Jeff Green's game reminds me of Reggie Lewis'

[Smitty77]

Roy,

I respect you in many ways, but Lewis an "elite defender??"  Did Reggie ever make the All-Defensive team??  Reggie was an "elite" offensive player and could defend well when he put his mind to it, but an "elite defender?"  Not really.

Perhaps my memory is much different than yours.  I also don't care what a highlight clip shows.  I watched Reggie play and he was NOT an "elite defender!!"

Smitty77

[birdwatcher]

Roy,

I respect you in many ways, but Lewis an "elite defender??"  Did Reggie ever make the All-Defensive team??  Reggie was an "elite" offensive player and could defend well when he put his mind to it, but an "elite defender?"  Not really.

Perhaps my memory is much different than yours.  I also don't care what a highlight clip shows.  I watched Reggie play and he was NOT an "elite defender!!"

Smitty77

It goes back to the same argument we've had about Perk. Perk is "great" against Dwight Howard, and mixed on other top centers. Lewis was regarded as the best one-on-one defender of Michael Jordan, as Jordan himself confessed. When you can stop or slow down the best player at their position on consistent basis, some people throw the "elite" tag out there.

[birdwatcher]

...let me also add that I believe Reggie was ranked first among all guards in Blocks, and was middle of the pack in steals. That was due to his huge wing span. The rules were a bit different back then, too. Hand checking was allowed, you could be really rough for the most part. Now the league just wants offense.

[Bingbangbarros]

Reggie is my favorite player of all time but he was neither an elite offensive or defensive player. I've also never heard Jordan praise his defense but he may have. These are Jordans head-to-head stats.

Michael Jordan 24 GP 39 min. 35.7p 6.4r 6.1a 543%  

The Bulls were also 16-8 versus Boston during this period

[Rondo2287]

Roy,

I respect you in many ways, but Lewis an "elite defender??"  Did Reggie ever make the All-Defensive team??  Reggie was an "elite" offensive player and could defend well when he put his mind to it, but an "elite defender?"  Not really.

Perhaps my memory is much different than yours.  I also don't care what a highlight clip shows.  I watched Reggie play and he was NOT an "elite defender!!"

Smitty77

So in otherwords, you don't care what other people think, what video evidence says, what you think is the way that it is, not if ands or buts

[thirstyboots18]

Reggie might have developed his defensive game even more as time went on...unfortunately he left us too soon.  At the time he was counted onto be an offensive force, much like the early days of Paul Pierce.  I don't think that you can say that anyone who blocked Michael Jordan  4 times in one game is not an elite defensive player!  Michael Jordan WAS an elite defender, so he knew what he was talking about when he lauded Reggie.

[birdwatcher]

Roy,

I respect you in many ways, but Lewis an "elite defender??"  Did Reggie ever make the All-Defensive team??  Reggie was an "elite" offensive player and could defend well when he put his mind to it, but an "elite defender?"  Not really.

Perhaps my memory is much different than yours.  I also don't care what a highlight clip shows.  I watched Reggie play and he was NOT an "elite defender!!"

Smitty77

In reggie's defense, there are only a 1st & 2nd all-defensive team, and it  would have been really hard to beat out Jordan and Alvin Robertson each year. I do believe those teams are picked by position, not, who are the top 10 defensive players in the league.

[birdwatcher]

Reggie might have developed his defensive game even more as time went on...unfortunately he left us too soon.  At the time he was counted onto be an offensive force, much like the early days of Paul Pierce.  I don't think that you can say that anyone who blocked Michael Jordan  4 times in one game is not an elite defensive player!  Michael Jordan WAS an elite defender, so he knew what he was talking about when he lauded Reggie.

That's a pretty good point. Pierce didn't really start playing D until KG got here. Reggie died at 27--he had another couple contracts in him, another 6-8 years or more in the league. He very well could have evolved even more as a defensive player, but like I said, he had the misfortune of playing in the same era as Jordan and Alvin Robertson in their primes (defensively)...

[Surferdad]

Jeez, compared to Len Bias and Reggie Lewis in the span of 24 hours. 

Reggie Lewis was an elite defender.  Green isn't there yet, and realistically will probably never be at Reggie's level.  Few were.

Green of course is taller and stronger than either of those guys, but Reggie was a real shooter, which Green probably isn't so much.  Green's still younger than Reggie was for his one All-Star appearance.  Also still younger than Pierce was for his first All-Star game.

Actually, I think of Green so far as a taller, faster, more athletic but less efficiently scoring version of Paul Pierce.  Both have lots of skills, great bulk for the 3 position, and varied ways of racking up points.

Next year could be very interesting.

Physically size and athleticism maybe but otherwise, I don't see the Pierce similarity.  Green has not demonstrated that he can create his own shot off the dribble or hit key jumpshots with a hand in his face.  These are huge parts of Paul's game.

[thirstyboots18]

Reggie might have developed his defensive game even more as time went on...unfortunately he left us too soon.  At the time he was counted onto be an offensive force, much like the early days of Paul Pierce.  I don't think that you can say that anyone who blocked Michael Jordan  4 times in one game is not an elite defensive player!  Michael Jordan WAS an elite defender, so he knew what he was talking about when he lauded Reggie.

That's a pretty good point. Pierce didn't really start playing D until KG got here. Reggie died at 27--he had another couple contracts in him, another 6-8 years or more in the league. He very well could have evolved even more as a defensive player, but like I said, he had the misfortune of playing in the same era as Jordan and Alvin Robertson in their primes (defensively)...

Reggie was also a force on the boards, both offensive and defensive, and I believe he averaged  a steal a game....

[clover]

Jeez, compared to Len Bias and Reggie Lewis in the span of 24 hours. 

Reggie Lewis was an elite defender.  Green isn't there yet, and realistically will probably never be at Reggie's level.  Few were.

Green of course is taller and stronger than either of those guys, but Reggie was a real shooter, which Green probably isn't so much.  Green's still younger than Reggie was for his one All-Star appearance.  Also still younger than Pierce was for his first All-Star game.

Actually, I think of Green so far as a taller, faster, more athletic but less efficiently scoring version of Paul Pierce.  Both have lots of skills, great bulk for the 3 position, and varied ways of racking up points.

Next year could be very interesting.

Physically size and athleticism maybe but otherwise, I don't see the Pierce similarity.  Green has not demonstrated that he can create his own shot off the dribble or hit key jumpshots with a hand in his face.  These are huge parts of Paul's game.

Have read that the C's think they've got their first bench player now who can create his own shot.  Haven't seen enough to say.

[Roy H.]

Roy,

I respect you in many ways, but Lewis an "elite defender??"  Did Reggie ever make the All-Defensive team?? 

Lewis' competition at guard on those all-defensive teams included Joe Dumars, John Stockton, Michael Jordan, Dan Majerle, and Alvin Robertson.  All of those guys are in the "elite" category, and so was Reggie. 

Reggie is in a very exclusive category of guards who have had 100 steals and 100 blocks in the same season, and he's one of two guards in the past 20 years to have averaged more than a block per game in consecutive seasons (which he did three years in a row).

[zerophase]

appropriate time for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni7t4swtdYw

??

[Rondo2287]

appropriate time for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni7t4swtdYw

??

I already posted that

[droponov]

Reggie was great but he wasn't a lockdown defender. He used his length to block shots. He was a great outside shooter who rarely took threes. I've read that the summer he died, he was working on adding the 3 to his game. His game was mainly stopping on the dime off the dribble and pulling up for the jumper, with a little slashing to the basket and post ups mixed in.

Odom is much more of a playmaker and also a much better rebounder than Green. I know its early, but I don't thik Green has an assist yet. However, like Odom, he is a solid, well-rounded player.

I am not a huge fan of Green's upside, meaning I don't see all-star potential, but I think he can be a very good bench player who plays alot of minutes. Hopefully I'm wrong and he'll be better than that.

I think he can be a quality starter at the 3. Not an All-Star. A guy who plays good defense and is a 4th option offensively. Or a 3rd option to two All League scorers. Fully agree with the rest of the post.