CHALLENGE: Pick a better all-time starting-five than mine :)

blueadams · Post #1 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 7:38 pm

C: H. Olajuwon
PF: B. Russell
SF: L. James
SG: M. Jordan
PG: M. Johnson

There are three other lineups I considered (below).. but I think that's the best one.
1: C: H. Olajuwon, PF: L. James, SF: L. Bird, SG: M. Jordan, PG: M. Johnson
2: C: H. Olajuwon, PF: K. A-Jabbar, SF: L. James, SG: M. Jordan, PG: M. Johnson
3: C: H. Olajuwon, PF: L. James, SF: K. Bryant, SG: M. Jordan, PG: M. Johnson

Post #2 » by **penbeast0** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 7:58 pm

Hakeem plays PF next to either Russell or Kareem. He's got a bit more range and is a bit shorter/lighter than either although Russell may have been faster. Russell was also a considerably better rebounder so you want Russell closer to the basket.

blueadams · Post #3 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:00 pm

penbeast0 wrote:Hakeem plays PF next to either Russell or Kareem. He's got a bit more range and is a bit shorter/lighter than either although Russell may have been faster. Russell was also a considerably better rebounder so you want Russell closer to the basket.

Hakeem: 7-0, 255
Kareem: 7-2, 225
Russell: 6-10, 215
*according to basketball reference

Kareem is probably the best scorer of all-time. But I didn't want him matched up against a behemoth 5 like Shaq, nor did I want him matched up against a stretch-four like LeBron.

There's a lot of thought that goes into picking these things.. Have to build a team with no weaknesses. Doesn't necessarily result in the greatest five players of all-time.

Hakeem's probably the best scoring post-man of all-time next to Kareem. He's probably the best post-defender of all time next to Russell. He's a solid rebounder. He's big and strong enough to guard the modern likes of Shaq. He's a sure thing for me.

Russell. Doesn't bring much to the half-court set on offense as a one-on-one scorer (rather, he runs around, grabs o-boards, gets put-backs, passes, etc. -- not necessarily a bad thing to have someone on the court on a team like this who doesn't demand the ball in his hands to be effective either). But he was like a point guard igniting fast-break offenses off the defensive glass -- Magic, MJ and LeBron running!. Him and Hakeem form a great defensive tandem. He's versatile enough to guard modern stretch-4's like LeBron. All that rebounding. Greatest team-leader of all-time. Greatest winner of all-time. A coach on the court. Tough. Head Games. Etc. Had to go with him.

Bird's a tough cut, too. But there are athletic 3's out there like LeBron who could abuse him on the defensive end.

My team lacks a great 3-pt shooter. LeBron (.341), Jordan (.327), Magic (.303). So, you could call that a weakness, and you could consider adding a Jerry West or a Larry Bird. But then you've got a Jerry West (6-2, 175) trying to guard a Magic Johnson (6-8, 215), or a Larry Bird trying to guard an athlete like LeBron James. Perhaps Kevin Durant is someone who garners more consideration? Great 3-pt shooter (.377). Great athlete. Team guy.

The Penguin · Post #4 » by **The Penguin** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:06 pm

C- Darko
PF- Charlie Villanueva
SF- Josh Smith
SG- Ben Gordon
PG- Brandon Jennings

Notanoob · Post #5 » by **Notanoob** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:29 pm

What's the point of this thread? You just grabbed the 5 best players at their position ever, except you put Russel in at PF instead of Duncan.

Dirtgrain · Post #6 » by **Dirtgrain** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:36 pm

Yah, it seems a bit too easy to just pick the best players. What about offensive and defensive balance? Jordan didn't need four all-stars around him--he did need a deadly shooter (Kerr, Hodges). Who is the best shooter of all of the superstars that could fit? I'm searching the archives of my mind right now.

Alexander · Post #7 » by **Alexander** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:37 pm

Stockton/Jordan/Pippen/Malone/Olajuwon

(I just like the idea of combining two of the best duos and then throwing in the best two-way C to boot)

Post #8 » by **penbeast0** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:42 pm

blueadams wrote:
penbeast0 wrote:Hakeem plays PF next to either Russell or Kareem. He's got a bit more range and is a bit shorter/lighter than either although Russell may have been faster. Russell was also a considerably better rebounder so you want Russell closer to the basket.

Hakeem: 7-0, 255
Kareem: 7-2, 225
Russell: 6-10, 215
*according to basketball reference

.

Doesn't matter much as both players had extremely quick feet and could cover out on the floor as well as in the post. But when looking at 60s measurements, remember that the 1960s NBA used college measurements (Walt Bellamy 225? He ate that in a night!) and they were stocking feet measurements as well so you have to add 1-2 inches and a few pounds. Russell played at around 250 from what I've seen and seeing him with Hakeem at the NBA 50 at 50 celebration, he looked about a half inch taller. Again, doesn't matter much unless someone is arguing that Russell can't play center because he's too short .

RTM · Post #9 » by **RTM** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:52 pm

PistonPowered had a fun post similar to this (Pistons only)... Tossed it around with some friends a few days ago.

Argued with my Dad about this. I said for today's NBA, the best lineup is:

Billups/Rip/Hill/McDyess/Drummond.

He picked Isiah/Vinnie/Aguirre/McDyess/Lanier.

blueadams · Post #10 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:54 pm

Alexander wrote:Stockton/Jordan/Pippen/Malone/Olajuwon

(I just like the idea of combining two of the best duos and then throwing in the best two-way C to boot)

Magic v. Stockton: Watching Stockton trying to guard Magic would be funny, at least.
Jordan v. Jordan: Push.
LeBron v. Pippen: LeBron would kill Pip.
Russell v. Malone: Russell'd shut him down (and what if someone throws a stretch-4 at Malone??)
Olajuwon v. Olajuwon: Push.

The Penguin · Post #11 » by **The Penguin** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:54 pm

C - Shaq
PF - Lebron
SF - Pippen
SG - Jordan
PG - Magic

Sick 4 out - 1 in team, everyone but Shaq can switch 1-4 on defense, Shaq & MJ can focus on scoring, Pippen can be the defensive stopper and Magic & Lebron can handle the ball & playmaking.

blueadams · Post #12 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:57 pm

RTM wrote:PistonPowered had a fun post similar to this (Pistons only)... Tossed it around with some friends a few days ago.

Argued with my Dad about this. I said for today's NBA, the best lineup is:

Billups/Rip/Hill/McDyess/Drummond.

He picked Isiah/Vinnie/Aguirre/McDyess/Lanier.

I went Zeke, Rip, AD, Rodman and Dre

blueadams · Post #13 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:59 pm

Piston Prince wrote:C - Shaq
PF - Lebron
SF - Pippen
SG - Jordan
PG - Magic

Sick 4 out - 1 in team, everyone but Shaq can switch 1-4 on defense, Shaq & MJ can focus on scoring, Pippen can be the defensive stopper and Magic & Lebron can handle the ball & playmaking.

C: Hakeem v. Shaq: I think Hakeem wins (as he did in real life), but it's close.
PF: Russell v. LeBron: I think Russell shuts down LeBron.
SF: LeBron v. Pippen: LeBron KILLS him.
SG: Jordan v. Jordan: Push.
PG: Magic v. Magic: Push.

The Penguin · Post #14 » by **The Penguin** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:00 pm

RTM wrote:PistonPowered had a fun post similar to this (Pistons only)... Tossed it around with some friends a few days ago.

Argued with my Dad about this. I said for today's NBA, the best lineup is:

Billups/Rip/Hill/McDyess/Drummond.

He picked Isiah/Vinnie/Aguirre/McDyess/Lanier.

If you are getting primes - Isiah / Stackhouse / Hill / McDyess / Sheed

Prime McDyess was a BEAST

RTM · Post #15 » by **RTM** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:04 pm

Piston Prince wrote:
RTM wrote:PistonPowered had a fun post similar to this (Pistons only)... Tossed it around with some friends a few days ago.

Argued with my Dad about this. I said for today's NBA, the best lineup is:

Billups/Rip/Hill/McDyess/Drummond.

He picked Isiah/Vinnie/Aguirre/McDyess/Lanier.

If you are getting primes - Isiah / Stackhouse / Hill / McDyess / Sheed

Prime McDyess was a BEAST

It's their "prime" as a Piston. So you're getting rock solid McDyess, not Amare with defense McDyess.

HotelVitale · Post #16 » by **HotelVitale** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:04 pm

Piston Prince wrote:C - Shaq
PF - Lebron
SF - Pippen
SG - Jordan
PG - Magic
Sick 4 out - 1 in team, everyone but Shaq can switch 1-4 on defense, Shaq & MJ can focus on scoring, Pippen can be the defensive stopper and Magic & Lebron can handle the ball & playmaking.

Thanks for putting Shaq here! I was wondering what sort of revisionist history made Olajuwon the best center of all time when he wasn't even the best center of the 90s. I personally like Hakeem and his game better than Shaq--whom I find childish and annoying--but Shaq was a totally dominant force on offense and quite a presence on D. I remember him being on a different level than Hakeem in terms of total impact on a game.

blueadams · Post #17 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:06 pm

Piston Prince wrote:
RTM wrote:PistonPowered had a fun post similar to this (Pistons only)... Tossed it around with some friends a few days ago.

Argued with my Dad about this. I said for today's NBA, the best lineup is:

Billups/Rip/Hill/McDyess/Drummond.

He picked Isiah/Vinnie/Aguirre/McDyess/Lanier.

If you are getting primes - Isiah / Stackhouse / Hill / McDyess / Sheed

Prime McDyess was a BEAST

you're getting Piston-primes. So, not that Dyess. But still good Dyess.

I'd personally take Piston-prime Rip over about any 2G I've ever seen not named Michael Jordan. For the most important month of his career, he was THE best player in the NBA ('04 ECF and NBA Finals).

I'd have taken prime Hill over AD and prime Sheed over Dre if I could've afforded it, though

blueadams · Post #18 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:08 pm

HotelVitale wrote:
Piston Prince wrote:C - Shaq
PF - Lebron
SF - Pippen
SG - Jordan
PG - Magic
Sick 4 out - 1 in team, everyone but Shaq can switch 1-4 on defense, Shaq & MJ can focus on scoring, Pippen can be the defensive stopper and Magic & Lebron can handle the ball & playmaking.

Thanks for putting Shaq here! I was wondering what sort of revisionist history made Olajuwon the best center of all time when he wasn't even the best center of the 90s. I personally like Hakeem and his game better than Shaq--whom I find childish and annoying--but Shaq was a totally dominant force on offense and quite a presence on D. I remember him being on a different level than Hakeem in terms of total impact on a game.

Cough, cough http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_NBA_Finals

Post #19 » by **Snakebites** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:13 pm

I think the wording was "prime with Pistons". You're getting 9/9 Dice, not 20/12 Dice.

Otherwise he wouldn't be below Tyler and Howell. Despite that I think the forward spots are the natural place to cheap out.

I'd go with:

Billups/Dumars/Dantley/Dice/Lanier

Offensive powerhouse team with enough to put together a passable team defense too. You could also swap Billups for Isiah and Lanier for Laimbeer, I suppose.

blueadams · Post #20 » by **blueadams** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:22 pm

Snakebites wrote:I think the wording was "prime with Pistons". You're getting 9/9 Dice, not 20/12 Dice.

Otherwise he wouldn't be below Tyler and Howell. Despite that I think the forward spots are the natural place to cheap out.

I'd go with:

Billups/Dumars/Dantley/Dice/Lanier

Offensive powerhouse team with enough to put together a passable team defense too. Billups would play a slower halfcourt style that fits Dantley better than the Bad Boys did.

I guess I should look at prime seasons v. prime month (wrt stack v. rip).

I'd go..
PG: Zeke. 2nd best PG of all-time.
SG: Stack. Won a scoring title in Detroit.
SF: AD. Won a scoring title like a year before getting to DET (and then scored more pts his 1st season w/ DET)
PF: Rodman. Best defender/rebounder ever next to Bill Russell.
C: Sheed. Great post-defender (he, not Ben, guarded Duncan in the '05 finals). Great low-post scorer. Range. Team leader. Teammate. SHEED!