'01 Lakers v '70 Knicks

[Baller 24]

Which team would win in a 7 game series?

Knicks:
Willis Reed
Dave DeBusschere
Dick Barnett
Bill Bradley
Walt Frazier

Key Facts: Physical, considered one of the smartest teams ever, also considered one of the best defensive teams ever with defensive stallions Reed, DeBusschere, and Fraizer. Took the LA Lakers of Wilt, Baylor, and West to a game 7, memorable for Reed hobbling down in Game 7 after an injury, most overlooked fact: Fraizer's clutch Game 7 performance of 39pts/19ast/5stl against Jerry West which sealed the victory, and clinched the championship.

Lakers:
Shaq
Grant
Rick Fox
Kobe
Derek Fisher

Key Facts: Injuries happened early on to key players, Lakers still end up winning 58, they face all 50+ win teams in the western conference and sweep them all, they finish with a 15-1 playoff record, Shaq is at his utter most peak/motivated form, the entire team defensively in the playoffs took it up a notch held key guys like Peja, AI/Mckie/Pippen to terrible averages, while Kobe defensively was playing his best I've seen.


I do know one thing though, Phil Jackson would definitely have a hard time picking this one

[bringinhinkie]

i like that 70s lakers team alot more than the 01.. different era though, 70s teams were alot deeper.. youd have to go with the knicks if you just based it on the rosters, but like i said different era, no team in 2001 is going to have 3 top 15 or so players all time on their roster at once like the 70s lakers and no team is going to have 4 HoFers pretty much all primed or close to it like that knicks team - too many teams in the league

[Point forward]

Prime question: who guards Shaq? Reed is a good defender but if Mutombo cannot guard Shaq, I don't think Willis can -- even if he did a good job vs a still-rusty-from-injury Wilt. I reckon the Knicks will have to double team him with Reed and DeBusschere, which opens up space. Kobe will get marked by Frazier, and Clyde will probably slow him down.

On the other side, the Knicks are probably one of the most deadly "get the open J" teams ever. They were a bit like the Sacramento Kings, but with ice water veins. All five Knicks (plus several bench guys) are good passers and can knock down a high post J. Shaq will have to play a lot PNR defense, but I don't know how the Knicks -- super smart, but not very explosive -- get those tight 1-vs-1 baskets. Will Frazier still get a 30-12 game vs Kobe or Lue?

I favor the 2001 Lakers. Not by much, but still.

[richboy]

I take the 01 Lakers

[shawngoat23]

I think the Knicks of that decade had the some of the "best" starting 5's in the league. I'd give Shaq and Kobe an edge over Reed and Frazier, but keep in mind that Reed was coming off an MVP (and a 2nd place finish the year before) and had been outplaying Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA Finals.

The rest of the Knicks roster push the series in their favor.

[JordansBulls]

Well Reed isn't going to outplay Shaq like he did Wilt in that series.

[sp6r=underrated]

The Knicks were a very good champion, but I feel pretty comfortable in taking the 2001 Lakers in at most 6 game. To begin with, The Lakers were much more dominant over the competition. The Knicks that year struggled to get out of the first round, and generally played close games through out the playoffs.

For all those arguing expansion have depleted the depth of modern teams two point needed to be stated: 1. In North America there were 25 major professional basketball teams in 1970 once you factor in that the ABA was recruiting a significant amount of talent towards that league which is only 4 less than 2001 NBA. 2. The NBA and basketball still hadn't fully reached the status of the other major sports in the late 50s-early 60s, which is the youth period for most of the players in 1970, which would affect the percentage of high quality athletes who would pick basketball as their first sport.

On the match-ups.

Reed on offense would be a tough match-up for Shaq in most years because of the Big Fella's discomfort leaving the hoop. In 2001, though that wasn't the case as he was playing legit DPOY caliber D. On offense, Reed who was incredibly strong, but he would be too undersized to effectively guard Shaq. So the Lakers have a big advantage at center.

At the small forward position, once you adjust the stats for pace its clear that Fox was just a better player than Bradley (probably the worst hall of famer based on NBA career). Fox gives you the same amount of offensive production, with much higher efficiency and playing good D.

The Knicks best hope for victory is placing Frazier on Bryant, and hope he can lock him down for the series. Frazier was a great defender, but Bryant was playing out of his mind that year. I see Frazier somewhat effecting his efficiency, but not enough to change the series.