cgf wrote:SelfishPlayer wrote:Patches Perry wrote:He has put himself in that category with Dame and Kyrie, but not above it. He may do that soon, but hasn't yet.
Jalen Brunson is leading a team. Kyrie has never done that successfully. He tried in Boston and got ran out of the city. Dame depended on CJ. Dame is nothing without CJ. Brunson beat the Sixers by himself!
The bolded is silly, but Jalen is doing something Kyrie never could. Now Kyrie did something that Jalen hasn't been able to...win a ring as the #2, but I'd say what Jalen is doing is even more impressive and I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that if the Mavs had paid Jalen what he was worth, he would've matched Kyrie's achievement eventually.
CJ was Dame's "Pippen." Portland's entire offense was built around Dame running pick and rolls while CJ caught grenades and isolated. Portland was fortunate to have a guy like CJ who was amongst the league leaders in MADE BASKETS. Rhat is what made them a successful team, not "Dame Time." CJ has consistently been in the playoffs without Dame while Dame has been a loser. If Dallas had kept Brunson they would have been considered contenders for several seasons now. They have regressed from the WCF team.