How's my Historical Team? (Awesome right!)

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Also Who, nice write up in the presentations thread. Good Effort, Good Job.

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So here is how I see it, Yoki:

Pg: Nash V Penny
SG: Finley V Christie
SF: Pippen V Hill
Pf: Brand V Brown
C: O'Neal V Ewing

In the starters, defensively I'd have Finley check Penny, and let Nash guard Christie. It mitigates Nash. Ewing is a big problem for me, but with Hill being checked by the best perimeter defender...ever....Ewing is the real issue. I'd tell Oneal to be aggressive and to stick tight, and just hope there.

But defensively you've got big issues. Christie is good, but he's not good enough to check Finley, and Brown is good, but he's not good enough to check Brand. Ewing might be spry enough to wreak havoc in the paint, but Oneal operates outside of it, so if Ewing tries to help too much when Nash easily bypasses Penny, Ewing or someone else will need to help, leaving somebody open, and my scorers are some of the best in the game, with the best floor general making the passes.

I think you have the bodies and talent to try to slow down the pace, but I think we've got the better scoring team and by far the better team in transition.

Plus if JO gets in foul trouble, I've got Big Z and Okur there, both to stretch the floor to keep Ewing honest, and with the size and defensive pedigree to slow Ewing down, although I have no illusions of stopping him.

Off the bench, Armstrong should be able to mitigate Strickland well, and Battier should be able to handle any wing outside of Hill you want to throw at him. Josh Smith will eat David Lee alive, but Lee or Brown will have much the same effect on him that JO and my other post players have on Ewing, so his help defense will suffer a bit. I'm not sure you have the playmaking to really make me pay though.

Win, SPURSSSSS

[Kane3387]

So here is how I see it, Yoki:

Pg: Nash V Penny
SG: Finley V Christie
SF: Pippen V Hill
Pf: Brand V Brown
C: O'Neal V Ewing

In the starters, defensively I'd have Finley check Penny, and let Nash guard Christie. It mitigates Nash. Ewing is a big problem for me, but with Hill being checked by the best perimeter defender...ever....Ewing is the real issue. I'd tell Oneal to be aggressive and to stick tight, and just hope there.

But defensively you've got big issues. Christie is good, but he's not good enough to check Finley, and Brown is good, but he's not good enough to check Brand. Ewing might be spry enough to wreak havoc in the paint, but Oneal operates outside of it, so if Ewing tries to help too much when Nash easily bypasses Penny, Ewing or someone else will need to help, leaving somebody open, and my scorers are some of the best in the game, with the best floor general making the passes.

I think you have the bodies and talent to try to slow down the pace, but I think we've got the better scoring team and by far the better team in transition.

Plus if JO gets in foul trouble, I've got Big Z and Okur there, both to stretch the floor to keep Ewing honest, and with the size and defensive pedigree to slow Ewing down, although I have no illusions of stopping him.

Off the bench, Armstrong should be able to mitigate Strickland well, and Battier should be able to handle any wing outside of Hill you want to throw at him. Josh Smith will eat David Lee alive, but Lee or Brown will have much the same effect on him that JO and my other post players have on Ewing, so his help defense will suffer a bit. I'm not sure you have the playmaking to really make me pay though.

Win, SPURSSSSS

Rodman is a better defender the Pippen man. Sorry but almost every rankings list shows this. When he was in Detroit he primarily guarded perimeter players. Bird, Jordan, Magic, Barkley, Wilkins. He defended them all in the 80s and early 90s. When he went to San Antonio he primarily guarded bigs and no longer checked wings.

[indeedproceed]

Rodman and Pippen is a toss up to me, both some of the best who ever played, Rodman much better at bigger players than him, but I'd say Pippen was better at smaller quicker players.

Rodman got the awards because he played in the post (and post defenders get more credit), but I think you can find a pretty decent number of pretty respected basketball scholars who tout Pippen.

[indeedproceed]

Also I'm not saying that Rodman couldn't defend perimeter players, I just think Pippen was better at it.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

So here is how I see it, Yoki:

Pg: Nash V Penny
SG: Finley V Christie
SF: Pippen V Hill
Pf: Brand V Brown
C: O'Neal V Ewing

In the starters, defensively I'd have Finley check Penny, and let Nash guard Christie. It mitigates Nash. Ewing is a big problem for me, but with Hill being checked by the best perimeter defender...ever....Ewing is the real issue. I'd tell Oneal to be aggressive and to stick tight, and just hope there.

But defensively you've got big issues. Christie is good, but he's not good enough to check Finley, and Brown is good, but he's not good enough to check Brand. Ewing might be spry enough to wreak havoc in the paint, but Oneal operates outside of it, so if Ewing tries to help too much when Nash easily bypasses Penny, Ewing or someone else will need to help, leaving somebody open, and my scorers are some of the best in the game, with the best floor general making the passes.

I think you have the bodies and talent to try to slow down the pace, but I think we've got the better scoring team and by far the better team in transition.

Plus if JO gets in foul trouble, I've got Big Z and Okur there, both to stretch the floor to keep Ewing honest, and with the size and defensive pedigree to slow Ewing down, although I have no illusions of stopping him.

Off the bench, Armstrong should be able to mitigate Strickland well, and Battier should be able to handle any wing outside of Hill you want to throw at him. Josh Smith will eat David Lee alive, but Lee or Brown will have much the same effect on him that JO and my other post players have on Ewing, so his help defense will suffer a bit. I'm not sure you have the playmaking to really make me pay though.

Win, SPURSSSSS

With all due respect, but Penny will round circles around Michael Finley.

Pippen would be able to slow down GHill but not stop him.

And if you'll put JO over Ewing, this team would feed the post all the time.

I give you Josh Smith or David Lee, but what I'd I put a tougher Tyrone Hill instead? Also, and here why I like my team. I can slide Nick Anderson to start. Hell play good defense, not as good as Christie is but solid, an a better scorer. Good luck trying to stop Nick Anderson, Steve Nash.

[indeedproceed]

Pippen will make Hill work harder on both sides of the ball than he would have to against anyone save maybe LeBron. He'd slow Hill down enough to make him ordinary, which is as good as stopping him. There is a reason he's a top 50 all time player. Defense, my son.

And putting any of your options on Nash is a slaughter, the difference being that Nash will not only get his, he'll hurt all the rest of your very stout defenders by making his players better.

And while I doubt Finley will slow down Penny much, he'll be able to end any advantage he has in size and strength.

And you can start Nick Anderson, but he'll give back on defense whatever you gain on offense. Finley, especially with Nash's playmaking, will eat him up.

That's the benefit you get with a two time MVP as your point guard.

Ewing will get his, all I can do is throw bodies at him, force him to stay honest with my shooting, and make him earn it at the free throw line as well.

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Also, I can run Ewing ragged while he's in there. Tire him out, run him down, and foul the ever living crap out of him when I have to. He's gonna have a pretty stat line, and sweat enough to fill an inground pool, but thus is the price of success.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Oh I disagree completely that Finley will "eat up" nick Anderson. NA 25 is a solid defender and would be able to slow Finley down. Penny can handle Nash no problem IMO.

Pippen WON'T be able to slow down GHill to be ordinary. Slow him down abut yes, but completely shut him down, i don't think so.

And JO. Boy he'll have one heck of a night figuring out if he'd help on Penny and GHill's dribble drive and leave Chewinf open or stay with him and let Hill serve facials.

[indeedproceed]

How could you possibly think Penny will handle Nash 'no problem'? The entire league couldn't handle Nash. Better defenders than Penny ever was, and more suited to guarding a quicker point to boot, have floundered in Nash's attack.

[Kane3387]

You can see my roster, their years, and their stats here:

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=56874.msg1239323;topicseen#new

I want to touch base on some strategy and how my roster comes together.


Dwyane Wade is the best player on my basketball team. He has shown he can carry a team to a title and can make winning plays with the game on the line on the biggest stage. In 2009 he really took his gam to another level averaging over 30 points, 5 boards, and 7 assists.

Mark Price is a great compliment to Wade. He is a great facilitator and arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is a 50, 40, 90 guy the year I chose him. He can run a team, space the floor, and shows terrific command and poise. His defense is better then Steve Nash's D.

Dennis Rodman is the defensive stopper. He had the best rebounding year ever since Wilt in 72. He dominates the boards and really harasses guys on Defense. He will almost always guard the best player on the opposing team (yes even Centers sometimes but will have help). He was a 2 time DPOY coming into this season.

Due to Rodman's inability to score (mostly bc he doesn't shoot) and space the floor I picked up Rasheed. For a Center he is shooting a very good 36% from three. He defends and communicates with the best and during this time was going H2H with some of the best of this era (KG, TD, Dirk) and more then holding his own. Like Rodman he plays with an edge. He also has a good low post game and mid-range shot.

My final starter is Carmelo Anthony. This year he really worked well with Chauncy Billups who had the ball most of the time. He can score from anywhere and in anyway. His job will be to score and take pressure off of Wade.

The bench Mob first starts with Gilbert Arenas, He can play with the ball and create a shot or play off Price or Wade and shoot. Capable of going for 50 any night he is instant offense off the bench with his dynamic first step and endless range. Complimenting him is Allan Houston. A great three point shooter (shot 43% this season) and solid wing player at SG or SF. He is money from the line and deadly off screens.

Some bigs off the bench are Vin Baker and Chris Kaman. Both All-Star Bigs. Baker will be the first big off the bench. He boards and blocks and can score in many different ways. Very good with his back to the basket and he has a nice jumper. He is athletic for his size. Kaman is a big Center who can block shots and board. He has a nice hook and 10-12 foot jumper. He is also six fouls for Shaq.

Both Jalen Rose and Antoine Walker bring versatility off the bench. Both are point forwards and averaged 5-6 assists a game while averaging 5-8 boards a game. They can both run the offense and man the point. They create matchup problems for other teams and are both solid all around offensive players both averaging over 20 points a game. Rose is deadly from the mid-range off the dribble and Walker is very solid from three.

Closing out the roster are Sam Dalembert and Eddy Curry. Both like Kaman are big and more in these two's case six fouls for Shaq. Dalembert can run the floor, board, and block shots. Curry is a space eater and a force around the rim. Curry also plays well against Shaq in particular.

Who Defended Prime Shaq the Best?

6-11, 285 lb. EDDIE CURRY...

http://www.basketball-reference.com/...1&p2=onealsh01

In 13 career games H2H, from 2002-2008,...

Shaq playing 26.8 mpg, ... 15.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, and shot .529 from the field.
Curry playing 23.5 mpg, ... 12.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and shot .533 from the field.

Curry even had a higher HIGH game against Shaq (Shaq's high game against Curry was only 26 while Curry's high against Shaq was 28.)

Ultimately I feel to have ay chance at winning this thing you have to the kind of guys that can make life hard for Prime Shaq.

Sheed spreads the floor and Baker brings him out of the paint as well. Rodman was one of the best at defending Shaq and Sheed is no slouch on Defense either. Also most of my bigs will make him have to get back on defense. After that you have to have big guys that can make him work hard for his points, but also could him and basically hack a shaq.

I wouldn't be surprised if all of Sheed, Rodman, Baker, Kaman, Sammy, and Curry guarded him in games and used 4-6 fouls on him.

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Good job to both K-Cat and Kane. Even if Kane did draft Eddy Curry, and on purpose.

[Merovech]

Disclaimer:  All of these teams are amazing, and I'll probably change my mind multiple times as other people post in the presentation thread.

That being said, I think Who's team is my pick for best, with  an absolutely excellent top three, Porter, Howard, and a very talented, mostly cohesive bench.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

How could you possibly think Penny will handle Nash 'no problem'? The entire league couldn't handle Nash. Better defenders than Penny ever was, and more suited to guarding a quicker point to boot, have floundered in Nash's attack.

I stand corrected.

Doesn't mean you win this match up. Lets flip the script. How can Nash handle Penny?

[Roy H.]

Thanks for the insight sir Roy. I do believe though that Christie and Brown fit this team perfect.

They do not need the ball as much, giving Penny and G-Hill and Ewing to make money on the court. They play tough nosed defense. And could hit open shots when left open.

I just don't think you can survive playing 2 mediocre or worse offensive players in your starting lineup, especially when most teams have 5 elite offensive talents starting.

P.J. Brown averaged 8.5 points and shot 44% in the year you selected.  That's pretty terrible, and those numbers are going to get even worse in this league. 

Doug Christie averaged 10.1 points in the year you selected, and was fairly mediocre at shooting.  He was also 33 years old.  Again, it's fair to say that his numbers are going to decline from there.

Two of your starters are most likely going to combine for around 15 points per game or less.  How can that combo hope to survive in this game?  Those two positions are going to be outscored by substantial margins every single night.