2021 Historical Draft: How Does My Team Look?

[Who]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

[Darth_Yoda]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

https://youtu.be/KkPz_b86BuI

[Who]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

https://youtu.be/KkPz_b86BuI

Quick enough to hang with Giannis but not talented enough offensively to punish Giannis or big enough physically to beat Giannis up (they are similar size players, I'd say Giannis is a bit bigger than Serge).

[Jvalin]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

You don't necessarily go big. You stop fighting aggressively for offensive rebounds in order to focus on your transition defense. You also move the ball around on offense as much as possible. You don't take a shot early in the shot clock unless it's a wide open shot. By doing this, you slow down the tempo of the game.

Obviously, you need defensive minded players to slow down the game. For instance, you need a hard-nosed PG who dictates the tempo on both ends of the court. You also need elite shot creators in the half court (=skilled high BBIQ players). Again, I reckon the Rockets and the Wizards are perfectly equipped to implement such a strategy. I would argue that the Bucks are an elite half court team as well. I got the best defensive PG in the draft in Dennis Johnson. 4 of my 5 starters are excellent defenders. My 5th starter is Jokic who's an elite shot creator in the half court. He can create shots either for himself or for his teammates. Him, Arvydas Sabonis and Bill Walton are probably the best passing Centers of all time.

[Moranis]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

You don't have to. You just get easy buckets inside because Danny Granger can't guard a big man.  I mean is Granger going to be able to defend Malone or Haywood from my squad.  Not in the least and I'll take the and 1 every single time and I'll take my chances on the much lower percentage 3 point shot on the other end of the floor.  Part of the reason the Warriors were able to play small ball so effectively is because they had so many guys that were both elite defenders and quality 3 point shooters.  Small ball doesn't work if you can't defend and I just don't think that lineup can defend anywhere near good enough to be effectively used for any period of time as Giannis is really the only elite defender in that lineup and Booker is a downright terrible defender.  Parker, Clyde, and Granger were ok defenders, but nothing to write home about. 

And I still maintain I don't think you want Giannis guarding great interior scorers, for any period of time.  It is a recipe to get him knocked out of the game.  He is tall and muscular, but he isn't a banger.  He will get pushed around in the paint and it will wear him out.  We saw that against the Heat this year, as his offensive efficiency took a hit when he was forced to guard Bam (and Bam is no where near a finished polished product like most of the bigs in this). 

[RPGenerate]

Really sad that I couldn't get Parker and O'Neal in the 7th round. Was really counting on getting one of them. Ah well, I like the pieces I got. Lucas and Wilkes gives me two great defenders off the bench, and Ainge gives me another floor spacing sharpshooter.

[Somebody]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

https://youtu.be/KkPz_b86BuI

Quick enough to hang with Giannis but not talented enough offensively to punish Giannis or big enough physically to beat Giannis up (they are similar size players, I'd say Giannis is a bit bigger than Serge).

I'd say Draymond can hang with Giannis pretty well. Gobert too considering that Giannis can't really shoot.

[gouki88]

What do people think of my updated team?

Mo Cheeks
Manu Ginobili
Kobe Bryant / Ron Artest
Andrei Kirilenko / Dan Issel
Artis Gilmore

I’ve got a fun pick lined up with the 1st pick in the 8th round

[Jvalin]

Chicago Bulls

G: Mark Price
G: Drazen Petrovic
F: Julius Erving
F: Shawn Kemp, Larry Nance
C: Vlade Divac, Jermaine O'Neal

I am happy with the versatility of the big man rotation. I got 4 guys who can all play alongside one another. Vlade gives me a high post facilitator / glue guy. Kemp gives me a power PF or a small ball C. Jermaine gives me a defensive C. Nance gives me an all-round glue guy at PF.

I believe that big man versatility will allow me to matchup against any type of big man combination in the league / team style of play. So very happy with that.

Vlade and Drazen playing together once again! Love this! They were roommates and best friends growing up. Unfortunately, their friendship fall apart because of a stupid incident in the Final of the 1990 FIBA World Cup.

Vlade is Serbian. Drazen was Croatian. They were both playing for united Yugoslavia (= Serbia + Croatia + Slovenia + Bosnia and Herzegovina + North Macedonia + Montenegro + Kosovo). Let's say they were the United States of the Balkans. Yogoslavia had just won the FIBA World Cup. Everybody was celebrating. A Croatian fan in the stands was waving a croatian flag. Vlade felt like the croatian flag was promoting separatism. He grabbed the flag and he threw it away. Drazen learned about this incident the following day. They had a huge fight. That was it. They never spoke again. Drazen died in a crash in 1993. Vlade was beyond devastated. He never got the chance to make peace with his best friend. They were like brothers prior to the flag incident.

ESPN released a documentary about this story. Vlade was a hero in Serbia during the civil war, but he was a vilain in Croatia. About 2 decades later, he returned to Croatia to visit Drazen's mother in an effort to finally make peace with his old buddy. Here's some footage from the documentary. Amazingly enough, it involves the Celtics as well (click on the second link). The Yugoslavia NT played an exhibition game against the Celtics in 1988. Larry says Drazen was the best player in Europe. Maybe the best player in the world! Danny compares him to Pistol Pete. What a player Drazen was! Just as good as Doncic, if not better. Steal of the draft imo, even at #39. Vlade ain't no scrub either. I had him ranked as the 9th best Center in the draft. He's a starting-calibre Center in my book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGkdCuQ72fo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVw5vnukwJ4

Personally speaking, I hate flags. All they do is divide people. The croatian flag divides croatians from non-croatians, the US flag divides americans from non-americans, the canadian flag divides canadians from non-canadians and so on and so forth. The way I see it, nationalism sucks big time. Unfortunately, it's on the rise once again. Not just in the US, throughout the world.

[Somebody]

What do people think of my updated team?

Mo Cheeks
Manu Ginobili
Kobe Bryant / Ron Artest
Andrei Kirilenko / Dan Issel
Artis Gilmore

I’ve got a fun pick lined up with the 1st pick in the 8th round

Not a huge fan of Kobe at SF. Obviously both positions are easily interchangeable with each other, but Kobe was never anything more than a solid defender, and I would like just a bit more defensive solidity at the wing position. Everything else save shooting (most teams lack shooting anyways so I think you'll be fine) looks good though.

[Moranis]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

https://youtu.be/KkPz_b86BuI

Quick enough to hang with Giannis but not talented enough offensively to punish Giannis or big enough physically to beat Giannis up (they are similar size players, I'd say Giannis is a bit bigger than Serge).

I'd say Draymond can hang with Giannis pretty well. Gobert too considering that Giannis can't really shoot.

in the half court Gobert would do ok, but not in the open court and I'd presume a Giannis led team is going to play fast break up tempo ball.  Gobert can't do that for any extended period of time.  Green would do ok, though I'd worry about Giannis length against Green if I had Green.

[Somebody]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

https://youtu.be/KkPz_b86BuI

Quick enough to hang with Giannis but not talented enough offensively to punish Giannis or big enough physically to beat Giannis up (they are similar size players, I'd say Giannis is a bit bigger than Serge).

I'd say Draymond can hang with Giannis pretty well. Gobert too considering that Giannis can't really shoot.

in the half court Gobert would do ok, but not in the open court and I'd presume a Giannis led team is going to play fast break up tempo ball.  Gobert can't do that for any extended period of time.  Green would do ok, though I'd worry about Giannis length against Green if I had Green.

To be fair Gobert can wall off Giannis in the paint even if Giannis pushes the pace, you just need to have him forgo crashing the offensive glass (not that having Gobert crash the offensive glass against an amazing defensive rebounder like Giannis is a good idea anyways).

[Moranis]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

https://youtu.be/KkPz_b86BuI

Quick enough to hang with Giannis but not talented enough offensively to punish Giannis or big enough physically to beat Giannis up (they are similar size players, I'd say Giannis is a bit bigger than Serge).

I'd say Draymond can hang with Giannis pretty well. Gobert too considering that Giannis can't really shoot.

in the half court Gobert would do ok, but not in the open court and I'd presume a Giannis led team is going to play fast break up tempo ball.  Gobert can't do that for any extended period of time.  Green would do ok, though I'd worry about Giannis length against Green if I had Green.

To be fair Gobert can wall off Giannis in the paint even if Giannis pushes the pace, you just need to have him forgo crashing the offensive glass (not that having Gobert crash the offensive glass against an amazing defensive rebounder like Giannis is a good idea anyways).

I don't think it would work well and I don't think Gobert is good enough offensively to really grind on Giannis and wear him down on that end, which is where the size will really come into play.  Most of the big guys in this would struggle guarding Giannis as well, however most of the big guys could also punish Giannis in the post on the other end of the floor making it more of a wash.  And punishing Giannis I think could pay dividends in the long run as Giannis has never been able to play huge tough mintues. 

[Somebody]

Also, I plan on having a fast paced team pushing the transition game. And with my starters or even my Parker-Booker-Clyde- Granger-Giannis lineup that should be deadly.

Man, that is a killer lineup.

How do you defend that? You can't. You can only try to out-score it and that's going to be hard to do.

I think that is when you go big to counteract as that is a pretty small lineup and I certainly wouldn't want Giannis guarding true centers for very long.  Good way for him to end up worn out or injured.

Hard to hide a big man on any one of those perimeter scorers. The big man will have to be quick enough and solid defensively to hang with Giannis one-on-one.

https://youtu.be/KkPz_b86BuI

Quick enough to hang with Giannis but not talented enough offensively to punish Giannis or big enough physically to beat Giannis up (they are similar size players, I'd say Giannis is a bit bigger than Serge).

I'd say Draymond can hang with Giannis pretty well. Gobert too considering that Giannis can't really shoot.

in the half court Gobert would do ok, but not in the open court and I'd presume a Giannis led team is going to play fast break up tempo ball.  Gobert can't do that for any extended period of time.  Green would do ok, though I'd worry about Giannis length against Green if I had Green.

To be fair Gobert can wall off Giannis in the paint even if Giannis pushes the pace, you just need to have him forgo crashing the offensive glass (not that having Gobert crash the offensive glass against an amazing defensive rebounder like Giannis is a good idea anyways).

I don't think it would work well and I don't think Gobert is good enough offensively to really grind on Giannis and wear him down on that end, which is where the size will really come into play.  Most of the big guys in this would struggle guarding Giannis as well, however most of the big guys could also punish Giannis in the post on the other end of the floor making it more of a wash.  And punishing Giannis I think could pay dividends in the long run as Giannis has never been able to play huge tough mintues.

With how guys like Gasol/Horford have been able to guard Giannis pretty well by walling him off in the paint I'd think Gobert can do the same. And yeah Gobert definitely wouldn't be able to bang against Giannis in the post, I'm just putting him out there to prevent Giannis from dunking all over my defence one-on-one and he'll do that very well imo.

[nickagneta]

After 9 rounds your Phoenix Suns

PG: Tony Parker
SG: Clyde Drexler/Devin Booker
SF: Danny Granger/Hedo Turkoglu
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo/ Carlos Boozer
C: DeAndre Jordan

The Suns also have the 1st pick of round 10 so any advice on who I should take would be great, but please, only do so after the 9th round is complete....or PM me.