Classic Confrontations: Willis Reed vs Wes Unseld

[rtacck]

not Stern's NBA

[tellthetruthg]

Wilt , Nate , ate them up like cupcakes

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg actually reed was better than thurmond and also took 2 rings against wilt,both times outscored him!of course wilt was n't in his prime and i don't say that reed was better but he is in top 10 centers ever.cowens is also verry underrated and one of the best ever.unseld was n't in the same level but was strong,great rebounder,defender,passer and most of all one of the best team-players ever!along e.hayes made one of the best front-lines ever.

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat : if you compare the two(see Basketbal Refernce) Nate is clearly better. Willis had a great team around him so he won championships you put Nate on those Knicks teams they would have been even better. Willis is on the radar but not in Nates class. I can tell you right now there is no convincing me otherwise and you probably have the same outlook for Willis. Thanks for the chat. Go GSW's

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg statistically reed in his prime had 21p.14reb. and nate had 20p.18reb. PLUS was better blocker,so statistically nate seems to be better BUT reed had many great teamates so he had to share scoring and rebounding.they also scored almost the same points but reed was better offensively,he had much better fg% than nate and also had more range and more variety in scorng.also reed outscored wilt many times in nba finlas, nate coud n't offrnsively battle wilt in offense...

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat wow your back! This is a can't win debate. You like Reed, I'm a Nate the Great fan. I will add to say Nate couldn't match Wilt on offense when they matched up. Fact is in the 60's nobody could but Wilt couldn't stop Nate either, he would out score him but Nate didn't shoot more than 15 x per game compared to Wilts 20+ .

Nate held his own against the best ever Kareem, Kareem said Nate gave him his hardest games .Willis had nightmares about Kareem

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg i know that is a can 't win debate so this is my answer about reed-kareem.the proof that reed was very competitive against kareem is this video....Nov 27, 1970 NBA Knicks@Bucks FULL Original Broadcast.....reed(34p 13reb 3bl) outscored kareem(32p 15 reb 3bl)....what a great battle between 2 of the best officaila nba teams ever!there are also oscar vs frazier!

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat the back'n forth is fun I will give you this Reed was picked 9th as one of the greatest Centers ever by Fox sports Nate was tenth and they added it was because he never won a ring. Don't mistake my love for Nate as a slight against Reed he was a bad ass B ball player and a good man too. Thanks for your re's. Who do you think is the best PG, 2guard, PF, Small Forward or 3. in the history of Basketball?

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg it's hard to say....i 've made list in my channel but i am not sure about it!so my opinion is that best PG is magic,of course oscar is the same great but i think magic was a pure PG while oscar was somethjing between PG and SG!

SG:easy....of course MJ,the hard is to find who no2 is....in the end i think kobe maybe slightly better than j.west

SF:eventhough in my opinion is the most competittive list i'll take Larry Bird over baylor,drj,barry...

PF:1.k.malone 2.barkley 3.tim

C:wilt

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat Magic at PG he just the best period, but I'd take Zeke over Oscar. MJ at the 2 and probably will be fore ever. Kobe over West to me is easy as MJ being the best. 3 is tougher, but I give a slight edge to Bird over Barry, because Bird was a better rebounder, then Dr J. then Baylor but on any given night any of them could win the battle. Tim Duncan at PF Malone & Sir Charles some what close second Center Kareem. More rings and points. The most Beautiful shot ever "Sky Hook"

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg well,i apreciate this conversation about b-ball....but i disagree about PF and C.duncan took rings but had less competition in his position,only garnett,dirk and shaq until 2004.on the other hand karl - barkley had to face each other and many other great big guys,most of them HOF!at center is very hard to say but i think wilt was better than kareem who had more rings but he had much better teamates than wilt had ,especialy in 60's!i don't also think kobe is much better than west

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat In my book the Rings are the yard stick, plus stats. It is true that Duncan didn't really have a lot of competition ,but he can't be faulted for that. Like a great boxer can't be accountable for the foes of his era.

Kobe though has had to play against a great class of 2 guards in his era. But the NBA has changed so much; 7' forwards 6'9" guards are not freaks any more. Love Basketball best athletes over all of any sport. Thanks for the chats

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg i do n't say tim was n't as good as karl-barkley only cause of the lack of competiton,but since i've watch them all in their prime and i think that both had more talent and were better overall players than him.kobe had more competiton than tim but west also face great guards...oscar,frazier,s.jones­,monroe,maravich,havlicek,bing­,greer... as concerns pettit,this is the reason is n't higher ih the list,statistically is the best but would be more athletic today-similar to dirk style

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat ".but i disagree about PF and C.duncan took rings but had less competition in his position" You posted that. Any way the Big fundamental wasn't near as flashy as Malone or Sir Charles but because his game was so over all great the Spurs won how many rings? Take away John Stockton whats Malones game? Barkley on the other hand created his own success. Also part of his problem he never helped make one team mate better. Sir Charles on and off the court is all about him

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat I wasn't telling the truth about Bird over Barry. If i was on a playground I'd take Barry. He won a Ring with 2 rookies and 2 centers splitting time, Clifford Ray and George Johnson, He averaged 36 pts through out the playoffs I think or close to that #. In the finals the Bullets had 3 all stars. Barry earned his ring the hard way. Biggest upset in NBA history. We each left off the big E as the best PF of all time, a great player. points, rebounds & a ring.ultra great shooter

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg barry was a great player and leader and u are right that that champ was one of the bigest upsets in nba,this year champion(dirk-dallas) has some similarities with 1975.u are also right about hayes,is right back those 3,i 'll also take pettit in top 5 pf to.but i think that bid was overall better player but is very tough to say.isiah is one of my favorites ever and for me no3 pg ever,but osacr was unbelievable and was better player.as concerns west-kobe arealmsost in the same level

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat I'll have to take historians word on Pettit. I don't see him being able to be good to make an impact from the late 60's on, his game was OK I think all of the other Men we've posted about would be great in this era as well. The game has changed a lot so I think probably any one from the 50's NBA couldn't play in today's NBA. About Zeke over Oscar at PG it is because as you said he was more of a 2 than a 1. He had a great post game that's missing in todays game too.

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat I,m curious where do U live? Team do you root for? Me GSW Live in Castro Valley Ca now but I from Oakland. I played basketball at a high level until about 30 I'm 55 now. I got my love for the sport from an Uncle that coached at 1 St Elizabeths. He had Kevin Hardy who went on to be the #1 nfl pic of the 49ers after a stop at Noter dame. Later at St Joe's a Parade HS all American that Wooden recruited to UCLA. I was lucky in a way. Jump 36" + , but bad handles& average shooter. You

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg i was born in greece,in patras,is the one of the biggest ports in europe and connects greece with italy and western europe.i went in toronto-canada when i was 5 four 7 years and then i return in greece.now i have some rooms to lent in a greek island but i often go to canada.in canada i used to play b-ball a lot and when i came back to greece i played many years in pro teams but probably u do n't know them .but i had some injuries and now i play sometimes with my friends...i am 38

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat at 55 I miss being able to jump high. I'm about 5'9 still can touch the back board. One thing I did get better at is my shot. used to rely too much on going up & I missed way too much. My favorite thing was to play D. To me pinning a shot on the back board or blocking a shot after it left the shooters hand especially if he was much taller was as fun as scoring on someone. I never got paid to play but I did play against some NBA players . Phil Smith, Gus Williams, Bill Cartwright

[AdreasTheGreat]

@tellthetruthg well i am 5.8 and i use to play pg....i had a good shot but my main adnvantage was speed and thats why i could penetrate very good!i was good in perimterer def and although i was n't tall i had very good leaping abilities.of course the bad thing is that we getting old but that's ok.

[tellthetruthg]

@AdreasTheGreat our games would have been good vs ea other. I still play how about you? Some day's if I get in a good play or 2 I feel like I contributed. My shot is better now because I can't rely on speed or quickness or jumping. At 55 I see I won't even want to play in Playground games but I'll always have a basketball to shoot around by myself or play horse with my daughter or kids. Most of the guys I played with don't even shoot around anymore, and some were better than me. Go GSW !!!

[babyshaq05235]

I wouldnt say Chamberlain didnt play against any good big men but i will say the height and size advantage he had against centers he played were more advantageous compared to say Shaquille O Neal. There weren't a lot of 7 footers back then & centers didnt commonly weigh over 250 lbs like in todays NBA. He was the only 7' 1 ft 275 lbs guy compared to guys like Willis Reed, Russell & Unseld who were all 6'9 and shorter. Shaq played against Duncan, Robinson, Ewing, Olajuwon etc all 7 footers

[ripperduck]

@babyshaq05235 True but Wilt was as good an athlete as has ever played the post. He had been a premier track and field dude and had competed at the highest level in that sport. That was what gave him his amazing endurance and athleticism. Wilt could HJ nearly 6'7", could run a 10.5 hundred yard dash, and could shotput over 50'. In 1963, counting all the overtime, he played every minute of a full regular season and at 36 was second in the league in minutes played. He was amazing...

[babyshaq05235]

@ripperduck

I'm not questioning Wilt's talent , skill & athletic prowess at all....you obviously regardless of size had to have the game to be able to do what he did....just saying the defensive resistance he recieved can't compare to the same as a Shaquille O Neal. As talented as Wilt was, there was nobody near his size & that made him seem more inhuman. Imagine what Shaq's numbers would be if he routinely rarely ever played against a center over 6'9 & weighed over 245lb. Monster numbers!

[ripperduck]

@babyshaq05235 I see your point. What I'm saying is that Wilt was a much better athlete than Shaq, who was very good, but Wilt was elite. In 1963, if you include all overtimes, Wilt played every minute of a regular season. At 36, he was second in minutes played. That incredible stamina/durability was due to his track&field training, in which he excelled. He was more than just bigger than most, he was a better athlete than most, including today's centers.

[nutballgazette]

This was a classic match up. I hated playing Baltimore back then. But looking back this was as good of a battle as their ever was in NBA History

[olmec19]

@GDogSamurai-So True So True!!

[bd001217]

1970 - Unseld pulls down 34 rebounds in one playoff game vs Willis.

Then Reed comes back the next game with 36 points and 36 rebounds.

Just incredible stuff between these two. I loved the Knicks/Bullets games.

Reed was better when they were both healthy.

[nutballgazette]

@bd001217 I did not realize that Unseld had 34 rebounds in game 4 of that series, Game 5 was an easter Sunday and we had a snow storm, My family wnd myself went to Ft Dix to see my Brother during Boot Camp and on our way back my dad put the game on the radio for me.

[FrsBigeasy]

They were a couple of Bulls battling it out.

[GDogSamurai]

Unseld and Reed are two of the best centers of all time, and two classy hard-working gentlemen

[azbaldy5]

they played basketball they way it shoud be played

[LazlosPlane]

@GDogSamurai Amen! I laugh when I hear these under 45 fools talk about how there were no good big men before Ewing, Shaq, etc. . . that Chamberlain didn't play against any big men!!!! They don't know how strong, how determined these guys were and almost every team had one: Nate Thurmond, Unseld, Reed, Lanier, Gilmore, Beatty, etc, etc...

[Paperbagman555]

I like Unseld more, but they were both great...

[westcoastfire44]

great rivalry

gotta go with unseld