Is Karl Malone underrated and disrespected on InsideHoops?

[ILLsmak]

Bulls were better. No way utah was gonna beat em. Impossible. The jazz were good, but they didn't have a lot of talent. They had two amazing players, but they didn't have anyone else who could get you enough points to win. Malone would have had to get 40 ppg for them to win. They had some guys I liked to watch... antoine carr for instance, but talent wise not a championship team. Props for making the finals.

-Smak

[FireDavidKahn]

Having sex with a 13 year old and getting her pregnant will do that to a mans reputation. Even without that incident, Karl Malone is a complete and vile scumbag. He deserves to be disrespected.

[Smoke117]

Having sex with a 13 year old and getting her pregnant will do that to a mans reputation. Even without that incident, Karl Malone is a complete and vile scumbag. He deserves to be disrespected.

This is the NBA basketball board...not the morality board.

[FireDavidKahn]

This is the NBA basketball board...not the morality board.

Hence why I used the word disrespected. He was a great basketball player, but he deserves to be disrespected in every way possible.

[Purch]

Not underrated.. In that group right under Duncan..

Along with Garnett, Dirk and Barkley

[Pointguard]

Oh, So experience accounts for the fact that the Lakers couldn't even win one game? Right.

Malone was a two time MVP, so I beg to differ. And what also gives him the nod as the best PF ever is that he actually got better after 10 years in the league, and had amazing longevity that someone like Barkley never had. Duncan isn't a PF, and while I have to respect Garnett individually he wasn't quite the talent that Malone was. Dirk is great but I don't consider him a PF in the way a PF normally plays the game. I'd say Dirk is right there with Malone, though.

Good post.

Malone really would beat up on who ever was guarding him. So I even give his defense a bit of a higher score because his defender was usually worn down by chasing him or his bruising tactics by the end of the series. You also explained how teams isolated him in the playoffs and it affected TS/FG%. His numbers in the playoffs and regular season were almost identical otherwise with a great sample size and 19 years of true work.

I will also add that Stockton slowed the game down and didn't take as many fastbreak chances which would have increased his TS% and FG%. In the playoffs teams took more a chance of doubling hard on Malone so a dip in efficiency should be expected. The other thing is that not even Duncan wins if Jordan is fit and hungry.

Without Jordan, Malone probably would be the only PF to do a back to back championship. Instead he kind of underachieved, but a 25/11 against one of the smartest, super defensive units in the game. With Rodman, arguably the best one on one defenders alltime, Pippen one the best team defenders alltime, and Jordan one of the best help defenders alltime. I really don't see any PF getting better numbers than Malone did on that Bulls team.

Malone got 27/12/5 with 2 steals per game against two very solid big time defenders in Kemp/Perkins, the year before.

[ArbitraryWater]

Having sex with a 13 year old and getting her pregnant will do that to a mans reputation. Even without that incident, Karl Malone is a complete and vile scumbag. He deserves to be disrespected.

Pretty much.

[c5terror]

The man was amazing. Played for nearly 20 years, scored more points than anyone besides Kareem, won 2 MVP's, went to the finals twice. It sucks that he came up in the time of Air Jordan. People only remember him as the choker it seems on this forum. Everyone on here talks about how Kobe's longevity is amazing. Malone's was as well. His last season in Utah he was still dropping 21 and 8, on 46% yes, but at the time it was the most defensive era of NBA ball.

Yes he's underrated as the most dirtiest player of all time

[Pointguard]

Yeah, he was dirty and plenty to dislike about the guy.

[Angel Face]

Karl could be a 2 time back to back champ if not for the Bulls and MJ being the difference of those series. He has a tendency to choke though. Remember, the mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays.