Tuck: Best 1-2 Combos In The NBA
On Sunday LeBron James and Dwayne Wade combined for 52 points in a thumping of in-state rival Orlando. Kevin Durant scored 51 by himself later that night, and oh by the way, Russell Westbrook chipped in 40 in the Thunder’s OT win against Denver.
At the mid-way point of the season, I’d have to have my arm twisted pretty hard to pick anyone else to play in the Finals. That’d be an easier debate than deciding which 1-2 punch is the best.
But let’s give it a shot. Here are the top ten 1-2 combos in the NBA today. I threw out injured players like Zach Randolph and Al Horford for this discussion.
10. Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio
9. Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry
8. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith
7. Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire
6. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry
5. Derrick Rose and Luol Deng
4. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol
3. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin
2. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook
1. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade
Honestly, the hardest part was picking who exactly the 1-2 on each team was. In some cases picking 1 was easy, but 2 was tricky because you could argue for a couple guys. I felt bad leaving off Boston, San Antonio, Orlando, and Portland. In cases like the last two, the #1 are certainly worthy, but distinguishing the #2 that belongs was a headache. The Celtics and Spurs don’t always have clear #1′s, #2′s, or #3′s for that matter.
Of those on the list, listing Gasol over Bynum used to be obvious, but wasn’t as much doing it now. The Knicks, well, you can see the problem there. This new guy Jeremy Lin could be, should be mentioned, but I didn’t? A case could be made for having Dirk and Jet higher based on last postseason. Do Ellis and Curry belong? I say yes, but I’d understand better teams with a lesser 1-2 combo deserving more recognition. Heck, David Lee could make a case to be the #2 in that punch. Not sure Rubio fits in this group yet, but Love does, and they are a clear 1-2 so I went with it.
Basically what I found in just trying to think of this, is that there isn’t a lot of obvious 1-2 punches out there. The top 3 clearly standout. After that though you get into better arguments for the best 1-2-3 combos. You’d eliminate some 1-2′s and other teams with stronger 3′s. Heck, while we are at it.
1-2-3 COMBOS
10. Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay
9. Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, David Lee
8. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli
7. Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett
6. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer
5. Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Jeremy Lin
4. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Caron Butler
3. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum
2. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden
1. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh
Tags: NBA, Tuck and O'Neill
