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11-17-2007, 07:57 AM
Top Trios In The NBA
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Seven games.
Seven victories in seven games entering the weekend, won by an average margin of 17 points, were all I needed to see from the Boston Celtics to know that we needn't hold off any longer.
You might not want to admit this, but you know you're already asking yourself: Do the Celts have the most fearsome threesome in the NBA? Now you can consult the official Stein List of Top Trios for answers, from No. 1 to No. 5 and with some honorable mentions below:
1. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili
To knock the Spurs' iconic core out of the top spot -- San Antonio's fundamentally sound pillar in the low post and its two creators/havoc-makers flanking him on the perimeter -- Boston will have to win it all in Year 1 of its renaissance.
But even then you couldn't really get away with bumping a threesome that has been crowned champions in three of the past five seasons. That's how special Duncan, Ginobili and Parker are together, with on-court styles that mesh so nicely and a chemistry that ranks as the envy of the league, extending to the point that the first two took significant discounts in their most recent contract negotiations to make it easier for Spurs management to keep the supporting cast around them stocked.
Where else on the NBA map does stuff like that happen?
2. Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion
It took a trio as historic as San Antonio's to prevent these three and their highly skilled supporting cast from breaking through last season. Maybe they don't quite have the Spurs' unity, with Stoudemire and Marion both known to crave more spotlight at times, but you can likewise ask yourself: Who does?
The Suns naturally prefer to focus on what they do have, starting with a selfless (and imperious) floor leader who everyone wants to play with. There might be skeptics around the league who question how good Stoudemire and Marion would be without Nash, as I was reminded Friday by one executive, but their respective athletic gifts help make Nash even more dangerous than he was in Dallas … and make Stoudemire and Marion two of the most unique creatures in the game.
Although there's a beneath-the-surface expectation that this season might be the last chance for this trio to win it all before the Suns pursue dramatic personnel changes, remembering how high they sit on this list always tends to give management pause.
3. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen
Go ahead. Tell me it's too early to have them up here. Tell me that it's a trio featuring three No. 2 options, none of them truly comfortable as the alpha dog. Tell me that it's not the ideal mix for an NBA threesome since there's no ball-handling guard here as you'd hope to put alongside the big man and the explosive wing man.
Say what you wish about the two megastars that have been imported to sandwich Pierce and everything they're allegedly missing as a triumvirate. I'm listening instead to the Western Conference executive who told me: "As a pure trio, who has three guys more talented?"
They've also joined forces in a conference for the taking, which (as I keep saying) should offset the limitations of their supporting cast. If I have a concern about the Celtics at this point, it's that they remind me a bit of last season's Mavericks, playing with an intensity -- most of it spilling from Garnett -- that will overwhelm teams in the regular season but prove hard to maintain through the playoffs. Even so, Boston's new trio has to be this high.
Yes, already.
4. Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry
The Mavs rank as the NBA's ultimate prove-it-to-me team after their collapse in the 2006 NBA Finals was followed by last season's ignominious first-round exit. I freely admit, furthermore, that I was one of the loudest advocates out there for a bigger offseason shakeup to cleanse the locker room of past demons.
For the purposes of this discussion, however, I don't see how you can exclude Dallas' core trio. Especially when Howard has so noticeably improved his shooting and ballhandling and with Terry flourishing in his new sixth-man role, which frees him up to do what he does best -- fire away -- as opposed to worrying about everyone else first.
Nowitzki still suffers from the fact that, outside of reserve guard J.J. Barea and veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse, he's the best passer on the team … and can't exactly pass it to himself to create shot opportunities. But Nowitzki remains an absolute matchup nightmare for pretty much every team this side of Golden State. Add it all up and this is still an elite, dangerous triad.
5. Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby
These guys haven't achieved what the mainstays have in Detroit and Utah … or even what New Jersey and Washington have done in the playoffs by getting to Round 2. But the Nets' and Wizards' trios are beset with injuries and other issues these days, while the Pistons and Jazz would honestly fit better in a discussion of Best Foursomes.
Denver, meanwhile, shares much in common with Boston, given that this is the first full season together for these three and since it's a trio bubbling with talent. Anthony's game is starting to broaden and include more passing, Iverson remains a source of (welcome) offensive unpredictability and fierce competitiveness at 32 and Camby has quietly played 70 games twice in his past four seasons with the Nuggets and is the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
============
Next In (Stein) Line
The following threesomes were strongly considered for our five-deep list of Top Trios:
1. Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton/Tayshaun Prince (Detroit)
The line in bold highlights our issue with Detroit: Who's No. 3? Is it Rip? Or is it Tay? Answer: The Pistons remain an ensemble cast that you just don't think of in trio terms. Not unless they trade two of the above four stalwarts for Kobe Bryant.
2. Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko/Mehmet Okur (Utah)
Same problem with the Jazz. Tough to grade their three-man core when it's not clear if Kirilenko or Okur is the No. 3 man … or whether Kirilenko and Jerry Sloan have reached a lasting truce. If they have, given where Boozer and Williams are now, this team has a real complaint and the best shot to move up.
3. Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison (Washington)
All three of these Wizards have been an All-Star at least once and they routinely form one of the league's highest-scoring trios. But the slow recovery of Gilbert's knee after offseason surgery has dropped them into the second tier, at least for now.
4. Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson (New Jersey)
Kidd's presence alone -- after a brilliant summer with Team USA to remind folks that Steve Nash isn't the only beloved point guard in this league -- makes you wonder if the Nets' triad has been dismissed prematurely. Then you remember the ongoing doubts about Carter's compatibility with Jefferson … and the fact that the two swingmen rarely seem to be healthy even if you do believe they can play together.
5. The Field
A few more trios worth monitoring for the future: Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and either Peja Stojakovic or David West in New Orleans; Chris Bosh Andrea Bargnani and T.J. Ford in Toronto; Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson in Orlando; and Portland whenever Greg Oden joins LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
LINK: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-071117-18
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Seven games.
Seven victories in seven games entering the weekend, won by an average margin of 17 points, were all I needed to see from the Boston Celtics to know that we needn't hold off any longer.
You might not want to admit this, but you know you're already asking yourself: Do the Celts have the most fearsome threesome in the NBA? Now you can consult the official Stein List of Top Trios for answers, from No. 1 to No. 5 and with some honorable mentions below:
1. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili
To knock the Spurs' iconic core out of the top spot -- San Antonio's fundamentally sound pillar in the low post and its two creators/havoc-makers flanking him on the perimeter -- Boston will have to win it all in Year 1 of its renaissance.
But even then you couldn't really get away with bumping a threesome that has been crowned champions in three of the past five seasons. That's how special Duncan, Ginobili and Parker are together, with on-court styles that mesh so nicely and a chemistry that ranks as the envy of the league, extending to the point that the first two took significant discounts in their most recent contract negotiations to make it easier for Spurs management to keep the supporting cast around them stocked.
Where else on the NBA map does stuff like that happen?
2. Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion
It took a trio as historic as San Antonio's to prevent these three and their highly skilled supporting cast from breaking through last season. Maybe they don't quite have the Spurs' unity, with Stoudemire and Marion both known to crave more spotlight at times, but you can likewise ask yourself: Who does?
The Suns naturally prefer to focus on what they do have, starting with a selfless (and imperious) floor leader who everyone wants to play with. There might be skeptics around the league who question how good Stoudemire and Marion would be without Nash, as I was reminded Friday by one executive, but their respective athletic gifts help make Nash even more dangerous than he was in Dallas … and make Stoudemire and Marion two of the most unique creatures in the game.
Although there's a beneath-the-surface expectation that this season might be the last chance for this trio to win it all before the Suns pursue dramatic personnel changes, remembering how high they sit on this list always tends to give management pause.
3. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen
Go ahead. Tell me it's too early to have them up here. Tell me that it's a trio featuring three No. 2 options, none of them truly comfortable as the alpha dog. Tell me that it's not the ideal mix for an NBA threesome since there's no ball-handling guard here as you'd hope to put alongside the big man and the explosive wing man.
Say what you wish about the two megastars that have been imported to sandwich Pierce and everything they're allegedly missing as a triumvirate. I'm listening instead to the Western Conference executive who told me: "As a pure trio, who has three guys more talented?"
They've also joined forces in a conference for the taking, which (as I keep saying) should offset the limitations of their supporting cast. If I have a concern about the Celtics at this point, it's that they remind me a bit of last season's Mavericks, playing with an intensity -- most of it spilling from Garnett -- that will overwhelm teams in the regular season but prove hard to maintain through the playoffs. Even so, Boston's new trio has to be this high.
Yes, already.
4. Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry
The Mavs rank as the NBA's ultimate prove-it-to-me team after their collapse in the 2006 NBA Finals was followed by last season's ignominious first-round exit. I freely admit, furthermore, that I was one of the loudest advocates out there for a bigger offseason shakeup to cleanse the locker room of past demons.
For the purposes of this discussion, however, I don't see how you can exclude Dallas' core trio. Especially when Howard has so noticeably improved his shooting and ballhandling and with Terry flourishing in his new sixth-man role, which frees him up to do what he does best -- fire away -- as opposed to worrying about everyone else first.
Nowitzki still suffers from the fact that, outside of reserve guard J.J. Barea and veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse, he's the best passer on the team … and can't exactly pass it to himself to create shot opportunities. But Nowitzki remains an absolute matchup nightmare for pretty much every team this side of Golden State. Add it all up and this is still an elite, dangerous triad.
5. Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby
These guys haven't achieved what the mainstays have in Detroit and Utah … or even what New Jersey and Washington have done in the playoffs by getting to Round 2. But the Nets' and Wizards' trios are beset with injuries and other issues these days, while the Pistons and Jazz would honestly fit better in a discussion of Best Foursomes.
Denver, meanwhile, shares much in common with Boston, given that this is the first full season together for these three and since it's a trio bubbling with talent. Anthony's game is starting to broaden and include more passing, Iverson remains a source of (welcome) offensive unpredictability and fierce competitiveness at 32 and Camby has quietly played 70 games twice in his past four seasons with the Nuggets and is the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
============
Next In (Stein) Line
The following threesomes were strongly considered for our five-deep list of Top Trios:
1. Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton/Tayshaun Prince (Detroit)
The line in bold highlights our issue with Detroit: Who's No. 3? Is it Rip? Or is it Tay? Answer: The Pistons remain an ensemble cast that you just don't think of in trio terms. Not unless they trade two of the above four stalwarts for Kobe Bryant.
2. Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko/Mehmet Okur (Utah)
Same problem with the Jazz. Tough to grade their three-man core when it's not clear if Kirilenko or Okur is the No. 3 man … or whether Kirilenko and Jerry Sloan have reached a lasting truce. If they have, given where Boozer and Williams are now, this team has a real complaint and the best shot to move up.
3. Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison (Washington)
All three of these Wizards have been an All-Star at least once and they routinely form one of the league's highest-scoring trios. But the slow recovery of Gilbert's knee after offseason surgery has dropped them into the second tier, at least for now.
4. Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson (New Jersey)
Kidd's presence alone -- after a brilliant summer with Team USA to remind folks that Steve Nash isn't the only beloved point guard in this league -- makes you wonder if the Nets' triad has been dismissed prematurely. Then you remember the ongoing doubts about Carter's compatibility with Jefferson … and the fact that the two swingmen rarely seem to be healthy even if you do believe they can play together.
5. The Field
A few more trios worth monitoring for the future: Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and either Peja Stojakovic or David West in New Orleans; Chris Bosh Andrea Bargnani and T.J. Ford in Toronto; Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson in Orlando; and Portland whenever Greg Oden joins LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
LINK: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-071117-18