2019 Historical: How Does My Team Look Thread

[Somebody]

Terry Porter is one of the best 3 and D guards with a bit of playmaking in this draft. He was amazingly consistent on both ends of the floor in his prime and was considered to be the PG of the best backcourt in the 90s alongside Drexler.

[Silky]

The San Antonio Spurs

PG: Gary Payton ---Penny Hardaway
SG: Kobe Bryant --- Dale Ellis
SF: Jimmy Butler --- Hedu Turkoglu
PF: Dave Debusscherre --- Karl-Anthony Towns
C: Hakeem Olajuwon --- Yao Ming

i firmly believe that I have the most interesting team of all.
And I also believe that my team can cause a number of debates, which was kind of the point of it all.

First off, no ones team features the defense that mine has. DPOY and greatest defensive PG of all time, 9 time all nba 1st defensive SG, a tough hard nosed defensive SF, a PF who was named all nba defensive 1st team 6 times (the award wasnt a thing when he started playing) who is also considered one of the greatest defensive PFs ever, and the greatest defensive DPOY center of all time.

add to that lineup offensively, my PG is arguable top 5 of all time as a pg, my sg is second all time, my center is top 5 all time, arguable top 3 all time. and all three of them are polished offensive forces. My main trio are multiple time all nba 1st team we have MVPs, finals MVPs, scoring champs, etc. My team will dog you defensively, and expose your weaknesses offensively.

My starting lineup is going to create so many turnovers and fast break opportunities its crazy.


And my bench, my beautiful bench is littered with mismatches for other teams.

There is no bench PG that is going to be able to contain Penny, no one. The only guards that are capapble of slowing penny on the perimeter give up size and he will post them up. mismatch

My shooting guard is 6foot8 and has long arms and a deadly shot that he can get off over anyone, also very adept ball handler and a willing passer. he is also a bruiser that can post up. mismatch

My small forward is 6foot10 and has ball handling skill, is clutch, is a fantastic shooter and playmaker who can post up smaller guards and run circles around larger forwards. mismatch

My PW is a 7foot1 faceup/postup monster who shoots over 40% from 3 and grabs lots of boards. Putting someone small on him he will shoot over them, or post them up. someone bigger on him and he can speed past them. mismatch.

My center is a 7foot6 monster with a soft touch and great hands. he commands respect all the way out to 22 feet from the basket, can set massive screens, and can also make great passes out of the post. He forces teams to play bigmen on him opening the door for the other bench players to take advantage. mismatch

I also have ultimate flexibility as Penny can play 3 positions, Kobe 2 positions, Butler 2 positions, Hedu 2 positions, dave 2 positions, s 2 positions, KAT 2 positions and Hakeem 2 positions.

All this gives me huge matchup flexibility as I can move ny of Ellis, Penny, Hedu or Kat into the starting lineup easily and not miss a beat.

I love Hakeem and think Penny Hardaway was a great get. My problem is my Kobe hatred bias is tough to overcome. I always thought his defense was majorly over rated and that he was too inefficient. But he was a great player.

Unfortunately, I don't really like most of the rest of the team. I think you took way too many players way too early leaving much better players on the board, eventually severely hurting your overall quality of team. Two players I didn't have on my top 120. One I would not have had in my top 200. Picks like that cripple teams in this exercise if those players are rotation players.

But the starting defense could be elite and will keep you in games as long as they gel quickly. The Laker team that had Payton and Kobe had zero chemistry, so I wonder how much hard headed people like Kobe and Payton would have while in their primes.

A tough team with the best two way center in the game but not enough elsewhere to turn this team into one I would like in this game.

I tried to build an actual team, as opposed to just a collection of assets.

I needed spacing, so I picked a player that shot 47% from 3 on almost 5 attempts per game.
I needed size, so I picked size
I needed playmaking so I picked a super sized small forward who had a tremendous season.

They arent all sexy picks, but when looking at individual seasons, the pieces fit.

[Silky]

Los Angeles Lakers

Starting lineup
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Tracy McGrady
SF: Julius Erving
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Dave Cowens

Second unit
PG: Steve Nash
SG: TBD
SF: Shawn Marion
PF: Elton Brand/Draymond Green
C: Artis Gilmore

With some luck in the 11th and 12th rounds to fill out my SG position, I believe that my team has a nice blend of offense and defense that you'd be hard pressed to find on other teams.

Offense:
The starting lineup will have McGrady being the primary ball handler, even though it may sound baffling to some. His passing was superb, posting assist percentages as high as 30% on 35.2% usage in the 2002-2003 season, and has drawn praise from Jeff Van Gundy as one of the best passing forwards to ever play the game. His combination of scoring and passing will be a handful for any team to defend, and he will be running a bevy of pick and roll/pop plays with two versatile big men in Kevin Garnett and Dave Cowens, who could roll inside to strain interior defenses with speed and physicality, or pop outside to shoot a midrange shot or even a three (I'm assuming we're using the "what if all-time greats were born and raised in the modern game?", so great midrange shooters for their position in KG and Cowens will be assumed to make threes at a decent clip). These plays will likely collapse the defense, and the greatest shooter of all time in terms of sheer volume combined with efficiency in Steph Curry will be hauling up as many decent looks he gets (and likely making them with his incredible shot making!). The Doctor will be waiting for opportunities on the wing to cut/drive for acrobatic finishes only a select few can do, and will get plays run for him in the mid/low post if he gets a mismatch for an easy score. The team will also utilise the high post game of Garnett and Cowens, with both big men able to exploit their defenders with speed and skill. They also were known for their court vision-both can facilitate high quality looks for their teammates with their passing ability when the offense in run through them inside. What I really like about this lineup is that we have a lot of options to choose depending on the matchup, and the players in the starting 5 have games that are flexible enough to retain considerable offensive value no matter how we run the offense.

Defense:
The starting lineup is also quite strong defensively. Although Steph Curry is perceived to be a weak defender, he's not that bad-he consistently puts in the effort to stay in front of his man, has sound defensive positioning and good court awareness, which culminated in him leading the league in steals aside from winning the scoring title in the 2015-2016 season by disrupting passing lanes and occasionally getting the steal in man to man defense. He's by no means a lockdown defender, but he is certainly adequate to stay in front of opposing PGs and provide a positive impact with his intangibles. McGrady is also a decent defender-he used his size and length to contest shots, and he had the athleticism to stay in front of his man. I might have rose coloured glasses on but I believe that he can crank it up when he has a better supporting cast to make life on offense easier for him ala Houston (he posted 4.5 DWS and 1.6 DBPM as an SG for the Rockets in the 06-07 season, both pretty good marks). The Doctor was above average-not great, but he was certainly a positive on that end with his otherwordly athleticism that allowed him to recover from defensive lapses and provide some stunning help defense. The heart of the defense will be the tandem of Kevin Garnett and Dave Cowens, as both are strong interior defenders who can also step out and cover perimeter players if needed on switches. Garnett's video game skillet will be the lynchpin of our defense-he can switch to all 5 positions in a possession seamlessly and still play lockdown defense, whether is it being a second rim protector to help out Dave Cowens inside, patrolling the court alongside the Doctor as a help defense duo, or even as a safety valve when Curry or McGrady are thrown into the blender in isolation/the pick and roll. Overall I think this team is can hold their own defensively, and can be disruptive when needed.

Bench
The second unit will mainly have their offense run through Steve Nash, who is one of the best floor generals on offense. There is synergy in the lineup-Nash and Marion had some fantastic runs together in Phoenix, and I believe that the two former teammates can form a strong partnership that can cover each other's weaknesses (defense for Nash, and offense for Marion). The frontcourt will consist of Elton Brand and Artis Gilmore, with the former being a two way force who could impose his will on either end of the court, and the latter being one of the finest rim protectors in NBA history. The defense of the frontcourt trio will cover Nash's defensive issues adequately imo, as opposing bench mobs would find it immensely difficult to go through the Matrix one on one and score on Brand and the A-Train once they get to the rim. Can't really go in depth about the second unit due to me lacking a backup shooting guard though.

Not a huge fan of the complete lack of defense.

Alot of the teams here sport very high wing defense, and also still strong offensively. I like the front court pairing, but I question the size of the frontcouort.

I can see teams attacking from the perimeter and forcing the bigs to cover defensively, leaving the giants to have free pickings on open coverages.

[Who]

Strange. My last post about Wilt Chamberlain has disappeared.

[Silky]

The San Antonio Spurs

PG: Gary Payton ---Penny Hardaway
SG: Kobe Bryant --- Dale Ellis
SF: Jimmy Butler --- Hedu Turkoglu
PF: Dave Debusscherre --- Karl-Anthony Towns
C: Hakeem Olajuwon --- Yao Ming

i firmly believe that I have the most interesting team of all.
And I also believe that my team can cause a number of debates, which was kind of the point of it all.

First off, no ones team features the defense that mine has. DPOY and greatest defensive PG of all time, 9 time all nba 1st defensive SG, a tough hard nosed defensive SF, a PF who was named all nba defensive 1st team 6 times (the award wasnt a thing when he started playing) who is also considered one of the greatest defensive PFs ever, and the greatest defensive DPOY center of all time.

add to that lineup offensively, my PG is arguable top 5 of all time as a pg, my sg is second all time, my center is top 5 all time, arguable top 3 all time. and all three of them are polished offensive forces. My main trio are multiple time all nba 1st team we have MVPs, finals MVPs, scoring champs, etc. My team will dog you defensively, and expose your weaknesses offensively.

My starting lineup is going to create so many turnovers and fast break opportunities its crazy.


And my bench, my beautiful bench is littered with mismatches for other teams.

There is no bench PG that is going to be able to contain Penny, no one. The only guards that are capapble of slowing penny on the perimeter give up size and he will post them up. mismatch

My shooting guard is 6foot8 and has long arms and a deadly shot that he can get off over anyone, also very adept ball handler and a willing passer. he is also a bruiser that can post up. mismatch

My small forward is 6foot10 and has ball handling skill, is clutch, is a fantastic shooter and playmaker who can post up smaller guards and run circles around larger forwards. mismatch

My PW is a 7foot1 faceup/postup monster who shoots over 40% from 3 and grabs lots of boards. Putting someone small on him he will shoot over them, or post them up. someone bigger on him and he can speed past them. mismatch.

My center is a 7foot6 monster with a soft touch and great hands. he commands respect all the way out to 22 feet from the basket, can set massive screens, and can also make great passes out of the post. He forces teams to play bigmen on him opening the door for the other bench players to take advantage. mismatch

I also have ultimate flexibility as Penny can play 3 positions, Kobe 2 positions, Butler 2 positions, Hedu 2 positions, dave 2 positions, s 2 positions, KAT 2 positions and Hakeem 2 positions.

All this gives me huge matchup flexibility as I can move ny of Ellis, Penny, Hedu or Kat into the starting lineup easily and not miss a beat.

I like Jimmy Butler and Dave DeBusschere as your starters. I love KAT's offensive game but his defense lags behind too much to play major minutes in this league. I prefer him as a small minute bench player. I would go with Butler over Dale Ellis because Ellis was a really bad defensive player & rebounder.

I love the defensive identity of the team with Hakeem, Payton, Kobe and DeBusschere. Butler fits into that well also. I think their defense will carry them and they should get enough offense from Kobe, Hakeem and Payton to be solid there as well.

Penny Hardaway is an awesome bench player. Good enough to start at PG or SG in this league. I am not much of a Yao Ming fan. I think he is too slow. He has his uses though. Dale Ellis is a good shooter / gunner off the bench to offer your offense something different. I like that - offering something different, able to change the flow of the game when needed. Not a fan of Hedo as a rotation player.

I love your frontcourt starters.

Dirk i debated taking when i picked Kobe. It was between kobe, duncan and dirk. I wemt with wing scoring. But dirk and wilt is awesome.


Love hill on the wings.

Frazier was there for me with payton. Both great defensive pgs who can score

That is a great starting point to any team. Offense defemse from the pg spot and bigmen who can do it all.

Not a huge fan of porter on there. Or johnson or parish honestly. But that might be just me.

I think the wong position is lacking a bit as you could use more scoring and takeover from a spot there.

[nickagneta]

Strange. My last post about Wilt Chamberlain has disappeared.

That post was comparing two players. I don't  want those types of posts in  this thread just yet. I put it in the rules of the thread that I didn't want posts comparing players or teams. At least not yet.

[Who]

Strange. My last post about Wilt Chamberlain has disappeared.

That post was comparing two players. I don't  want those types of posts in  this thread just yet. I put it in the rules of the thread that I didn't want posts comparing players or teams. At least not yet.

It wasn't to compare them as players as such. It was to talk about Wilt Chamberlain's style of play to better illustrate how Wilt plays. There was nothing in there about one player being better than another. Just that they were different.

Shaq is like a baseline for Wilt. To describe his game. As the most similar recent player to an old player. Due to their physical gifts and low post centric style of play.

[Somebody]

Los Angeles Lakers

Starting lineup
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Tracy McGrady
SF: Julius Erving
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Dave Cowens

Second unit
PG: Steve Nash
SG: TBD
SF: Shawn Marion
PF: Elton Brand/Draymond Green
C: Artis Gilmore

With some luck in the 11th and 12th rounds to fill out my SG position, I believe that my team has a nice blend of offense and defense that you'd be hard pressed to find on other teams.

Offense:
The starting lineup will have McGrady being the primary ball handler, even though it may sound baffling to some. His passing was superb, posting assist percentages as high as 30% on 35.2% usage in the 2002-2003 season, and has drawn praise from Jeff Van Gundy as one of the best passing forwards to ever play the game. His combination of scoring and passing will be a handful for any team to defend, and he will be running a bevy of pick and roll/pop plays with two versatile big men in Kevin Garnett and Dave Cowens, who could roll inside to strain interior defenses with speed and physicality, or pop outside to shoot a midrange shot or even a three (I'm assuming we're using the "what if all-time greats were born and raised in the modern game?", so great midrange shooters for their position in KG and Cowens will be assumed to make threes at a decent clip). These plays will likely collapse the defense, and the greatest shooter of all time in terms of sheer volume combined with efficiency in Steph Curry will be hauling up as many decent looks he gets (and likely making them with his incredible shot making!). The Doctor will be waiting for opportunities on the wing to cut/drive for acrobatic finishes only a select few can do, and will get plays run for him in the mid/low post if he gets a mismatch for an easy score. The team will also utilise the high post game of Garnett and Cowens, with both big men able to exploit their defenders with speed and skill. They also were known for their court vision-both can facilitate high quality looks for their teammates with their passing ability when the offense in run through them inside. What I really like about this lineup is that we have a lot of options to choose depending on the matchup, and the players in the starting 5 have games that are flexible enough to retain considerable offensive value no matter how we run the offense.

Defense:
The starting lineup is also quite strong defensively. Although Steph Curry is perceived to be a weak defender, he's not that bad-he consistently puts in the effort to stay in front of his man, has sound defensive positioning and good court awareness, which culminated in him leading the league in steals aside from winning the scoring title in the 2015-2016 season by disrupting passing lanes and occasionally getting the steal in man to man defense. He's by no means a lockdown defender, but he is certainly adequate to stay in front of opposing PGs and provide a positive impact with his intangibles. McGrady is also a decent defender-he used his size and length to contest shots, and he had the athleticism to stay in front of his man. I might have rose coloured glasses on but I believe that he can crank it up when he has a better supporting cast to make life on offense easier for him ala Houston (he posted 4.5 DWS and 1.6 DBPM as an SG for the Rockets in the 06-07 season, both pretty good marks). The Doctor was above average-not great, but he was certainly a positive on that end with his otherwordly athleticism that allowed him to recover from defensive lapses and provide some stunning help defense. The heart of the defense will be the tandem of Kevin Garnett and Dave Cowens, as both are strong interior defenders who can also step out and cover perimeter players if needed on switches. Garnett's video game skillet will be the lynchpin of our defense-he can switch to all 5 positions in a possession seamlessly and still play lockdown defense, whether is it being a second rim protector to help out Dave Cowens inside, patrolling the court alongside the Doctor as a help defense duo, or even as a safety valve when Curry or McGrady are thrown into the blender in isolation/the pick and roll. Overall I think this team is can hold their own defensively, and can be disruptive when needed.

Bench
The second unit will mainly have their offense run through Steve Nash, who is one of the best floor generals on offense. There is synergy in the lineup-Nash and Marion had some fantastic runs together in Phoenix, and I believe that the two former teammates can form a strong partnership that can cover each other's weaknesses (defense for Nash, and offense for Marion). The frontcourt will consist of Elton Brand and Artis Gilmore, with the former being a two way force who could impose his will on either end of the court, and the latter being one of the finest rim protectors in NBA history. The defense of the frontcourt trio will cover Nash's defensive issues adequately imo, as opposing bench mobs would find it immensely difficult to go through the Matrix one on one and score on Brand and the A-Train once they get to the rim. Can't really go in depth about the second unit due to me lacking a backup shooting guard though.

Not a huge fan of the complete lack of defense.

Alot of the teams here sport very high wing defense, and also still strong offensively. I like the front court pairing, but I question the size of the frontcouort.

I can see teams attacking from the perimeter and forcing the bigs to cover defensively, leaving the giants to have free pickings on open coverages.

That's where guys like Marion and Gilmore step in. I've got a bunch of strong defensive players on the bench lol, and interior defense is more important than perimeter defense anyways imo if you have to choose one.

[nickagneta]

Strange. My last post about Wilt Chamberlain has disappeared.

That post was comparing two players. I don't  want those types of posts in  this thread just yet. I put it in the rules of the thread that I didn't want posts comparing players or teams. At least not yet.

It wasn't to compare them as players as such. It was to talk about Wilt Chamberlain's style of play to better illustrate how Wilt plays. There was nothing in there about one player being better than another. Just that they were different.

Shaq is like a baseline for Wilt. To describe his game. As the most similar recent player to an old player. Due to their physical gifts and low post centric style of play.

It did compare them though. Just make that type post after drafting is complete today.

[Who]

Strange. My last post about Wilt Chamberlain has disappeared.

That post was comparing two players. I don't  want those types of posts in  this thread just yet. I put it in the rules of the thread that I didn't want posts comparing players or teams. At least not yet.

It wasn't to compare them as players as such. It was to talk about Wilt Chamberlain's style of play to better illustrate how Wilt plays. There was nothing in there about one player being better than another. Just that they were different.

Shaq is like a baseline for Wilt. To describe his game. As the most similar recent player to an old player. Due to their physical gifts and low post centric style of play.

It did compare them though. Just make that type post after drafting is complete today.

Okay. Will do.

[Silky]

After a trade and another couple picks my team is now looking like:

Starters: Defense, scoring, toughness, heart, hustle, determination

PG: Gary :The Glove" Payton (95-96 DPOY year)
DPOY, multiple all defensive 1sts, argued as one of the greatest defensive guards of all time. Also able to hold his own offensively, shooting high percentages, driving the lane, and setting up teammates with beautiful creative passes.

SG: Kobe "Bean" Bryant (07-08 MVP Year)
Mutliple all defensive 1sts, mvps, finals mvp, scoring champ. the second best shooting guard of all time. could dominate on both sides of the ball.

SF: Dave "The Big D" Debusscherre (67-68)
Multiple all defensive nods. 6 straight to be exact (after having seasons where the award didnt exist) An absolute hound. Unanimously named as one of the top 5 defenders at both SF and PF of all time. man was a dog out there with range on his shot and the ability to somehow slip into open spots backdoor.

PF: Al "Godfather" Horford (17-18)
Excellent defense, intelligent, great teammate, great passer out of the high post, able to knock down long shots at a high percentage. Perfect fit in my frontcourt

C: Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwan. (93-94 MVP, DPOY, FMVP year)
DPOY, MVP, FMVP. only player to ever do that all in the same season. The man was a beast defensively and unstoppable offensively. as an Anchor on both offense and defense he is close to unmatched.

Bench:
Scoring and mismatches

My main bench will consist of defense, microwave scoring and mismatches. I have many options here but will most likely see

PG - Penny Hardaway (94-95). A do it all player. Defend PG-SF and score at a highly efficient rate.
SG: Bernard King (83-84). One of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen. He can get points in a hurry.
SF: Bob Dandridge. (72-73) A great teammate. could score, rebound, pass and was an outstanding defender. A truly underrated player
PF: Carmelo Anthony. (13-14) Scoring, rebounding passing and floor spacing.
C: Karl Anthony Towns. (17-18) A Center who can block shots, post up, rebound and shoot threes/ play a faceup game on high efficiency.

Deep Bench
Dale Ellis (88-89) - sharp shooter off the bench
Yao Ming (02-03)- a Giant who scored highly efficiently and could also move the ball.

[Who]

I loved the Shawn Kemp pickup today for Chicago. I think they should start Kemp at PF alongside Duncan. I had Kemp pegged as a starting PF prior to the draft. I rate him highly.

Kemp may the biggest difference maker selected today because there is a big role in offering there for him to take and I believe he'd do well as the starting PF.

G - Oscar, Cousy
F - Pippen, Sam Jones or Richmond
F - Baylor, Majerle
F - Kemp, Sheed
C - Duncan, Willis Reed

Hmm, I think a shooter is needed in there on the perimeter with one of Pippen or Baylor heading to the bench.

G - Oscar
G - Sam Jones or Mitch Richmond
F - Pippen or Baylor
F - Kemp
C - Duncan

Baylor would be an awesome 6th man but he feels too good to bring off the bench. And I wonder if the Bulls need his offense in the starting lineup - is there enough scoring / shot creation without Baylor? Does it become too Oscar & Duncan (as creators) dependent?

So probably Pippen as a 6th man.

I don't think Pippen or Baylor are really big enough to handle the four full time as a starter. Both would be pretty undersized. I think they need a second big in the lineup next to Duncan.

Where does Majerle fit in if Pippen is the 6th man? I really liked that Majerle pick. Great combo of shooting, scoring, defense, hustle and rebounding. Majerle is a great role player for this league. Maybe he plays the two but then one of Sam Jones or Richmond need to take a back seat.

Anyway,

I love the Kemp and Duncan combination in terms of defense & rebounding. Kemp would be phenomenal next to a defensive anchor like Duncan. Kemp doesn't get enough credit for his defense. He was tremendous for Seattle. So quick and able to cover so much ground. He was key to Seattle's trapping and switch heavy defense. He would do great in today's defensive schemes.

If Pippen stays in there as a starter, that is an All-Time defensive wing to go along with a strong pair of defensive bigs. Great backbone to the defense.

On second thoughts, Sam Jones would be my pick as the starting SG. He is more versatile defensively. More capable of covering Oscar's man and letting Oscar defend the slower offensive threat than Richmond is (capable of).

[Who]

After a trade and another couple picks my team is now looking like:

Starters: Defense, scoring, toughness, heart, hustle, determination

PG: Gary :The Glove" Payton (95-96 DPOY year)
DPOY, multiple all defensive 1sts, argued as one of the greatest defensive guards of all time. Also able to hold his own offensively, shooting high percentages, driving the lane, and setting up teammates with beautiful creative passes.

SG: Kobe "Bean" Bryant (07-08 MVP Year)
Mutliple all defensive 1sts, mvps, finals mvp, scoring champ. the second best shooting guard of all time. could dominate on both sides of the ball.

SF: Dave "The Big D" Debusscherre (67-68)
Multiple all defensive nods. 6 straight to be exact (after having seasons where the award didnt exist) An absolute hound. Unanimously named as one of the top 5 defenders at both SF and PF of all time. man was a dog out there with range on his shot and the ability to somehow slip into open spots backdoor.

PF: Al "Godfather" Horford (17-18)
Excellent defense, intelligent, great teammate, great passer out of the high post, able to knock down long shots at a high percentage. Perfect fit in my frontcourt

C: Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwan. (93-94 MVP, DPOY, FMVP year)
DPOY, MVP, FMVP. only player to ever do that all in the same season. The man was a beast defensively and unstoppable offensively. as an Anchor on both offense and defense he is close to unmatched.

Bench:
Scoring and mismatches

My main bench will consist of defense, microwave scoring and mismatches. I have many options here but will most likely see

PG - Penny Hardaway (94-95). A do it all player. Defend PG-SF and score at a highly efficient rate.
SG: Bernard King (83-84). One of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen. He can get points in a hurry.
SF: Bob Dandridge. (72-73) A great teammate. could score, rebound, pass and was an outstanding defender. A truly underrated player
PF: Carmelo Anthony. (13-14) Scoring, rebounding passing and floor spacing.
C: Karl Anthony Towns. (17-18) A Center who can block shots, post up, rebound and shoot threes/ play a faceup game on high efficiency.

Deep Bench
Dale Ellis (88-89) - sharp shooter off the bench
Yao Ming (02-03)- a Giant who scored highly efficiently and could also move the ball.

I wouldn't start DeBusschere and Horford together. I would go with one or the other (at PF). I prefer Dandridge as the starting SF. Keep King as a super-scorer off the bench. Leave room for Kobe and Hakeem to run free as scorers in the starting lineup. Payton as third option. Then Dandridge as 4th option.

I prefer Dandridge (SF/SG/PF) over DeBusschere (PF/SF) because he has more guard skills in terms of ball-handling and passing. More versatility offensively. Dandridge is a good defensive player in his own right too so he maintains that defensive identity.

[Silky]

After a trade and another couple picks my team is now looking like:

Starters: Defense, scoring, toughness, heart, hustle, determination

PG: Gary :The Glove" Payton (95-96 DPOY year)
DPOY, multiple all defensive 1sts, argued as one of the greatest defensive guards of all time. Also able to hold his own offensively, shooting high percentages, driving the lane, and setting up teammates with beautiful creative passes.

SG: Kobe "Bean" Bryant (07-08 MVP Year)
Mutliple all defensive 1sts, mvps, finals mvp, scoring champ. the second best shooting guard of all time. could dominate on both sides of the ball.

SF: Dave "The Big D" Debusscherre (67-68)
Multiple all defensive nods. 6 straight to be exact (after having seasons where the award didnt exist) An absolute hound. Unanimously named as one of the top 5 defenders at both SF and PF of all time. man was a dog out there with range on his shot and the ability to somehow slip into open spots backdoor.

PF: Al "Godfather" Horford (17-18)
Excellent defense, intelligent, great teammate, great passer out of the high post, able to knock down long shots at a high percentage. Perfect fit in my frontcourt

C: Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwan. (93-94 MVP, DPOY, FMVP year)
DPOY, MVP, FMVP. only player to ever do that all in the same season. The man was a beast defensively and unstoppable offensively. as an Anchor on both offense and defense he is close to unmatched.

Bench:
Scoring and mismatches

My main bench will consist of defense, microwave scoring and mismatches. I have many options here but will most likely see

PG - Penny Hardaway (94-95). A do it all player. Defend PG-SF and score at a highly efficient rate.
SG: Bernard King (83-84). One of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen. He can get points in a hurry.
SF: Bob Dandridge. (72-73) A great teammate. could score, rebound, pass and was an outstanding defender. A truly underrated player
PF: Carmelo Anthony. (13-14) Scoring, rebounding passing and floor spacing.
C: Karl Anthony Towns. (17-18) A Center who can block shots, post up, rebound and shoot threes/ play a faceup game on high efficiency.

Deep Bench
Dale Ellis (88-89) - sharp shooter off the bench
Yao Ming (02-03)- a Giant who scored highly efficiently and could also move the ball.

I wouldn't start DeBusschere and Horford together. I would go with one or the other (at PF). I prefer Dandridge as the starting SF. Keep King as a super-scorer off the bench. Leave room for Kobe and Hakeem to run free as scorers in the starting lineup. Payton as third option. Then Dandridge as 4th option.

I prefer Dandridge (SF/SG/PF) over DeBusschere (PF/SF) because he has more guard skills in terms of ball-handling and passing. More versatility offensively. Dandridge is a good defensive player in his own right too so he maintains that defensive identity.

very valid points indeed.

I will move Dandridge to the starting lineup and put Super daves defense into the 4 spot, Horford can solidify bench teamwork at the pf spot with Melo and Kng as primary scoring options. \

Also KAT loves Horford, so that duo should work well together.

[Who]

On why I like Marques Johnson so much, 

He was a player who had a short peak early in his career due to drug abuse and later on a career ending injury. But when he was at his best, he was really really good.

Marques Johnson was a very well rounded player. He was Milwaukee's best defensive player until Sidney Moncrief came along. Marques was a strong rebounding SF. He had size, strength and quickness. He had a terrific low post game. He moved well without the basketball. He had a midrange game. He had an outside shot. He could pass the ball and he could handle the ball. (edit: he was good to very good at all of those things) He was a total package as a basketball player.

Marques Johnson also posted the best postseason runs of any Milwaukee Bucks player ever outside of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar until a certain Giannis Antetokounmpo came along.

These were not only the best playoff runs of Bucks player but some of the best league wide in those individual seasons. The 1978 season in particular. He was terrific that year. He led a team that was a 30 win lottery team the year before to the conference semi-finals where they lost in a 7 game thriller. Marques was the standout player by a mile on that team and averaged 24ppg, 12.8rpg, 3.4apg, 1.9bpg, 1.1spg on 55% FG% and another 75% at the FT line on 7 attempts a night for a TS% of just under 60% (and only 1.6 turnovers per night). Fantastic productivity and efficiency.

In 1980, the Bucks lost a 7 game series vs the Sonics. Marques struggled with his shot shooting only 42% but still led the team with 20ppg while also adding 8rpg and 3apg.

In 1981, the Bucks again lost a 7 game thriller in the conference semi finals. This time to Doctor J's Philadelphia 76ers. For the series, Erving averaged 25, 8 and 2 on 48.5% FG%. Marques averaged 25, 9.5 and 5 on 55.6% FG%.

In 1982, Doctor J got the better of Marques in the playoffs. Philly won in 6 with Erving averaging 21.7, 8 and 7 on 54% shooting. Marques averaged 19, 7 and 3 on only 44% shooting.

In 1983, they met up again. Philadelphia won in 5 games largely thanks to Andrew Toney outplaying Sidney Moncrief (as Toney did each year in the playoffs - he just had Moncrief's number). Erving averaged 19, 6 and 2 on 48%. Marques averaged 21.5, 8 and 4.4 on 46% shooting.

In 1984, the Bucks went to Conference Finals where they met Bird's Celtics. Marques played well but he was no match for Bird. Bird was on another level. Marques led the team in points again (20ppg) along with 5rpg and 3apg. It was at this point that Marques was traded (for Terry Cummings) before everyone realized how bad his drug addiction had gotten.

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Anyway, to come back. In the late 70s, Doctor J was considered the preeminent SF in the game. I thought Marques Johnson was his equal over this period and into the early 80s. Marques didn't get the same attention as Doc because his game was more mechanical and fundamentally sound than flashy (like Tim Duncan vs KG). And because Marques played in a small media market in Milwaukee while Doc played in Philly. While Doc was showtime, Marques was quietly effective.

In hindsight, I can now admit Doc had a bit more to him than Marques had mainly because his athleticism allowed him to make plays that no other human on the planet was capable of making. I look at the two more like Paul Pierce vs Kobe Bryant. They were very close to one another most of the time but Kobe had another level he was capable of getting to due to that superior athleticism of his (in his younger days).

Still, Marques Johnson was a phenomenal player in his own right. He has gotten lost in the History because he played in a small market and because he was a drug addict so he doesn't get talked about enough. He was also a big game player that upped his game in the playoffs and had some incredible postseason runs. Especially his rookie year in 1978.

Marques Johnson was also All-NBA 1st team in 1979 (should have been in 1978 but he was a rookie so was overlooked) before dropping to the 2nd team in 1980 and 1981 due to the arrival of certain Larry Bird. Marques also should have been the rookie of the year instead of Walter Davis who also had a great rookie season, just not as good as Marques who was also a standout defender & rebounder. Not just a standout offensive player (but hey, Davis scored more points so he got it).