Denver Nuggets
This is a long post for whoever wants more info on some of these old guys.
The Bench
G: Gus Williams
G: Rolando Blackman
F: Bob Dandridge
F: Vin Baker
C: Jack Sikma
Others: Fred Brown & Clifford Robinson
So the only thought out part here was Jack Sikma. Sikma could play the 4 or the 5. I liked that versatility next to Alonzo. I was planning on drafting a shorter bulkier PF next to Zo so having a big body to go bigger was interesting. Also interesting, this was part of Lenny Wilkens thinking when he drafted Sikma - that he could play the 4 and 5 so they saw him as a superior fit for them. It allows the team to play bigger with two big body big men when that is needed or desired (say against Yao & L Aldridge).
Gus, Sikma, Dandridge
So I have three main bench guys in Sikma, Dandridge and Gus Williams. Interestingly they all played against each other in the 1978 and 1979 NBA Finals. Did not plan it that way. Just the way it worked out.
Sikma had a big series in 1979 as the sole center (he played PF as a rookie next to Marvin Webster at center in the 1978 Finals) where he averaged 16ppg 15rpg outrebounding both E Hayes (12rpg) and W Unseld (11.5rpg). Gus Williams was the leading scorer in 1979 with 29ppg to lead Seattle to the title. I have never seen such a prolific scorer in the Finals get less credit for his role in winning a title. Dandridge was WAS's best player in 1979 with 22pg 8rpg 5.5apg as a do-it-all SF. In 1978, he averaged 20ppg 7rpg 4apg.
Dandridge also played with Kareem and Oscar in the early 70s where he was the third star averaging 19ppg 8rpg 3apg in the playoffs for the Bucks. He was one of the more efficient scorers in the league during this period playing off of those two stars. In WAS, he was their main creator on the perimeter so he was taking more contested shots and his efficiency dropped due to situation. In a previous Historical Draft, Dandridge was compared to Jimmy Butler as a do-it-all slasher type at SF. Solid comp. Strong defender too with an All-Defense recognition. He was more of a midrange guy than an outside shooter. He had an outside shot but he used it sparingly. Interestingly, in an interview he said the corners were his favourite spot to shoot from on the floor.
The Sonics had a cool team in the late 70s. They had a three guard backcourt with Gus, DJ and Fred Brown (oh, also on my team, 4 guys from these two Finals). Then they had a point forward type similar to Tayshaun Prince in John Johnson. And Sikma as a high post facilitator at center. This gave them a decentralized passing unit that made it difficult to tell where the attack was going to come from.
Gus averaged only 4-5apg over these three years before averaging 7-8apg (over 4 years) after this team was broken up and it became a more PG centric offense. He was paired with two legit wing players (Hanzlik, Wally Walker) and so shouldered more of the playmaking. Gus could play either style well. He also moved tremendously well without the ball cutting and running off of screens when he had guards who could handle the ball out top for him. One of the best off-ball movers at PG in this league alongside guys like Mark Price, Fat Lever, Isaiah Thomas.
Gus Williams was renowned for his speed in the open floor. He was the quickest guard in the NBA (or tied with Fast Eddie Johnson in Atlanta). He ran one of the best transition offenses in the league. He sat out one year due to a contract dispute. Seattle had the worst transition offense in the league that year and immediately bounced back to either the best or one of the best transition offenses in the league once he returned. After Magic, Gus was the most feared guard in transition in the NBA during this period.
Gus was a fairly average defender but brilliant at forcing turnovers which gave him a nice boost on otherwise average D. He had great hands and players feared putting the ball out near him. He was also great off-ball playing passing lanes. In terms of shooting, Gus was a good outside shooter. He shot with high volume in a pre & early 3 point era. So his scoring efficiency wasn't great. It would do better today with a boost from some of those outside shots becoming higher value 3s. He could off the dribble, off of movement and off of stand still shooting opportunities. A versatile shooter who could shoot with volume.
Sikma was one of those strong well-rounded centers who was very good at most things but great at little. He was the top defensive big man on three separate high level defensive squads. The Sonics teams that made the Finals in the late 70s. The Sonics team of 1982 with big wings, the great Lonnie Shelton at PF (6-8 240lbs) and a young bulky backup center in James Donaldson (7-2 270lbs). Sikma played next to both of these big men in different alignments and even played with all three on the floor on rare occassions with Shelton at SF. Then Sikma played in Milwaukee next to Moncrief, Pressey and T Cummings. Sikma was the top defensive big man there too.
Sikma was one level below the best interior defenders because he wasn't a great shot-blocker. He had good size and okay length but couldn't really jump. He was more of a position based defender. More similar to Marc Gasol in recent times. Using his size and positioning to close off angles and contest shots. Sikma would generally average a block & a steal a game. He had good hands and read the game well. He had solid bulk but not great bulk. He could battle with big body centers well enough. He had more trouble with taller longer centers who could shoot over the top of him like Kareem or R Parish. In 1987, Parish would outplay him averaging 22pg 13rpg 55% FG% to Sikma's 17.5ppg 9.5rpg. Kareem caused him problems in SEA vs LAL matchups. He did better with Moses. They had a short 3 game mini-series in 1982 where Moses went 24ppg 17rpg 43% FG% to Sikma's 21ppg 14rpg 47% FG%.
Likewise, Sikma was not a dominant offensive player but more of a very good one. He was an above average but not great passer. He had a solid but unexceptional post game. His lack of length and lift could force him outside against top shot-blockers. Sikma did have one of the best jump-shots in the league at the center position. In his later years, he became one of the first three point shooting centers and would surely shoot a fair number of 3s in today's NBA. He also is the only center to ever lead the league in free throw percentage. So he is a legit shooter. He had a sneaky shot fake to open up driving moves. A versatile all-round offensive player whose jump-shooting would likely make him more valuable offensively today than he was in his own era. Surprisingly, Sikma got a good number of FTs for a guy who shot a lot of jumpers.
The others
Rolando Blackman was All-Star SG for Dallas in the 80s. He was a 20ppg 3-4apg guy. He was very efficient. He had a high level midrange and long two point jump shot. He was very good at slashing to the rim. He was well above average at getting to the FT line. And later in his career he added a three point shot while finishing out his career with the Knicks in the early 90s. Also, he was a good defensive player so a two-way guy with size (6-6), quickness and athleticism. A three time defensive player of the year in college. He caused MJ some problems in his early years with his defense before MJ figured him out.
Vin Baker is an odd fit but a very good player. I said earlier I expected to draft a bulky short PF well I got Vin instead. So I figured Sikma would give me a two tall big man alignment. With Vin, I got three guys who can play that way. Baker might just be my best low post scorer when you add in passing ability. He elevated SEA's offense with his decision making when he replaced Kemp. Kemp was an even more efficient scorer in terms of TS% but he was error prone and made a lot of turnovers (led the league in 1996 when they made the Finals). Obviously, his error-prone ways made it difficult to run the offense through him. This changed with Baker who had played guard throughout most of high school and then was a SF as he entered college and only became a big man after a late growth spurt during college. So he had far better handles, passing and decision making the most other big men.
This made SEA far more comfortable dumping the ball into him in the low post versus Kemp and even made Baker the go-to in game winning situations as he hit game winning shots that season against the Bulls (Rodman?), the Spurs (over Duncan) and maybe Charlotte. I forget the third team. The Bulls shot a midranger. The Spurs one a post up to fallaway at the FT line over Duncan. The other a long two.
Vin Baker allows me to go bigger at PF in terms of post play. I can put two low post guys in Zo and Baker on the court to beat up smaller opponents. Or I can pair Baker with Sikma as a stretch five and give Baker more room to work. Baker was a good all-round defender but not a defensive leader. His inability to be that hurt Seattle and they missed Kemp's toughness as both an interior defender & top level rebounder. Baker was a mediocre rebounder.
Fred Brown was nicknamed "Downtown Freddie Brown" before there was even a three point line in the NBA because of how far out he shot from. He did not just shoot 3s. He shot long 3s from 3-5 feet behind where the line would have been. He was the best long distance shooter in the NBA. He was also a very good scorer who could create on ball or move off ball (as was more common in those days) to create scoring opportunities. He was a combo guard more than a PG or SG. He could play both. He could defend both. He could handle and pass the ball well enough to play PG and be above average at this at SG. He is perhaps my most skilled offensive SG and my best outside shooter. I believe he'd get a major bump in offensive efficiency and scoring if he played in today's league.
Uncle Cliffy is my final guy. There were some guys that were better one-position players than him but I went with him because he could play all 3 frontcourt positions. I liked that versatility in a 12th man (and Freddie can play both guard spots covering all 5 positions between them). With the unexpected big PF in Vin Baker, I wanted another shooter at PF. Cliff filled the bill. I also wanted a backup shooter at SF behind King and Dandridge. Cliff fit the bill.
Clifford Robinson was one of the most versatile defensive forwards in the league in the 1990s. He was a high level defender at SF and PF. He was one of the few guys who had the speed and length to cover a guy like Kevin Garnett well. He gave teams a major speed advantage in terms of defensive quickness & transition offense / defense when he played at PF. He gave teams a major size and length advantage when he played at SF defensively. He was part of some monster frontcourts in Portland as a 6th man (PF, C, SF) and as a starting SF. He was part of some hugely versatile frontcourts in Phoenix (played alongside D Manning & old KJ) at mostly PF but also some C and some SF. He was a good outside shooter in an era where 6-10 bigs weren't meant to shoot 3s. That part of his game would be better respected if he played today and probably better developed as well given that all his coaches wouldn't be trying to play him differently or wonder what position he played.
So I like Cliff's ability to play PF, spread the floor for the offense, enable the tranition game, be a versatile defender and even secondary shot-blocker. Or play bigger with him at SF in almost a three big man type alignment in the frontcourt.
I enjoyed when Phoenix would play Cliff & Manning together either as two 6-10 forwards or as two 6-10 multi-facted big men to create all types of matchup problems.
Topic: 2023 CS Historic Draft - How's My Team? (Read 52557 times)