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Which duo would you rather build around in todays NBA?

Curry and Garnett are tailor-made for this era in terms of skillset. But I actually think Magic and Shaq would be harder for other teams to deal with today.

Magic played fast. He was big. I can see him running wild today and collapsing defenses. He'd get the ball to Shaq or the 3P shooters. His shooting would translate fine; you wouldn't want to leave him open. And who exactly is going to stop Shaq?

Defensively, there would be some challenges, but I could also see Magic and Shaq running up the score and turning the other team into undisciplined chuckers trying to make up a deficit.

Close, due to the superior Curry/KG fit, but tough to go past Magic and Shaq.

2 really interesting pairings. Shaq and Magic as Team Physical Outlier with Curry/KG as Team Skills Cheat Code.

There's a 10 possessions-per-game difference between the Magic Lakers and the Shaq Lakers. To put it another way, the fastest Shaq team was still behind even the slowest Magic Team. To what extent you can trade off value between the two does (IMO) affect how "additive" you can be with them. Absolutely clear Magic would dine out on feeding the post here, but not sure how well "feed the beast" Shaq would adapt to not being the unquestioned centrepiece of the offence. Also notable that Magic isn't a *great* spacer (unlike Kobe) which would reduce the risk of doubling Shaq.

Curry and KG have a defensive advantage in the modern game (Shaq's shotblocking notwithstanding), with Curry as a competent guard defender and KG the everything-everywhere-maniac. Offensively they're clearly a step down, depending on how you rate KG's elbow hub passing game. Curry works *within* an offence wheras Magic *is* an offence.

For a new team, it would depend on the quality of coaching and personnel I have available. Think Shaq and Magic are easier to build around, whereas you need more pieces to place around KG and Curry. Having said that, Magic and Shaq strike me as players who need their weaknesses shored up in order to shine, wheras KG and Curry provide a lot of value in a broader array of areas.

In the end, would probably still plump for the Laker duo in the hope I could make it work in a narrower arc of high-level play.

Terms really matter in this particular match-up because of the longevity factor. If you get the pair for their entire careers then Curry/KG is the automatic choice given how early Magic's career ended and how steeply Shaq declined in his 30s.

If full longevity is factored out by taking the top-12 seasons (or some other way), then it's very close but I'd prefer Magic/Shaq. I think it gives you a physical edge which is so hard to match-up with. But of course both of these duos are runaway title favorites with any reasonable supporting cast.

rand wrote:Terms really matter in this particular match-up because of the longevity factor. If you get the pair for their entire careers then Curry/KG is the automatic choice given how early Magic's career ended and how steeply Shaq declined in his 30s.

If full longevity is factored out by taking the top-12 seasons (or some other way), then it's very close but I'd prefer Magic/Shaq. I think it gives you a physical edge which is so hard to match-up with. But of course both of these duos are runaway title favorites with any reasonable supporting cast.

Shaq was still really good in Miami. Does KG still get his knee injury at 32? That took him down a couple notches. Magic's retirement was wholly a product of the time he played in and the uncertainty surrounding his condition.

Ol Roy wrote:

rand wrote:Terms really matter in this particular match-up because of the longevity factor. If you get the pair for their entire careers then Curry/KG is the automatic choice given how early Magic's career ended and how steeply Shaq declined in his 30s.

If full longevity is factored out by taking the top-12 seasons (or some other way), then it's very close but I'd prefer Magic/Shaq. I think it gives you a physical edge which is so hard to match-up with. But of course both of these duos are runaway title favorites with any reasonable supporting cast.

Shaq was still really good in Miami. Does KG still get his knee injury at 32? That took him down a couple notches. Magic's retirement was wholly a product of the time he played in and the uncertainty surrounding his condition.

Shaq was still really good in the 2005 regular season but fell off hard in the playoffs due to injury. He was a clear step down in the 2006 regular season and missed a lot of games but still good. In the 2006 East playoffs he was very good but totally collapsed in the Finals. And after 2006 he never resembled the real Shaq again.

KG's knee injury sucked but thanks to him retaining elite defense he was much more effective from 2010-2013 than Shaq was at the corresponding ages from 2006-2009.

The duo that generates big impact on opposite sides of the floor.