Retro Draft: Winner is Stun704

[Diop]

Except Nique is a scorer first and foremost, he's gonna want the ball in offense, I can't see him playing the Crash glue man role.

[SWedd523]

How does he score though? cuts to the goal and on fast breaks. He's not a particularly good shooter so he's going to have to be set up to score the ball. He's going to be relegated to 4th banana (depending on which big you want to score) because the ball is going to be in MJ/Isiah's hands so much. Keep in mind, most teams have a defensive player (like my Pippen) that would be able to stick with MJ pretty well without the need for a double team.


I guess if you expect Isiah to be a distributor first and foremost then it's a non-issue, but I think him and MJ would work best in a system similar to how LeBron and Wade coexist. Both are high alpha males, and they need the ball to do work on the offensive end of the floor because neither one of them is much of an outside shooter either.


I'm not saying the team doesn't work. There's too much talent on both sides of the ball to expect them to be a big underdog because they're simply too good to be worked over. It's just something that came to my mind off first glance.

[Diop]

How does he score though? cuts to the goal and on fast breaks. He's not a particularly good shooter

Never stopped him chucking them up though

[-Ian-]

PG: Dennis Johnson | Mark Jackson | Sam Cassell
SG: Jerry West | Mitch Richmond | Craig Ehlo
SF: Elgin Baylor | Danny Manning | Dennis Scott
PF: Moses Malone | Rasheed Wallace | Charles Oakley
C: Willis Reed | Nate Thurmond | Sam Perkins

The thing that I like about my team is my big men -- they are a bunch of bad ass guys which can intimidate a lot of players and they are tough and can play both PF/C. Dennis Johnson is big enough to defend both guard positions and Elgin Baylor can defend multiple positions as well. All five of my starters can score but West, Baylor and Malone will get most of the touches. Both DJ and West can orchestrate the offense which will make my offense more fluid. The Rock will provide scoring off the bench together with Sheed.

I won't make it any longer as I still have to review for an exam.

[fatlever]

nbatv had another fat lever game last night - playoff gems - 1985 - denver vs spurs - and i am watching now on my dvr.
lever, english, natt, dunn, wayne cooper, issel vs gervin, gilmore, mike mitchell, johnny moore, alvin robertson

spurs win this game, nuggets win series and go on to eventually lose to lakers in the western finals.

after one quarter gervin has 19, fat is 6-7 from free throw line with a couple more buckets and at least 3 beautiful assists. those two are pretty much running the game right now. great stuff.

[fatlever]

is everyone ready to vote? same rules as last time. vote for 3 teams (1st, 2nd and 3rd). you cant vote for yourself. this time, tie breakers will go as follows: number of 1st place votes, then tiebreaker vote on board by us picking one team.

the teams

Team Swedd
PG: Mark Price / Tim Hardaway / Norm Van Lier
SG: Rick Barry / Alvin Robertson / Byron Scott
SF: Scottie Pippen / Glen Rice / Robert Horry
PF: Patrick Ewing / Bob Pettit / Anthony Mason
CE: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar / Bob Lanier / Vlade Divac

Team Ring Slam
PG: Walt Frazier / Micheal Ray Richardson / Shane Heal
SG: Reggie Miller/ Sam Jones / Don Buse / Eddie Jones
SF: John Havlicek / Chris Mullin / Jalen Rose
PF: Bob McAdoo / Chris Webber
CE: Bill Russell / Walt Bellamy / Mark Eaton

Team Fatlever aka "Team Bull in a China Shop"
PG: Oscar Robertson | Tiny Archibald | Kenny Smith
SG: David Thompson | Paul Westphal | Fat Lever
SF: Dave Debusschere | Detlef Schrempf | Dan Roundfield
PF: Charles Barkley | Shawn Kemp | Horace Grant | Spencer Haywood
CE: Dave Cowens | Alonzo Mourning

Team Lamar
PG: John Stockton / Gus Williams / Gail Goodrich
SG: Sidney Moncrief / Adrian Dantley / Nate McMillan
SF: Dale Ellis / Alex English
PF: Kevin McHale / Connie Hawkins / Buck Williams / Bad News
CE: Hakeem Olajuwon / Bill Laimbeer / Jack Sikma

Team Stunner
PG: Kevin Johnson | Mo Cheeks
SG: Clyde Drexler | Jeff Hornacek | Dell Curry
SF: James Worthy | Jamal Mashburn | Bruce Bowen
PF: Karl Malone | Larry Johnson | Shareef Abdur Rahim | Truck Robinson
CE: Shaq ONeal | Dikembe Mutombo | Zelmo Beaty

Team Crunk
PG: Bob Cousy - Earl Monroe - Kevin Porter
SG: Joe Dumars - Earl Monroe - Kendall Gill - Bob Dandridge
SF: Dr. Julius Erving - Dolph Schayes - Toni Kukoc - Bob Dandridge - Kendall Gill - Paul Silas
PF: Wilt Chamberlain - George Mikan - Paul Silas - Toni Kukoc - Dolph Schayes
CE: Artis Gilmore - George Mikan - Christian Laettner - Toni Kukoc

Team Paydro
PG: Isiah Thomas / Dave Bing
SG: Michael Jordan / Michael Cooper / Drazen Petrovic
SF: Dominique Wilkins / Penny Hardaway
PF: Elvin Hayes / Dan Issel / Mel Daniels
CE: Robert Parish / Yao Ming
Reserves: Phil Jackson, Jim Paxson, and Rolando Blackman

Team Sachmo
PG: G. Payton, M. Blaylock, C. Murphy
SG:. P. Maravich, Latrell Sprewell, W. Free
SF: L. Bird, B. Cunningham, D. Christie
PF: W. Unseld, L. Nance, D. Coleman
CE: B. Walton, A. Sabonis, D. Dawkins

Team Ian
PG: Dennis Johnson | Mark Jackson | Sam Cassell
SG: Jerry West | Mitch Richmond | Craig Ehlo
SF: Elgin Baylor | Danny Manning | Dennis Scott
PF: Moses Malone | Rasheed Wallace | Charles Oakley
CE: Willis Reed | Nate Thurmond | Sam Perkins

Team Countryboi (i'm guessing at his depth chart)
PG: Magic Johnson I Lenny Wilkens
SG: George Gervin I Hal Greer
SF: Bernard King I Bobby Jones I Mark Aguire I Kiki Vanderweghe
PF: Dennis Rodman I Jerry Lucas I Otis Thorpe
CE: David Robinson

[captaincrunk]

I guess I'll vote first.

3pts Ian
2pts Stun
1pt Sweed

[BigSlam]

1st place = SWeed
2nd place = Stun
3rd place = Fats

[fatlever]

1st - swedd - kareem in his prime was simply the most unstoppable offensive big man ever. barry, of course was a notorious prick, but he was also almost as good as larry bird in his prime. he could carry an offense on his own. i like that swedd added pippen to balance out price and barry and also added robertson to add defense to the 2nd unit. and hardaway is a great change of pace to price. ewing at pf is a little odd, but if its young ewing, it could work. he was quick enough to cover most pfs and he had a decent face up game early in his career. plus this team has the secret weapon, robert horry. horry cant lose.

2nd - lamar - connie hawkins was the difference for me. hawkins in his prime (1st year in the ABA - at 28 years old - was blackballed from the NBA for BS reasons) was as good as any big man around, including kareem. hawkins was known for being a great teammate, a student of the game, made his teammates better and was a true alpha when needed. when you combine hawkins, olajuwon and mchale, i think this gives lamar the best frontcourt in the game. the rest of the roster is balanced with defenders, shooters, scorers, defenders and led by stockton.

3rd - paydro - i just cant bet against a backcourt of jordan and isiah, even if they hate each other. i suspect they would get along if they were on the same team since both are insanely competitive and striving for the same goal. but i cant put the team higher because i dont really care for elvin hayes or dominique on this roster. both guys are gunners who didnt play much defense and neither was known for being the type of player to sacrifice for the greater good of the team.

[Diop]

1st Stun
2nd Ian
3rd Paydro

(not banning people this time Slam?)

[BigSlam]

(not banning people this time Slam?)

No need to Sachmo. My boy Mark Eaton is taking names and will be paying home visits later this week.

BLOCKED!!!!

[Paydro70]

God, I sat down to do this like it would take 2 minutes... I switched my order 4 times, ranked 5 different teams at one point, and found myself with 8 open basketball-reference pages before I realized I'd have to come back to it.

Alright, it comes down to:
1st - Slam
I think this is the only team where I don't really have a question mark. Some spectacular defenders including two of the best ever, one of the best clutch shooters of all time, and a variety of ways to put the ball in the hoop. I don't like the bench nearly as much as some teams, but I think this is the best starting 5 and that's what will matter in the playoffs.

2nd - Stun
The Malone-Shaq combo is pretty terrifying to think about... those two players alone make this squad basically unstoppable on the offensive end, only a couple of squads could really match up. Throw on some really talented guards and a very strong bench and you have a real contender (particularly nice to have Mutombo around to counter some of Shaq's deficiencies). I do wonder about this team's outside shooting; KJ, Drexler, and Worthy were not big on the 3, and I'm not sure how much Hornacek I'd really like to see.

3rd - Swedd
This is probably the best frontcourt; the rotating cast of KAJ, Ewing, and Pettit is going to be devastating. Throw in a pair of great shooters and you have the makings of a very productive offense; Pippen is a perfect complement, adding perimeter defense and some extra ballhandling to bridge the gap. Basically I have two questions... whether the backcourt will be able to handle itself defensively against these all-star lineups, and whether a very big, strong center might really give this team problems (Shaq, Robinson, etc.).

[LamarMatic7]

1st Swedd
2nd Stun
3rd Paydro

There's just so much to take in account that I won't even start on explaining my picks. I'd probably end up changing them again and again, if I put so much thought in it.

[captaincrunk]

Bench would definitely count in seeding.

[Battery]

I like Countryboi's team because he has Magic and BK who are my two favorite players but I probably would start Jerry Lucas over Rodman. Rodman could come off the bench at PF and C. Paydro's team would end up killing each other before the first game of the season.

[fatlever]

I like Countryboi's team because he has Magic and BK who are my two favorite players but I probably would start Jerry Lucas over Rodman. Rodman could come off the bench at PF and C. Paydro's team would end up killing each other before the first game of the season.

i think countryboi had my favorite staring 5 of the bunch, as well as crazy depth as small forward and solid backups at pg, sg and pf. unfortunately we never got to see the finished product. i assume he would have probably added a center, a 3rd pg and maybe another center/power foward with his last 3 picks. i think that would have been enough to get one of my top 3 votes for sure.

his remaining categories were ABA, relatives and mecca (a couple of thin categories) and centers are hard to find. lets see what i can come up with....

relatives - john lucas (pg), tom (or dick) van arsedale (sf), walter davis (sg/sf), calvin natt (sf/pf), caldwell jones (c)

aba - louis dampier (pg), caldwell jones (c), charlie scott (sg), george mcginnis (pf), maurice lucas (pf/c)

mecca - jeff ruland (c), roy tarpley (c), tom gugliotta (pf), doug moe (sf), rodney mccray (sf), cliff robinson (pf), rod strickland (pg)

hmm.... tough call... based on his needs, i'd probably go with: maurice lucas, john lucas and cliff robinson............... or rod strickland, george mcginnis and caldwell jones............ or walter davis, maurice lucas and roy tarpley.

Team Countryboi (i'm guessing at his depth chart)
PG: Magic Johnson I Lenny Wilkens (john lucas)
SG: George Gervin I Hal Greer
SF: Bernard King I Bobby Jones I Mark Aguire I Kiki Vanderweghe
PF: Dennis Rodman I Jerry Lucas I Otis Thorpe (cliff robinson)
CE: David Robinson (maurice lucas)

[Battery]

I like Countryboi's team because he has Magic and BK who are my two favorite players but I probably would start Jerry Lucas over Rodman. Rodman could come off the bench at PF and C. Paydro's team would end up killing each other before the first game of the season.

i think countryboi had my favorite staring 5 of the bunch, as well as crazy depth as small forward and solid backups at pg, sg and pf. unfortunately we never got to see the finished product. i assume he would have probably added a center, a 3rd pg and maybe another center/power foward with his last 3 picks. i think that would have been enough to get one of my top 3 votes for sure.

his remaining categories were ABA, relatives and mecca (a couple of thin categories) and centers are hard to find. lets see what i can come up with....

relatives - john lucas (pg), tom (or dick) van arsedale (sf), walter davis (sg/sf), calvin natt (sf/pf), caldwell jones (c)

aba - louis dampier (pg), caldwell jones (c), charlie scott (sg), george mcginnis (pf), maurice lucas (pf/c)

mecca - jeff ruland (c), roy tarpley (c), tom gugliotta (pf), doug moe (sf), rodney mccray (sf), cliff robinson (pf), rod strickland (pg)

hmm.... tough call... based on his needs, i'd probably go with: maurice lucas, john lucas and cliff robinson............... or rod strickland, george mcginnis and caldwell jones............ or walter davis, maurice lucas and roy tarpley.

Team Countryboi (i'm guessing at his depth chart)
PG: Magic Johnson I Lenny Wilkens (john lucas)
SG: George Gervin I Hal Greer
SF: Bernard King I Bobby Jones I Mark Aguire I Kiki Vanderweghe
PF: Dennis Rodman I Jerry Lucas I Otis Thorpe (cliff robinson)
CE: David Robinson (maurice lucas)

I would definitely add Walter Davis. He was money from all over the court. That would give Countryboi two players from South Meck. Bobby Jones was one of my favorite players back then.

Roy Tarpley if he lays off the crack would be a nice addition to this team. That dude was a serious talent who screwed up his career and life with drugs. What a damn shame because he was on his way to stardom. Tarpley running the floor with Magic and then you have BK and the IceMan on the wings would be a lethal offensive combination on the court.

[Jaruff]

I was going to vote but I can't. Too many good options here.

Just give everyone a point.

[captaincrunk]

I was going to vote but I can't. Too many good options here.

Just give everyone a point.

Woo! I got a point!

[fatlever]

who still needs to vote?