Adrian Dantley's 7 year run (1980-1986). 29.6 ppg on 56%

[ClipperRevival]

A lot of you guys bashing the guy. And I agree that some players can put up empty stats. Like if you get yours at the expense of the offense instead of within the flow of the offense, you can hurt the team. But just looking purely at the numbers, how can you not be somewhat impresssed? The guy was 6'5" and 210 lbs and wasn't blessed with great athleticism. For him to put up the numbers he did, it's still impressive, even if they might've been empty stats. Because he did it at the highest level in the modern era. Nothing is give to you.

[Round Mound]

Best Scoring SF of All Time.

[Shep]

- Missed the playoffs 4 of those 7 years.

- 1 of those years he missed 75% of the season.

- Only managed to be Utah's 3rd best player in the 1985 post season, and 2nd best overall.

- Second best player on 1986 Jazz team.

- Highest positional rank in those 7 years was top 4 small forward (once)

[Young X]

for people that actually watched his impact on the floor. he was a cancer/a negative with empty stats


detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champs

He was one phantom foul away from winning a ring with the Pistons.

Alot of what's being said about him is true but the Pistons were still the best team in the east with him on their roster. They did him dirty.

[KevinNYC]

this is true, detroits offenses sucked even with his amazing production, detroit started winning as soon as he was dealt, empty stats

No, Detroit's offense didn't suck with Dantley, it just got even better without him. They went to the NBA finals with him. However, he was a one on one player (among the very, very best ever in the NBA) and trading Dantley helped their offensive flow, even with Aguirre scoring less. With Dantley other guys were standing around while Dantley backed his man down and when he did pass it was usually because he couldn't get his shot off and it was late in the shot clock. Chuck Daley hated this so they traded him and without him they went on a tear.

In the 42 games with Dantley, the Pistons won 30 games with an adjusted point differential of +4.5. In the 40 regular season games without him, they were 33-7 and their point differential ballooned to +7.6, which indicates a strong title contender. Their defense tightened up, dropping 0.8 efficiency points, but it was their offense that took off: from a rating of 108.5 to 113.2 (for reference, the Lakers led the league with a 113.8 offensive rating with one of the greatest offensive teams ever.) If you include the playoffs, the results only improve

Including playoffs, they went 44 and 6 after the trade. The Pistons had plenty of guys who could score, they had the luxury of trading Dantley. Also they had a guy coming off the bench called Rodman who could get more time with Dantley out.

[warriorfan]

Don't get me wrong. He was a good player and I do appreciate his game. It's when your stats are so good you are going to get compared to the greats and his overall game doesn't stack up. He was a fine player who's statistical output was greater than his on court impact.

[ClipperRevival]

He was one phantom foul away from winning a ring with the Pistons.

Alot of what's being said about him is true but the Pistons were still the best team in the east with him on their roster. They did him dirty.

Isiah and Dumars both admitted in the 30 for 30 doc that he was exactly what they needed when they traded for him. Meaning a guy who you can just throw the ball too to get you a basket.

Now down the line, when it was evident that Isiah and Dantley wasn't getting along, he might've hurt team morale but to suggest that he was purely a cancer in Detroit is unfair because Detroit could've easily won in 1988. From Isiah's injury to the phantom foul call in game 7.

[ClipperRevival]

Don't get me wrong. He was a good player and I do appreciate his game. It's when your stats are so good you are going to get compared to the greats and his overall game doesn't stack up. He was a fine player who's statistical output was greater than his on court impact.

And I think that is exactly why he isn't mentioned in the same sentence with the true legends of the game despite putting up all time great offensive numbers. History is judging him accordingly. He is like Melo of that era. Great, individual talent but might've gotten his at the expense of the offense and wasn't able to elevate the level of his teammates. But still, purely from an offensive standpoint, his achievements should still be appreciated because few in history surpassed what he did in his prime.

[Marchesk]

detroit was going nowhere with him. then they got rid of him for mark aguirre and all of a sudden theyre back to back champs

Losing to a healthy Lakers team in a close 7 game series versus beating up a banged up Lakers team in 4 the next season.

[Xiao Yao You]

He's getting a bad rap. Detroit probably wins still if they don't trade him. The Jazz were coming off a 30 win season when he took them to their first playoff ever with a 45 win division title season. That started a playoff streak that didn't end until Stockton retired and Malone chased a ring.

He's arguably the best low post scorer inch for inch ever. One of the best ever at drawing fouls. He could stick the 20 footer if you layed off him. If you guarded him he could take you off the dribble. He hit the offensive glass. Could pass out of double teams.

[aj1987]

Best Scoring SF of All Time.

LeBron, Dominique, and Bird >.

LeBron has like 1,700 more points than him in 45 fewer games.

[Jacks3]

And I think that is exactly why he isn't mentioned in the same sentence with the true legends of the game despite putting up all time great offensive numbers. History is judging him accordingly. He is like Melo of that era. Great, individual talent but might've gotten his at the expense of the offense and wasn't able to elevate the level of his teammates. But still, purely from an offensive standpoint, his achievements should still be appreciated because few in history surpassed what he did in his prime.

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Melo is a guy with very strong offensive +/- numbers, which means he's very much having big positive impact. He's played on several elite offenses and a bunch of very good ones. In fact, during his best season (2013), he anchored the 3rd best offense in the entire league. A offense that might have been the best in basketball from a passing and ball movement standpoint. He's a much better off-ball player than Dantley ever was, a much better shooter, a better passer, and he makes his moves with greater quickness and decisiveness. He's nothing like Dantley.

[KevinNYC]

There's a concept in business systems that you don't want to maximize one part of a system at the expense of the whole. Andrian Dantley may be an example of that. Dude was an unbelievably efficient scorer. Lifetime TS% is .617 with two seaons above .650. However, when he passed it was usually late in the shot clock and resulted in a rushed shot. There was also tension in the Detroit locker room with him. The next time he played Detroit he went up to Isiah and whisper "I know you traded me, asshole."

Aguirre was also a volume scorer, but he didn't play that role in Detroit and he won two rings.

The coach and GM felt, yes, we took LA to seven games, but by the middle of the season they weren't getting better.

[ClipperRevival]

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Melo is a guy with very strong offensive +/- numbers, which means he's very much having big positive impact. He's played on several elite offenses and a bunch of very good ones. In fact, during his best season (2013), he anchored the 3rd best offense in the entire league. A offense that might have been the best in basketball from a passing and ball movement standpoint. He's a much better off-ball player than Dantley ever was, a much better shooter, a better passer, and he makes his moves with greater quickness and decisiveness. He's nothing like Dantley.

To me, they are two of the top ball stoppers in history. They were great individual scorers but they both had a rap for stopping the flow of the offense based on how they got their points (on iso). You can say whatever you want about what Melo did better than Dantley but if we are going strictly by the numbers, Dantley was right there with Melo at his peak. Heck, Melo never had a 7 year run like Dantley.

So I really don't know what your point is. Are you denying that Melo wasn't a ball stopper?

[ClipperRevival]

LeBron, Dominique, and Bird >.

LeBron has like 1,700 more points than him in 45 fewer games.

Other guys you can put in the conversation: Baylor, Durant, Gervin, Melo, and Barry.