Announcement

Collapse

The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
See more
See less

Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 3
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 template Next
  • #1

    Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...der/index.html

    Who are the NBA's top 10 players? This season I must have heard at least 20 stars being mentioned routinely as "top 10" players in the league. It's an unofficial, unregulated and unwieldy list that everyone refers to and nobody seems to enumerate. Until today, that is.
    The criteria for this list differs from other postseason awards. The MVP refers to the player who had the greatest impact on his team this season, and the All-NBA teams reward the top performances by position.
    This top 10 list takes a broader view. Who are the most important players today, taking into account not just their performances this season but their abilities to dominate in a variety of ways? Consider this a comprehensive ranking of the best players in the NBA that goes beyond the narrow criteria of the annual awards.
    10. Shaquille O'Neal, Heat

    His doubters grow bolder in their criticisms as Shaq grows older, and even though he's approaching career lows in all categories this season -- 20.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 30.7 minutes -- the numbers are still impressive, and his advancing age (34) is still trumped by his size (7-foot-1, 300-plus pounds) and skills. If he can stay healthy and his teammates can be marshaled around him (by far the bigger if), O'Neal remains capable of driving Miami to a championship.
    9. Paul Pierce, Celtics

    No elite player showed more improvement than Pierce, the only player to lead his team in points (a career-high 26.8), rebounds (6.7), assists (4.8) and steals (1.4). He is shooting a career-best 47.3 percent in spite of playing with the weakest supporting cast of his career. The question now is whether the Celtics can throttle up their long-term rebuilding program to build a winner around 28-year-old Pierce while he's at his peak.
    8. Dwyane Wade, Heat

    Wade and Allen Iverson are the only players to rank in the top 10 in scoring (27.5 ppg in Wade's case), assists (6.8) and steals (1.9); the difference is that Wade's efforts have a positive impact on winning games while Iverson often seems to drain more energy from his team than he contributes. Wade should move into the top five of this list as Shaq ages and Wade further asserts himself as Miami's leader.
    7. Steve Nash, Suns

    The reigning MVP is the NBA's version of Doug Flutie: He dominates against bigger, stronger opponents by forcing them to surrender to his tempo. For those of us who rate team play ahead of one-on-one virtuosity, Nash is the most entertaining player in the league. No point guard is more effective at running an offense and creating mismatches than Nash, who adapted to the loss of Amaré Stoudemire by scoring more points (a career-high 19.1) while remaining the league leader in assists (10.5).

    6. Elton Brand, Clippers





    Surrounded by the first promising team of his seven-year career, Brand responded with a career-best 24.8 points per game to go with his typical 10.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. He's always scored in a variety of ways -- in transition, in the post or facing up -- but this year Brand proved that his numbers could drive a winning team.
    5. Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves

    This was a rough year for his team, yet Garnett retained his annual lead in the NBA's efficiency rating with a routine 21.8 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Instead of being criticized for failing to drag this deeply flawed roster into the playoffs, he should be lauded for maintaining his impeccable standards in a hopeless environment: Selfish play isn't part of his repertoire.
    4. LeBron James, Cavaliers

    He'll join Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West as the only players to average at least 30 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for a season. James will be the No. 1 player when he spreads his talent to the defensive end of the floor, but let's not be greedy -- these are amazing accomplishments for someone who should be finishing his junior year of college.
    3. Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks

    Team leader Michael Finley left last summer, a year after the departure of league MVP Steve Nash, yet in their absence Nowitzki has elevated his scoring (26.6 ppg) and shooting (48.2 percent) to career highs while transforming the Mavericks into an elite team. He's on the verge of becoming Dallas' modern-day Larry Bird, the clutch big man who wins games in the most unorthodox ways.
    2. Kobe Bryant, Lakers

    The world's most talented player leads the NBA with 35.1 ppg, including a league-best 9.4 points in the fourth quarter. Nobody is more spectacular, whether dribbling through traffic or beating the buzzer from the three-point line. The question is whether a perimeter star such as Bryant can lead the league in scoring while leading his team to a championship level. Jordan is the only player to fulfill that paradox, but this season Bryant looked like he was embarking on the same high road as he single-handedly forced a lottery team into the playoffs.

    1. Tim Duncan, Spurs

    A foot injury scaled back his numbers, but they're still impressive enough (18.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 3.2 assists). Even more imposing than his individual stats is Duncan's impact on the league's most consistent program at both ends of the court. The team-first hierarchy that may bring a fourth championship to San Antonio works in all ways -- on the court and in the locker room -- because of him.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

    If he's going by this seson, then TIm Duncan at #1 is a complete joke.

    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

      Originally posted by Kstat
      If he's going by this seson, then TIm Duncan at #1 is a complete joke.
      Yup! That sounds pretty retarded indeed.
      2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

      2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

      2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

        This season number one has to be Billups.

        And having no Iverson means this top 10 is one of the worst made.

        My Top 10 for this season:

        (1) Billups
        (2) Dirk
        (3) Nash
        (4) Kobe
        (5) LeBron
        (6) Brand
        (7) Iverson
        (8) Chris Paul
        (9) Rip Hamilton
        (10) Arenas
        My Dream Team

        PG - A.Iverson
        SG - K.Bryant
        SF - R.Artest
        PF - J.O'Neal
        C - D.Howard

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

          Excuse me, don't want to rain on your parade, but no way that R.I.P. is a top-10 player. He's good, but not THAT good and while I like Billups I would certainly list him in my top-5, but also certainly not at the first spot.

          Ah, what the hell... might aswell give my own top-10 so you can burn me too

          1) Nowitzki
          2) Kobe
          3) LeBron
          4) Nash
          5) Billups
          6) Garnett
          7) Wade
          8) Iverson
          9) Brand
          10) Shaq

          Regards,

          Mourning
          2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

          2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

          2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

            Tim should not be # 1 and why is Iverson not on there

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

              Originally posted by Mourning
              Excuse me, don't want to rain on your parade, but no way that R.I.P. is a top-10 player. He's good, but not THAT good and while I like Billups I would certainly list him in my top-5, but also certainly not at the first spot.

              Ah, what the hell... might aswell give my own top-10 so you can burn me too

              1) Nowitzki
              2) Kobe
              3) LeBron
              4) Nash
              5) Billups
              6) Garnett
              7) Wade
              8) Iverson
              9) Brand
              10) Shaq

              Regards,

              Mourning
              I just based my top 10 on this season and Rip has had a great season. Hes come up for them at crucial times like Billups and has improved his scoring alot.

              IMO Garnett is not a top 10 player this year. I dont care for his stats. There is no excuse for him not being able to bring his team to the playoffs. If Chris Paul pushed NO so close to the playoffs KG should be able to do that at Minny.

              That top 10 was solely based on this years performances. If it was my top 10 players in the NBA (that are still playing now) my top 10 would be:

              (1) Iverson
              (2) Kobe
              (3) LeBron
              (4) Duncan
              (5) KG
              (6) JO
              (7) Wade
              (8) Marion
              (9) Billups
              (10) Nash
              My Dream Team

              PG - A.Iverson
              SG - K.Bryant
              SF - R.Artest
              PF - J.O'Neal
              C - D.Howard

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                Arenas must not have a good PR guy.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                  Originally posted by bulletproof
                  Arenas must not have a good PR guy.

                  TJ Ford would disagree....

                  It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                  Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                  Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                  NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                    Again, like someone said earlier... If those rankings are based on this year, Duncan at number one is a joke. Even if Duncan was healthy all year, it's still debateable in my opinion. I have to agree with most of the players on the list, but I don't necessarily agree with their placement.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                      Based on this season, Kobe should probably be #1. Hard to top an 81-point game...unless you're Wilt.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                        Originally posted by bulletproof
                        Arenas must not have a good PR guy.
                        Nah...it's just that Michael Jordan wouldn't be a Top 10 player in today's NBA.

                        Where's Chris Paul?

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                          Originally posted by J_2_Da_IzzO
                          I just based my top 10 on this season and Rip has had a great season. Hes come up for them at crucial times like Billups and has improved his scoring alot.

                          IMO Garnett is not a top 10 player this year. I dont care for his stats. There is no excuse for him not being able to bring his team to the playoffs. If Chris Paul pushed NO so close to the playoffs KG should be able to do that at Minny.

                          That top 10 was solely based on this years performances. If it was my top 10 players in the NBA (that are still playing now) my top 10 would be:

                          (1) Iverson
                          (2) Kobe
                          (3) LeBron
                          (4) Duncan
                          (5) KG
                          (6) JO
                          (7) Wade
                          (8) Marion
                          (9) Billups
                          (10) Nash
                          If we are going by just this year then no way Rip gets in the top 10 or top 20 IMO. I don't watch him play but going by his stats, he's just not consistent enough and doesn't fill up the stat sheet at all outside the scoring column.

                          My Top Ten
                          1) Kobe
                          2) Marion
                          3) Lebron
                          4) Dirk
                          5) Garnett
                          6) Iverson
                          7) Kirilenko
                          8) Arenas
                          9) Allen
                          10) Brand

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                            yea, that top 10 is whack!!!

                            here's mine:

                            1. Kobe
                            2. LbJ
                            3. Wade
                            4. Duncan
                            5. Dirk
                            6. Ron Artest. yeap!
                            7. Brand
                            8. Arenas
                            9. Nash
                            10. Marion w/ Nash (w/o Nash he's not in my top 10)

                            hon. mention

                            Melo
                            Pierce
                            AK47
                            Rasheed
                            Chauncey
                            AI
                            KG
                            Shaq
                            http://Twitter.com/dRealSource

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Ian Thomsen's top 10 NBA players

                              Originally posted by Shade
                              Based on this season, Kobe should probably be #1. Hard to top an 81-point game...unless you're Wilt.
                              #1 Kobe MVP
                              #2 Lebron
                              #3 Nash
                              All other guys mentioned are great, but they all play on balanced teams. That would be my voting.
                              1 - 2, Tinsley's coming for you.
                              3 - 4, You're not a team no more.
                              5 - 6, He's gonna plead the 5th.
                              7 - 8, He's gonna stay out late.


                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 template Next
                              Working...
                              X