Professor Frink wrote:Rerisen wrote:transplant wrote:Does it matter to you if a player is superior at getting his team extra possessions? If I've got 4 guys who can put it in the basket, I'll take me a Rodman or Noah for that 5th spot.
There you seem to be hinting at balancing priorities, but the OP simply asked for the 'ideal'.
Extra possessions are good, and if the guy that can create them is also a good scorer too, I'll take that over him being a non-threat. I.e. Tim Duncan, as in the Spurs example.
Does San Antonio get better substituting Duncan for Rodman or Noah - even if they have 3 or 4 other scorers on the floor often? I think not.
Ideally you'd like to field a team of prime MJ, Bird, Magic, Lebron and Wilt.
That team would be awesome, no doubt. But I dont think just throwing 5 great scorers and defenders out there is the best route.
I do agree that Lebron, Bird, and Magic are that greatest team of all time...i just dont think wilt is the center for them nor MJ the SG. I think a prime (soviet) Sabonis is there best C as he stretches the floor for them...keep in mind that Bird might be the greatest post up SF in the history of the game and magic is far and away the greatest post up PG in the games history. So you want to use that...Lebron has become a great post up player. MJ was too I understand But MJ was a terrible floor spacer if you had someone else in the post. Mj didn't like to catch and shoot from beyond the arc...just not his comfort Zone...in fact MJ was very much like Wade...only better than Wade at the same things. Wilt was not a floor spacer either excpet when in th epost against way smaller competition. Wilt could not do what he did against guys 6'6 in 1965 and do that against prime sabonis in 1988. In fact I would bet that prime Sabonis almost completely out plays prime wilt. Saboinis, like Bird and magic was a creative and gifted passer/playmaker.
that team has perhaps the 3 greatest playmakers of all-time-perhaps the 4 greatest with Wilt. So I think that team would be better with a prime ray allen, seth curry, or Raggie miller for MJ. Let me explain.
Prime Bird never lost to MJ neither did Prime Magic. Magic and Bird were also friends in their prime with great respect for another. So i dont think they are taking a back seat to MJ on that team and for good reason. And MY is well "MJ" when he is the uncquestioned high usage dictator. So he just does fit with those other 3 that will create for each other and can all catch and shoot. I think Lebron game will be respected by Larry and Magic most as he could finish their play making better than Mj who would essentially make his own play after they made the play for him, save alley oops and lay ups and such but lebron hits those at they same rate MJ does.
Essentially larry, magic, and Lebron can all catch and shoot. And if we are talking about playing in the modern era...well those 3 will be far batter shooters from deep than MJ and create more space on the floor. I understand Magic never really shot from deep until late in his career but did shoot well late. It is well known that he worked on shooting form deep late in his career...with todays knowledge, Magic would likely be a 37% shooter or better and Bird would have worked on it and became a 43% shooter or better both on volume.
Magic, Larry, and Lebron are all deep post player too...which gives shooter on the wing more space. MJ was a mid post and high post player who needed clear outs. Us Bulls fans like to think MJ was the greatest player of all time and NIKE, gatoraid, Mcdonals, ESPN have all played significant roles in this but you just have to keep in mind that MJ played at his best when surrounded by Bushcler, Rodman, Kerr, Longley, BJ, paxson, Wennington, Perdue, king, and a few others. I understand that Sottie was on that team too and scottie was the perfect batman for MJ. Scottie was almost as good but just didn't have the nerves of steel with the game on the line. So scottie was in all likelyhood the talented "robin" to ever play the game. Which is what MJ needed one guy (not 2, not 3 and def not 4 or 5) to share the court with him...be just as good but be happy if he ended up almost an after thought.
And that just would jive with prime magic, Bird, or Lebron. You would not get th ebest out of at leat 2-3 players on a team with MJ, Bird, Lebron, Wilt, magic. No way...someone's game would suffer. And imo opinion it would be MJ getting frozen out byt the play makers who would be bored watching MJ attempting to beat double teams from the mid post.
However you give roles and "role palyers" more thought and you can come up with a far more deadly team with likely way better chemistry.
Magic, Reggie, Bird, Lebron, Sabonis
or
Magic, Curry, Bird, Lebron, Shaq
or
Magic, Ray, Bird, KG, Sabonis
imo opinion all these teams are better than the MJ teams simply because Bird and Miller/curry/ray are going to not be tired as the ball gets shared so much and will have wide open 3's.
These 3 players are already proven to be among the most clutch shooters from deep as well. They would likely shoot 45-50% on 3's. They have never played with talent like this before save maybe ray allen post prime so all of their shooting % go way up. I dont think MJ's percentage go up as much because he will likely be in the mid post.
And lastly there is no way that team runs the MJ centric triangle offense that taylor made for MJ and allowed him to put up monstrous stats. Bird and Magic and lebron will not run that ish. they wont...they dont need to. They are not better versions of carmello anthony or dwanye wade...they are just different and better basketball players all the way around in a completely different mold and mind set and approach to the game. And they dont mesh with MJ in a way to bring the best out of him or them.
conversely MJ would be better on a team like
Kidd, MJ, Pippen, KG, Russell
where they try to play ultimate defense and get out on the break. Mj would be happy because Bill, Kidd, KG and Pip would all look to get MJ the ball but could score of MJ said it was ok to take a shot...just dont take too much unless you make it...even then be sure to alwasy throttle back your game because MJ's endorsement money would be on the line. MJ must win on and off the court. And this team is both good enough to to be his robin and willing enough to let him play batman.
Not sure who would though. Toss up. But these are better units for all these players
the uptempo fast breaking early shot jacking Magic, Reggie or ray, Bird, Lebron, Sabonis/shaq
vs.
the defense oriented scrappy Kidd, MJ, Pippen, KG, Russell.
I'd throw this out there as well.
This team get a 3 as often as the Mj team got a 2 and gives wilt or shaq ultimate space. Curry, Reggie, Bird, Dirk, Wilt/shaq
Yeah, roles are important imo.
