Team Riley vs Team Jackson
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:51 pm
Team "Riley"(best of Showtime Lakers/90s Knicks/late 90s Heat/00s Heat) vs Team "Jackson"(best of 90s Bulls/00-03 Lakers/05-08 Lakers)
A couple of notes:
1.I decided not to include Shaq on Riley's roster because Shaq was already declined in his first two years in Miami and in the last two has been a shadow of himself, not to mention Riley's already got Kareem, Ewing, and Mourning at the 5.
2.I started Pippen at the 1 on Jackson's roster, because for all intents and purposes he was the Bulls' PG during the championships...he was the playmaker, and Jackson's PGs have otherwise been lackluster. Also, it gives a starting opportunity to either Rice or Odom.
3.I am not including Malone or Payton on Jackson's team because they were only there for one year and they were washed up. If I Include them, I'd also have to include Robert Parish just because he was the 13th man on the '97 Bulls in his last year in the NBA.
Team "Riley":
Abdul-Jabbar/Ewing/Mourning
Oakley/Haslem/A.C. Green
Worthy/Mashburn/E.Jones
Wade/Starks/Scott
Magic/T.Hardaway/D.Harper
Team "Jackson":
O'Neal/Grant(Bulls' years)/Bynum
Rodman/Kukoc/Horry
Rice/Odom/Fox
Jordan/Kobe/Armstrong
Pippen/R.Harper/Fisher
Overall, Riley's squad appears to have more firepower after the starting lineups, as Kobe and Odom are the only big offensive threats off Jackson's bench, but all of Jackson's title squads made optimal use of all those roleplayers in the triangle offense, and MJ/Pippen/Shaq/Kobe routinely made those roleplayers look like twice, sometimes even three times the players they were. Plus, don't underestimate Kukoc and Grant's ability to score off the bench as long as the others are creating for them. Starks/Scott/Jones looks better on paper than Kukoc/Fox/Fisher, but Jackson's system has done some amazing things for guys that don't look great on paper. And like I said, don't underestimate Kukoc(as well as Fisher)'s ability to score in bunches if given the right opportunities.
The battle on the boards will be epic. Riley's got the obvious size advantage with Kareem/Ewing/Mourning, but Shaq in his prime had no problem ripping 13+ down a night either. Grant was a solid rebounder in his early-mid 90s prime, and Rodman is often considered the greatest rebounder in the history of the game, so he should have no problem mixing it up with Oakley(that would be a dirty matchup).
Riley's squad has the battle of the floor generals decidedly won with Magic and Tim Hardaway at the helm. Pippen was a very good playmaker for the Bulls but Magic is very arguably the greatest PG of all time and Tim was probably top 10 pg of his generation.
However, as great as Riley's advantage at the PG position is, it is cancelled out by Jackson's advantage at the 2. I still consider MJ and even Kobe to be much better players than Wade, not to mention they're both taller(especially Kobe) and would both lock down on him(especially MJ). Worthy is HOF, but even him and Wade together, they're not > MJ+Kobe. Also on the wings, Odom vs Mashburn will be a key bench matchup, but I give the edge to Mashburn for being a more dynamic offensive player and having a little more range on his shot, and for being a little bit more intense than Odom, imo.
I think this would be a very close game. Each team has obvious advantages and disadvantages. Riley is stacked at center and point guard and his whole team has more depth, but Jackson has MJ, Shaq, Pippen, and Kobe, and I'm having a very hard time betting against that.
If it's one game, I give the nod to Jackson's squad. If it's a 7 game series...I still give the nod to Jackson's squad IF they can get the job done in 4, MAYBE 5 games. If it goes 6 or 7, I give Riley's squad the nod simply because of their depth.
What do you think?
A couple of notes:
1.I decided not to include Shaq on Riley's roster because Shaq was already declined in his first two years in Miami and in the last two has been a shadow of himself, not to mention Riley's already got Kareem, Ewing, and Mourning at the 5.
2.I started Pippen at the 1 on Jackson's roster, because for all intents and purposes he was the Bulls' PG during the championships...he was the playmaker, and Jackson's PGs have otherwise been lackluster. Also, it gives a starting opportunity to either Rice or Odom.
3.I am not including Malone or Payton on Jackson's team because they were only there for one year and they were washed up. If I Include them, I'd also have to include Robert Parish just because he was the 13th man on the '97 Bulls in his last year in the NBA.
Team "Riley":
Abdul-Jabbar/Ewing/Mourning
Oakley/Haslem/A.C. Green
Worthy/Mashburn/E.Jones
Wade/Starks/Scott
Magic/T.Hardaway/D.Harper
Team "Jackson":
O'Neal/Grant(Bulls' years)/Bynum
Rodman/Kukoc/Horry
Rice/Odom/Fox
Jordan/Kobe/Armstrong
Pippen/R.Harper/Fisher
Overall, Riley's squad appears to have more firepower after the starting lineups, as Kobe and Odom are the only big offensive threats off Jackson's bench, but all of Jackson's title squads made optimal use of all those roleplayers in the triangle offense, and MJ/Pippen/Shaq/Kobe routinely made those roleplayers look like twice, sometimes even three times the players they were. Plus, don't underestimate Kukoc and Grant's ability to score off the bench as long as the others are creating for them. Starks/Scott/Jones looks better on paper than Kukoc/Fox/Fisher, but Jackson's system has done some amazing things for guys that don't look great on paper. And like I said, don't underestimate Kukoc(as well as Fisher)'s ability to score in bunches if given the right opportunities.
The battle on the boards will be epic. Riley's got the obvious size advantage with Kareem/Ewing/Mourning, but Shaq in his prime had no problem ripping 13+ down a night either. Grant was a solid rebounder in his early-mid 90s prime, and Rodman is often considered the greatest rebounder in the history of the game, so he should have no problem mixing it up with Oakley(that would be a dirty matchup).
Riley's squad has the battle of the floor generals decidedly won with Magic and Tim Hardaway at the helm. Pippen was a very good playmaker for the Bulls but Magic is very arguably the greatest PG of all time and Tim was probably top 10 pg of his generation.
However, as great as Riley's advantage at the PG position is, it is cancelled out by Jackson's advantage at the 2. I still consider MJ and even Kobe to be much better players than Wade, not to mention they're both taller(especially Kobe) and would both lock down on him(especially MJ). Worthy is HOF, but even him and Wade together, they're not > MJ+Kobe. Also on the wings, Odom vs Mashburn will be a key bench matchup, but I give the edge to Mashburn for being a more dynamic offensive player and having a little more range on his shot, and for being a little bit more intense than Odom, imo.
I think this would be a very close game. Each team has obvious advantages and disadvantages. Riley is stacked at center and point guard and his whole team has more depth, but Jackson has MJ, Shaq, Pippen, and Kobe, and I'm having a very hard time betting against that.
If it's one game, I give the nod to Jackson's squad. If it's a 7 game series...I still give the nod to Jackson's squad IF they can get the job done in 4, MAYBE 5 games. If it goes 6 or 7, I give Riley's squad the nod simply because of their depth.
What do you think?
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