All NBA Matchups #3

Icandunkonyao gets my vote.

 

Horry33 - Best interior scoring possible with Kareem and Karl. Iverson isn't a good fit, IMO and he might get frustrated. Plus, he's a tiny 2 guard. Cousy, Iverson, Durant could get abused. Penny and Melo aren't great defenders either. This team could lead in scoring and should be great in rebounding but the defense against all time players is lacking. Plus, it might not be that efficient.

Fadeaway - Gervin and Baylor should get most of the perimeter scoring done. Schayes is a little undersized and that court hurt any interior scoring. Frazier is really solid running the point and with Russell behind him should get a lot of steals. I like the bench too. Overall solid. Russell has a lot of responsibility on defense though but he is Russell.

ICanDunkonYao - I like this team a lot. Extremely balanced. Wade and Dr. J on the fastbreak. Duncan and Walton in the half court. Terrific defense with Walton, DJ and Duncan. Wade is pretty good defensively too. I would have liked a more fun PG than DJ though with Ewing and Wade. Off the bench 3 players who can do a little bit of everything. Parish can play down low. Grant Hill can play a point foward type roll and Horry can just win. Only problem is a lack of a consistent perimeter shooter.

 

Horry33:

Cousy by most accounts had exceptional ball-handling and passing skills as well as extraordinary peripheral vision. The "Houdini of the Hardwood" was as flashy as the come yet was called "the greatest player maker that ever lived" by coach Red Auerbach in his later years. I think he would have no problem setting up others and running the pick and roll with Karl Malone.

Iverson is the guy that will attack the basket.

Durant athletic wing and outside shooter.

Kareem and Karl Malone are #1 and #2 all time in scoring...not much more to say about that.

Penny is listed incorrectly as a SF. He is a PG and biggest point guard other then Magic which is nice for a team which has 2 smaller guards starting and has experience playing with dominant big man.

Carmelo is the offense off the bench.

George Mikan was NBA's first superstar and the "Babe Ruth of basketball." A true game changer. The widening of the lane, the 3 second rule on offense, and the goaltending rule on defense were put in solely to lessen his dominance. He is also responsible for the 3 point line but thats neither here or there.

This team has players from every era of the NBA and mostly likely outscores all other teams. The one question is can they defend. Some rankings that may or may not surprise you:

Iverson #4 among SG in steals ALL TIME and #12 overall ALL TIME
Malone #1 among PF in steals ALL TIME and #10 overall ALL TIME
Kareem is top 10 in steals for a center ALL TIME


This team has two of the most dominant big men of all time (and as Rockets fans we all know how important big men are to the defense). Kareem and Mikan were all time greats at blocking shots and protecting the middle. (Kareem #3 at blocks all time and even though blocks were not kept during Mikan's year, he blocked so many shots they put in the goaltending rule). With one of these 2 centers on the court at all times it allows Iverson, Malone and the others to play the gambling defense which they were great at and turn defense into even more offense.

 

I guess I was the only one who looked at those teams and thought "fadeaway hands down'

 

A lot of young'uns on this BBS, I guess.

 

I picked Fadeaway in the end. I think Horry's team doesn't compliment each other well.

 

I guess I'll try to promote my team a bit because not many of you seem to appreciate how great my squad is. First, I'll start with some figures. My team has:

Total All Star Appearances: 68
Total NBA Championships: 16
Total All-NBA First Team Selections: 32

Now, I'm not going to add up these numbers for every other team, but I'd wager money that no other team has this many accolades. Simply put, I drafted a team of legends.

C: Bill Russell
PF: Dolph Schayes
SF: Elgin Baylor
SG: "The Iceman" George Gervin
PG: Walt "Clyde" Frazier
---
"Pistol" Pete Maravich (PG/SG)
Chris Mullin (SG/SF)
Willis Reed (PF/C)

Every single one of my players is in the basketball hall of fame. Besides Chris Mullin, every one of my players was voted one of the best 50 players in NBA history. No other team can say that.

This team also has excellent balance. It was not haphazardly thrown together.

Bill Russell is perhaps the greatest defensive player in NBA history. Meanwhile, Walt Frazier is one of the top two best perimeter/pressure defenders the game has ever seen (only Gary Payton might be considered better, and even that is debatable). Willis Reed is an All-Defensive First Team player, and is capable of manning both the PF and C spots. Every other player is highly athletic and can hold his own against most anyone.

On the offensive end, Elgin Baylor and George Gervin are simply two of the best scorers the NBA has ever seen. Walt Frazier, an excellent passer, is also capable of creating his own shot. Dolph Schayes had excellent range and (not many people know this) was one of the best free throw shooters of all time. My 6th man "Pistol" Pete one of the best scorers and ball-handlers of all time, and would bring instant energy off the bench.

Looking for intangibles like toughness and "clutch-ness?" Dolph Schayes once played almost an entire season with a broken arm! As a result, he learned to shoot with the other hand. Willis Reed is legendary for his playoff performance at Madison Square Garden when he gutted it out and limped onto the court despite a serious leg injury to inspire his team to victory. Bill Russell's ruggedness is well chronicled. As for clutch performers, George Gervin wasn't known as "The Iceman" for nothing. He had a habit of stepping up and hitting big shots at key moments.

I think that anyone who does a bit of research will realize that the team I had put together is vastly superior to any other squad in this draft.

It's all in good fun though, and I had a great time doing this.

 

I would say Gary Payton was a better shut down defender.

Frazier pretty much inventing picking ball handlers though. He's gonna be free to move with Russell behind him.

Frazier went 36 points, 7 rebounds AND 19 ASSISTS IN GAME 7 OF THE NBA FINALS.

That's ridiculous.

 

Close poll.

 

I went with fadeaway. I think some people underestimate the impact of Bill Russell. With Baylor and Gervin I think you have a good scoring punch in the backcourt and I like how Frazier and Pistol Pete fit in. I'm not a fan of Schayes.

Horry33--This team is all-offense, no defense (besides Kareem). Too many ball-hogs. And by too many I mean Allen Iverson. He is an awful fit. He will steal the ball away from Cousy and try to score on his own. Kareem won't get enough touches. I really like the frontcourt of the mailman, Kareem, and Mikan, though. The concern is that your backcourt will get abused on defense.

ICanDunkOnYao--There is a lot to like about this team. Great wing scorer in Wade and post scorer in Duncan. It's a very solid defensive team. Grant Hill is a good scorer off the bench. I don't like DJ on offense or Robert Horry anywhere. I don't think Horry is talented enough to help this team. He just got lucky.

It was close for me between fadeaway and ICanDunkOnYao, but I think the Bill Russell factor is what gives fadeaway the win.

 

No question in my mind. It's got some old school players, but man are they fantastic, great balance, everything.

 

A team with Horry on it = at least 1 championship

 

The issue with Horry on this team is that he'll be sitting on the bench at crunch time. You're going to replace Dr. J or Duncan with Horry when the game is on the line?

 

i'm only 26, so in my head I'm still young

what I don't understand, and this is no knock to Horry's team is that fadeaway's bench is the best of the 3 here, and maybe the best all around bench in this tournament, and I think Horry's is just horrendous.

 

I understand most people including myself have not seen much of Cousy and Mikan. But Iverson and Penny were beasts in their prime(they both probably tried to hold on too long and ruined our memory of how good they were).

Iverson was amazing as a Sixer. He did "ballhog" during his time but look at the team he took to the finals...It had Mutumbo, Tyron Hill, Eric Snow, and Aaron McKie and 6th man Matt Geiger. Who was he supposed to pass to?


And just for fun...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxemlJwMss8&feature=related

 

I'd take your starting lineup over the other 2, but I think fadeaway's bench more than makes up for that. Just my humble opinion.