CB Historical Draft - Team Rosters/Panelists Comments

[Roy Hobbs]

As I said earlier, I don't think Isiah has a significant advantage over Price. I think Isiah is one of those players who is being too much credit for his ability due to his impact earlier in the decade (1980's).

I don't think the Isiah of 1990 was significantly worse than earlier in his career.  Rather, the numbers (especially in terms of assists) are slightly less impressive due to the Pistons' pace.  In 1990, the Pistons ranked 26th out of 27th in terms of pace factor.  In Isiah's best years statistically ('85 and '86) the Pistons ranked 4th and 5th in pace.

In fact, it's remarkable how well his '90 numbers hold up compared to his earlier run-and-gun days, considering the fewer number of possessions that he was working with.  Also, despite the lower pace in 1990 as compared to 1986, the Pistons offense was actually more efficient, averaging more points per 100 possessions.  It's pretty clear that Isiah knew how to run an offense, even if it was a slowed down one.

Isiah was just as good of a player in 1990 than he was in 1986, if not a better one.  His stats suffered, but his teams won two championships (including in '90).  I don't think he should be punished because his Hall of Fame coach asked him to slow things down. 

[StartOrien]

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

STARTING LINEUP

Steve Nash (2006 - 2007)
Latrelle Sprewell (1993 - 1994)
Tracy McGrady (2002 - 2003)
Kevin Garnett (2003 - 2004)
Charles Oakley (1993-1994)

Sixth Man

Jermaine O'Neal (2003-2004)

Definitive Rotation Players

Anthony Mason (1996-1997)
Rod Strickland (1997-1998)
Bruce Bowen (2004-2005)
Allan Houston (2002-2003)

Lesser Minutes
Doug Christie (2002-2003)
Hot Rod Williams (1981-1990)

Spot Minutes / Suit
Steve Francis (2000-2001)
Jeff Hornacek (1991-1992)
Vernon Maxwell (1991-1992)

Coach
Rudy Tomjanovic

I laid out the player stats and awards here: http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=37447.msg765999#msg765999 I really urge you check that out because there's some pretty eye popping numbers. But I don't think it's neccesary to repost here.

Overall Philosophy
Obviously, with Steve Nash running the point this team was built to be uptempo. Not neccesarily "7 seconds or less" style, but certainly we'd prefer a faster speed. I think team-speed will definitely be a huge advantage over our opponents.  

And I certainly think we have the defensive personnel to force that style: With 2 First Team All Defensive Players (KG and Oak), and another 2nd Teamer (Spree). As I said previously, I'm a big believer in on court chemistry and I think this team would work extremely well complimenting each other, as opposed to being just a strong collection of talent.

Our half court offense will primarily run out of a 1-4 pick and roll set, capitalizing on KG, who I believe will really create some nightmare matchups for my opponents: Either too quick or too tall for his opponents to stop. I don't think I could stress this point enough.  

In this set, I'd anticipate Oak alternate between banging and setting up 8-10 feet out on the baseline, Spree to play the role of a super slasher, and T-Mac being the jack off all trades; alternating between slasher, spot up shooter, and playmaker off the wing (I'd imagine he'd be involved with a decent amount of pick and rolls as well)

Why Oak over J.O? / The Bench Section

I know, I know, I know: I've been saying Jermaine over Oak for the entire excercise. And while I do still believe that the difference between the two's offensive game is greater than the defensive difference (at-least in their primes), I think J.O is more suited for the bench in this excercise.

With Nash, Garnett, T-Mac and to a lesser extent Spree, the starting lineup has enough offensive fire power in it. So I thought it was probably best to move J.O's strong post set to the bench where he could be a more featured offensive option, and brought the defensive brickhouse known as Charles Oakley to the starting lineup. I think him and KG are a tremendous compliment to each other and would match up very well defensively even against the strongest of front courts.

I think at the end of the day, the split of the minutes will be even and who plays at the end would be dependent on matchups and feel.

For the most part, even though I've listed some players "Definitive minutes" I wouldn't expect huge minutes out of anyone on the bench with the exception of Jermaine O'Neal. That being said, each has a very defined role which I think is farily obvious when you take a look at them: Knock down shooters, wing defenders, bruisers and playmakers. These are generic terms for any role players, but a lot of these guys are the embodiment of those generic terms, which is why I think they'd plug in so well to these great lineups.

Cliffnotes
-Team wants to run: Capitalize on speed and strong d
-Team built on percieved chemistry as opposed to colletion of talent
-KG will create nightmare mismatches
-Bench is excellent role players

[StartOrien]

sorry, somehow double posted.

[Fan from VT]

I think I match up well vs. Utah and pretty much every other team, as I feel like I have the most complete 2-way squad that there is without having to swap in one-dimensional specialists; my top 9 rotation players can pretty much get anything done.

Shaq is clearly Utah's best player, but of anyone, DPOY Mourning was ready to at least make shaq work hard for points and boards. I think you can double off of Worthy's man as Shaq will be clogging the post and Worthy is at his best in the open field on the wing, not the half-court set, but Shaq/Dirk are halfcourt players. Additionally, the next best palyers on offense for Utah are Dirk and Drexler, and in my starting lineup we have 2 all-defense team players at those positions: Majerle and Malone.

Now, We're not going to STOP shaq, but here's my question: how do they stop Golden State? We've got excellent outside shooting at both wings, and Mourning and Malone both have the midrange shot to space the paint. Malone was, pure and simple, the best pick and roll picker of the past 20 years, and with him initiating the offense with Isiah on the drive, with options like Malone on the roll, Mourning at midrange/cutting himself, and Majerle/Mullin outside, who's going to stop that? Shaq? Dirk??? Price???

Additionally, within my top 9 I think I have the bench to compensate if things are looking dire vs. Utah. First, if two of Worthy/Drexler/Dirk are both having hot games, I can bring in Kirilenko, and have him just blanket one of those guys with Majerle on the other. Kirilenko is a great player off the bench to plug any holes in any given game. Second, If Shaq is just too much, I can sub in Divac, who first of all has the size to give him fits, and second can pull him out of the paint on offense and make him expend energy as Divac picks Utah apart from the high post. Finally, I'm brining in Carmelo at small forward for the offensive energy boost off the bench. He could easily start for one of these teams with his all-around efficient game, but I plan to bring him in with Divac, pull out Utah's only shot-blocker, and let Melo kill Marion/Worthy on the post. And, or course, Fat Lever is the 9th man in the rotation, giving you outside shooting, incredible rebounding and well above average defense. I see the individual matchups like this:

Isiah > Price
Majerle < Drexler (closer than you'd think due to defense)
Mullin = Worthy
Malone >>> Dirk
Mourning << Shaq

Divac > Moses
Kirilenko = McDyess (defense matters...and McDyess was very athletic but shot a low percentage for a young dunker)
Carmelo >> Marion (especially when you remember that Marion is on record as saying he'd rather be the #1 on a bad team than buried on a title team...I question his fit on an all-time team)
Fat > Porter

In addition to the individual matchups, I give the coaching edge to Brown over Rivers, and think the pieces fit a little better on offense and are stronger on defense across the board.

Excellent post ...

I have Worthy and Mullin canceling each other out also. Mullin was a far more effective offensive player than Worthy was but his lack of defense negates that potential advantage and neutralizes the matchup. I also agree with Worthy being a fairly mediocre fit on that team offensively because his best strengths offensively (midpost game + undersized quick PF) are limited by the presence of Dirk Nowitzki. I wouldn't have picked Worthy.

This is one of the situations where I thought Danny Granger would have brought far more to the table than the small forward selected. His increased versatility offensively, shooting ability, prolific + highly efficient scoring game would have been a nightmarish complement to players like Shaq + Dirk + Clyde + Price.

I think Karl Malone is being given too much credit. His greatest strength was his longevity as a top level player rather than his brilliance in any one specific season. I don't think he deserved either of his MVP awards (All-NBA talent) or any of his All-Defensive selections either (good but unexceptional defender).

I do not think Malone has an advantage against Dirk ... and that stage of his career, I think he struggles against Dirk's shooting ability + height/length + midpost game (a younger more athletic Malone would have fared better defensively + caused more problems in transition against Dirk's suspect transition D) ... more so that the problems he poses for Dirk on the other end of the floor (pick and roll offense is an issue but I am fine with Dirk defending him in the low post + face up opportunities).

I also seem to rate Clyde Drexler a lot higher than most others here. I think his impact in this matchup and advantage over Majerle is much larger than you do. An All-NBA talent against a borderline All-Star, huge difference.

I have no issues with Marion's statements because they never effected his play on the court. He was always unselfish, always played with effort and always put the team first. I agree that Carmelo has an advantage as the main wing off the bench but I also think Marion's top notch defense (and athleticism) can somewhat contain Melo's advantage.

As I said earlier, I don't think Isiah has a significant advantage over Price. I think Isiah is one of those players who is being too much credit for his ability due to his impact earlier in the decade (1980's).

I think McDyess has an advantage versus the other two backup bigs because I don't think Vlade can defend Dirk at the center position. Kirilenko is a very good team defender at the four but he is not tough one-on-one defender at the position and both Dirk + McDyess can be effective offensively against him. I think the backup guard role is fairly even too.

I think only two players on your team can break down the Jazz' defense -- Isiah with his playmaking ability + Carmelo with his scoring ability -- but I think Utah can effectively defend everyone else in one-on-one situations and won't be pressed into help defense often enough by the rest of your team. In contrast, I think Shaq + Dirk + Clyde can all force the Warriors defense to collapse and that Price's playmaking can create opportunities for others also. Consequently, I think your team is too reliant on one type of offense (pick and roll play) and not versatile enough overall in this matchup.

Obviously, I disagree with a lot of this.
-I acknowledge Drexler is better, but Majerle was a great all-around player and a way better defender than Drexler. Considering there's a finite number of shots, I want a guy who is efficient without the ball and loves to defend in my starting lineup.
-Roy touched on the Isiah thing. Again, when constructing a team, I'm not sure you can just throw a lot of players together in their young primes and hope they shake it all out. That's why I love Isiah on this team. At that stage in his career, he still had the ability (18/9 at a snail's pace) and won Finals MVP that very season, so clearly he was getting it done physically. But mostly, we love his leadership and decision making ability at that point in his career.
-When I picked Malone I was a little fearful. Not because of holes in his game, but because I was worried his rep. has been unfairly diminished by how much the media loves him as the necessary foil to Jordan's greatness, and that panelists would buy into this. So he was on the receiving end of the best player ever's greatness. Most players couldn't sniff that competition. Malone just destroys Dirk. How does Dirk possibly defend him? Malone was a hypercompetitive physical specimen with great skill. Malone kills him on offense. And Malone/Kirilenko are EXACTLY the defenders that give dirk problems: Stronger and faster.
-Malone and Majerle are not pure shooters: they're great shooters and scorers. "Thunder Dan" was earned through his thunderous jams, so it's not like he's some bruce bowen wannabe. Mullin could score from anywhere, spot up or off the dribble. Both could punish their respective defenders, and with Divac/Anthony in the top 7 of the rotation, that's plenty of offensive creativity. I think you give disproportionate credit to Price's playmaking and Drexler-Shaq-Drexler's offensive initiation and not enough to Mourning-Malone-Mullin-Isiah. Ball can only be in one player's hands at a time, and I think that's the balance my team struck very well.
-If you could transplant old McDyess's brain into young McDyess's body, maybe. But in his young days, he was an athletic numbers man. I'll take the all-around team and individual defender types off the bench.
-Marion asked to be traded away from a mini-contending-dynasty! He was a disruptive clubhouse cancer who wanted away from Nash!

[nickagneta]

Quick rebuttal of some of the stuff you've said here Fan from VT:

1.) In the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, seasons we picked out for AK47 and Dirk, here was what Kirilenko held Dirk to in the Dirk/Kirilenko head to head:

6 games
26.1 PPG
7.3 RPG
50 for 100 50.0% FG%
8 for 23 34.8% 3PT%
49 for 57 86.0% FT%
That is a true shooting percentage of 62.7% which is phenomenal.

I can neither confirm nor deny that Kirilenko was the person most responsible for guarding Dirk at that time, but if he was, it pretty much completely refutes your claim that Kirilenko could guard Dirk. And if a much better perimeter defender like AK47 could hold Dirk to only those numbers during the prime years given, I wonder what a low post defender like Malone would have done.

2.) If Malone and Majerle are great shooters, Malone mostly a post player and Majerle more a slasher than shooter, what exactly are Dirk and Mark Price and Shawn Marion who's games were much more distance shooting and perimeter oriented and who had much higher true shooting percentages, percentages that were 60.5%, 60.9% and 59.1% respectively?

3.) The season I chose of McDyess' was 2000-01. He was 26 years old and already a six year veteran. It was his most efficient and well rounded year and he was already starting to become a better defender and all around player. This wasn't the McDyess of 1997-98 who was all slamming and nothing else. You are mischaracterizing what Dice was at that portion of his career.

[Donoghus]

Milwaukee Bucks



Head Coach: Chuck Daly



- 2 time NBA World Champion
- Head Coach of the Original Dream Team (Gold Medal)
- Named to the NBA's "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History" (1996)
- Elected to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (1994)

Starting Five

Point Guard: Earvin "Magic" Johnson



1989-1990

- NBA MVP
- All Star Game MVP
- All-NBA 1st Team

22.3 ppg 11.5 apg 6.6 rpg 1.7 spg .890 FT% .480 FG% .384 3P%

Shooting Guard: Mitch Richmond



1995-1996

- All-NBA 3rd team
- NBA All-Star

23.1 ppg 3.1 apg 3.3 rpg 1.5 spg .866 FT% .447 FG% .437 3P%

Small Forward: Dominique Wilkins



1990-1991

- All-NBA 2nd team
- NBA All-Star

25.9 ppg 9.0 rpg 3.3 apg .829 FT% .470 FG% .341 3P%

Power Forward: Shawn Kemp



1995-1996

- All-NBA 2nd team
- NBA All-Star
- NBA Finals Appearance (Lost to Chicago Bulls)

19.6 ppg 11.4 rpg 2.2 apg 1.6 blks 1.2 spg .561 FG% .417 3P%

Center: Patrick Ewing



1989-1990

- All-NBA 1st team
- NBA All-Star
- Finished 2nd in total blocks
- Finished 5th in total rebounds

28.6 ppg 10.9 rpg 2.2 apg 4.0 blocks .551 FG% .775 FT%

Rotation

Shooting Guard: Manu Ginobili



2004-2005

16.0 ppg 4.4 rpg 3.9 apg 1.6 spg .803 FT% .471 FG% .376 3P%

- NBA All-Star
- World Champion (San Antonio Spurs)

Center: Arvydas Sabonis



1995-1996

14.5 ppg 8.1 rpg 1.8 apg 1.1 blks .545 FG% .757 FT%

- NBA All-Rookie 1st team

Point Guard: Rajon Rondo



2009-2010

13.7 ppg 9.8 apg 4.4 rpg 2.3 spg .508 FG%

- All-NBA Defensive 1st team
- Led NBA in steals & spg
- 4th in league in apg
- NBA World Champion (Boston Celtics)

Power Forward: Dale Davis



1993-1994

11.7 ppg 10.9 rpg 1.6 blocks .568 FG%

- 3rd in league in Offensive Rebound Pct.
- Legit defensive presence and enforcer

Bench

Guard: Steve Kerr

1995-1996

8.4 ppg 2.3 apg .929 FT% .515 3P% .506 FG%

- 2nd in league in 3P%
- NBA World Champion (Chicago Bulls)

Forward: Danny Granger

2008-2009

25.8 ppg 5.1 rpg 2.7 apg 1.4 blocks .878 FT% .447 FG% .404 3P%

- NBA Most Improved Player
- NBA All-Star

Forward: Robert Horry

2001-2002

6.8 ppg 5.9 rpg 1.1 blocks .374 3P% .783 FT%

- Nicknamed "Big Shot Bob" for a reason
- NBA World Champion (Los Angeles Lakers)

Inactives

Center: Joakim Noah

2009-2010

10.7 ppg 11.0 rpg 2.1 apg 1.6 blocks .504 FG%

- Finished 9th in defensive rating

Power Forward: Al Horford

2009-2010

14.2 ppg 9.9 rpg 1.1 blocks .551 FG%

- NBA All-Star

Guard-Forward: Rick Fox

1996-1997

15.4 ppg 5.2 rpg 2.2 spg

- 5th in league in steals and spg

Strategy

Having Magic Johnson fall to me at #10 in the first round set me in the direction that I decided to go.  From there, I decided that I'd try and build a team around athleticism and size.  I watched some of my fellow owners construct some incredible front-courts and decided that I needed to draft guys with size that could provide toughness in defending them.  I chose to take a young Patrick Ewing that was a an incredible defensivice force rather than the more refined offensive player we saw in the mid-90s.  I assumed I'd be able to compensate offesnisivley with my backcourt and wings.

I feel like this team can excel offensively in either the half-court set or playing up-tempo.  I have arguabley the greatest PG ever to run the fast break as well as 2 athletic players in 'Nique and Kemp that can run and finish with authority.  Quite the dangerous trio in the open court.

I think I have a very strong bench that can come in at any time with very little drop-off.  Ginobili is one of the greatest 6th men of the past 20 years and Dale Davis brings his huge physical frame and toughness to counter some of these incredible front-courts.  Raojn Rondo offers the ultimate change up in PGs in contrast to Magic.  Its like throwing a knuckleballer out there after facing a flamethrower all day.  As we've seen this season and playoffs, Rondo has clearly emerged as a Top 5 PG and I couldn't think of a much better backup to Magic.  Amazingly, I actually get bigger when I sub Sabonis' 7 foot 3 frame in there for Ewing.  Sabonis is one of the all-time great passing big men and can hit the outside shot that will draw some of these opposing big men out of the paint, thus allowing my wings to make their way to the basket.

I think a coach like Chuck Daly is perfect for this team.  The man was a master of managing egos and the Original Dream Team was the ultimate collection of stars and you couldn't have asked for a more perfect job.  I don't think chemistry will be an issue on this team.  I have drafted a bunch of key role players from championship teams that know their roles and may be used just for situational circumstances.  I have no doubt they'll accept those roles.

[Moranis]

I do think it should be mentioned that Shaq was a horrid free throw shooter during the year nick selected.  He was just 52.4% during the regular season and dropped to an atrocious 45.6% during the playoffs.  Given all the big strong bodies in this league, I think the hack-a-shaq strategy will be in full force and effect for various portions of games.  I know I plan to send in some minions whose sole purpose will be to foul, and foul hard, Shaq.

[GreenFaith1819]

I do think it should be mentioned that Shaq was a horrid free throw shooter during the year nick selected.  He was just 52.4% during the regular season and dropped to an atrocious 45.6% during the playoffs.  Given all the big strong bodies in this league, I think the hack-a-shaq strategy will be in full force and effect for various portions of games.  I know I plan to send in some minions whose sole purpose will be to foul, and foul hard, Shaq.

Why do you think I drafted Perk .

Funny thing with Shaq, though, is that it seemed as if when that strategy was employed, he ended up still making the free throws when they Really Counted.

The Bum.

[Roy Hobbs]

Questions for Milwaukee:

How do you match up against Utah and Golden State?  

What "type" Of team would your team match up worst against?

Rank your offensive options in the starting lineup; who is the go-to guy, etc.?

What is the ideal final score of a close game your team just won?

Is Patrick Ewing a "winner", or is Bill Simmons correct about the "Ewing theory"?

Questions for New Orleans:

In hindsight, did you reach for Bruce Bowen?

Is the focus of your team offense or defense?  How do Nash and KG fit together defensively?

Sprewell, KG, TMac, Francis, Maxwell, Oakley, and Mason all have extremely strong personalities; how do you deal with that?

In your rotation, I believe the only player who have won championships are KG and Bowen, and KG did it well after the year you drafted him for.  Is this lack of experience an issue?

Request for all owners:

Please rank the five best teams other than your own.

[GreenFaith1819]

Question for New Jersey:

Can you explain your reasoning in selecting Gerald Wallace and Andre Iguodala in the fourth and fifth round?  Do you have any regrets about these selections in hindsight, based upon other players on the board?

Indiana:

Why should we believe that AI will take a subservient role, simply because he's playing on a team with MJ?  

In a league with so many all-time greats as big men, why did you go with Josh Smith as your power foward, and Rashard Lewis as a backup?  Can your team rebound enough to win?

Boston:

I love Charles Barkley, but if you could have made your own selection at #3, who would you have taken?  

Are you happy with your Joe Dumars trade?

Portland:

Was trading up the right move?

How does Bosh matchup at center with the all-time greats, like Shaq, Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, etc.?  

Aren't you overrating Raja Bell?  Do you see him as a lockdown defender?

Utah:

Please explain your motivation in your trades, and whether you still would have made them in hindsight.

How do you match up, specifically, with Milwaukee and Golden State?  

Question for all owners:

Please rate the top five teams other than your own team.

Hello Roy - I apologize for the delay..I just woken up from a much-needed nap!

As for my Gerald Wallace and Andre Iguodala selections - no regrets about either. Gerald Wallace is an up-and-coming defender, very strong and can slash to the basket. IMO, he can defend ANY 3 out here right now - to me he is an up-and-coming modern day Pippen(Light).

Gerald Wallace has certainly thrived under Larry Brown - even adding 3-range to his game this yr.

As for Andre - under-rated defender. I combed the stats of players that were available, and he had what I was looking for in regards to defensive stats for a SG/SF.

My New Jersey Team can defend Any Team in the Historical Draft, IMO.

Even Shaq .

With Shaq, I would use Perk and Hakeem twin towers - Perk behind the big fella, and Hakeem fronting him. Hakeem is certainly quick enough to recover, and play PF spot in that situation.

By the way, GF, you're my early favorite for best defensive team.  It's just a question of whether your team has the offensive firepower compared to the other great teams, as even a great defense won't complete shut down teams in this league.

Feel free to address why your offense is better than I give it credit for.

Sorry Roy did not see this question until today..trying to get caught up on schoolwork.

I tried to pattern my team after what I envisioned would be a Modern Day Detroit Pistons team. During their run of like 6 or 7 straight Eastern Conference Finals, they never seemed to win pretty. They had a hard-nosed, ugly, drawn-out defensive mindset, and I tried to apply it to this team.

I was initially going with a Starting Five of Dream, McHale, Chauncey, Hamilton, and Gerald Wallace, but after seeing some suggestions I saw the need for some variety. This is when I picekd up Glenn Robinson. My memory of him was that he was one of the most prolific scorers back in the day, and my Team's "Big Three" would be Hakeem, McHale, and Glenn. Those three would be closely supplemented by the scoring potential of my starting backcourt, and could be enhanced by the fact that I have a Big SF in Hedo Turkoglu to bring in off of the bench.

As the draft progressed, and I saw who was available, I chose my backcourt based off of a PG who could certainly fill it up, but saw the need to get others involved first.

Additionally, when I saw that Rip was going to fall to me, this made me feel Really Good about the Chemistry of my team.

The players on my team that I feel can score against anyone are Hakeem, Chauncey, Rip, Glenn, and McHale. While it wouldn't be pretty, this team could average 100-105 pts easily.

And my Bigs Tandem of Dream, Kevin, Nance, Perk, Dino, and Kenyon were drafted with the though in mind of being able to defend just about any low post threat in this draft.

[StartOrien]

Questions for Milwaukee:

How do you match up against Utah and Golden State?  

What "type" Of team would your team match up worst against?

Rank your offensive options in the starting lineup; who is the go-to guy, etc.?

What is the ideal final score of a close game your team just won?

Is Patrick Ewing a "winner", or is Bill Simmons correct about the "Ewing theory"?

Questions for New Orleans:

In hindsight, did you reach for Bruce Bowen?

Is the focus of your team offense or defense?  How do Nash and KG fit together defensively?

Sprewell, KG, TMac, Francis, Maxwell, Oakley, and Mason all have extremely strong personalities; how do you deal with that?

In your rotation, I believe the only player who have won championships are KG and Bowen, and KG did it well after the year you drafted him for.  Is this lack of experience an issue?

Request for all owners:

Please rank the five best teams other than your own.

I had been preparing mentally for the Bowen question and I figured Bowen would be one of the questions I got. And all day I formulated the plan, to explain how I valued a wing defender over another scorer (Off the top of my head: Carmelo, Glen Rice, Mitch Richmond were all available at the time), and how in this excercise making sure you had a Bowen like player on your team would be very important. But in an honest moment, seeing how late I was able to get Doug Christie, I think it's fair to say I reached for  Bowen.

I'll still defend the logic though: It was my 2nd pick in a very erratic, and I had no sixth. While Anthony, Rice and Richmond were better players I saw a plethora of excellent scoring 2's and 3's, and a limit to wing defenders. For me the debate was between Rice and Bowen, I thought if I missed out on Rice I could pick up someone like Allan Houston in the 7th, whereas if I lost out on Bowen there'd be a big dropoff in players and if I was looking at a defensive player I'd be looking at a Raja Bell who is slightly undersized.

As far as style of play, I'd look at a similar model to what we've been seeing out of the Magic: The mindset isn't as much on "we're an offensive team" or "we're a defensive" team, as much as it is a team that would like to push the tempo.

Defensively, I think the easy thing to say is that KG erases a lot of mistakes, but I don't think that's entirely true. While KG's talents can erase a lot of mistakes, I also think Nash would have to make some adjustments. The strongest is that he'd have to play a little more up than he's used to. With the defense behind him (each player in the starting lineup averaged a steal), he can afford to get 'beat.'

As far as the tough mentalities (J.O gets no love?), I think we'd deal with it much like those 90's Knicks teams did, and embrace it, I think it gives an identity. They are strong personalities, but they're also pretty mentally tough personalities. And I can't say I don't love the idea of Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and Kevin Garnett leading this movement.

Championship experience doesnt' really concern me at all. I look at the team, like I look at KG before he came to the C's. These are tough guys who have shown the ability to perform in the playoffs (make the T-Mac jokes but he was phenomenal in the playoffs), and I don't attribute their lack of title experience to them as much as their surrounding casts.

[Moranis]

The voting in the other threads, has really added a lot credence to my drafting strategy.  Rodman is the only guy to get votes in rebounding, he is a close second to KG for defense, and Stockton is leading the passer category. 

I also will put Lebron's 09-10 season against any other individual season during the era and feel real good about Lebron coming out on top with the best season.

[Donoghus]

Questions for Milwaukee:

How do you match up against Utah and Golden State?  

What "type" Of team would your team match up worst against?

Rank your offensive options in the starting lineup; who is the go-to guy, etc.?

What is the ideal final score of a close game your team just won?

Is Patrick Ewing a "winner", or is Bill Simmons correct about the "Ewing theory?

1) I think I match up pretty well against both teams.  Golden State's front court concerns me with Anthony/Malone/Mourning but I think mine can hold its own and I can throw some muscle out there with Dale Davis if need be.  I think it would be an extremely physcial matchup.   In regards to Utah, I love the PG matchup for me.  Shaq/Ewing is a matchup that concerns me a bit but using the '89-90 Ewing would seem to help.  The younger Ewing certainly knew how to play strong defense. Drexler/Richmond is another matchup what would concern me.

In regards to both matchups, I do like how my depth would hold up.  I think I can mix & match pieces from my rotatatioal and situational guys and take advantage.

2) I think my team could potentially struggle against a team with strong perimeter defense or a pesky, bigger PG.  Its the more defensively-inclined teams that would have me concerned.  In regards to offense, I think my team can more than hold its own.

3) 'Nique would be my primary scorer.  However, in crunchtime, I'd probably defer to Magic.  By '89-90, he had clearly shedded the "Tragic" moniker and I'd feel most comfortable in the waning seconds with the ball in his hands.  I'd also probably substitute Manu in for Richmond in crunchtime.

4) Ideal final score, huh?  Probably 125-110.  If my team scores 100 or more, its almost certain to spell "W".  Obviously, I'd like to keep teams under 100 but it could be tough to do that with the tempo they'll be playing.

5) Ewing gets a bit of a bad rap. Yes, he didn't win an NBA title but he did still manage to win a couple of gold medals and a national championship in college.  If it wasn't for Jordan, there's a good chance that Knicks team wins one in the '91-93 window.  Also, he won't be asked to be "the Man" on this team.  He's got some phenomenal players around and I see him more as an excellent complementary piece to some of my other starters who will provide exceptional interior defense and rebounding. 

[Who]

As I said earlier, I don't think Isiah has a significant advantage over Price. I think Isiah is one of those players who is being too much credit for his ability due to his impact earlier in the decade (1980's).

I don't think the Isiah of 1990 was significantly worse than earlier in his career.  Rather, the numbers (especially in terms of assists) are slightly less impressive due to the Pistons' pace.  In 1990, the Pistons ranked 26th out of 27th in terms of pace factor.  In Isiah's best years statistically ('85 and '86) the Pistons ranked 4th and 5th in pace.

In fact, it's remarkable how well his '90 numbers hold up compared to his earlier run-and-gun days, considering the fewer number of possessions that he was working with.  Also, despite the lower pace in 1990 as compared to 1986, the Pistons offense was actually more efficient, averaging more points per 100 possessions.  It's pretty clear that Isiah knew how to run an offense, even if it was a slowed down one.

Isiah was just as good of a player in 1990 than he was in 1986, if not a better one.  His stats suffered, but his teams won two championships (including in '90).  I don't think he should be punished because his Hall of Fame coach asked him to slow things down. 

We are going to have agree to disagree here ... I think that Isiah is given too much credit for the Pistons successes + that his play was on the downturn by 1990. 

The starting only point guard I have Isiah with a matchup advantage against in the Western Conference is Mark Jackson (every starting PG in the West has an advantage against Jackson so that isn't saying much).

Inefficient Offensive Play

Isiah had a true shooting percentage of 55.4% in 1985. That was down to 50.1% in 1990. Isiah was at around 52-53% in the years around 1985.

Isiah averaged 3.5 turnovers per game back in the fast paced days (every 23.81 possessions) and that increased to 3.9 turnovers in 1990 (every 18.71 possessions).

That inefficient scoring + high turnovers are too large of a negative for me to overlook. That lowers him considerably in my eyes.

[Who]

33ppg + 15.8rpg + 4.8apg + 3.4bpg on 57% FG%

Those were the numbers Shaq put up against Mutombo in the NBA Finals when Phily tried to defend him with single coverage.

dikembe was 35 and past his prime at that point in his career.  I wouldn't exactly call that an apples to apples comparison.

Reigning defensive player of the year + averaged a double double (11.4ppg, 10.7rpg, 2.4bpg in 36mpg)  and was the second best player on a team that went to the NBA Finals. One year removed from the best rebounding stretch of his career.

I agree it wasn't Deke at his peak but he was still a formidable player at that stage in his career.

Mutombo's problem against Shaq was that he never had the lower body strength to stop Shaquille from backing him down in the paint. Deke was an amazing team defender and an excellent individual defender against most centers but his lack of strength relative to Shaq was a major problem for him.