Best Collections Of Talent Ever?

[gouki88]

So in summary I think these are probably the best teams

63 Celtics - Cousy, S. Jones, Hondo, Heinsohn, Bill, Lovellette, Sanders, Ramsey, KC Jones
71 Lakers - West, Goodrich, Baylor, Hairston, Wilt, McMillian
85 Lakers - Magic, Cooper, Worthy, McAdoo, Kareem, Scott, Rambis, Wilkes
86 Celtics - DJ, Ainge, Bird, McHale, Walton, Parish
86 Sixers - Cheeks, Toney, Dr. J, Barkley, Moses, McAdoo, B. Jones
97 Bulls - Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Parish, Kukoc, Kerr, Longley
09 Suns - Nash, Dragic, Hill, Amar'e, Shaq, Richardson, Barbosa, Barnes, R. Lopez, Dudley (or prior year with Marion instead of Dragic/Lopez)
11 Celtics - Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, Shaq, JO, West, J. Green, Big Baby, Krstic
11 Heat - Bibby, Wade, James, Bosh, Big Z, Stackhouse, Howard, Magloire, Miller, Chalmers, Haslem
12 Thunder - Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins, R. Jackson, Sefolosha, Mohammad, Fisher
13 Spurs - Parker, Manu, Kawhi, Diaw, TD, Jackson, Green, Milles, Baynes (TMac didn't play in the regular season, so I had a hard time counting him, though he did play in 6 post season games)
20 Lakers - Rondo, Bradley, James, Davis, Howard, Green, McGee, Smith, Morris, KCP, Kuzma, Caruso
21 Nets - Irving, Harden, Durant, Griffin, Jordan, Harris, J. Green, M. James, Claxton (and maybe Dinwiddie and/or Aldridge)

20 Lakers over the 22 Lakers and the 18 Cavs?

[Moranis]

So in summary I think these are probably the best teams

63 Celtics - Cousy, S. Jones, Hondo, Heinsohn, Bill, Lovellette, Sanders, Ramsey, KC Jones
71 Lakers - West, Goodrich, Baylor, Hairston, Wilt, McMillian
85 Lakers - Magic, Cooper, Worthy, McAdoo, Kareem, Scott, Rambis, Wilkes
86 Celtics - DJ, Ainge, Bird, McHale, Walton, Parish
86 Sixers - Cheeks, Toney, Dr. J, Barkley, Moses, McAdoo, B. Jones
97 Bulls - Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Parish, Kukoc, Kerr, Longley
09 Suns - Nash, Dragic, Hill, Amar'e, Shaq, Richardson, Barbosa, Barnes, R. Lopez, Dudley (or prior year with Marion instead of Dragic/Lopez)
11 Celtics - Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, Shaq, JO, West, J. Green, Big Baby, Krstic
11 Heat - Bibby, Wade, James, Bosh, Big Z, Stackhouse, Howard, Magloire, Miller, Chalmers, Haslem
12 Thunder - Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins, R. Jackson, Sefolosha, Mohammad, Fisher
13 Spurs - Parker, Manu, Kawhi, Diaw, TD, Jackson, Green, Milles, Baynes (TMac didn't play in the regular season, so I had a hard time counting him, though he did play in 6 post season games)
20 Lakers - Rondo, Bradley, James, Davis, Howard, Green, McGee, Smith, Morris, KCP, Kuzma, Caruso
21 Nets - Irving, Harden, Durant, Griffin, Jordan, Harris, J. Green, M. James, Claxton (and maybe Dinwiddie and/or Aldridge)

20 Lakers over the 22 Lakers and the 18 Cavs?

18 Cavs without question.  You are right, I should have done 22 Lakers.  I keep forgetting they signed Carmelo, though can you imagine them trying to make that work with Russ, Melo, LBJ, Davis even Gasol and Dwight got their touches.  It would be an interesting thought experiment to make that work.  Still the talent is there.

[gouki88]

So in summary I think these are probably the best teams

63 Celtics - Cousy, S. Jones, Hondo, Heinsohn, Bill, Lovellette, Sanders, Ramsey, KC Jones
71 Lakers - West, Goodrich, Baylor, Hairston, Wilt, McMillian
85 Lakers - Magic, Cooper, Worthy, McAdoo, Kareem, Scott, Rambis, Wilkes
86 Celtics - DJ, Ainge, Bird, McHale, Walton, Parish
86 Sixers - Cheeks, Toney, Dr. J, Barkley, Moses, McAdoo, B. Jones
97 Bulls - Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Parish, Kukoc, Kerr, Longley
09 Suns - Nash, Dragic, Hill, Amar'e, Shaq, Richardson, Barbosa, Barnes, R. Lopez, Dudley (or prior year with Marion instead of Dragic/Lopez)
11 Celtics - Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, Shaq, JO, West, J. Green, Big Baby, Krstic
11 Heat - Bibby, Wade, James, Bosh, Big Z, Stackhouse, Howard, Magloire, Miller, Chalmers, Haslem
12 Thunder - Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins, R. Jackson, Sefolosha, Mohammad, Fisher
13 Spurs - Parker, Manu, Kawhi, Diaw, TD, Jackson, Green, Milles, Baynes (TMac didn't play in the regular season, so I had a hard time counting him, though he did play in 6 post season games)
20 Lakers - Rondo, Bradley, James, Davis, Howard, Green, McGee, Smith, Morris, KCP, Kuzma, Caruso
21 Nets - Irving, Harden, Durant, Griffin, Jordan, Harris, J. Green, M. James, Claxton (and maybe Dinwiddie and/or Aldridge)

20 Lakers over the 22 Lakers and the 18 Cavs?

18 Cavs without question.  You are right, I should have done 22 Lakers.  I keep forgetting they signed Carmelo, though can you imagine them trying to make that work with Russ, Melo, LBJ, Davis even Gasol and Dwight got their touches.  It would be an interesting thought experiment to make that work.  Still the talent is there.

Yeah, they would probably need an additional basketball or two.

[Somebody]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

Plenty of people consider him an all-time great PG cause he won 4 rings and 1 Finals MVP. For instance, here's a list ranking him the 11th best PG of all time. In what universe was Tony Parker a better player than Jason Kidd and Gary Payton? This is absurd.

https://bolavip.com/en/nba/nba-best-point-guards-of-all-time-20201227-0006.html

And here's another list ranking him the 15th best PG of all time.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_25_greatest_point_guards_of_all_time/s1__28623107#slide_12

Really don't see the appeal. He was a score-first player in a PG's body. He was also a limited shooter who scored the majority of his points via slashing. Imo, Parker is massively overrated. If it weren't for Timmy, Manu, Kawhi, and Pops, I bet he would have been considered just an above average starter among his contemporaries.

Ooh yeah that overstates Parker's career value a bit. Do think that he still wasn't that far off from Payton and Kidd peak-for-peak though - you can crap on his style of play all you want, but that slashing was incredible for a small at his best (he's the statistical gold standard for rim finishers among point guards in both volume and efficiency) and he was a good enough passer/midrange shooter to punish defences heavily from loading up in the paint.

[Somebody]

I was thinking of Ewing's final season in Orlando next to T-Mac and Grant Hill. I was wondering if Horace Grant was still on that team and he was. And if Darrell Armstrong was on that team and he was.

G: Darrell Armstrong
G: Tracy McGrady
F: Grant Hill, Mike Miller
F: Horace Grant
C: Patrick Ewing

Outside of Mike Miller, not a lot on the bench. Not enough to put them in the mix. DeClercq, Steven Hunter as backup centers. Bo Outlaw and Pat Garritty at PF. Troy Hudson, Dee Brown and Jaren Jackson at guard. Solid enough I suppose but not enough to get them to the dance.

That trio though, wow. T-Mac, Grant Hill and Ewing is dang impressive and with Horace Grant and Darrell Armstrong as glue guys too. An extra shooter in Mike Miller.

Got me thinking of Ewing's year in Seattle. Was Vin Baker still there? Schrempf and Hawkins had already left. Sam Perkins too. But they did have a young Rashard Lewis.

G: Gary Payton
G: Brent Barry
F: Rashard Lewis
F: Vin Baker
C: Patrick Ewing

An even worse bench. Desmond Mason, Ruben Patterson. Nothing else of note. Oh, way back at the end of the bench is Pervis Ellison. Hey if you get him at his peak, he was pretty good for a short while.

Magic squad clearly superior though.

The 91 Knicks wouldn't be bad if you are looking at Ewing teams

PG - Jackson, Cheeks
SG - Starks, G. Wilkins
SF - Kiki
PF - Oakley
C - Ewing

You could do 90 and swap Rod Strickland for Starks. 


99 Knicks would also be pretty good (outside of PG)

PG - Ward
SG - Houston
SF - Spreewell, Scott
PF - Grandmama, H. Williams
C - Ewing, Camby

The best Knicks squad was probably the one that had Frazier, Monroe, Lucas, Bradley, Debusschere, and Reed along with Dick Barnett.

That was 69-70 team, one of my all-time favs.

That team would be nasty in the modern game - lots of spacing from mobile defensive savants with size.

that team didn't have Monroe or Lucas though.

Frazier, Bradley, DeBusschere and Reed are still a pretty fearsome quartet.

[Somebody]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

Plenty of people consider him an all-time great PG cause he won 4 rings and 1 Finals MVP. For instance, here's a list ranking him the 11th best PG of all time. In what universe was Tony Parker a better player than Jason Kidd and Gary Payton? This is absurd.

https://bolavip.com/en/nba/nba-best-point-guards-of-all-time-20201227-0006.html

And here's another list ranking him the 15th best PG of all time.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_25_greatest_point_guards_of_all_time/s1__28623107#slide_12

Really don't see the appeal. He was a score-first player in a PG's body. He was also a limited shooter who scored the majority of his points via slashing. Imo, Parker is massively overrated. If it weren't for Timmy, Manu, Kawhi, and Pops, I bet he would have been considered just an above average starter among his contemporaries.

I agree, TP was definitely a good player, but he was more Goran Dragic good than all-time great good.

I think that's understating him a bit. He was the main driver of those elite Spurs attacks in the early 2010s as Duncan started to decline with Manu as his co-pilot with his GOAT-level PG rim finishing, reasonably good passing and solid shooting.

[gouki88]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

Plenty of people consider him an all-time great PG cause he won 4 rings and 1 Finals MVP. For instance, here's a list ranking him the 11th best PG of all time. In what universe was Tony Parker a better player than Jason Kidd and Gary Payton? This is absurd.

https://bolavip.com/en/nba/nba-best-point-guards-of-all-time-20201227-0006.html

And here's another list ranking him the 15th best PG of all time.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_25_greatest_point_guards_of_all_time/s1__28623107#slide_12

Really don't see the appeal. He was a score-first player in a PG's body. He was also a limited shooter who scored the majority of his points via slashing. Imo, Parker is massively overrated. If it weren't for Timmy, Manu, Kawhi, and Pops, I bet he would have been considered just an above average starter among his contemporaries.

I agree, TP was definitely a good player, but he was more Goran Dragic good than all-time great good.

I think that's understating him a bit. He was the main driver of those elite Spurs attacks in the early 2010s as Duncan started to decline with Manu as his co-pilot with his GOAT-level PG rim finishing, reasonably good passing and solid shooting.

Maybe, but it might stem from my feelings that Manu never got the credit that TP did, despite me thinking he was better

[Somebody]

How about the 2012/13 Spurs?

PG: Parker
SG: Manu
SF: Tracy McGrady
PF: Kawhi
C: Duncan

Amazing small ball lineup! Fwiw, Kawhi played 60% of his minutes at PF last season with the Clips.

Solid bench as well: Patty Mills - Danny Green - Stephen Jackson - Boris Diaw - Tiago Splitter/Aron Baynes (a 3pt machine in his prime )

Totally forgot TMac joined San Antonio.

What about the TMac Hawks?

Teague / Hinrich
Stackhouse / Johnson
McGrady / Radmanovic
Smith / Marvin Williams
Horford / Dampier / Pachulia

Meh... T-Mac would be the best player on that team. He'd only be the 3rd best player on the Spurs (albeit he'd probably lead the team in scoring).

- Imo, Duncan is a GOAT candidate. The way I see it, he's the modern-day Bill Russell: the ultimate team player, the ultimate winner.
- Kawhi is arguably the best wing defender of all time, plus he can carry the scoring load for a championship team. Amazingly enough for a player of his caliber, he's perfectly happy to play off the ball (especially during his Spurs days). Most super stars demand the ball in the half court. Kawhi is a team-first player, probably because he apprenticed for several years under Duncan, Manu and Pop. Can't say enough good things about Kawhi. I absolutely love his game!
- Manu is a high-BBIQ shot creator.
- Parker is overrated imo, but he was definitely better than Teague.

The Hawks are nowhere near that standard.

Eh I don't see people talking about Parker like he was some sort of MVP candidate during his prime. I think he's properly rated - he was a strong All-Star with a handful of All-NBA calibre seasons during his prime.

Plenty of people consider him an all-time great PG cause he won 4 rings and 1 Finals MVP. For instance, here's a list ranking him the 11th best PG of all time. In what universe was Tony Parker a better player than Jason Kidd and Gary Payton? This is absurd.

https://bolavip.com/en/nba/nba-best-point-guards-of-all-time-20201227-0006.html

And here's another list ranking him the 15th best PG of all time.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_25_greatest_point_guards_of_all_time/s1__28623107#slide_12

Really don't see the appeal. He was a score-first player in a PG's body. He was also a limited shooter who scored the majority of his points via slashing. Imo, Parker is massively overrated. If it weren't for Timmy, Manu, Kawhi, and Pops, I bet he would have been considered just an above average starter among his contemporaries.

I agree, TP was definitely a good player, but he was more Goran Dragic good than all-time great good.

I think that's understating him a bit. He was the main driver of those elite Spurs attacks in the early 2010s as Duncan started to decline with Manu as his co-pilot with his GOAT-level PG rim finishing, reasonably good passing and solid shooting.

Maybe, but it might stem from my feelings that Manu never got the credit that TP did, despite me thinking he was better

Yeah there's a bias against sixth men

[Jvalin]

@Somebody, gouki

Can't think of an active player that reminds me of Parker. He scored plenty of his points from mid range. The mid range is kinda dead in the modern NBA. Maybe a poor man's De'Aaron Fox? I mean, he was a bit shorter than Fox. A bit less athletic, hence a less dynamic finisher around the basket (Parker's go-to move was the floater). Both of them are/were inefficient from 3pt range. Mediocre FT shooters as well. A poor man's Fox is a nice player, but nowhere near good enough to be mentioned with the all-time greats.

Btw, Fox himself reminds me of prime John Wall. Both of them are uber explosive. Both are mediocre shooters. Fox lacks Wall's outstanding court vision, but he's a better scorer/finisher. Wall doesn't have the mid range though. Can't compare him to Parker. Personally speaking, I'd rather have a pass-first, high-BBIQ lead guard over an udersized slasher with score-first mentality. With this in mind, Wall ≥ Fox > Parker. Obviously, the jury is still out on Fox. He may surpass Wall's level in the future.

[Kernewek]

It's an interesting comparison -- Fox definitely has that same "oh wow, he's really fast" that young Wall had, and Tony Parker never had. Also, despite being a better shooter than Wall, he's somehow not quite up to snuff with his free throw percentage.

But they're very similar players on paper. More similar than I would have thought before you brought up the comparison:
https://stathead.com/tiny/3DUct

[Roy H.]

I’m not saying these are necessarily the top two, but who do you have?

Shaq / Perk
KG / JO
Pierce / M. Daniels
Ray / A. Bradley
Rondo / Delonte / Nate

vs.

LMA
Millsap
Durant / Harris
Harden
Kyrie / Mills

Even if we cheat and give the Nets DeAndre Jordan, it’s still not close, right?  And then somebody might decide to take the Celtics post-trade roster, adding Krstic, Green and Troy Murphy instead of Perk.

[celticsclay]

I’m not saying these are necessarily the top two, but who do you have?

Shaq / Perk
KG / JO
Pierce / M. Daniels
Ray / A. Bradley
Rondo / Delonte / Nate

vs.

LMA
Millsap
Durant / Harris
Harden
Kyrie / Mills

Even if we cheat and give the Nets DeAndre Jordan, it’s still not close, right?  And then somebody might decide to take the Celtics post-trade roster, adding Krstic, Green and Troy Murphy instead of Perk.

Isn’t this conversation now far and away the current lakers team? They just added multiple more players that were all stars. Off the top of my head

Howard
Gasol
Lebron
Davis
Rondo
Deandre Jordan
Carmelo Anthony

I mean that is better than most our our USA teams if they are in their prime. Ironically not a single player on that list is in their prime  davis, and nobody else will make a current team except Lebron.

[Celtics2021]

I’m not saying these are necessarily the top two, but who do you have?

Shaq / Perk
KG / JO
Pierce / M. Daniels
Ray / A. Bradley
Rondo / Delonte / Nate

vs.

LMA
Millsap
Durant / Harris
Harden
Kyrie / Mills

Even if we cheat and give the Nets DeAndre Jordan, it’s still not close, right?  And then somebody might decide to take the Celtics post-trade roster, adding Krstic, Green and Troy Murphy instead of Perk.

Isn’t this conversation now far and away the current lakers team? They just added multiple more players that were all stars. Off the top of my head

Howard
Gasol
Lebron
Davis
Rondo
Deandre Jordan
Carmelo Anthony

I mean that is better than most our our USA teams if they are in their prime. Ironically not a single player on that list is in their prime  davis, and nobody else will make a current team except Lebron.

Agree, and you left off Westbrook from your list, because it’s easy to forget a former superstar on that team.

[Roy H.]

I’m not saying these are necessarily the top two, but who do you have?

Shaq / Perk
KG / JO
Pierce / M. Daniels
Ray / A. Bradley
Rondo / Delonte / Nate

vs.

LMA
Millsap
Durant / Harris
Harden
Kyrie / Mills

Even if we cheat and give the Nets DeAndre Jordan, it’s still not close, right?  And then somebody might decide to take the Celtics post-trade roster, adding Krstic, Green and Troy Murphy instead of Perk.

Isn’t this conversation now far and away the current lakers team? They just added multiple more players that were all stars. Off the top of my head

Howard
Gasol
Lebron
Davis
Rondo
Deandre Jordan
Carmelo Anthony

I mean that is better than most our our USA teams if they are in their prime. Ironically not a single player on that list is in their prime  davis, and nobody else will make a current team except Lebron.

Not to me.  I’d take the Celts over that Lakers team.  Shaq would still kill everyone, and KG would make Davis cry.

[gouki88]

I’m not saying these are necessarily the top two, but who do you have?

Shaq / Perk
KG / JO
Pierce / M. Daniels
Ray / A. Bradley
Rondo / Delonte / Nate

vs.

LMA
Millsap
Durant / Harris
Harden
Kyrie / Mills

Even if we cheat and give the Nets DeAndre Jordan, it’s still not close, right?  And then somebody might decide to take the Celtics post-trade roster, adding Krstic, Green and Troy Murphy instead of Perk.

Isn’t this conversation now far and away the current lakers team? They just added multiple more players that were all stars. Off the top of my head

Howard
Gasol
Lebron
Davis
Rondo
Deandre Jordan
Carmelo Anthony

I mean that is better than most our our USA teams if they are in their prime. Ironically not a single player on that list is in their prime  davis, and nobody else will make a current team except Lebron.

Not to me.  I’d take the Celts over that Lakers team.  Shaq would still kill everyone, and KG would make Davis cry.

In terms of a strict match-up I like the Celtics because Shaq and KG would be the most unstoppable inside-outside duo imaginable. Prime Dwight and AD would be punished. Jermaine off the bench against Gasol, and Perk to just try and beat up DJ.

Piece and Allen v LeBron and Melo is a loss, for sure, but I really hate the fit of prime LBJ and Melo, not to mention Westbrook thrown in there.

The talent on the Lakers is superior, but not the fit.