Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
Grew up watching these cats play. In order: Pip, Penny, Hill. Pip def the best. Penny had the most hype going forward with all the Sprite and shoe commercials and it was warranted. Guys footwork and ability to get difficult shots off was something to watch. Always felt Hill to be a little overrated. Magic with Shaq and Penny was scary. But Pip easily the most dominant between the 3.
Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
Quote:
Originally Posted by KOBE143
1. Scottie Pippen - far the the better defender among the three and slightly better offensively
2. Penny Hardaway - top 5 player in the late 90s, consider to be the next Jordan.. Cant believe Shaq cant win a chip with this player..
3. Grant Hill - almost equal to Penny but always failed to advance in the first round.. He's the Tmac of the 90s..
1. Pippen wasn't better offensively than either, despite the similar peak scoring numbers. Penny out of the three probably had the best pure scoring skills and, had he played out his prime as a shooting guard without the injuries, easily had 27-30 ppg potential if he focused more on scoring and less on playing a facilitator role.
2. Penny's knees were more or less shot by late 90s, he peaked in mid 90s. 96 Penny was the best we ever saw from him.
Last edited by Dragonyeuw : 10-14-2012 at 08:25 AM.
Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
Penny had a better peak. And if he wasnt riddled with the injury bug for most of his career he would be considered the better player of the 3. Pippen destroys both on defense, but lets remember that MJ was double teamed through scotties whole career. MJ even stated in some interview that Penny was the hardest person in the league to guard.
Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
Peak Penny was definitely better than peak Pippen. Hill is arguably over Pippen as well, but has a weaker case. Penny's top end, though he didn't have need to display it much, was very high.
Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clippersfan86
Grant Hill's MVP runner up season... was 99 right?
25.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.5 spg on 56.5 TS%. Not to mention Hill's always been a respectable/good defender, although not as good as he has been the last 5-6 years. Penny on the other hand was a mediocre defender who could be classified as average at best.
Penny was an awesome and unique talent but he can't touch prime Hill. As for Pippen his numbers may not be quite as good as peak Hill BUT he's a top 3 perimeter defender of all time and has a case for the top spot in that regard, that alone puts him above Penny IMO.
Penny is one of those players that have become insanely overhyped long after they are gone. I watched him and he was very very gifted and good. That being said his prime was extremely short lived and outside of getting carried by young Shaq didn't do much to impress me. People act like he's Lebron but forget that he only had what 4 seasons as a top caliber player, then vanished? By comparison Tmac and Vince Carter who people act like were a flash in the pan had at leasy 7-8 seasons at the highest level at their position.
LOL at can't touch Hill, and Penny getting carried by Shaq.
In the 95-96 season where Shaq missed the 22 first games of the season, Penny led them to 17-5. That is better than Wade or Kobe ever did with Shaq sitting.
Penny was far better defensively than Hill and simply didn't put up the stats he could offensively because he played smart and in a system where he wasn't given free reign to do what he liked.
Penny was the better player no question. He was leading his team to the playoffs, and impacted the game far more. And the Shaq excuse is thrown out the window, since we've seen how he performs without him. And yes, Penny was better than Pippen too.
Even next season they were 38-21 in the 59 games Penny played; this being the 96-97 season where Shaq joined the Lakers. When Penny didn't play they were 7-16 in the remaining games. Shows how much impact he had.
You really don't have a clue as to what you're writing, and I'm not sure if you've seen more then 2 or 3 games from either Hill or Hardaway back in their Pistons and Magic days.
Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
Pippen's and Hill's statlines are almost identical, but Pippen was the far superior defender. That puts him above Hill. Hardaway was a better defender than Hill and had better court vision, but his advantage on D isn't enough to put him above Hill. What I liked most about Penny is he didn't hold onto the ball like LeBron in Cleveland did. Penny had great court vision and was able to create mismatches because of his height. If an opposing team put their SG on him, Penny very easily hit Nick Anderson or Dennis Scott for an open 3.
Pip at #1 is clear as day. #2 isn't as clear cut because Hill and Penny are close, but Hill does have the slight advantage. So...Pip #1, Hill #2, and Penny #3.
Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
As of right now, obviously Scottie tops them both. But a prime Grant Hill was like a LeBron.
Peaks. Pippen's versatility is enough to put him over Penny
1. Hill
2. Pippen
3. Penny
Re: At their peak - Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Scottie Pippen
