HoopWatch

As I was having trouble sleeping the other night, it got me thinking. There are a lot of NBA players in the past who have similar attributes to present NBA players or simply put – NBA Greats have present counterparts. My mind started working. I jotted a total of 100 pairs, but I trimmed it down to 50. This is a ten part series, and let me present to you the last five in my list.

50. Chris Mullin – Joe Johnson

The Golden State Warriors last went to the playoffs when one of NBA’s 50 Greatest Chris Mullin let them there. Johnson is on the verge of bringing Atlanta back to the postseason wars, in two or three years. Both guys are pure shooters, and they create scoring opportunities for their young teammates. Mullin had then-young Tim Hardaway, Latrell Sprewell and one-time first over-all pick Joe Smith as his support. Right now, Joe-cool’s got athletic and young teammates in the Joshes (Childress and Smith), the Williams (Marvin and Shelden), Zaza Pachulia and Salim Stoudamire. These young guns will only become better with Johnson. Watch out for the Hawks in the coming years. Meanwhile, revel on the similarities of these two Olympic and NBA stars – Chris and Joe.

49. Jerry West – Mike Miller

One thing connects these two. West is the GM of the team Miller is playing for, the Memphis Grizzlies. Miller has come to his own lately, shooting clutch baskets as of late. As West was easily the best clutch-shooter of his day. Miller will become the clutch in due time.

48. Clyde Drexler – Ray Allen

Just take a look at the athleticism, the finesse and the hang glide. Although Drexler rarely shoots that three, but both these guys do well in creating shots for themselves. Expect Allen to blossom more if he has more guns at his side. Rashard Lewis and Chris Wilcox aren’t enough to compliment Ray-Ray. And the hang glide he’s got when he goes for rim-rattling slams, he’s more of a Clyde to me than a Reggie.

47. Clyde Drexler – Tracy McGrady

Clearly, both guys have played for the Houston Rockets franchise. They both play the wing, shoot that perimeter jumper with ease, and can stay afloat for seconds. Drexler had Hakeem Olajuwon when he won that 1995 NBA title. Expect Yao Ming and T-Mac to be the dynamic duo to reckon with in two years. They are even hard to stop now.

46. Reggie Miller – Tracy McGrady

This is a late addition. It got me thinking just earlier when Doug Collins compared these two in the Denver-Houston game, where Houston easily won, even without Yao. I hate to admit but T-Mac shoots more jumpers than Clyde, and Reggie has his share of lotsa-shots. Reggie and T-Mac are both good in battling through screens and shooting that jumper, and in the clutch. The big difference is Reggie has a quicker release, while McGrady uses his athleticism and length to shoot over opponents. I guess it is safer to say T-Mac is a combination of the talents of Miller and Drexer. Ya think?