C: Shaquille O'Neal 2000-01 19.2 FGA
PF: PJ Brown 01-02 6.6 FGA
SF: Grant hill 99-00 19.2 FGA
SG: Eddie Jones 00-01 13.8 FGA
PG: Mo Williams 08-09 13.9 FGA
B: Doug Christie 02-03 7.0 FGA
B: Terry Porter 01-02 4.5 FGA
B: Kurt Thomas 08-09 3.8 FGA
Shaq (37)/Kurt (11)
Brown (33)/Hill (15)
Hill (23)/Jones (25)
Jones (13)/Christie (35)
Williams (34)/Porter (14)
Alrighty let’s do this. I think I’ve built an absolute beast of a team here. Shaq is at the absolute peak of his powers here- he absolutely dominated the early 00s like few other players have ever dominated an era. Grant Hill is a big, mega talented scoring wing with a great drive and dish passing game- the exact type of star that Shaq paired optimally with in real life.
This elite duo is supported by an All-Star backcourt that spreads the floor without dominating the ball. EJ is my POA defender. My fifth starter is PJ Brown, a midrange shooting defensive four who the Lakers tried repeatedly to pair with Shaq in real life.
And the bench? A veteran 3 and D backup point guard who slides in perfectly, along with possibly the best defensive wing in the game in Doug Christie. Everything fits like a glove.
I don’t think Roddy has enough D up front to contain Shaq. Most teams that credibly challenged the Lakers had multiple bigs with at least some low post defensive chops. The Spurs had the twin towers. The Kings had Vlade and CWebb. Portland had Sabonis, Rasheed, sometimes Grant or Dale Davis. Theses teams loaded up on size because they needed it.
Sabonis can’t do it alone and 00s Dirk was weaker in the low post as a defender. By contrast I’d argue I’ve got defense everywhere I need it.
Overall I think my group has more juice here and should be able to carry the day here.
Vote Snake!
