Mike Lowry wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2025 12:13 am
Who's the best player in the league? Who's the MVP?
The best player in the league is Moses Malone. But the MVP is Magic Johnson.
Is it the same player? If not, what's the distinction?
No, obviously. The distinction for me is "who is responsible for the most individual success" versus "who is responsible for the most team success." Moses is an absolute beast and it pretty much unstoppable. But Moses has some talent around him. The Suns have Magic and basically nothing else. I am convinced if you took Magic off that team and replaced him with a league-average point guard, they're a 30-win squad. In other words, Magic is single-handedly propping up the squad and as long as Magic is healthy, the Suns are dangerous.
How would you game plan against them?
With Moses, I would try to shut down all the perimeter scorers. Lister isn't going to score, but if Moses gets no help, he's going to top out at 60 points, not enough to beat you. For Magic... geez, no idea. Pray for an injury? Pay off the refs to eject him from the game on two quick Technical Fouls?