The truth is that Kevin Garnett was never as good as Paul Pierce

[makaveli]

I'm an ultra Paul Pierce fan and I agree with the original post. Paul has an unique game, and he has been an elite player(not saying that KG ain't), on of the best clutch player the league has ever seen, and he seems to be the best player on the court...

[4THQTR]

I've always felt that way too OP.  I think its too difficult of an argument to make, but know that I share the sentiment.

In my opinion, Pierce had unthinkably bad teammates for the majority of his career.  He often had the effect of bringing them up so they looked better playing with him.  But as soon as they went to other teams, their careers flubbed.

It's depressing to go back and look at the rosters that man has played with.  But do it, and you'll see a list of people who looked even worse once they left the c's.

Who knows how impressive his career could have been if he had some teammates to at least be a distraction for defenses.

Same can be said about KG though.
Quite frankly I think Walker was better than anything KG ever played alongside in Minnesota...

I just can't agree to that.  Cassell?  Sprewell? It's not something I'm willing to argue in detail, there are just too many player comparisons to be made.  I simply disagree.

Definitely debatable.
The issue with Cassell and Sprewell is the following:
Cassell was hurt when it mattered most, so while he may have been the overall better player he wasn't able to play his best in the playoffs.
Spreewell was aging, but definitely still effective.
If you think about their regular season record and take the Cassell injury into account (and take a look at the Lakers team they were facing and took to 7 games) I'd say that squad did pretty darn well...
Other than that KG had Billups before he blossomed and Marbury when they both were still learning the game...
Factor in a much tougher conference and I just don't see how you can claim Pierce has had less of a shot than KG given their respective circumstances.

It's infinitely debatable, there ends up being hundreds of comparisons with no definite answer.

I think I am looking at it from a different perspective too.  You are considering who was the best player(s) either one had to play with.  

I am really thinking about who are the worst. I feel like Pierce had to spend more time (actual playing time) with guys that were far more towards the bottom of the barrel than KG had to spend.  

At the end of the day, it's too bad they both had miserable situations and so many years of greatness were stifled.  

TP.
The one thing I believe nobody is going to argue about.

[GreenFaith1819]

After thinking more about the OP's post, my only thing is that basketball depends so much on Team play. Throughout the thread, there have been so many scenarios listed that it is hard to quantify it all.

So many "what ifs."

KG brought a defensive mindset to this team. Him getting here was definitely the "Other Shoe" that had to drop. He wasn't going to come here until Ray was acquired.

To say who is better or more skilled is not Boston's way. It is not the team I am accustomed to watching. That, to me, is the beauty of what was accomplished in 07-08, and kept us in contention for the last few years.

That chemistry is what has made the team here so successful. It's the same chemistry that - say - MIA lacked while they crumbled in DAL last June.

To me, it is never about who is better - it is about how players fit, how they compliment each other.

When the Basketball Historians look back on the NBA, they will compare "Stars that came together via trades or off-season signings", and they will say:

"What the Boston Celtics accomplished in 2007-08 will NEVER be done again." MIA came close, but were not ready and were too young.

The Clips somewhat fall into MIA's category, as do the Knicks. None of these teams can copy that success.

It is never about who is better. That's not Boston.

[KP43]

Oh, yeah.. I guess KG became the league MVP and DPOY just for fun..

[Marcus13]

The fact is neither of them have been as good as Ray Allen.

With that said, KG was definitely out best player in 08

[PosImpos]

At the height of his prime, KG could dominate every aspect of a game.  He could do absolutely everything.

You could not say the same about Paul Pierce, as good as he's been.

[mgent]

False up until his injury in '09, never mind back in their younger days.

You've got to understand the way God built KG.  You can't compare him to Ewing or a prime Pierce, he's simply a different type of scorer.

That's all I'm going to say on that subject because you forgot something even more important.  KG was an ELITE rebounder, elite passer for a big man, arguably the most elite defender of all time, and a pretty elite shooter as a big.  Pierce was good to great at all those things, but never near the top of the league.

Also, I think you underrate Antoine.  Without him Pierce probably would've looked like the 06-07 Celts every year.

[Fafnir]

Also, I think you underrate Antoine.  Without him Pierce probably would've looked like the 06-07 Celts every year.

Antoine held Pierce back by the time he was ready to be an elite player, terrible shot selection, bad rebounding, and no defensive help.

[mgent]

Antoine held Pierce back by the time he was ready to be an elite player

Certainly arguable. 

The talent isn't.

The point was KG didn't have that talent next to him.  Who knows if he even would've allowed anyone to hold him back, or what Pierce would've done by himself?  It's speculation, on the other hand we KNOW KG's teammates didn't equal Pierce's teammates (and that's before you even compare them to their conferences).

[scaryjerry]

So wrong
Pierce is currently better but couldnt hold KGS jock strap in their respective primes...theres 0 chance Paul Pierce ever wins a league MVP and his attitude and defense were abysmal his whole career until KG joined him

A better debate would be ray allen vs paul pierce career-wise, and ray to be honest possibly wins that

[Spilling Green Dye]

For many years there were KG vs Duncan arguments.  Pierce was never compared to anyone as good as Duncan, and I can see why.

As much as I appreciate how great Paul Pierce is, KG in his prime was the biggest difference maker on the court in the past 12 years.  Watching old tape of him depresses me when I see how slow he's gotten recently.

And during the '08 championship run most of the metrics show that KG was the MVP, but they gave it to Pierce due to his career with the Celtics (which I'm fine with this). 

On a side note - I remember doing fantasy basketball 2002-2006.  Early on KG's numbers of 24-13-5 were unmatched... and that didn't take into account that he is one of the top 5 defensive players OF ALL TIME. 

[wdleehi]

KG was the better player in the prime.  Top two at his position (which was loaded during his prime).  Top 5 in the league. 

[JustAfam]

title the only reason kg didnt command double teams like that was because he is the most unselfish player in the nba.can someone please post a couple of kg old school highlights.cant believe this threads.im sorry kg was a beast and i would have traded him for paul pierce if i had the chance too.Kg was a walking double double.

[Fafnir]

title the only reason kg didnt command double teams like that was because he is the most unselfish player in the nba.can someone please post a couple of kg old school highlights.cant believe this threads.im sorry kg was a beast and i would have traded him for paul pierce if i had the chance too.Kg was a walking double double.

Double teaming KG in his prime was a losing proposition. He's so tall it was hard to avoid him making a pass out of it, plus he played in the high post facing up more often than anything and if you double there he can see the whole weakside.

Also zones were more restricted, so teams had less options.

[ballin]

KG was better up until his knee injury, and it's really not even that close. That said, Pierce is my favorite player of all time for a variety of reasons.