2023 CS Historic Draft - How's My Team?

[Who]

Sacramento (Donoghus):
PG: Mark Price / Rajon Rondo
SG: Mitch Richmond / Andrew Toney / Doug Christie
SF: Shawn Marion / Michael Finley
PF: Maurice Lucas / Zach Randolph / David West
C: Vlade Divac / Theo Ratliff

Why Randolph over West in the draft?  As with most other teams:  outside of Price and Richmond, is there enough outside shooting?  Is Marion best as a PF?  Can West play small ball center?

I think Memphis Randolph was a stud and team leader.  More dominant than West when they were both at their best.

I would think the advantage with Z-Bo over David West is Z-Bo's superior physicality. More weight. More muscle. Better able to beat up on his opponents. To punish them one-on-one in the pain with post ups. Better able to use his body to position himself for rebounds.

I'd say David West's advantage over Z-Bo is firstly his defensive versatility. Better footspeed than Z-Bo. Better able to stay in front of top quality scoring PFs and play quality team defense. And secondly his superior jump-shooting which was more consistent and lethal than Z-Bo's jumper.

Sort of a pick and choose which weapon is more valuable depending on the situation. The superior shot-creator, interior scorer & rebounder or the superior man defender, team defender and floor spacer.

I would think David West would the more valuable option more of the time than Zach Randolph would be. Reason being that we all have a huge number of scorers on our teams so the better team based qualities would be more useful more of the time than Z-Bo's better individualistic qualities.

[Who]

I picked 97 for Hawk because it was close to 50-40-88 with the appropriate usage he’d get on this team, and it was his high in Win Shares.

And George Karl called Hersey the best defender on the team that year. Over Payton. Over Kemp.

Even over the great Jim McIlvaine.

[smokeablount]

Your 2023-24 Chicago Bulls! (ChiBulls)

Rotation:

PG: Deron Williams 07-08 / M.R. Richardson 80-81 / J. Wall 16-17
SG: David Thompson 77-78 / Hersey Hawkins 96-97
SF: Tracy McGrady 02-03 / Tayshaun Prince 06-07
PF: Larry Nance Sr 91-92 / Blake Griffin 13-14
C: Bob Lanier 76-77 / Brad Daugherty 92-93 / M. Camby 06-07

PG: DWILL, 08 (#12 MVP, #7 OWS, #12 WS/VORP)
SG: THOMPSON, 78 (#3 MVP, #1 WS/OWS, #2 VORP)
SF: T-MAC, 03 (#4 MVP, #1 VORP/PER/OWS/WSp48)
PF: NANCE, 92 (#10 VORP, #11 WS/BPM)
C: LANIER, 77 (#4 MVP, #2 PER, #5 VORP, #7 OWS)

Bench:
M. Ray Richardson (#17 MVP), John Wall (#7 MVP)
Hersey Hawkins, Tayshaun Prince 
Blake Griffin (#3 MVP)
Brad Daugherty (#10 MVP), Marcus Camby (DPOY)

Philosophies & Highlights:

1) Unstoppable Wing Duo

Simply put, Tracy McGrady and David Thompson are the closest thing to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant in this league, and they are both on the same team.

Relative to the other wing pairings in the league, this is the most dominant wing pairing of all-time behind only MJ and Pippen, 6x champions. They are the offensive focal point.

Both are 3-level scorers, athletic freaks, and elite outside shooters. They combine for 60 ppg on a combined 57% True Shooting %, with Assist rates of 30% and 19%. Here they have tons of support from other starters and the bench, and they can focus a little less on scoring and a little more on playmaking (see point below).


When they don’t have the ball they will always be in motion. They will also play off each other on the ball and leverage teammates’ scoring in the post, mid-range and from outside. The attention that other shooters and bigs draw allow them to work against a single defender far more often than either guy experienced in his era.

2) Wing-Focused Egalitarian Offense (Ball/Man Movement)

Everyone on this team is unselfish and can pass:

Deron Williams: 43.6% assist rate / 23.1% usage
Thompson: 19.3% / 26.8%
TMac: 30% / 35.2%
Nance: 12% / 19%
Lanier: 12.9% / 26%

MRR: 27.5% / 20%
Hawkins: 14.6% / 17.5%
Tayshaun: 12.9% / 18.9%
Blake: 19.2% / 29%
Daugherty: 17.3% / 21.1%
Wall: 46.9% / 30.6%
Camby: 14.1% / 15.9%

The starters TS%’s are 59.5%, 57.8%, 56.4%, 58.6%, 57.4% from 1-5 on extremely high volume.


The offense will primarily run through the 2 starting wings, one of whom will be in at all times (either with the other, or a low usage defensive marksman), and will run a lot of simple variations of 3 plays:

Pick & Roll with PG / PF (DWill + Nance/Blake) with wings in motion

Lanier/Daugherty operating/facilitating in the high post with perimeter players in motion and the PF screening.

More spaced out, less complex Bulls triangle with T-Mac/Thompson alternating the MJ/Pippen roles.

3) Skilled Size / Frontcourt Depth

I have 4 elite bigs and a 5th who was DPOY. Larry Nance Sr will start with Bob Lanier, with Blake Griffin / Brad Daugherty as super subs. 3 of the 4 were top 10 in MVP voting that year (BD #10, BL #4, BG #3).

There is always a skilled center who shoots from mid-range, scores efficiently inside, rules the defensive boards, and passes well enough to facilitate offense.

There is always a skilled power forward who is mobile, athletic, can score inside and out, and can be leveraged in a devastating pick and roll. I’ve got a top 3 MVP finisher coming off my bench because Nance fits the starters better, which is nuts.

All these bigs are starting caliber guys, so in a league where elite bigs are rare, always having my bigs be top tier, or in special cases a DPOY, is a rarity.

4) Perimeter Sharpshooting

3 starters can shoot 3’s at a high level (38-40% if we assume Thompson shoots like McGrady) and 2 wings off the bench shoot 38.5-40.5% and play great D.

There are also players that will shoot it like Wall (32.7%), Griffin (27%) and Michael Ray (23%) and Lanier, with the latter 2 expected to shoot 3’s today.

In this league without modern players, modern volume from 3 and with no top 75 players, having 5 core players shoot elite from 3 and 3-4 other capable guys is a huge advantage. I can always use a lineup with shooters 1-3 and dominant bigs.


5) Defense off the Bench

When I assembled my starting lineup I was told the offense was incredible, but defense was lacking. So I swapped Blake and 3x all-D Nance, then drafted:



Marcus Camby, 4x all-D and DPOY
Tayshaun Prince, 4x all-D
Michael Ray Richardson, 2x all-D 1st team
Hersey Hawkins, elite 3+D guy
John Wall, 1x all-D (unspectacular but solid defense from a PG)

Being able to mix these guys in with starters or spot start them gives me balance.

6. Versatility / Playing Matchups

I believe all 12 guys on my roster are good enough to play, from T-Mac down to the 12 man. We have the ability to react to how the opponent is playing.

If we need offense, we can throw out DWill-Thompson-TMac-Blake-Lanier

If we need defense, Michael Ray-Wall/Hawkins-Prince-Nance-Camby

We can also blend the two, with shooting, passing, and efficiency as needed. I will try to share more on preferred lineups/combos later.


Players:


Starters:

PG1: Deron Williams (07-08)

Accolades: All-NBA 2nd Team, #15 All-Defense Voting, #12 MVP Voting

Career: 3x All-Star, 2x All-NBA (Nash/AI/CP3/Billups/Rose/Rondo era)

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 18.8 ppg, 3 rpg, 10.5 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.3 bpg, 23.1% usage

Shooting: 59.5% ts%, 53.3% on 2’s, 39.5% on 3’s, 80.3% ft%

Advanced: 4.5 VORP (#12), 3.8 BPM (#18), 11.3 Win Shares (#11)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 87
www.2kratings.com/deron-williams-all-time-utah-jazz

SG1: David Thompson (77-78)

Accolades: All-NBA 1st Team, All-Star, #3 MVP Voting

Career: HOF, 5x AS, 2x All-NBA 1st Team, 1x All-ABA, ROY, 2x ASG MVP

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 27.2 ppg, 5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg, 26.8% usage

Shooting: 57.8% ts%, 52.1% on 2’s, N/A on 3’s*, 77.8% ft%

Advanced: 5.2 VORP (#2), 4.8 BPM (#5), 12.7 Win Shares (#1)

*Thompson shot 36.8% on 3’s in the 1st year the stat was recorded. He is rated a 91 in outside scoring in NBA2K all-time mode.

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 95
www.2kratings.com/david-thompson-all-time-denver-nuggets

SF1: Tracy McGrady (02-03)

Accolades: All-NBA 1st Team, All-Star, #24 All-D Voting, #4 MVP Voting

Career: HOF, 7x AS, 7x All-NBA (2-1T/3-2T/2-3T), 2x Scoring Champ

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 32.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.8 bpg, 35.2% usage

Shooting: 56.4% ts%, 48.1% on 2’s, 38.6% on 3’s, 79.3% ft%

Advanced: 9.3 VORP (#1), 10.5 BPM (#1), 16.1 Win Shares (#3)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 95
www.2kratings.com/tracy-mcgrady-all-time-orlando-magic

PF1: Larry Nance Sr (91-92)

Accolades: NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team (All-Star the following year)

Career: 3x All-Star, 3x All-Defense (1-1T/2-2T)

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 17 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg, 2 bpg, 19.1% usage

Shooting: 58.6% ts%, 54.1% on 2’s, N/A on 3’s, 82.2% ft%

Advanced: 5.2 VORP (#10), 5.2 BPM (#11), 12.2 Win Shares (#11)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 88
www.2kratings.com/larry-nance-all-time-cleveland-cavaliers

C1: Bob Lanier (76-77)

Accolades: All-Star, #4 MVP Voting

Career: HOF, 8x AS, ASG MVP

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 25.3 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.8 bpg, 26% usage

Shooting: 57.3% ts%, 53.4% on 2’s, N/A on 3’s, 81.8% ft%

Advanced: 4.6 VORP (#5), 5.4 BPM (#4), 10.3 Win Shares (#11)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 94
www.2kratings.com/bob-lanier-all-time-detroit-pistons


Bench:

PG2 / Combo Guard: Michael Ray Richardson (80-81)

Accolades: All-Star, NBA All-D 1st Team, #17 MVP Voting

Career: 4x All-Star, 2x All-D 1st Team, 3x Steals Champ, Assist Champ

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 16.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 7.9 apg, 2.9 spg, 0.4 bpg, 20% usage

Shooting: 51.1% ts%, 49.3% on 2’s, 22.5% on 3’s, 66% ft%

Advanced: 4.2 VORP (#9), 3.2 BPM (#15), 6.9 Win Shares (Not top 20)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 89
www.2kratings.com/micheal-ray-richardson-all-time-new-york-knicks

SG2: Hersey Hawkins (96-97)

Accolades: None (super-role player)

Career: 1x All-Star, NBA Finalist

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 14 ppg, 4 rpg, 3 apg, 1.9 spg, 0.1 bpg, 17.5% usage

Shooting: 61.6% ts%, 51.4% on 2’s, 40.3% on 3’s, 87.5% ft%

Advanced: 4.4 VORP (#15), 4.2 BPM (Not top 20), 10.9 Win Shares (#15)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 87
www.2kratings.com/hersey-hawkins-all-time-philadelphia-76ers

SF2: Tayshaun Prince (06-07)

Accolades: NBA All-D 2nd Team

Career: 4x All-D, NBA Champion

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 14.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.7 bpg, 18.9% usage

Shooting: 53.4% ts%, 48% on 2’s, 38.6% on 3’s, 76.9% ft%

Advanced: 2.9 VORP (Not top 20), 1.8 BPM (NT20), 8 Win Shares (NT20)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: N/A
www.2kratings.com/tayshaun-prince-2003-04-detroit-pistons

PF2: Blake Griffin (13-14)

Accolades: All-NBA 2nd Team, All-Star, #3 MVP Voting

Career: 6x All-Star, 5x All-NBA (3-2T/2-3T), ROY

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 24.1 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.6 bpg, 29% usage

Shooting: 58.3% ts%, 53.7% on 2’s, 27.3% on 3’s, 71.5% ft%

Advanced: 4.7 VORP (#11), 4.5 BPM (#15), 12.2 Win Shares (#6)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 90
www.2kratings.com/blake-griffin-all-time-los-angeles-clippers

C2: Brad Daugherty (92-93)

Accolades: All-Star, All-NBA prior year (lower in MVP), #10 MVP Voting

Career: 5x All-Star, 1x All-NBA

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 20.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 4.4 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.8 bpg, 21% usage

Shooting: 63.5% ts%, 57.1% on 2’s, N/A on 3’s, 79.5% ft%

Advanced: 4.7 VORP (#10), 4.9 BPM (#10), 12.7 Win Shares (#6)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 90
www.2kratings.com/brad-daugherty-all-time-cleveland-cavaliers

PG3: John Wall (16-17)

Accolades: All-NBA 3rd Team, All-Star, 12th All-D Voting, #7 MVP Voting

Career: 5x All-Star, 1x All-NBA, 1x All-D

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 23.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 10.7 apg, 2 spg, 0.6 bpg, 30.6% usage

Shooting: 54.1% ts%, 48% on 2’s, 32.7% on 3’s, 80% ft%

Advanced: 4.8 VORP (#17), 4.7 BPM (NT20), 8.8 Win Shares (NT20)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 90
www.2kratings.com/john-wall-all-time-washington-wizards

C3: Marcus Camby (06-07)

Accolades: DPOY, 1st Team All-D, #19 All-NBA Voting

Career: DPOY, 4x All-D (2-1T/2-2T), 4x Blocks Champ

Stats:

Counting/Usage: 11.2 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 3.3 bpg, 15.9% usage

Shooting: 52% ts%, 47.5% on 2’s, N/A on 3’s, 73% ft%

Advanced: 4 VORP (#19), 4.7 BPM (#14), 7.6 Win Shares (NT20)

All-Time NBA2K Rating: 85
www.2kratings.com/marcus-camby-all-time-denver-nuggets

[theswitch]

The 2K ratings are somewhat fun so I figured I'd check it out.

Core Rotation:

Penny Hardaway -- 95
Fat Lever -- 92
Paul Westphal -- 88 (?? haha)
Marques Johnson -- 92
Danny Granger -- 88
Bobby Jones -- 90
Jermaine O'Neal -- 91
Serge Ibaka -- 88
Marc Gasol -- 93

So basically everyone in the core rotation is 88+. Paul Westphal at 88 is a bit of a head-scratcher but whatever. If I needed to go 7 man rotation, everyone except Westphal is 90+. I think that's pretty cool.

Anyways -- smokeablount -- I think you have one of the best teams here and it's been fun to track your drafting since our teams had such a big trade early on. In particular, I loved the following picks:
- MRR and Hawkins to really shore up your defensive backcourt without really losing too much offensively
- Larry Nance Sr who I think is a better player than Blake and glues together some of your team with his help defense and overall caliber + not needing the basketball as much
- Brad Daugherty who I thought was a starting caliber player in this league. His presence reduces questions that Lanier only played 3/4 of the season.

There's something about Deron that I don't like -- it's really just the long-term taint of how his career went downhill. But there's no denying how good he was until then. And I get the questions about Tracy's mentality which are why I didn't pick him in the first place (btw -- I also like Tayshaun as a backup for him to try to influence his head to get on straight). But top to bottom, fun team.

[smokeablount]

Did you get all time ratings? they look right except Gasol. 2K also rates various attributes like inside/outside scoring, playmaking, etc. it’s fun.

I think my 5 faves are, in some order:

Chicago
OKC
Denver
Toronto
Orlando

[theswitch]

Did you get all time ratings? they look right except Gasol. 2K also rates various attributes like inside/outside scoring, playmaking, etc. it’s fun.

I think my 5 faves are, in some order:

Chicago
OKC
Denver
Toronto
Orlando

I tried to but maybe I screwed up. 2K just loves Gasol for some reason (not that they're wrong  ): https://www.2kratings.com/marc-gasol-all-time-memphis-grizzlies

EDIT: just saying, he got an 85 for three-point shot, 95 for mid-range, and 92 for overall outside scoring. RE: the spacing question.

[celticinorlando]

To answer Roy's question: Same question as wdleehi:  are your starters too ball dominant?  Do you have "glue guys" there?  Is wing defense an issue with the starters?

I don't think my starters are too ball dominant. I think Kemba can play whatever game you want. He can take over or distribute. English averaged nearly 5 assists per game for the year I picked him. Carter was a good passer in his career. Some years averaged almost 5 a game.

I think my glue guys would be Grant and Cooper. Grant has played and excelled with great players at every position (Penny at PG, MJ at SG, Pippen at SF and Shaq at C). Cooper is a plug and play kind of guy that I would have zero issues starting.

I want to be able to have guys off the bench that can start if needed. Wing defense you can easily start Cooper if needed. Bird called him the best defender he has ever played against. Def. not locked into any starting line up.

Josh Smith was a tough, undersized defender on the wing and in the post. He had great defensive timing that blocked a lot of shots despite being 6'9. He was an all around good defender.


My vote would go to OKC or Toronto. I think OKC has the best constructed team. I have liked this team from the start.

[smokeablount]

Did you get all time ratings? they look right except Gasol. 2K also rates various attributes like inside/outside scoring, playmaking, etc. it’s fun.

I think my 5 faves are, in some order:

Chicago
OKC
Denver
Toronto
Orlando

I tried to but maybe I screwed up. 2K just loves Gasol for some reason (not that they're wrong  ): https://www.2kratings.com/marc-gasol-all-time-memphis-grizzlies

EDIT: just saying, he got an 85 for three-point shot, 95 for mid-range, and 92 for overall outside scoring. RE: the spacing question.

No that’s right. Wow, that’s really high, they love him. Nice find.

I’ve got 3 guys above 94, the only team in the league (TMac 95, Thompson 95, Lanier 94) and 3 other guys at 90.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

Your Historic Draft OKC Thunder:

Point Guard:
Chauncey Billups 2005-2006 (5th in MVP voting, 8.6 apg, 43.3% 3's)
Baron Davis 2001-2002 (8.5 apg, 35.6% 3's)


Shooting Guard:
Dan Majerle 1992-1993 (All defensive second team, 38.1% 3's)
Michael Redd 2005-2006 (25.4 ppg, 39.5 % 3's)
Allan Houston 1999-2000 (43.6% 3's, all star)


Small Forward:
Peja Stojakovic 2003-2004 (4th in MVP voting 43.4% 3's)
Gerald Wallace 2009-2010 (All Defensive 1st team, 37.1% 3's)
Toni Kukoc 1995-1996 (40.3% 3's, 6th man of the year)

Power Forward:
Shawn Kemp 1995-1996 (8th in MVP voting, All NBA second team, 12th in all defensive voting, 41.7 3's... ok this one is a joke it's on 12 attempts lol)

Antonio McDyess 1998-1999 (All NBA 3rd team, 3.8 combined blocks and steals per game)

Center:
Dwight Howard 2010-2011 (Defensive Player of the year, runner up for MVP)
Tyson Chandler 2011-2012 (Defensive Player of the year, 3rd team All NBA)


I think the strategy was clear here- build a team of great shooters around Dwight. I was targeting Penny or Zo at pick 6, and was surprised to start with Dwight. He was an absolute monster at his peak and did best while surrounded by shooters.

I thought Chauncey Billups was the perfect running mate, a strong, 2-way point guard with a lethal outside shot who knows how to win and be a good teammate. I liked Baron Davis as a change of pace guy off the bench, and picked a year where he shot decently from outside on high volume. As far as point guards are concerned, they both bring great assist numbers (8.5 and 8.6) and will do a good job of feeding Dwight and Kemp down low while also being able to find shooters and create for themselves and others.

I decided to start Dan Majerle at the 2. He's the ultimate team guy, and a great shooter and defender. The backcourt defense of Billups and Majerle will stifle opposing teams, and they are both capable of creating offense. I loved getting Redd and feel like he's better served as a 6th man- since Thunder Dan has the passing and defensive edge which I think is more important in my starting unit. Allan Houston probably won't play much but he's another great shooter to have on the bench.

Peja at the 3 is one of my favorite picks, he was absolutely elite in the 04 season and was at least average on defense with great size for his position and great intelligence. I ultimately decided to go with the better wing defender next to him in Majerle but I think we are still elite so far defensively. Oh yeah, and Peja was pretty good at shooting the ball... I got Gerald Wallace as my defensive specialist off the bench- the year he was an all defensive 1st team guy. He also shot 37% that year- I'm not trying to say he's Peja from downtown but you don't want to leave him open.

Shawn Kemp and Dwight Howard round out the starting 5- 2 elite athletic finishers and defenders. I don't see any reason they wouldn't work together- while Kemp is not a floor spacer per se, he could handle the ball a little bit and was a solid reliable mid range shooter. The rebounding, athleticism, and defense between these two is going to be insane. McDyess and Chandler will have pretty similar roles to the guys they back up (although Tyson Chandler isn't going to be fed the ball down low like Dwight but you get the point). McDyess also had a reliable enough mid-range jumper and we get to sub DPOY Dwight out for DPOY Tyson. Toni Kukoc will serve an important role- when teams go small we can matchup better- though I don't see any reason that Kemp in his athletic peak wouldn't be able to handle some smaller 4's on defense. But most importantly with Toni, we have the option to get another 40% 3 point shooter out there and a guy that can make plays for others.

I envision something like this:

Startling lineup: Billups/Majerle/Stojakovic/Kemp/Howard

Redd with some major minutes as the 6th man, Wallace subbing in for when we need some defense, Tyson Chandler spelling Dwight when he needs a rest, McDyess and BDiddy doing the same for Kemp and Chauncey, respectively, and Kukoc playing a point forward/small ball 4 role when he need some extra offense.

Happy to hear thoughts, comments, criticisms, and answer any questions about my squad.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

A question for each squad, harkening back to the "press conferences" of the CB Draft.

OKC (Celtic Fan Forever):
PG: Chauncey Billups / Baron Davis
SG: Michael Redd / Dan Majerle / Allan Houston
SF: Peja Stojakovic / Gerald Wallace
PF: Shawn Kemp / Antonio McDyess / Toni Kukoc
C: Dwight Howard / Tyson Chandler

Do Redd and Peja both start?  If so, who defends elite wings?  Who does your offense run through?  Will D12 throw a fit if he doesn't get enough touches, like he did in LA and Houston?

I decided to switch Redd and Majerle, as I was looking over my team - wing defense was my biggest concern in the starting lineup. The team will run through Dwight down low, and Kemp to a lesser extent. Chauncey can pick and roll with both of them and have shooters surrounding. I'm not worried about Dwight throwing a fit, because LA and Houston Dwight doesn't exist yet     I also think he's surrounded by good personalities and a couple of champions to help keep him happy and focused.

[gouki88]

RE: Roy’s question on size - I’m not overly worried about size to be honest. I think any team that attempts to bully Webber will be wasting their time - he was strong defensively, and I believe he weighed in at around 260lbs by this stage in his career. I also think it will swing significantly in my favour on the other end.

Webber dragging big rim protectors away from the inside will open things up for the whole offence. And if they don’t follow him, C-Webb will just hit mid range jumpers all day.

I think Roy is fine on that end too. There are some wings who are more powerful than he is, but I am pretty confident in the ability of my guards to come down and harass any wings trying to overpower him.

I also plan on running bigger opponents of their feet.


So many great big write ups to read today!

[theswitch]

CFF -- I love the Majerle decision and think your team is really fun. It's a League Pass team for sure and probably wins the most regular season games. I'd love to hear you flush out that point on Kemp and Howard playing together. Here are the data points on my mind:

1 -- In 1996-1997, which is the first NBA tracks for this stuff, Kemp shot 1,032 times of which 707 were less than 5 feet and 355 were layups. He shot 30% from 8-16 feet and 39.7% from 16-24 feet. So in total 87-236 from what they categorize as mid-range, or 36.9%

2 -- Peja was assisted on 77% of his shots in 2003-04. When I look at a guy like Ray Allen from 07-08, he was at 65%. Klay was at 70% in his first All-Star season before going up to 80% after that. I'm somewhat using that as a measure of ability to create for yourself in the absence of other measures for that

So the question here for me is whether Kemp and Howard get in each other's way, and if Peja can create enough for himself or whether -- like Klay for the 80%+ years -- he benefited from the ball movement with Bibby, Webber, Vlade around him which compares to Dwight, Kemp.

Your team is somewhat like the 18-1 Patriots to me. It's incredibly talented and all of the pieces actually make a lot of sense. But when you kinda figured out Moss was going deep and Welker was going underneath, things tightened up in the playoffs. So if you know Dwight and Kemp are rim-running and Peja is hanging out looking for open shots, are Billups and Majerle enough creativity to facilitate that? I'm not sure Redd or Wallace help too much with that. Baron probably does. It's probably why I was wondering if you should take Hedo or to either start Kukoc or play him over McDyess.

The reason I'm going a little deeper -- there's no debate your team is really, really good. It's a top team. I'm trying to figure out if it's the best team or a top 3-4 team.

[Who]

On wing defense,

I don't think teams will be able to switch their SG and SF assignments that much. The opponents are too skilled. The SFs too big too strong. The SGs too quick. It is tough to have two wing defenders versatile enough to switch assignments so that your best wing defender can cover the best guy on the other team. For the most part, players I reckon are just going to have to defend their own position.

[Who]

So if you know Dwight and Kemp are rim-running and Peja is hanging out looking for open shots, are Billups and Majerle enough creativity to facilitate that? I'm not sure Redd or Wallace help too much with that. Baron probably does. It's probably why I was wondering if you should take Hedo or to either start Kukoc or play him over McDyess.

Kukoc is a guy I am trying to figure out. Very talented but is he a SF or a PF? Is he a tweener in this league? Not quite one or the other. Where does he fit in?

The guy is so skilled offensively. You want him on the floor. Good but not great shooter. Great passer. Good ball-handler. Can stretch the floor at PF. Lot of positives you want out of him.

But can he defend the other PFs in the league? A few of them certaintly. But how many of them?

And if you play him at SF, is he quick enough to cover those guys? How many of them can he cover?

[Celtic Fan Forever]

CFF -- I love the Majerle decision and think your team is really fun. It's a League Pass team for sure and probably wins the most regular season games. I'd love to hear you flush out that point on Kemp and Howard playing together. Here are the data points on my mind:

1 -- In 1996-1997, which is the first NBA tracks for this stuff, Kemp shot 1,032 times of which 707 were less than 5 feet and 355 were layups. He shot 30% from 8-16 feet and 39.7% from 16-24 feet. So in total 87-236 from what they categorize as mid-range, or 36.9%

2 -- Peja was assisted on 77% of his shots in 2003-04. When I look at a guy like Ray Allen from 07-08, he was at 65%. Klay was at 70% in his first All-Star season before going up to 80% after that. I'm somewhat using that as a measure of ability to create for yourself in the absence of other measures for that

So the question here for me is whether Kemp and Howard get in each other's way, and if Peja can create enough for himself or whether -- like Klay for the 80%+ years -- he benefited from the ball movement with Bibby, Webber, Vlade around him which compares to Dwight, Kemp.

Your team is somewhat like the 18-1 Patriots to me. It's incredibly talented and all of the pieces actually make a lot of sense. But when you kinda figured out Moss was going deep and Welker was going underneath, things tightened up in the playoffs. So if you know Dwight and Kemp are rim-running and Peja is hanging out looking for open shots, are Billups and Majerle enough creativity to facilitate that? I'm not sure Redd or Wallace help too much with that. Baron probably does. It's probably why I was wondering if you should take Hedo or to either start Kukoc or play him over McDyess.

The reason I'm going a little deeper -- there's no debate your team is really, really good. It's a top team. I'm trying to figure out if it's the best team or a top 3-4 team.

I went back and watched some clips from the 1996 finals, Kemp was comfortably stepping into 18-20 foot jumpers and hitting them nothing but net. He can catch high post or step into those long 2’s with ease, freeing up Dwight to have room around the basket. I can’t speak to the numbers before they were tracked but the film showed me it won’t be a problem. Dwight can operate down low closer to the basket, and the problem for other teams is you can’t really double team either of them while there’s 3 40% 3 point shooters on the court.

I think Chauncey is a very underrated playmaker, as is Baron, and Majerle is enough of a passer to make sure the ball keeps moving with the starters. I think Kukoc’s role could be significant in certain games should ball movement become an issue- but I don’t think it’ll be a major concern.

Peja will not be asked to create a bunch of shots for himself or others. By no means am I saying Dwight or Kemp are Nikola Jokic, but if they’re doubled they can make the next pass. We saw Dwight do it in Orlando, and this is Orlando Dwight. I think between that and pick and roll creation from Chauncey/Davis and to a lesser extent Kukoc and Majerle, there will be shots for Peja and guys like Redd and even Houston.