Who do you think is better..........

[Andrew]

McGrady is probably the better player once you consider talent, natural advantage and statistics - he definitely has a more developed and varied offensive game - but I'd personally rather have Wade as he's not only proven himself as part of an overachieving team, he's also proven to be successful on a strong, winning team. In contrast, T-Mac still failed to get past the first round despite being on the strongest squad of his career and going up 2-0 to begin the series.

T-Mac still needs to develop leadership, team concepts and learn how to win, though his talent is undeniable. Wade on the other hand is already rather unselfish and capable of contributing on a successful team, while at the same time posting impressive stats and showing continued improvement.

McGrady may be the established star and Wade the rising one, but I'd still pick Wade because looking at what they both must do to become the best they possibly can be, Wade seems more likely to me to accomplish that. I believe it's easier to teach and develop skills (especially when the talent is already there) than it is to teach leadership, winning and reverse selfish trends.

[Nel]

This is the problem that haunts TMAC. Just because he cant get past the 1st rnd and blowing leads puts him behind wade. I dont understand that. IMO going to 2nd rnd is not an achievement. Every player knows that getting the championship is the biggest accomplishment.

Sure wade got to the ECF but it doesnt prove that hes better. Shaq is different from Yao. Heck KG took 7 yrs but once he got past the 1st rnd hes now considered one of the best. I'm sure if TMAC did pass the 1st rnd last year there would be no argument here. Wade is good but he still doesnt have that ring like TMAC. If theres one that great its Kobe.

[air gordon]

wade probably can't score 13 in 35 ticks, he seldom shoots 3's, only after he blocks 6'10 monsters, he'll chuck them from deep

since the thread is asking best individual player, i vote mcgrady.

mcgrady could be a perennial memeber of the all defensive team if he chose to and already is one of the best scorers in the league

[Kobe101]

T-Mac.

[Jona]

As much as I like Dwayne, McGrady is a much more complete player.

[fgrep15]

McGrady is better right now. The margin is not far at all really, but Tmac is a superior shooter, good passer himself, just as capable a defender when he actually decides to play defense.

The areas Wade beats Tmac in is aggresiveness in going to the basket, passing, and he's a slightly better [more consistent] defender.

Can he play PG/SG/SF/PF ?

Their's a difference between being able to play PG duty or play a positon in instances, and actually being able to play the position. Tmac doesn't have an advantage over Wade in being able to play PG and PF because he can't be a full time player or starter at either position. Tmac can guard weaker perimeter PF's, and even then, it depends on who, and he can bring up the ball and set up the offense, but is far from a PG. Wade could also play SF if you wanted to put him there, at times he would guard SF's, and be guarded by them, but he's a SG/PG, and Tmac is a SF/SG.

And no one can block Wade? How's that?

He's only 6-4.

6'5 to be exact, he measured in at 6'4.75 at draft camp, but the Heat wanted to list him at 6'4, maybe to make opponents think he was shorter, and he also has a 6'10 wingspan.

[Bang]

Currently Tmac...but give Wade maybe a year or two and Wade will be better.
The best thing I like Wade is that he isn't enamored with 3s. Did you know that Kobe and Tmac have already surpassed Jordan's 3 pt attempts in his career? Yea, reflect on that...

[fgrep15]

^
It's not that Wade isn't obsessed with them, it that Wade just isn't much of a 3PT shooter. MJ wasn't really a bad three point shooter, most of the three's he took were desperation or late clock three's, but in crunch time, he could hit them well.

[havasufalls]

how can u knock wade for not shooting 3's? he doesnt shoot 3's that doesnt mean he jus doesnt. i mean that is a good and bad thing cause then u can never say he is fallin to in-love with the 3pointline. if he is drivin and steppin in for shots thats something that i cant knock him on

[COOLmac©]

the logic here about 3 pointers is......
when you are a superstar and you put up about 20 shots per game, trying to shoot beyond the 3 point line will get your shooting arm exhausted, looking at how far the nba 3 point area is. so the deal is to get a little closer if you can than settling the 3. T-mac do go for the 3 much because due to his back injuries [ he is kinda fragile you know althouh he did left wieghts these past few years]
he seldom drives and got a feel for the 3 point shot
when he goes healthy man o man.........i am speechless, so he carry around the 3 point arsenal now

[Andrew]

This is the problem that haunts TMAC. Just because he cant get past the 1st rnd and blowing leads puts him behind wade. I dont understand that. IMO going to 2nd rnd is not an achievement. Every player knows that getting the championship is the biggest accomplishment.

It's more about getting the most you can, the best result possible. As one of the most important players on the Heat, Wade was one game away from the NBA Finals. T-Mac's Rockets were hardly a poor team (probably the best team he's ever been a part of), yet he again went home early. Besides, getting to the second round is an achievement albeit a minor one; it's still one step closer to having an opportunity at competing for the championship.

The fact T-Mac hasn't been past the first round doesn't make him a worse player than Wade, but the fact Wade's shown he can play such an important role on a team that went somewhere last season - not all the way to the championship but a scant five wins away from it - makes him the more appealing choice to me. You could call T-Mac the better player but there are aspects of Wade's game and attitude that make him the player I would choose out of the two.

[Nel]

^^We have different opinions, but i respect yours.

[Strike Freedom]

TMac improved alot when he first played in Orlando. He became the Most Improved player that year, remember? Whereas, Wade didn't.

McGrady, in his rookie year, didn't have alot of opportunity on the ball because of Vince Carter. However, Wade had been getting a lot of opportunities in his rookie season, even in playoff.

But then, it's hard to decide which player is better because both of them have played better than before.

[kinokong]

TMac improved alot when he first played in Orlando. He became the Most Improved player that year, remember? Whereas, Wade didn't.

McGrady, in his rookie year, didn't have alot of opportunity on the ball because of Vince Carter. However, Wade had been getting a lot of opportunities in his rookie season, even in playoff.

But then, it's hard to decide which player is better because both of them have played better than before.

wow wade didn't improve a lot? i'll give you his stats

YEAR G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
03-04 61 56 34.9 .465 .302 .747 1.4 2.7 4.0 4.5 1.41 .56 3.21 2.30 16.2
04-05 77 77 38.6 .478 .289 .762 1.4 3.7 5.2 6.8 1.57 1.06 4.17 3.00 24.1

here are the stats for t-mac in his first 4 seasons
YEAR G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
97-98 64 17 18.4 .450 .341 .712 1.6 2.6 4.2 1.5 .77 .95 1.03 1.30 7.0
98-99 49 2 22.6 .436 .229 .726 2.4 3.2 5.7 2.3 1.06 1.35 1.63 1.90 9.3
99-00 79 34 31.2 .451 .277 .707 2.4 4.0 6.3 3.3 1.14 1.91 2.03 2.50 15.4
00-01 77 77 40.1 .457 .355 .733 2.5 5.0 7.5 4.6 1.51 1.53 2.57 2.10 26.8

the reason t-mac finally broke out was because he spents 3 yrs on the toronto bench developing his game and went to orlando where he started all the games he played and logged 40 minutes a game. i love t-mac but you see classic examples of a player breaking out because of the minutes they receive

[VCFAN]

wade is 6'4 and 3/4inches.
Wade is so affective in my opinion, he doesnt need to be able to shoot the 3 to score points. He has proven he can win. Im not saying he is better than T-mac but mey be eventually if he improves.

[Strike Freedom]

[quote="just_decent]
wow wade didn't improve a lot? i'll give you his stats

[/quote]

I'm just sayin Wade didn't win Most Improved Player award, that's all.

[Andrew]

^^We have different opinions, but i respect yours.

And I see where you're coming from as well. But like I said in my original post, in terms of who's better, right now I'd say T-Mac so I agree with you there. But if I were putting together a team and had to choose between them, I'd actually take Wade because of the reasons I mentioned; even if McGrady is the better player right now.

[COOLmac©]

hehehe all this debate can only be solve in one on one basketball

with T-mac demolishing wade's ass

anyways cool points for both sides of the fence. wade is great but t-mac is even better player wise. in team wise, wade wins hands down..... but after next year when the playoff dust settles, then we will see which sides can be proven wrong

[Fenix]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/4806088
FoxSports' Mike Kahn says that Wade is the best shooting guard in the world. O. M. F. G. I'm not even going to comment this. Good? Of course. Great? Yeah, pretty much. But the best? Better than McGrady and Bryant? I don't think so.

[Nel]

And I see where you're coming from as well. But like I said in my original post, in terms of who's better, right now I'd say T-Mac so I agree with you there. But if I were putting together a team and had to choose between them, I'd actually take Wade because of the reasons I mentioned; even if McGrady is the better player right now.

This year will be the defining moment of mac. He does have a better supporting cast this year with the additions of swift and anderson. If he can't get past the 1st rnd this year, i'll agree that wade is better than him. Anyways is mac really a selfish player like u said? He does average almost 6 assts/game. I think hes one of the underrated passers in the league..

[Fenix]

This year will be the defining moment of mac. He does have a better supporting cast this year with the additions of swift and anderson. If he can't get past the 1st rnd this year, i'll agree that wade is better than him. Anyways is mac really a selfish player like u said? He does average almost 6 assts/game. I think hes one of the underrated passers in the league..

He is a very, very good passer (better than Wade or Bryant), but his assists numbers don't tell the whole story. The more time you hold the ball, more passing oppurtunities you get (and more turnovers). LBJ would average 10+ apg if he had the ball as much as Bryant.

[cyanide]

Definitely, T-Mac has very good court vision and I see him making some good dishes. Problem is, sometimes he tries to do too much (selfishly) on offense, and that can really hurt the team, but when he's being unselfish, the team is very, very good.

[Andrew]

This year will be the defining moment of mac. He does have a better supporting cast this year with the additions of swift and anderson. If he can't get past the 1st rnd this year, i'll agree that wade is better than him. Anyways is mac really a selfish player like u said? He does average almost 6 assts/game. I think hes one of the underrated passers in the league..

His assist numbers prove he's not a black hole; a complete ballhog wouldn't average six assists per game. It's more a matter of dominating the ball at the wrong times than being a completely selfish player.

[beau_boy04]

I always thought Wade was a PG well I guess I was wrong. Anyways, I don't think Wade is better than neither Bryant or T-Mac as of now. He may indeed have more potential left in the tank but he's still not as good as B and T.

[kinokong]

This year will be the defining moment of mac. He does have a better supporting cast this year with the additions of swift and anderson. If he can't get past the 1st rnd this year, i'll agree that wade is better than him. Anyways is mac really a selfish player like u said? He does average almost 6 assts/game. I think hes one of the underrated passers in the league..

His assist numbers prove he's not a black hole; a complete ballhog wouldn't average six assists per game. It's more a matter of dominating the ball at the wrong times than being a completely selfish player.

wow, funny to see a double standard being held here. kobe averages 5 a game and he gets knocked for being a ballhog, starbury averages over 8 a game and he gets knocked also... aren't they the same type of players, one that needs to dominate the ball to succeed, just because tmac had a superior team compared to kobe and marbury and he made it to the postseason, he is a level up ahead of them, put kobe on that rockets team and ill bet you he would have got them to the 2nd round...