Paul Pierce vs. Carmelo Anthony
The Truth vs. Melo
In this battle we have the self-proclaimed “best player in the world” against the versatile young snitch-hater.
When Paul Pierce was interviewed by the Spanish newspaper Marca, he revealed that he thinks he is the best player in the world. He attributes this statement to confidence, not conceit.
He also said that LeBron is the most difficult player to defend, Magic Johnson is one of his idols, and his teammates are his favorite players.
In response to a question, he said that Gilbert Arenas is better than Jose Calderon because Calderon has room for improvement, but Arenas is already a superstar. Those years in Spanish class really paid off.
Carmelo has among the most egomaniac websites around. He enjoys photography and blogging, and recently was published by the NY Times. To be fair, many would be doing the same things if in his position.
Last year, Pierce and Anthony were voted All-NBA (3rd team). Their PER and scoring numbers over the past few seasons have been similar. Let’s see the argument for each:
Paul Pierce: 19.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.5 APG
- Pierce won a ring with the Celtics in 2007-2008.
- The Celtics were terrible when he missed 2006-2007 with an injury.
- He returned from a critical stabbing injury early in his career.
- He managed to play with Antoine Walker.
- He has been a much more accomplished passer, despite playing on some lousy teams.
- Pierce is a better three-point shooter and gets to the line more often than Carmelo.
- He never ran away during an NBA fight.
Carmelo: 25.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.4 APG
- He won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.
- Melo had the fifth most popular jersey last year, while Pierce’s jersey was 13th.
- He greatly improved his rebounding last year, and had a career high in field goal percentage.
- He ranked one spot higher in MVP voting last year.
- He only needed one year of college, and he won the NCAA tournament that year.
- Pierce has been blamed for Team USA’s past failures.
To level the playing field a bit, consider that Pierce could not put up as great numbers as usual since he was on a team filled with all-stars. In addition, the Denver Nuggets played at one of the fastest paces, which allowed Carmelo to score more often and collect more rebounds.
Which all-star is more justified in his self-promotion?
August 27, 2008 at 11:52 pm#
I know I’ll probably be in the minority, but I think Carmelo is the superior player.
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August 28th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Agreed.
Plus Pierce’s ego is far too big for someone who’s team has gone under .500 in 5 of the 10 seasons he’s been there. The Nuggets have been over .500 in all 5 seasons since Carmelo arrived.
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August 28, 2008 at 9:41 am#
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August 28, 2008 at 9:50 am#
Sometimes wine needs to age before we can judge it a classic. Pierce has hit that point, he has matured and improved his game.
Carmelo (unfortunately) is mad dog 20/20 - good enough for a youngens night out - but not really an experience you are gong to look back fondly on. Plus pierce is the Much better passer… Lets removes assist to people not named AI and ray allen and see where the totals lie?
Lets look back and judge them at the ends of their careers - Carmelo should be the better player. He is taller, more athletic, and of higher petigree. But *as was always held agains Pablo* where is the jewlery? The NBA is not And1
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August 28, 2008 at 12:55 pm#
I have to give credit to Celtics fans for coming out and supporting their guy. Two Celtics blogs linked to this site, and quite a few people have come. Before the publicity, the poll was tied.
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August 28, 2008 at 3:59 pm#
I think I am as fair as it comes here for a few reasons. I am a Celtics fan, and Paul Pierce is my favorite Celtic of all time (not best, personal fave). Outside of Paul Pierce, and with MJ retired, Carmelo is my favorite player. ‘Cuse is my alma mater, I was there when ‘Melo was, and I’ve met him in passing a few times.
My biases pre-stated, I think Paul Pierce is the better player. Sure ‘Melo accomplished more in college despite his brief stay, he was more impressive to me than Kevin Durant (lost in translation is the fact that Durant’s teammates, afterthoughts when he was there, have since become better players and a high draft pick, while ‘Melo played with only two guys who merit mentioning, Hak Warrick and Gerry McNamara). But take away performances for Team USA and college, and suddenly PP is clearly more accomplished. He is more versatile, able to play a small 4, the 3, and the 2, and is a better ball handler and passer than ‘Melo, while also clearly surpassing him as a defender this season (as good as he was early in his career, even better). Also, as a guy who has observed both of their games closely, PP does significantly more to maximize his talent, while ‘Melo rarely stands out as more than a scorer. He could lead the league in scoring if he played smarter, not to mention he could easily be a much better rebounder and defender. Anthony also appears to be unathletic at times, which is clearly inaccurate, and is a result of a lack of effort sometimes.
I feel that Anthony is the more talented player, but rarely puts it together like Paul does, and on court impact is the measure that matters.
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August 28th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Great reasoning. But does Pierce deserve to call himself the best in the world?
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August 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I was wondering when a discussion on that statement was going to start.
Paul Pierce may have felt he was on top of the world this year, but if his first 9 seasons serve as any indicator then obviously not. I don’t think that there’s any player that could currently call himself the best in the world. There are few that have the potential to make a run for that title, but Pierce is not one of them.
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August 28, 2008 at 5:20 pm#
My vote is for ‘Melo as the better player. Celtics’ fans have to admit that with Paul Pierce as their cornerstone for many years “pride” was hard to come by in Boston. It wasn’t until he was teamed with two future first round HOFers that he won hardware. Conversely, the Nuggets were terrible before ‘Melo’s arrival, but since have been to the playoffs, in the West mind you, all five years since.
Furthermore…
If you were to take both rosters, as they stand right now, and remove each player the Celtics would still probably win 50 games next year whereas the Nuggets would be a lottery team, guaranteed.
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August 28, 2008 at 8:02 pm#
Paul Pierce always has been, is now, and forever will be the superior player. He’s a better rebounder, passer, and defender. And when he was option 1-23 on his team, he was the superior scorer. Unless Melo comes to Boston to be Pierce’s backup, he will never win a ring.
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August 29, 2008 at 1:53 pm#
Paul Pierce - better passer, rebounder, defender, big-game competitor, 3-pt shooter, all-around scorer, and gets to the foul line more often than Melo.
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September 1, 2008 at 10:51 pm#
Let’s face it if Pierce hadn’t won the title this year no question it’s Melo. The thing is if Melo had the front office desicions Pierce had he would be in a totally different place as well. But following the topic Melo lives up to his ego where as Pierce does not. Pierce isn’t the best player in the NBA and the world for that matter. Melo doesn’t brag. Melo has better #s. I would say at the end of their carrers Melo but right now Pierce has the hype from all the former hermit Celts fans that came out of hiding after this season to represent.
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September 11, 2008 at 4:04 am#
Pierce, by a pretty definitive margin. I like Carmelo a lot, precisely because he’s a power 3 who reminded me of Pierce when he entered the league for the way he attacked the basket. But Pierce is the better defender, more versatile passer (Carmelo’s not a bad passer) and just as good a scorer (he’s averaged more than 25 points five different times in his career).
The thing about Carmelo that’s kind of disappointed me is that he’s gotten way too big and he has lost quite a bit of athleticism from when he first came into the league. Someone thought that he was because of a lack of effort, but he’s never not tried on offense. His core bulk is way too big. Between the end of his rookie year and the start of the 2004 Olympics, he gained over 20 pounds working out, trying to be the best he can be. All admirable stuff but in doing so, in becoming the size of a mini-power forward, he’s not as quick off the dribble as he used to be, his change of direction has slowed, his jumping isn’t as explosive which lets big men block his shot more easily and he’s lost flexibility so you don’t see a lot of acrobatic finishes around the basket from him. Even with his athleticism diminished, he’s still a great scorer in the regular seasonJ but in the postseason, when games slow down and teams clog the middle and defend with more intensity, Carmelo’s struggled and looked like he’s lacked a gear of athleticism.
Lebron can play at 250-260 and flourish because he might be the greatest pure athlete to ever play in the nba. Carmelo’s not enough of an athletic freak to be playing so big. I don’t understand it. Even at 235-240, he’ll be one of the most powerful small forwards in the game but with better athleticism.
So I’ll handily take Pierce over Carmelo who is still a very good player.
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November 1st, 2008 at 11:31 am
Good news for Carmelo Anthony fans if you believe the above comment: Carmelo lost 9 pounds since last season. Now he weighs 236 instead of 245.
Source: http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_10713634
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