Anthony Edwards last 3 games - 18.7 on 29.8% - MJ was never that bad

[3ba11]

That's worse than Lebron's worst of 21 on 34% for the last 3 games of the 2010 ECSF, or 22 on 35% for the 07' Finals, or 18 ppg for the 2011 Finals.

Jordan's worst wasn't as bad as these guys.

Jordan's worst was 24 on 45% for the last 3 games of the 89' ECF, or 30 on 39% for the 97' ECF, or 24 on 37% in garbage time after the 96' Finals was already won (last 3 games).. He never had a "bad" series based on what would constitute "bad" for everyone else.

[ImKobe]

He's done a good job to not let the bad shooting affect his rebounding/defense & playmaking. He's still putting up 19/8/7 with just 2 turnovers per game in this stretch. Jordan in games 4-6 in the 1996 Finals averaged 23.7 ppg 36.7%FG which is not quite as bad, but he did far less in terms of rebounding & playmaking and he had almost twice as many turnovers.

The eras are different though & he should be doing better than that while being in his athletic prime vs. these Mavs. There's no Gary Payton going at him on the other end, he's just struggling to shoot the J and hasn't adjusted his scoring game enough. He should be looking to attack the rim more.

[Phoenix]

From what I see he's not as aggressive attacking the rim as say, peak Wade, and his jumper isn't falling he doesn't have much to push him to his typical averages. Wade was generally shiftier off the dribble and was definitely quicker in general.

[LeGoat4Life]

Ant is closer to Lebron than he is to MJ

Ant stats are similar to Lebron around the same age - shooting bricks and hoping his teammate to bail him out

[tpols]

And they lost by 1 point. If MJ was on the wolves it would've been 2-0 by double digit blow out margin.

Kobe or Wade too. Even with Iverson 30 on 39% shooting it'd be an easy 2-0.

[j3lademaster]

Well, he is only 22 so the inconsistency is to be expected. It almost seems like he was much looser against Denver because they ere playing with house money, no expectations. You lose, then you lost to the defending champs. Now, you have real expectations going into the series and the ball and your feet feel heavier.

[Da_Realist]

That's worse than Lebron's worst of 21 on 34% for the last 3 games of the 2010 ECSF, or 22 on 35% for the 07' Finals, or 18 ppg for the 2011 Finals.

Jordan's worst wasn't as bad as these guys.

Jordan's worst was 24 on 45% for the last 3 games of the 89' ECF, or 30 on 39% for the 97' ECF, or 24 on 37% in garbage time after the 96' Finals was already won (last 3 games).. He never had a "bad" series based on what would constitute "bad" for everyone else.

You really don't need to prove this every night. It would take a whole career to see if someone is MJ's equal. Even if there is someone that looks to be on his level for a season or 3 or 5, it still wouldn't mean he is MJ's equal. MJ answered all questions. Was in every possible scenario, faced all the defenses, won as the challenger, won as the champion, overcame all obstacles, exceeded everyone's expectations, dominated a decade and even made grandmothers leave the kitchen to watch him play. Whoever is legitimately compared to MJ will need to answer questions that will take a career to present themselves. Anything before that is just talk.

[3ba11]

He's done a good job to not let the bad shooting affect his rebounding/defense & playmaking. He's still putting up 19/8/7 with just 2 turnovers per game in this stretch. Jordan in games 4-6 in the 1996 Finals averaged 23.7 ppg 36.7%FG which is not quite as bad, but he did far less in terms of rebounding & playmaking and he had almost twice as many turnovers.

The eras are different though & he should be doing better than that while being in his athletic prime vs. these Mavs. There's no Gary Payton going at him on the other end, he's just struggling to shoot the J and hasn't adjusted his scoring game enough. He should be looking to attack the rim more.

Jordan's 23.7 on 36.7% was in garbage time, while like Ant's 19 on 29.8% is in the series-deciding time, such as Game 7 of last series or the first 2 of this series.

Night and day.

People forget that Jordan had an all-time game in Game 3 of the 96' Finals with 36 points to clinch the series - this was the most important game of the Finals because if the Sonics win that game, it's a 2-1 series and anyone's game.. The Sonics could've gained confidence a little earlier in the series, whereas Jordan's 36 points put them to bed...

And 36 was a lot in that series, and Jordan achieved it completely within the offense - it was like Paxson getting 36 points in the Finals and leading the team, except it was just Jordan being Jordan (finding a way to dominate while everyone else also gets theirs).

So Jordan's 23.7 after that in garbage time cannot be compared to Ant's 19 on 29.8% in critical game-deciding time.. The only time MJ "wet the bed" in series-deciding time was the last 3 games of the 89' Finals with 24 on 45%, except Pippen didn't play in Game 6 (his original 'migraine' that cost Collins his job)...

Ultimately, the Wolves would prefer that Ant put up Jordan's worst of 24 on 40% or whatever than get "all-round' numbers but only 19 on 30%.. The Wolves need his 1st option scoring punch, while role players are supposed to do the rebounding, passing and defense.. It's part of learning to win is learning to properly delegate various tasks, but the only category that cannot be delegated is 1st option scoring - the 1st option MUST score except for the occasional one-off... Three straight worst-ever games is unacceptable.. AND he says he's tired?... So how are does that compare to Jordan?... No stamina?... So how could you be scoring champ + DPOY with no stamina?... Case closed.

[3ba11]

.
On the last possession last night when Ant turned it over - why not raise up like MJ's shot over Ehlo, which is similar to this shot;

That's the kind of shot that Ant doesn't have - he actually can't pull-up on a dime off a hard-dribble, at least not that well

He hits a mid-range once in a while, but it's nearly always a step-back and he only shoots 35% on mid-range overall - his handle isn't polished enough to have a great pull-up off a hard dribble and he's ultimately too short to have an all-time driving capability because he doesn't try to get to the rim in one dribble... He usually takes a bunch of baby steps and extra dribbles, which hurts his rim attack and pull-up game compared to MJ

[SouBeachTalents]

I see OP is off to a boisterous start with his Memorial Day weekend.

[r0drig0lac]

Is Ant not as good as MJ? shocking

[3ba11]

I see OP is off to a boisterous start with his Memorial Day weekend.

Luka vs Tatum in the Finals, aka Lebron who?... I guarantee that any Luka ring will look more bad ass than a Lebron chip - he'll almost certainly have a game-winner in the Finals unlike Lebron... It won't be long before most people talk about Lebron as top 5 or 10 instead of top 2

[Phoenix]

Luka vs Tatum in the Finals, aka Lebron who?... I guarantee that any Luka ring will look more bad ass than a Lebron chip - he'll almost certainly have a game-winner in the Finals unlike Lebron... It won't be long before most people talk about Lebron as top 5 or 10 instead of top 2

You've spent the last few years shitting on Luka for being ball-dominant. We have the receipts. So pretty soon we can expect a complete about-face the same way you went from Curry being the most overrated ever to top 10 in a 2 month span.

You're full of shit.

[NBAGOAT]

Luka vs Tatum in the Finals, aka Lebron who?... I guarantee that any Luka ring will look more bad ass than a Lebron chip - he'll almost certainly have a game-winner in the Finals unlike Lebron... It won't be long before most people talk about Lebron as top 5 or 10 instead of top 2

I can just picture you saying Luka won without stacking the deck in July when he has the same sidekick as lebron lol

[gengiskhan]

.
On the last possession last night when Ant turned it over - why not raise up like MJ's shot over Ehlo, which is similar to this shot;




That's the kind of shot that Ant doesn't have - he actually can't pull-up on a dime off a hard-dribble, at least not that well

what baffles me is ANT has a perfect turnaround and fadeaway jumpshot. even contested hard, he is nailing that fadeaway off the bank too.

how does he not have much simpler pull-up Jumper and cannot pull-up on the dime. going atleast to his dominant right hand is alarming.

Even a non-athlete like Pacers McConnell goes to his dominant right and pulls up after hard dribble so perfectly. Some thing a true athlete like ANT does not have. He always calls for the screen to set him up.

thanks to 3 point contest both ways. the art and beauty of a mid range game dead now.