Post#62 » by ElGee » Wed Jun 23, 2010 6:33 pm
Kaima, interesting vote. Depending on how one values statistics and team performance, I thought a Jordan-Bird-Magic ordering was plausible.
You mentioned Magic having a stacked team (and they were certainly a great team). Here is some data for 1987 (just 2 games) and 1988 (a healthy 10 games, although the Lakers weren't as good in 88 and in terms of performance, neither was Magic). Interpret this as you will, but I was curious and thought I'd share the crunched numbers:
1987 - 2 games without Magic (both vs. Phoenix, 110 DRtg)
ORtg: 108.7
DRtg: 102.1
*2 wins, game was much slower than usual for both teams. Started Scott at point.
1988 - 10 games without Magic (opponent's averages: ORtg 107.4 DRtg 108.4)
ORtg: 107.7
DRtg: 108.4
In this stretch, Cooper also missed most of the games (unfortunately). Wes Matthews got the start in place of Magic most often. It would be interesting to see how well the offense performed with a decent backup point guard, or if we had data from 1986 when Kareem wasn't a million years old.
Anyway, Lakers offensive rating in 87 was ~115 and in 88 around ~113. Lakers played a few possessions slower without Magic. (Interestingly, they still averaged ~27 assists per game, a small drop off from season average).
[My take: Worthy, Scott (pre-88) Kareem, Cooper and co. have all shown to be really solid players independent of Magic Johnson. It seems fair to guess that would be an average offensive team as it stood, only we have to realistically expect with an average (or even below average) starting point guard added to the mix they would be well above average offensively. Still, at the least, we can see how much value Magic added, as the raw drop without him is noticeable. One can also argue the left hand helps the right hand, as without his threat to run, LA's defense is more vulnerable to fresher teams, offensive rebounds and even increased transition against themselves.]
