Prime MJ was the greatest perimeter defender of all time

[bond10]

Just cause you can guard 1-4 =/= greatest perimeter defender.

Jordan was the better defender, but Pippen is praised more cause MJ conserved himself during the second 3peat.

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=224613

Johnny Bach:

Who was the better defender? Pippen was one of the best and most gifted defenders of all time. But MJ was the better defender. Michael could shut down anyone in the world for a 3 minute span. The best he’s ever seen. (I was pretty shocked by that, but man what does that tell you about MJ, unbelievable.) Jordan was the most ferocious competitor Bach has seen in all his years of basketball. Johnny said physically Jordan and Pippen were about the same as defenders. But when you add in MJ’s ruthlessness and trash talk, that put him ahead of Scottie. When Johnny was coaching with the Hornets in 1995 they had a good team. Glen Rice, Mourning, Johnson. Series was tied at 2 and Hornets had a chance to win game 5 in Chicago. On the biggest possession of the game, Mugsy had the ball with the Hornets down 1. Jordan backed off of him and told him: “shoot it you ****ing midget.” Mugsy shot it, didn’t come close. A year later Mugsy actually told Johnny Bach that he believes that single play ruined his career. His shot never recovered.




http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=213322

New York Daily News - November 3th 1996

Watching Jordan

"To me, the better part of his game is his defense. He becomes very intense and disrupts in the same manner that K.C. Jones did for the Celtics," Chamberlain said. "There are guys who play Jordan who are afraid to put the ball down and afraid to pass. They're always looking and saying, 'Where the hell is Michael?' He'll steal the ball or cause you to do something you don't want to do. But Michael understands that we have always loved numbers and scoring and the point system. The people who score the touchdowns or score the baskets are the guys who get all the applause."

[jlip]

The greatest perimeter defender of all time is more than likely a non superstar specialist such as a Bruce Bowen or Tony Allen type player who didn't receive the hype that superstars got.

[bizil]

I think Jordan was a better man defender than Pippen, but Pip was a better overall defender and more impactful.

I agree! Major elements of defense include man defense, team defense, and defensive versatility. Some people in this post are underestimating defensive versatility for some reason. Pip is close to MJ's level in terms of man defense and team defense. But Pip's defensive versatility is arguably the best of all time. That versatility is ENOUGH to give Pip the edge on MJ in terms of overall defense.

For example as great a defender as Chris Paul is, he can only defend PG's and some SG's. In comparison to Lebron who can defend PG, SG, SF, PF, and some centers. So even if CP3 is a better man defender, Bron is the more VALUABLE defender because of his versatility. That versatility gives his teams more flexiblity.

As we have seen, bigger perimeter guys like Magic and Bird gave MJ the most trouble in my opinion. A freak athlete like Pippen had the size and athletic ability to guard them more effectively. So once again, defensive versatility can be used as a tiebreaker if the other elements are close.