Seasons SelectedShaquille O'Neal 99-00 (21.1)
Scottie Pippen 90-91 (14.1)
Rasheed Wallace 05-06 (13.3)
Terry Porter 90-91 (11.7)
Danny Green 12-13 (8.3)
Charles Oakley 93-94 (9.3)
Brent Barry 00-01 (6.0)
Steve Kerr 96-97 (5.7)
RotationPG: Porter (37) / Kerr (11)
SG: Green (32) / Barry (16)
SF: Pippen (40) / Barry (8)
PF: Wallace (28) / Oakley (20)
C: Shaq (40) / Wallace (8)
Generic GameplanUnsurprisingly, we're going to feature lots of triangle/motion looks with Shaq in the low post. Obviously, this Shaq season is the peak of his dominance, and most teams didn't attempt to play him straight up - either fouling extensively or doubling and fronting immediately. This is what a 4-time DPOY looked like trying to play peak Shaq straight up (look at 1:08
):
Considering the 8 man rosters, fouling is not much of an option, and with the upgraded spacing on my team (see table below) it will be hard to balance the second, especially as Shaq was a fine big man passer (3.8 AST/G this year). He can also set crushing screens to open space for others or as a roll man.
Look at the spacing in this clip and how dominant he is. And then imagine him with elite spacing
:
Defensively, he was the most dominant rim protector in the league, and could obviously defend anyone on the block due to his size and athleticism combined with a motivated approach in this season. He isn't going to switch onto speedy guards beyond the arc but he's still an excellent athlete for a C and the things he could do were very high level. He provides the anchor for my athletic perimeter guys.
Scottie Pippen isn't listed as a three point shooter above - that's because he wasn't an exceptional one (other than the short-line years). But lots of the threes he did take were off the dribble (see the video below - it only shows the makes
), and he wasn't an awful catch and shoot guy. And playing off him would be a mistake as he was an exceptional slasher with great handles who could drive to score and to kick out to the finishers. He was also a capable drop-off passer and will feed Shaq some easy dunks too. He was more than capable of being a secondary playmaker by this stage, and his athleticism gives me a semblance of a transition threat. And obviously as a defender he has no peer and he will rise to the challenge against the best perimeter threat. His combination of instincts, athleticism and length is unparalleled, and he will set the tone on the perimeter.
I took 1991 as I felt it is his best playoffs (21.6 pts on 56.4% TS and led the league in DWS) and he was certainly no slouch in the regular season. And we know he's happy to be a 2nd banana as long as the other player is good enough (i.e. not Toni Kukoc
) - and peak Shaq obviously qualifies.
Sheed will generally operate from the high post, even when Shaq is resting (Oakley will be free to work close to the rim) and he can run PnR and PnP with any of the ball handlers. He can punish smaller defenders on the block (if switched onto) and he's another good passer to keep the ball moving (2.3 AST/G, 11.2 AST%). 2006 gives me his best ranged shooting year, which I needed for this team. Defensively he can go up against the best post-up PFs and more than hold his own, and he's quick and physical against the PnR types; he can hedge and recover very well. Obviously some character concerns, but there's a reason why he kept going deep into the post-season - and he's happy to play his role and won't chafe for more shots.
Terry Porter was used to sharing creation responsibilities with Clyde the Glide, and as a big PG (6'3 200) who can shoot from everywhere, he's a good fit in triangle sets. He can also run traditional pick and roll action well enough that especially as secondary action after a ball swing against a scrambled defense, he can get into the lane and finish effectively (those Portland teams didn't space the floor as effectively as we do here, and Shaq is a huge lob threat).
He'll also get chances to run some different actions when Sheed is at C, as that will draw the opposing big out of the paint. Defensively he's well above average with good length, strength and quickness; he had plenty of success against Stockton for example. Super-athletic guards gave him issues but everyone else he was a plus against.
Danny Green lacks some ball handling, but he can shoot like crazy, and he keeps the ball moving with quick decisions. But he'll earn his money on the defensive end where he can guard 1-3 and combines with Pippen to form the GOAT defensive transition combo - he'll force teams to let Shaq get back under the basket. And he gives a nice jolt of athleticism and both fill lanes or trail on the break. With every starter being a plus passer for their position and the amount of attention Shaq will command, I feel he'll get some good looks in his sweet spots.
The role players bring certain skills - peak Oakley (1994) was a 1st team All-Defense guy who rebounded exceptionally, and could hit mid-range shots when open. He brings tons of physicality (especially in short minutes) and can expand his role if there are any issues with Sheed. And sometimes you just have to punch Charles Barkley.
Brent Barry was an excellent athlete and shooter with a great skillset - he just had a role-players mentality for most of his career - not a problem here as he is one, but nice to know he can give me some shot creation if needed. And Kerr has one job - hit his 3s - and while he's the one sub-par defender I have, he'll always be on the floor with Pippen and Green so he'll only be guarding spot up shooters. Obviously he's familiar with the triangle and gives me a "coach on the floor".
As a side note, all of my guys had great post-seasons (except Barry, who played on a poor team and missed entirely) and have experience at the sharp end (Shaq/Pip/Kerr won rings, Green/Oakley lost in Finals G7 in chosen years; Wallace/Barry won rings in their career and Porter played in the finals)
Matchup SpecificFirst of all, lorak has built a nice team here around a great axis. Important to note a couple of non-peak years selected - Paul George is little more than a role-player in 2012, averaging 9.7 PPG on 49.9 TS% in the playoffs, although he does provide good spacing and defense. Likewise, 2009 Trevor Ariza isn't really his peak, although it is less important as a pure role-player.
But Kobe and Duncan are very much peak years, and the guys we need to stop. Duncan will be guarded by Rasheed when he's on the court as he was an excellent defender in the post and can stick with Duncan outside; Shaq will guard Rodman (and the rim). Shaq will guard Duncan when Sheed is off, and Oakley will battle the Worm. Their length and strength be able to keep Tim away from the rim as much as possible, and Green and Pippen both have the athleticism to help and recover to their assignments. Kobe will be shadowed by Pippen, the perfect defender for this assignment. He's not going to shut him down - Kobe is a top 20 peak for a reason - but Scottie's length should allow him to contest well enough even on the fadeaways, and he can stick with the majority of Kobe's moves. Green is fine checking Paul George (PG mainly played the 2 that year IRL) and can spell Pip for a series or two if he's getting worn down. Porter will be fine with Conley, who he has the length against anyway. Pressey will get a solid defender but we can hide Kerr on Ariza fairly comfortably. I'm confident we can match up defensively. Obviously, Rodman provides very little offensively so help can come from his man as long as they ensure they get a body on him when the shot goes up.
On the glass, Rodman and Duncan are the primary concerns. When Oakley is in I should be fine here as he was an excellent rebounder and extremely physical, but Rodman will need some attention when Sheed is guarding him (particularly if he helps on Duncan) so Pippen and Green (thankfully good rebounders) as well as Barry will have to help on the glass. On the other hand, lorak's wings outside of Kobe aren't great on the boards in these seasons, so overall I feel rebounding is a wash.
And for my offense, I feel Porter has a decent shot against Conley, and Pippens' slashing game should hold up against this version of George. The role players will hit their 3s, and Sheed is versatile and smart enough to find a way even against a great defender - and will pull Chandler out of the paint when he plays the 5. But ultimately I just don't think they have an answer for this version of Shaq. Rodman is just too small - he had success against Orlando Shaq, but 2000 is a whole different beast in terms of polish. Chandler is a fine rim protector and PnR defender, but he is giving up 90lbs in the post and he was never known for that; Shaq would punish him - he's built like Rik Smits and we know how that turned out.
Also interesting to note is that lorak really only has 3 players who can play the 4 or 5 - George is a SG at this point and Lakers Ariza was skinny as heck. Considering they are going against a big physical frontline and Shaq is drawing fouls left and right, that could be a significant handicap. Which leaves Tim Duncan - who deferred to David Robinson whenever they played peak Shaq in real life, and he's so important to their offense that he just can't foul out (as then it would be the Kobe show). I think in the end this comes down to who has the best player, and with all due respect to 2003 Tim who I love, the big man's gonna eat.
Good luck to lorak and may the best team win!
On the other hand some players were chosen by me partly because of how they did great job vs Shaq (as I think he is the best in the paint C scorer ever, so if someone was able to limit him, then he would have a chance to do the same with other ATG bigs). 1996 ECF are known by everyone, but in 2001 Duncan held O'Neal to just 0.92 ppp, that includes 0.57 on postups! (vs Drob it was 0.87 and 0.88 vs Rose.) Anyway, I hope I will be able to post my writeup before G2 of current finals.
