley backed his man down and when he did pass it was usually because he couldn't get his shot off and it was late in the shot clock. Chuck Daley hated this so they traded him and without him they went on a tear.

In the 42 games with Dantley, the Pistons won 30 games with an adjusted point differential of +4.5. In the 40 regular season games without him, they were 33-7 and their point differential ballooned to +7.6, which indicates a strong title contender. Their defense tightened up, dropping 0.8 efficiency points, but it was their offense that took off: from a rating of 108.5 to 113.2 (for reference, the Lakers led the league with a 113.8 offensive rating with one of the greatest offensive teams ever.) If you include the playoffs, the results only improve

Including playoffs, they went 44 and 6 after the trade. The Pistons had plenty of guys who could score, they had the luxury of trading Dantley. Also they had a guy coming off the bench called Rodman who could get more time with Dantley out.

[warriorfan]

Don't get me wrong. He was a good player and I do appreciate his game. It's when your stats are so good you are going to get compared to the greats and his overall game doesn't stack up. He was a fine player who's statistical output was greater than his on court impact.

[ClipperRevival]

He was one phantom foul away from winning a ring with the Pistons.

Alot of what's being said about him is true but the Pistons were still the best team in the east with him on their roster. They did him dirty.

Isiah and Dumars both admitted in the 30 for 30 doc that he was exactly what they needed when they traded for him. Meaning a guy who you can just throw the ball too to get you a basket.

Now down the line, when it was evident that Isiah and Dantley wasn't getting along, he might've hurt team morale but to suggest that he was purely a cancer in Detroit is unfair because Detroit could've easily won in 1988. From Isiah's injury to the phantom foul call in game 7.

[ClipperRevival]

Don't get me wrong. He was a good player and I do appreciate his game. It's when your stats are so good you are going to get compared to the greats and his overall game doesn't stack up. He was a fine player who's statistical output was greater than his on court impact.

And I think that is exactly why he isn't mentioned in the same sentence with the true legends of the game despite putting up all time great offensive numbers. History is judging him accordingly. He is like Melo of that era. Great, individual talent but might've gotten his at the expense of the offense and wasn't able to elevate the level of his teammates. But still, purely from an offensive standpoint, his achievements should still be appreciated because few in history surpassed what he did in his prime.

[Marchesk]

detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champs

Losing to a healthy Lakers team in a close 7 game series versus beating up a banged up Lakers team in 4 the next season. :confusedshrug:

[Xiao Yao You]

He's getting a bad rap. Detroit probably wins still if they don't trade him. The Jazz were coming off a 30 win season when he took them to their first playoff ever with a 45 win division title season. That started a playoff streak that didn't end until Stockton retired and Malone chased a ring.

He's arguably the best low post scorer inch for inch ever. One of the best ever at drawing fouls. He could stick the 20 footer if you layed off him. If you guarded him he could take you off the dribble. He hit the offensive glass. Could pass out of double teams.

[aj1987]

Best Scoring SF of All Time.
LeBron, Dominique, and Bird >.

LeBron has like 1,700 more points than him in 45 fewer games.

[Jacks3]

And I think that is exactly why he isn't mentioned in the same sentence with the true legends of the game despite putting up all time great offensive numbers. History is judging him accordingly. He is like Melo of that era. Great, individual talent but might've gotten his at the expense of the offense and wasn't able to elevate the level of his teammates. But still, purely from an offensive standpoint, his achievements should still be appreciated because few in history surpassed what he did in his prime.

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Melo is a guy with very strong offensive +/- numbers, which means he's very much having big positive impact. He's played on several elite offenses and a bunch of very good ones. In fact, during his best season (2013), he anchored the 3rd best offense in the entire league. A offense that might have been the best in basketball from a passing and ball movement standpoint. He's a much better off-ball player than Dantley ever was, a much better shooter, a better passer, and he makes his moves with greater quickness and decisiveness. He's nothing like Dantley.

[KevinNYC]

There's a concept in business systems that you don't want to maximize one part of a system at the expense of the whole. Andrian Dantley may be an example of that. Dude was an unbelievably efficient scorer. Lifetime TS% is .617 with two seaons above .650. However, when he passed it was usually late in the shot clock and resulted in a rushed shot. There was also tension in the Detroit locker room with him. The next time he played Detroit he went up to Isiah and whisper "I know you traded me, asshole."

Aguirre was also a volume scorer, but he didn't play that role in Detroit and he won two rings.

The coach and GM felt, yes, we took LA to seven games, but by the middle of the season they weren't getting better.

[ClipperRevival]

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Melo is a guy with very strong offensive +/- numbers, which means he's very much having big positive impact. He's played on several elite offenses and a bunch of very good ones. In fact, during his best season (2013), he anchored the 3rd best offense in the entire league. A offense that might have been the best in basketball from a passing and ball movement standpoint. He's a much better off-ball player than Dantley ever was, a much better shooter, a better passer, and he makes his moves with greater quickness and decisiveness. He's nothing like Dantley.

To me, they are two of the top ball stoppers in history. They were great individual scorers but they both had a rap for stopping the flow of the offense based on how they got their points (on iso). You can say whatever you want about what Melo did better than Dantley but if we are going strictly by the numbers, Dantley was right there with Melo at his peak. Heck, Melo never had a 7 year run like Dantley.

So I really don't know what your point is. Are you denying that Melo wasn't a ball stopper?

[ClipperRevival]

LeBron, Dominique, and Bird >.

LeBron has like 1,700 more points than him in 45 fewer games.

Other guys you can put in the conversation: Baylor, Durant, Gervin, Melo, and Barry.

[warriorfan]

just for the record I thought your dantley:melo comparison was pretty good...neither melo nor dantley stans (is this even a thing) should get mad

[swagga]

LeBron, Dominique, and Bird >.

LeBron has like 1,700 more points than him in 45 fewer games.

arguing with round mound :roll:

[swagga]

Best Scoring SF of All Time.

he wasn't even the best scoring SF in his conference, not even ONCE :roll:

http://hepsi10numara.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/larry-bird.jpg
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0902/unc.historical.photos/images/001303662.jpg

[aj1987]

Other guys you can put in the conversation: Baylor, Durant, Gervin, Melo, and Barry.
Baylor: Sure, but he played in an era with a ultra high pace. Something like 125? He's top 5 for sure though.

Durant: Dude's a monster. He has everything except a post game (which I'm sure he'll add to his arsenal). He needs more longevity before being ranked above the others as a scorer though. He has had only 5 seasons as an elite scorer. Another season or 2 and he'll be right there with Bird and LeBron.

Gervin: :facepalm Totally forgot about him.

Melo: He's not as good as the other. I'd rank him a tier below them.

Barry: Again, higher pacerd era. Still an amazing scorer and is definitely in the conversation.

How would you rank all these guys in terms of raw scoring?

[ClipperRevival]

Baylor: Sure, but he played in an era with a ultra high pace. Something like 125? He's top 5 for sure though.

Durant: Dude's a monster. He has everything except a post game (which I'm sure he'll add to his arsenal). He needs more longevity before being ranked above the others as a scorer though. He has had only 5 seasons as an elite scorer. Another season or 2 and he'll be right there with Bird and LeBron.

Gervin: :facepalm Totally forgot about him.

Melo: He's not as good as the other. I'd rank him a tier below them.

Barry: Again, higher pacerd era. Still an amazing scorer and is definitely in the conversation.

How would you rank all these guys in terms of raw scoring?

That is what I was sort of doing. Just mentioning the top scorers ever at SF. As for actually ranking them, it's tough to say who was better than another, especially when it comes to scoring because at their peaks, all of the guys mentioned reached heights that their peers couldn't reach.

You might also throw Bernard King in that discussion in terms of peak scoring.

[TiagoSimoes]

Other guys you can put in the conversation: Baylor, Durant, Gervin, Melo, and Barry.

Durant is easily on lebron and bird scoring level. those are the top 3 for me, dantley is prolly 4th

[JohnnySic]

Other guys you can put in the conversation: Baylor, Durant, Gervin, Melo, and Barry.
Also Bernard King.

[swagga]

Durant is easily on lebron and bird scoring level. those are the top 3 for me, dantley is prolly 4th

the difference between them is lebron and bird are GOAT offensive players with their scoring+playmaking+possession control while durant and dantley are just efficient scorers, they can get assists but can't be playmakers. Durant and dantley don't know shit about possession control, how to set the pace of the team, or leadership. They are just great scorers and stats guys.

In reality teams truly build around great offensive players, not great scorers.

There are a lot of great scorers, but few of them are great offensive players. This is something pretty hard to grasp for all these wilt(playoffs!)/barkley/westbrook/kobe/ai/durant/curry/harden/melo/cousins/etc stans. On the other hand jordan/magic/lebron/bird/duncan/kaj, that's real talk.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Regarding Dantley...

-he's simply one of the GOAT scorers;

-he was only 6'5 but very strong, bulk and a beast in the post, the best SF at scoring from there, and one of the best all-time at it (regardless of position);

-he had terrific soft-touch around the rim and major footwork, not much range but would knock down plenty of mid-range jumpers if you gave him the space to prevent closer attempts;

-he'd pump fake you to death and was amazing at using angles and his body to get points, just great at moving without the ball for himself too, big-time finisher in the paint;

-he's one of the greatest ever at getting to the FT line, and shot them at a high rate.

But, with that said...

-he gave 0 ****s about defense for the most part of his career;

-he was mostly a poor teammate on and off the court (you see stuff like him yelling at young Stockton on a play that John made no wrong):

-he had some passing skills but was a ball-stopper, a ball-hog who wasted lots of shot-clock time;

-most of the time he gave effort into rebounding was to get buckets off of putbacks and such, he should've worked harder on the defensive glass many times.

When he was starting to change, giving considerably more effort on defense (a good post-defender too), moving the ball more, giving up his own shots for team purposes, becoming a better role model for younger guys, so on... Isiah and the Pistons did him dirty; traded when they almost won a title with him.
But also got to be said that he was still complaining about stuff like Rodman getting more minutes and such; and Mark Aguirre was a better fit with the Bad Boys, as he got more within team concept, better to spread the floor, more unselfish and a better passer, hustled more...

[ClipperRevival]

Regarding Dantley...

-he's simply one of the GOAT scorers;

-he was only 6'5 but very strong, bulk and a beast in the post, the best SF at scoring from there, and one of the best all-time at it (regardless of position);

-he had terrific soft-touch around the rim and major footwork, not much range but would knock down plenty of mid-range jumpers if you gave him the space to prevent closer attempts;

-he'd pump fake you to death and was amazing at using angles and his body to get points, just great at moving without the ball for himself too, big-time finisher in the paint;

-he's one of the greatest ever at getting to the FT line, and shot them at a high rate.

But, with that said...

-he gave 0 ****s about defense for the most part of his career;

-he was mostly a poor teammate on and off the court (you see stuff like him yelling at young Stockton on a play that John made no wrong):

-he had some passing skills but was a ball-stopper, a ball-hog who wasted lots of shot-clock time;

-most of the time he gave effort into rebounding was to get buckets off of putbacks and such, he should've worked harder on the defensive glass many times.

When he was starting to change, giving considerably more effort on defense (a good post-defender too), moving the ball more, giving up his own shots for team purposes, becoming a better role model for younger guys, so on... Isiah and the Pistons did him dirty; traded when they almost won a title with him.
But also got to be said that he was still complaining about stuff like Rodman getting more minutes and such; and Mark Aguirre was a better fit with the Bad Boys, as he got more within team concept, better to spread the floor, more unselfish and a better passer, hustled more...


This is the type of response I was looking for. Thanks.

And also, there was that one time when Dantley refused to come out late in the game when Daly wanted Rodman in for defensive purposes. That was sort of the last straw. Aguirre, on the other hand, gladly took his demotion to the bench to let Rodman start.

[SHAQisGOAT]

In terms of scoring only, considering peaks, I feel only Bird and King are above AD - from those days ofc, because throughout history you got (only) a few more.

English, Dr J, Aguirre and Worthy were below imo... Feel like Adrian gets the slight edge over Nique.

Obviously that, as overall players, I'd take Julius, Wilkins, Worthy and maybe even Alex over Dantley. Larry and Bernard the same, ofc. Think I wouldn't say the same for Mark though.

(considering primes)

Don't get me wrong, AD was a certified baller, simply a beast of a scorer... but he had many "things" going on against him too, to his detriment overall.

Also gotta be said that everybody always praised his work ethic, dude worked his ass off to become the type of scorer he was and such... Obviously that he should've worked on other aspects too...

[KG215]

the difference between them is lebron and bird are GOAT offensive players with their scoring+playmaking+possession control while durant and dantley are just efficient scorers, they can get assists but can't be playmakers. Durant and dantley don't know shit about possession control, how to set the pace of the team, or leadership. They are just great scorers and stats guys.

In reality teams truly build around great offensive players, not great scorers.

There are a lot of great scorers, but few of them are great offensive players. This is something pretty hard to grasp for all these wilt(playoffs!)/barkley/westbrook/kobe/ai/durant/curry/harden/melo/cousins/etc stans. On the other hand jordan/magic/lebron/bird/duncan/kaj, that's real talk.
There's a whole lotta stupid in this post.

[LosBulls]

Wow. He was born 30 years too early. He wouldn't need to do that if he was playing today.
He does it because he wants to, not because he needs money. He still gets NBA Pension.

[SHAQisGOAT]

This is the type of response I was looking for. Thanks.

And also, there was that one time when Dantley refused to come out late in the game when Daly wanted Rodman in for defensive purposes. That was sort of the last straw. Aguirre, on the other hand, gladly took his demotion to the bench to let Rodman start.

Yea...

YT got some footage of him, also...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakNTHyztuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVJ3X3BSfRc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdO_3iW5QAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmpDpEmMEFo (King, Worthy and McHale too)

Can see his very methodical game, and tremendous scoring capabilities.

[SHAQisGOAT]

This is the type of response I was looking for. Thanks.

And also, there was that one time when Dantley refused to come out late in the game when Daly wanted Rodman in for defensive purposes. That was sort of the last straw. Aguirre, on the other hand, gladly took his demotion to the bench to let Rodman start.

On the other hand, also watch how AD couldn't care less about getting back on D after he gets his shot-blocked (seemed upset with it too)... Then just shoves young John Stockton, his teammate, for no apparent reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaDDgqHuD-I&t=13m7s

[ClipperRevival]

Yea...

YT got some footage of him, also...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakNTHyztuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVJ3X3BSfRc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdO_3iW5QAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmpDpEmMEFo (King, Worthy and McHale too)

Can see his very methodical game, and tremendous scoring capabilities.

I don't care if he put up empty stats or if he was a ball stopper. To do what he did at this level, he was special. Nothing is given to you at this level. You have to earn everything. Add in the fact that he was only 6'5" and lacked elite athleticism and that just meant he had to use his basketball skills to score. No easy stuff like Westbrook or D-Rose gets off transition.

[aj1987]

Shaq, mind ranking these players in terms of PURE scoring? Nothing else. Bird, Dantley, LeBron, Nique, Baylor, KD, Melo, King, Gervin, and Barry.

[The Iron Sheik]

he was a guy who, if you gave him the ball on his spot, he would get you big scoring numbers. he was mostly a 18ft and in guy, and could get to the line at will. he was like a bernard king in that respect of just being unstoppable once in his spot, although he was a probably a bit more polished than king.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Shaq, mind ranking these players in terms of PURE scoring? Nothing else. Bird, Dantley, LeBron, Nique, Baylor, KD, Melo, King, Gervin, and Barry.

Hmm... Gets pretty subjective, especially since you got there dudes that were much more than just scoring, players that would look a lot to keep teammates involved and whatnot, players that also put effort on defense and/or on the boards... But you also got others (like AD) who would exert most of the effort onto scoring, even if they were amazing at it - which Dantley certainly was.

^Keeping that in mind, considering peaks, scoring versatily and capability of doing it against the best defenses (mostly post-season)... I wouldn't even have Dantley top5 on that list, despite how amazed you'd be by looking at his stats...
AD would be along the middle of the pack there probably but, like I've said, it's very difficult to tell exactly. All of them are terrific scorers.

[jayfan]

for people that actually watched his impact on the floor. he was a cancer/a negative with empty stats


detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champs

Umm, they went to game 7 of the NBA Finals with him.



.

[Pointguard]

Regarding Dantley...

-he's simply one of the GOAT scorers;

-he was only 6'5 but very strong, bulk and a beast in the post, the best SF at scoring from there, and one of the best all-time at it (regardless of position);

-he had terrific soft-touch around the rim and major footwork, not much range but would knock down plenty of mid-range jumpers if you gave him the space to prevent closer attempts;

-he'd pump fake you to death and was amazing at using angles and his body to get points, just great at moving without the ball for himself too, big-time finisher in the paint;

-he's one of the greatest ever at getting to the FT line, and shot them at a high rate.

But, with that said...

-he gave 0 ****s about defense for the most part of his career;

-he was mostly a poor teammate on and off the court (you see stuff like him yelling at young Stockton on a play that John made no wrong):

-he had some passing skills but was a ball-stopper, a ball-hog who wasted lots of shot-clock time;

-most of the time he gave effort into rebounding was to get buckets off of putbacks and such, he should've worked harder on the defensive glass many times.

When he was starting to change, giving considerably more effort on defense (a good post-defender too), moving the ball more, giving up his own shots for team purposes, becoming a better role model for younger guys, so on... Isiah and the Pistons did him dirty; traded when they almost won a title with him.
But also got to be said that he was still complaining about stuff like Rodman getting more minutes and such; and Mark Aguirre was a better fit with the Bad Boys, as he got more within team concept, better to spread the floor, more unselfish and a better passer, hustled more...

This is solid.

I will add that Dantley dissected defenders in a way you would rarely see. He had counter moves that made defenders questioned their feet. He ruined defenders timing and made them get heavy feet. They would jump late, or early. and foul him in a clumsy way. Being that he wasn't fast, quick or a leaper his mechanics were a joy to watch. McHale tried giving him space so that Dantley couldn't put his body on him (Dantley would feel which way his defender's body was weak) and use his considerable length. Dantley was still able to give McHale lead feet and just go around him.

But his dissection would take time and never seemed to be a very integrated into the other player's strengths. His focus seemed to be his and not the teams.

Bernard King was his opposite despite being crazy efficient as well, along with not relying on athleticism. There was no dissection with King. He got the ball and attacked quick. Rarely dribbled more than three times.

[SHAQisGOAT]

This is solid.

I will add that Dantley dissected defenders in a way you would rarely see. He had counter moves that made defenders questioned their feet. He ruined defenders timing and made them get heavy feet. They would jump late, or early. and foul him in a clumsy way. Being that he wasn't fast, quick or a leaper his mechanics were a joy to watch. McHale tried giving him space so that Dantley couldn't put his body on him (Dantley would feel which way his defender's body was weak) and use his considerable length. Dantley was still able to give McHale lead feet and just go around him.

But his dissection would take time and never seemed to be a very integrated into the other player's strengths. His focus seemed to be his and not the teams.

Bernard King was his opposite despite being crazy efficient as well, along with not relying on athleticism. There was no dissection with King. He got the ball and attacked quick. Rarely dribbled more than three times.

I agree. AD was very methodical doing his thing, his scoring skills, the methods he used to get the ball through the hoop were really honed in and tremendous in his own way, very smart and adpted quickly to opponents' ways of playing him.

I also agree with the part about Bernard King, except for the fact about him not relying on athleticism much at all... Pre-injuries King was a very good, and underrated nowadays, athlete, relied on it considerably too. He used to get plenty of buckets in transition where he could build a great head of steam (Hubie, who coached him, mentions that part of his game plenty), keeping the ball under control and good enough to make it happen at the end, he was also a pretty explosive player, and could finish hard at the rim, even with some powerful dunks at times.
Also got the fact that he relied plenty on his great strength and bulk physique (similar to AD even).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhFidxhezHA&t=1m33s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmpDpEmMEFo&t=1m30s (great putback dunk)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7pPCCXVQuM&t=0m26s

Ofc, that after the injury he couldn't do those same things, and had to rely on athleticism much less... But he definitely had the skill and game for that, took away from his game obviously, but he didn't need to adjust much.

[ProfessorMurder]

Umm, they went to game 7 of the NBA Finals with him.

And arguably should've won :oldlol:


Dantley was a monster, and I'd gladly take him on almost any team. He'd tear it up today.