Who was better? Paul Pierce or Carmelo Anthony

[murksiderock]

Once upon a time Pierce was underrated. He's become slightly overrated in his retirement...

In real time he was a really good player on a bad/mediocre team. He was good, but it was clear he couldn't be the best player on a perennial contender, he missed the postseason 5 outta 9 seasons before KG and Ray, in the '00s East, which was the weakest conference and era in the entire history if the NBA...

So in the weakest conference ever, you miss the playoffs 55% of the time, with you being The Man running the show....

Don't talk to me about that lightning in a bottle '02 season, that run was never happening for him again and he never got close to that level of winning again without the later additions...

His game was good, he was never in any Top 10 conversations. Nobody ever thought he was the best three guys at his position. He was underrated because he played at an All-Star level on a bad team and he had "wow" moments like Lillard or Booker in this era...

He was always better suited to be a #2 rather than a #1, and the evidence came once Boston got him a more competitive roster. For whatever reason we kinda inflate his legacy nowadays, I suspect it's because he played in a big market for a marquee franchise...he's basically what Klay would look like if we gave him his own franchise, and what Klay looked like as a 2...

Melo was a real #1 who just couldn't translate dominant regular seasons into consistent playoff success. No different in general from Iverson or Harden. Peak for peak I'm not sure there should be a question Melo was better, he was definitely considered Top 10 in his heyday, even arguable for Top 5 a few times...

Pierce had the greater career thanks to the stimulus package he got halfway thru. I'd rather have Pierce's career, really good player in his own right who found championship success in the back half of his career, enhanced his legacy. I ain't mad at it...

But we saw both in their primes simultaneously, Melo at his best was better than Pierce at his...

 

[Rollo Goodlove]

those Celtics teams were garbage Melo's teams was nice. Pierce was more feared than Melo imo

 

[feelosofer]

I'm a Melo stan but Pierce is the better player it just sucked the Celtics didn't get him the help he needed until later in his career.

 

[Luke Cage]

Melo was better, the only reason this is a discussion is because Melo had a more dramatic fall off later in his career. Whereas Paul Pierce's old man game was more designed for longevity. but Melo was at the top tier level during his prime. Peirce was really good but never quite reached that level. Luka is example of having that old man game at an elite level. (Luka and Pierce have similiar games to me, but Luka illustrates that Paul never reached his true potential.)

 

[stepbackj34spud]

Once upon a time Pierce was underrated. He's become slightly overrated in his retirement...

In real time he was a really good player on a bad/mediocre team. He was good, but it was clear he couldn't be the best player on a perennial contender, he missed the postseason 5 outta 9 seasons before KG and Ray, in the '00s East, which was the weakest conference and era in the entire history if the NBA...

So in the weakest conference ever, you miss the playoffs 55% of the time, with you being The Man running the show....

Don't talk to me about that lightning in a bottle '02 season, that run was never happening for him again and he never got close to that level of winning again without the later additions...

His game was good, he was never in any Top 10 conversations. Nobody ever thought he was the best three guys at his position. He was underrated because he played at an All-Star level on a bad team and he had "wow" moments like Lillard or Booker in this era...

He was always better suited to be a #2 rather than a #1, and the evidence came once Boston got him a more competitive roster. For whatever reason we kinda inflate his legacy nowadays, I suspect it's because he played in a big market for a marquee franchise...he's basically what Klay would look like if we gave him his own franchise, and what Klay looked like as a 2...

Melo was a real #1 who just couldn't translate dominant regular seasons into consistent playoff success. No different in general from Iverson or Harden. Peak for peak I'm not sure there should be a question Melo was better, he was definitely considered Top 10 in his heyday, even arguable for Top 5 a few times...

Pierce had the greater career thanks to the stimulus package he got halfway thru. I'd rather have Pierce's career, really good player in his own right who found championship success in the back half of his career, enhanced his legacy. I ain't mad at it...

But we saw both in their primes simultaneously, Melo at his best was better than Pierce at his...

Absolute shyt posting. Keep Pierce dikk out your mouth if you’re gonna make bytch-made homo style opinionated posts.

“Nobody ever thought he was top 3 at his position”.. what a moronic statement.

Why does nobody ever call this goofy out for not watching games?

 

[stepbackj34spud]

double post.

 

[mvp_status]

Real recognize real

The Five Toughest Players I've Ever Guarded | By Paul Pierce

I've faced many, many gifted players throughout my career, but in my opinion, these five guys were the toughest to guard.

www.theplayerstribune.com

If I had to single one guy out who is the most difficult player to guard in the league, it would have to be Carmelo. He’s a unique blend of being big, strong, and athletic while also having a world-class shooting touch and a natural ability to get to the rim. That’s what sets him apart — every facet of his game is elite.

Some great players will have one or two particular skills that make them special. But Carmelo can do everything, which puts you in a baaad situation as a defender. A lot of guys might shoot better from certain areas, so you try to force them elsewhere on the floor. Carmelo doesn’t have a spot on the floor where he can’t consistently hit shots.

In my opinion, his combination of physicality and shooting touch is unmatched in the NBA. You can’t take one second off when you’re matched up against him.

Kobe is one of the best scorers in NBA history, but I don’t have as much trouble with him in the post as I do with Carmelo. LeBron is a great post-up player, but if you get him to settle for the jumper on some nights, you might be able to slow him down if his shot is off. That’s not the case with Melo. If you give him space to shoot, he’ll make it many more times than he misses it.

 

[Big Boss]

The Truth

 

[JoelB]

Pierce footwork was He was always flabby looking but gave nikkas buckets. One of my favorite players...I remember when he dropped 40 on Indiana Artest

 

[GreatestLaker]

I would much rather have Pierce.

Melo more often than not was a black hole on offense.

 

[stepbackj34spud]

Originally i bumped this thread to say: in 2024 Melo would win this poll easy. The revisionist history surrounding his career is annoying as fukk. Melo in his post playing career has become an angel. Even on Gilbert Arenas’ show they said he was a better offensive player than KD. Are they fukking crazy?

Carmelo was a 1-dimensional player from his first game to his last game. Never changed or adapted until he was forced out of the league. Had to go on national tv and campaign for a job at an age where he should've still been an all star caliber player. Melo also played with a ton of dope veteran players yet has nothing to show for it.

You want to say Melo was a better scorer than Pierce? Cool. But as basketball players they weren’t close. Pierce was better by a landslide.

 

[Mr. Jack Napier]

Originally i bumped this thread to say: in 2024 Melo would win this poll easy. The revisionist history surrounding his career is annoying as fukk. Melo in his post playing career has become an angel. Even on Gilbert Arenas’ show they said he was a better offensive player than KD. Are they fukking crazy?

Carmelo was a 1-dimensional player from his first game to his last game. Never changed or adapted until he was forced out of the league. Had to go on national tv and campaign for a job at an age where he should've still been an all star caliber player. Melo also played with a ton of dope veteran players yet has nothing to show for it.

You want to say Melo was a better scorer than Pierce? Cool. But as basketball players they weren’t close. Pierce was better by a landslide.

Get this man some metal die cast knee pads...

 

[MooseMouthMthafuga]

Paul Pierce imo.

 

[stepbackj34spud]

Once upon a time Pierce was underrated. He's become slightly overrated in his retirement...

In real time he was a really good player on a bad/mediocre team. He was good, but it was clear he couldn't be the best player on a perennial contender, he missed the postseason 5 outta 9 seasons before KG and Ray, in the '00s East, which was the weakest conference and era in the entire history if the NBA...

So in the weakest conference ever, you miss the playoffs 55% of the time, with you being The Man running the show....

Don't talk to me about that lightning in a bottle '02 season, that run was never happening for him again and he never got close to that level of winning again without the later additions...

His game was good, he was never in any Top 10 conversations. Nobody ever thought he was the best three guys at his position. He was underrated because he played at an All-Star level on a bad team and he had "wow" moments like Lillard or Booker in this era...

He was always better suited to be a #2 rather than a #1, and the evidence came once Boston got him a more competitive roster. For whatever reason we kinda inflate his legacy nowadays, I suspect it's because he played in a big market for a marquee franchise...he's basically what Klay would look like if we gave him his own franchise, and what Klay looked like as a 2...

Melo was a real #1 who just couldn't translate dominant regular seasons into consistent playoff success. No different in general from Iverson or Harden. Peak for peak I'm not sure there should be a question Melo was better, he was definitely considered Top 10 in his heyday, even arguable for Top 5 a few times...

Pierce had the greater career thanks to the stimulus package he got halfway thru. I'd rather have Pierce's career, really good player in his own right who found championship success in the back half of his career, enhanced his legacy. I ain't mad at it...

But we saw both in their primes simultaneously, Melo at his best was better than Pierce at his...

love bumping this thread because i hate Melo’s game, and think he was overrated as fukk. One dimensional scorer who got kicked out the league. nikka went on ESPN to beg for a job. Now you have nikkas saying he was LeBron’s rival. Bron is arguably the best ever, multi time champion, MVP and fmvps.. how is his rival somebody who never won anything? I remember vividly Melo vs Bron being a debate for 1 year. It was never a debate again after year 2.

But what shytty post! If you needed more proof that @murksiderock has never actually watched any games, here it is. This moron just looks up stats and accolades on basketballreference and forms opinions from that, even about players we've seen play in real time. Everything this stupid nikkas says is from a perspective of someone who obviously didn't watch the games.

If you were actually watching basketball back in the 00s, you can't help but laugh at how ridiculous his post was, right? If Pierce wasn't in the top 3 for his position, then who actually was? Trust me, no matter what your basketball reference-checking brain says, from 2000 to 2004, Pierce was clearly the best small forward in the league by a long shot. I bet you're thinking you'd pick Peja over Pierce in '04 just because of that All-NBA selection. Pierce is generally consider to be the second-best SF of the 2000s.

Also, it doesnt matter how weak/strong a conference is, if your teammates are trash/d-league level. Those mid 00s celtics teams rosters were garbage. For example, the 07 Celtics lost 16 straight games without Pierce in the lineup.

What idiot would claim Pierce is what Klay Thompson would be had Klay been on his own team? Klay can barely dribble, and cant create his own shot.
What a reach, but again, this dude never actually watches basketball games.

Pierce was better “suited to be a #2” yet he lead the Celtics in scoring every year in the big 3 era. fukk are you talking about? It’s a short list of players who have been the leading scorer on multiple finals appearing teams, Pierce is on that list.

Melo from age 19-29
25/7/3/1/1 on 20FGA on 46% 35% from 3

Pierce from 21-29
24/7/4/2/1 on 18FGA on 44% 36% from 3

This is the same dude who described Melo as having “dominant” seasons but says Pierce isn’t a #1.

nikkas be saying that if Melo had Garnett and Ray, he would have won as well. But the truth is, Melo has had better teammates overall compared to what Pierce had during his prime. The Big 3 era lasted for 5 years, and Pierce was between 30 and 34 during that period. A 30-34 year old Melo wouldn't have won anything in 2008. By the time Melo was 34, he was out of the league, while Pierce was still an All-Star at that age.

Melo from age 30-34
20/6/3/1/1 on 18FGA on 43FG% 35% from 3

Pierce from age 30-34
19/5/4/1/1 on 14FGA on 47FG% 39% from 3

What are those Celtics teams winning with Melo? In that age frame Pierce made 5 allstars and 2 allnba teams. Melo only made the allstar team 3x. To keep it real, Melo was washed at age 31. The Celtics wouldnt have won shyt with Melo instead of Pierce.

People like this fool try to slight Pierce and say Pierce had the better career but Melo had the better peak. Bro, At their best, im taking Pierce over Melo no question. Pierce is a better basketball player, period.

 

[murksiderock]

love bumping this thread because i hate Melo’s game, and think he was overrated as fukk. One dimensional scorer who got kicked out the league. nikka went on ESPN to beg for a job. Now you have nikkas saying he was LeBron’s rival. Bron is arguably the best ever, multi time champion, MVP and fmvps.. how is his rival somebody who never won anything? I remember vividly Melo vs Bron being a debate for 1 year. It was never a debate again after year 2.

But what shytty post! If you needed more proof that @murksiderock has never actually watched any games, here it is. This moron just looks up stats and accolades on basketballreference and forms opinions from that, even about players we've seen play in real time. Everything this stupid nikkas says is from a perspective of someone who obviously didn't watch the games.

If you were actually watching basketball back in the 00s, you can't help but laugh at how ridiculous his post was, right? If Pierce wasn't in the top 3 for his position, then who actually was? Trust me, no matter what your basketball reference-checking brain says, from 2000 to 2004, Pierce was clearly the best small forward in the league by a long shot. I bet you're thinking you'd pick Peja over Pierce in '04 just because of that All-NBA selection. Pierce is generally consider to be the second-best SF of the 2000s.

Also, it doesnt matter how weak/strong a conference is, if your teammates are trash/d-league level. Those mid 00s celtics teams rosters were garbage. For example, the 07 Celtics lost 16 straight games without Pierce in the lineup.

What idiot would claim Pierce is what Klay Thompson would be had Klay been on his own team? Klay can barely dribble, and cant create his own shot.
What a reach, but again, this dude never actually watches basketball games.

Pierce was better “suited to be a #2” yet he lead the Celtics in scoring every year in the big 3 era. fukk are you talking about? It’s a short list of players who have been the leading scorer on multiple finals appearing teams, Pierce is on that list.

Melo from age 19-29
25/7/3/1/1 on 20FGA on 46% 35% from 3

Pierce from 21-29
24/7/4/2/1 on 18FGA on 44% 36% from 3

This is the same dude who described Melo as having “dominant” seasons but says Pierce isn’t a #1.

nikkas be saying that if Melo had Garnett and Ray, he would have won as well. But the truth is, Melo has had better teammates overall compared to what Pierce had during his prime. The Big 3 era lasted for 5 years, and Pierce was between 30 and 34 during that period. A 30-34 year old Melo wouldn't have won anything in 2008. By the time Melo was 34, he was out of the league, while Pierce was still an All-Star at that age.

Melo from age 30-34
20/6/3/1/1 on 18FGA on 43FG% 35% from 3

Pierce from age 30-34
19/5/4/1/1 on 14FGA on 47FG% 39% from 3

What are those Celtics teams winning with Melo? In that age frame Pierce made 5 allstars and 2 allnba teams. Melo only made the allstar team 3x. To keep it real, Melo was washed at age 31. The Celtics wouldnt have won shyt with Melo instead of Pierce.

People like this fool try to slight Pierce and say Pierce had the better career but Melo had the better peak. Bro, At their best, im taking Pierce over Melo no question. Pierce is a better basketball player, period.

How much of a Loser do you have to be to bump a nearly 6-year old post with this energy? We've always known you're a little gay for Paul Pierce, this isn't helping your case

Your favorite thing is to say I never watched games, because I have a different perspective from you. Only Loser ass nikkas say shyt like that.

I watched games. Pierce was a really good player. I stand by my point that Pierce had the better career but Melo had the higher peak. Go take this nut shyt on somewhere else