FGA Restricted All-Time Fantasy Draft Roster Thread

[ardee]

A thread where every participant can make a post and add in the players they've drafted to their team as and when they do.

Another sticky please.

Sent from my SM-J700F using RealGM mobile app

[urnoggin]

Starters:
PG - '17 Chris Paul (12.9 FGA) - 1st team all-defense (probably)
SG - '03 Tracy McGrady (24.2 FGA)- 1st team All-NBA, scoring champion
SF - '17 Kawhi Leonard (17.7 FGA)- 1st team All-NBA, 1st team All-defense (probably), former 2x DPOY, former FMVP, NBA champion
PF- '92 Horace Grant (9.8 FGA)- 4x NBA champion
C- '03 Ben Wallace (6.0 FGA)- 2nd team All-NBA, 1st team All-defense, DPOY (4x in his career), NBA champion

Bench:
'09 Lamar Odom (9.0 FGA)- 2x NBA champion
'13 Thabo Sefolosha (5.8 FGA)
'05 Fred Hoiberg (3.7 FGA)- led NBA in 3pt%

Total FGA - 89.1/90


Basic Stats:
'17 Chris Paul: 18.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 9.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 2.4 TOV in 31.5 MPG
'03 Tracy McGrady: 32.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 2.6 TOV in 39.4 MPG
'17 Kawhi Leonard: 25.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 2.1 TOV in 33.4 MPG
'92 Horace Grant: 14.2 PPG, 10.0 RPG (4.2 ORPG), 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 1.2 TOV in 35.3 MPG
'03 Ben Wallace: 6.9 PPG, 15.4 RPG (4.0 OPRG), 1.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 3.2 BPG, 1.2 TOV in 39.4 MPG
'09 Lamar Odom: 11.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.8 TOV, in 29.7 MPG
'13 Thabo Sefolosha: 7.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.8 TOV in 27.5 MPG
'05 Fred Hoiberg: 5.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 TOV in 16.7 MPG


Advanced Stats:

'17 Chris Paul: 126 ORtg, 106 DRtg (+20 net rating), .264 WS/48, 8.7 BPM, 7.8 OBPM, 1.0 DBPM, 5.2 VORP, 26.2 PER, 61.4 TS%
'03 Tracy McGrady: 116 ORtg, 104 DRtg (+14 net rating), .262 WS/48, 9.7 BPM, 9.8 OBPM, -0.1 DBPM, 8.7 VORP, 30.3 PER, 56.4 TS%
'17 Kawhi Leonard: 121 ORtg, 102 DRtg (+19 net rating), .264 WS/48, 7.9 BPM, 6.4 OBPM, 1.5 DBPM, 6.2 VORP, 27.5 PER, 61.1 TS%
'92 Horace Grant: 132 ORtg, 102 DRtg (+30 net rating), .237 WS/48, 7.3 BPM, 4.3 OBPM, 3.0 DBPM, 6.7 VORP, 20.6 PER, 61.8 TS%
'03 Ben Wallace: 108 ORtg, 90 DRtg (+18 net rating), .176 WS/48, 5.1 BPM, -1.9 OBPM, 7.0 DBPM, 5.1 VORP, 17.2 PER, 48.6 TS%
'09 Lamar Odom: 110 ORtg, 102 DRtg (+8 net rating), .143 WS/48, 2.9 BPM, -0.1 OBPM, 3.1 DBPM, 2.9 VORP, 16.6 PER, 54.2 TS%
'13 Thabo Sefolosha: 121 ORtg, 103 DRtg (+18 net rating), .146 WS/48, 3.5 BPM, 1.9 OBPM, 1.6 DBPM, 3.1 VORP, 12.8 PER, 61.7 TS%
'05 Fred Hoiberg: 138 ORtg, 106 DRtg (+32 net rating), .196 WS/48, 3.2 BPM, 3.0 OBPM, 0.2 DBPM, 1.7 VORP, 16.7 PER, 66.4 TS%


My team is built with major strengths in defense, shooting, and versatility. With prime Big Ben (7.0 DBPM- alltime NBA record, 34.9 DRB%, 3.2 BPG) we have one of the best defensive anchors ever. Surrounding him is a versatile forward in Ho Grant (1.2 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 3.0 DBPM), one of the best perimeter defenders ever and 2-time reigning DPOY in Kawhi, a long and athletic wing in T-Mac who will be able to focus more on defense with his less than usual scoring load, and a perennial 1st-team all defense PG in CP3 (who registered his highest DBPM as a Clipper in '17 with 1.0). Off the bench we have another lockdown defender in Sefolosha and Lamar Odom who is another versatile forward who can guard multiple positions. Offensively, CP3 and T-Mac will be my primary ball-handlers and the combination of T-Mac and Kawhi will get me most of my buckets. All of my perimeter players are elite 3-point shooters (CP3- 41.1% on 5.0 3PA/G, T-Mac- 38.6% on 6.0 3PA/G, Kawhi- 38.1% on 5.2 3PA/G, Sefolosha- 41.9% on 3.2 3PA/G, Hoiberg- 48.3% on 1.9 3PA/G) so the floor will be well spaced on offense at all times. Grant is also a capable and efficient scorer out to midrange and Lamar is another versatile ball-handler and playmaker for my offense. Big Ben will benefit greatly from the spacing and he will mainly finish dump-offs, alley-oops, set screens, and grab offensive boards. My team will also look to push the fastbreak as often as possible as we have one of the best floor generals ever, along with amazing shooting and extremely athletic and fast players at every other position who can finish. By pushing the ball up the floor after many of our defensive boards, we will be able to create easy finishes at the basket or open threes for one of my deadly shooters. When not running fast breaks off of misses, my strategy will usually be to slow the game down, allowing my defense to keep the score low similar to the '04 Pistons.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Starting Lineup
C - Dikembe Mutombo ('94-'95) - 7.7 FGA
PF - Detlef Schrempf ('94-'95) - 12.2 FGA
SF - Grant Hill ('96-'97) - 15.7 FGA
SG - Dwyane Wade ('09-'10) - 19.6 FGA
PG - Steph Curry ('15-'16) - 20.2 FGA

Bench
PJ Brown ('01-'02) - 6.6 FGA
Aaron McKie ('96-'97) - 4.4 FGA
Tree Rollins ('87-'88) - 3.4 FGA

89.8/90 FGA

Rotation
Mutombo (38) / Rollins (6) / Brown (4)
Schrempf (26) / Brown (22)
Hill (38) / Schrempf (10)
Wade (38) / McKie (10)
Curry (38) / McKie (10)

[Quotatious]

Starters:

C - David Robinson 1995-96 (16.8 FGA)
PF - Kevin McHale 1987-88 (14.2 FGA)
SF - Andrei Kirilenko 2003-04 (11.9 FGA)
SG - Raja Bell 2007-08 (10.0 FGA)
PG - Oscar Robertson 1962-63 (19.9 FGA)

Bench:

C - Manute Bol 1985-86 (3.5 FGA)
SG/SF - Mario Elie 1996-97 (7.5 FGA)
PG - Dave Twardzik 1976-77 (5.8 FGA)

Total FGA: 89.6/90.0

[Dr Spaceman]

C: 1997 Alonzo Mourning (13.4 FGA)
PF: 2017 Draymond Green (8.6 FGA)
SF: 1986 Larry Bird (19.6 FGA)
SG: 2017 Gordon Hayward (15.8 FGA)
PG: 2006 Chauncey Billups (12.5 FGA)

Bench
F: 2001 Rick Fox (7.8 FGA)
G: 1996 Ron Harper (6.3 FGA)
C: 2012 Zaza Pachulia (5.8 FGA)

90.0/90

[ardee]

Starters

PG: 2007 Steve Nash (12.8 FGA)
SG: 2016 Klay Thompson (17.3 FGA)
SF: 2008 Paul Pierce (13.7 FGA)
PF: 2013 Chris Bosh (12.3 FGA)
C: 1977 Bill Walton (14.4 FGA)

Bench

G: 2012 Avery Bradley (6.3 FGA)
F: 2004 Tayshaun Prince (8.8 FGA)
C: 2016 Andrew Bogut (4.0 FGA)

Total FGA: 89.6

[LA Bird]

Starters
C: 2010 Dwight Howard: 18/13/3 on 63% TS
PF: 2005 Kevin Garnett: 22/14/6 on 57% TS
SF: 2017 Jimmy Butler: 24/6/6 on 59% TS
SG: 1968 Jerry West: 26/6/6 on 59% TS
PG: 1997 Kevin Johnson: 20/4/9 on 63% TS

Bench
C: 2003 Arvydas Sabonis: 6/4/2 on 55% TS
F: 1999 Robert Horry: 5/4/2 on 57% TS
G: 2003 Doug Christie: 9/4/5 on 59% TS

Total FGA: 89.6/90.0

Spoiler:

Garnett - 16.6
West - 18.2
Howard - 10.2
Butler - 16.5
Christie - 7.0
Horry - 3.8
Sabonis - 4.6
Johnson - 12.7

[Colbinii]

Pole Made From Soul


Roster
PG: 1993 Mark Price
SG: 1992 Clyde Drexler
SF: 2010 Metta World Peace
PF: 2015 Anthony Davis
C: 1965 Bill Russell

PG/SG: 2005 Manu Ginobili
SG/SF: 2015 Andre Igoudala
C: 1990 Mark Eaton

Field Goal Attempts
2015 Anthony Davis: 17.6
1991 Clyde Drexler: 16.3
1993 Mark Price: 13.1
1965 Bill Russell: 12.6
2005 Manu Ginobili: 10.5
2010 Metta World Peace: 9.6
2015 Andre Igoudala: 6.3
1990 Mark Eaton: 3.7


Draft
Round 1, Pick 4: 11-time NBA Champion, Bill "Russ" Russell
Round 2, Pick 20: Anthony "Unibrow" Davis
Round 3, Pick 36: 2005 NBA Finals MVP, Manu "El Contusione" Ginobili
Round 4, Pick 61: 2015 NBA Finals MVP, Andre "Iggy" Igoudala
Round 5, Pick 68: Clyde "The Glyde" Drexler
Round 6, Pick 93: NBA Champion, Metta World Peace
Round 7, Pick 100: All-NBA 1st team, Mark Price
Round 8, Pick 125: Defensive Player of the Year, Mark Eaton

[Statlanta]

Orlando Till presents

Soul in the Hole


PG Penny
SG Jesus Shuttlesworth
SF Dr. J
PF The Matrix
C The Dream

PG/SG Harden
SF/PF Ratliff
PF/C Ostertag

FGA
95-96 Anfernee Hardaway
07-08 Ray Allen
82-83 Julius Erving
92-93 Hakeem Olajuwon
11-12 James Harden
10-11 Shawn Marion
05-06 Theo Ratliff
04-05 Greg Ostertag

14.8
13.5
16.3
19.5
10.1
10.4
3.4

Total FGA
88/90

Rotation
PG Hardaway(38)/Harden(10)
SG Allen(36)/Harden(12)
SF Erving(39)/Marion(9)
PF Marion(24)/Ratliff(24)
C Olajuwon(42)/Ostertag(6)

[Narigo]

PG: 1990 Magic Johnson(14.4 FGA)
SG: 2017 Patrick Beverly(8.1 FGA)
SF: 1990 Jeff Hornacek(13.4 FGA)
PF: 1993 Karl Malone(17.6 FGA)
C: 1983 Moses Malone(16.7 FGA)

1989 Jack Sikma(10.6 FGA)
1970 Guy Rodgers(3.0 FGA)
1989 Craig Ehlo(6.4 FGA)

90/90 FGA

[eminence]

Starters:
PG - '02 Jason Kidd - 2nd in MVP voting, 1st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense
SG - '15 Kyle Korver - Allstar
SF - '17 Kevin Durant - 2nd Team All-NBA
PF - '11 Dirk Nowitzki - 6th in MVP voting, 2nd Team All-NBA, FMVP
C - '88 Patrick Ewing - 2nd Team All-NBA, 2nd Team All-Defense

Bench:
Guard - '17 Ricky Rubio
Wing - '17 Joe Ingles
Big - '95 Anthony Mason - 6th MOY

Total FGA - 89.8/90
Durant - 16.5
Dirk - 16.2
Ewing - 14.4
Kidd - 13.9
Rubio - 8.7
Korver - 8.0
Mason - 6.6
Ingles - 5.5

[70sFan]

Starters:
PG - 1969-70 Walt Frazier (15,0)
SG - 1960-61 Sam Jones (13,7)
SF - 1986-87 Adrian Dantley (13,9)
PF - 1973-74 Happy Hairston (9,9)
C - 1976-77 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18,7)

Bench:
1985-86 Michael Cooper (7,4)
2007-08 Chuck Hayes (2,8)
1974-75 Nate Thurmond (8,6)

Total FGA - 90/90

[BasketballFan7]

Nowhere to Hide

PG: 1996 Gary Payton [15.8 FGA] ~ 1996 Defensive Player of the Year; 1st All-Defense 1st team, All-NBA 2nd team, GOAT point guard defensive player, complete offensive player, leader and trash-talker extraordinaire

After the Seattle SuperSonics fell behind the Chicago Bulls 3-0 in the series, Seattle coach George Karl gave Payton the primary defensive assignment on Jordan. What followed was a small bit of NBA history: Payton held Jordan to 37 percent shooting and 23, 26 and 22 points over the next three games. It was the only time Jordan scored fewer than 30 points in three consecutive NBA Finals games. And certainly the only time an opponent D'd him up so defiantly.

Jason Kidd and Gary Payton’s relationship goes way back, with Payton being Kidd’s early mentor as they grew up together in Oaklands. Jason told this story:

“He likes to talk, he talked a lot of trash. He would say ‘hey you’re not gonna score, actually you’re not gonna get a shot off today when we do this drill’. I’m like ‘it’s basketball, I can get a shot off’ and he wouldn’t let me get a shot off. I was really hurt, you know, he would talk trash like ‘you gonna go home and cry’ but the big thing was, he wouldn’t say it at the time, but he wanted to see if I would come back the next day.

“And I would come back, but my ego and my game was a little wounded.”

SG: 1984 Sidney Moncrief [14.2 FGA] ~ 1984 Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA 1st team, All-Defense 1st team, highly efficient (59 TS% in regular season, 61 TS% in postseason) and versatile player

But ask anyone to name the top all-around players of the 1980s, and Sidney Moncrief will be on that list. If any player could do it all, it was Moncrief, who played 10 of his 11 NBA seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. Whenever Moncrief displayed his gap-toothed grimace, you knew he was about to pull something special from his big bag of tricks. He could shoot from the outside, post up, dunk over 7-foot centers, make the key pass, crash the boards, and slash through the paint for a layup.

Although he was a legitimate offensive threat, Moncrief may have been best known for his unrelenting defensive play. The 6-4 guard stayed in a textbook crouch, using his lithe, sinewy frame to keep within an eyelash of his opponent. His springy legs (he had a 36-inch vertical leap) gave him above-average shotblocking abilities, and the compact Moncrief could bench-press his body weight plus 30 pounds, which gave him the needed muscle to be a force underneath the basket. And he was always among the first players back on defense after a basket or turnover. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award was seemingly created just for him in 1982; he won the award its first two years of existence.

So versatile was Moncrief that when he appeared on the cover of the Bucks' 1984-85 media guide, the team had him wear a Superman costume. He was one of the game's hardest-working and best-liked players. His consistency dependability, and versatility made him a fan favorite in Milwaukee and an admired figure among the league's top stars.

Michael Jordan once told the Los Angeles Times, "When you play against Moncrief, you're in for a night of all-around basketball. He'll hound you everywhere you go, both ends of the court. You just expect it."

SF: 1981 Marques Johnson [15.2 FGA] ~ 1981 All-NBA 2nd team, 6th in MVP voting, and a tremendously complete two-way player

AT THE TOP OF HIS PROFESSION
Marques Johnson, who may well be the best forward in the NBA, performs high above the opposition, stopping time, defying gravity
...
If Marques Johnson is not generally conceded to be the best all-round basketball player in the game today, it is only because comparing players at different positions is as difficult as comparing pitchers with hitters, quarterbacks with linebackers or goalies with wingers. In the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stands alone at center and Magic Johnson has no equal at guard. But at forward, the game's glamour position, two players stand out. One is Philadelphia's 6'7" Julius Erving and the other is Milwaukee's 6'7" Johnson.

Ask any NBA coach which of the two he'd rather have on his team and he will say "both." Each is a superb scorer—Erving averaging 26.6 points and Johnson 20.2 so far this year. But press a little bit, and the coach will say that Johnson is the superior defender; his 218 pounds provide more strength than Erving's 200.
...
Just as today's centers—even Abdul-Jabbar—are still measured against Bill Russell, forwards are compared to Elgin Baylor. "Elgin, Doc and Marques, in my opinion those three guys are the best forwards ever," says Wayne Embry, the former NBA center who is now a Bucks vice-president. "Marques is closer to Elgin than Doc because of his great strength and defense. He not only has the quickest first step of anyone I've ever seen, but once he makes it he's way up above everybody. Put those two things together and he can get anywhere he wants."

"Doc's the Doc," says Bucks Coach Don Nelson. "But Marques is the best all-round. We ask him to do more and he does do more. I never want to limit his abilities to one or two areas. There's no doubt I could get 30 points a night from him if I went to him more. But he's got to work his butt off on the D, so I limit him to 35 minutes or so. I could play him at guard if I wanted to, he's that versatile. Sometimes in practice I do."

"Playing forward in the NBA requires a wider repertoire of skills than any other position," says Johnson. "You have to be able to handle the ball, shoot from the outside, rebound, play defense against a variety of players. Like myself—I might have to guard Maurice Lucas one game, Walter Davis the next. That's like guarding a center and a guard, totally different types. I have to play against Larry Bird, a phenomenal offensive player, also rebound, then get out on the fast break and run."

At 6’7″, Johnson had a great height for a small forward but was also incredibly quick on the go. He didn’t possess a tremendous range on his jump shot, but from about 18 feet in he was a marksman.

Perhaps most disheartening for opponents though was Marques’ ability to crash the offensive glass. After playing a possession of good defense and forcing a missed shot, Bucks opponents would be crushed by Johnson getting second-chance points.
...
Being a small forward, Marques didn’t neglect other skills. He was a superb passer, could rise up to challenge shots, and was a very good defender.
...
In 1981, the Bucks won 60 games in the regular season, but lost 99-98 to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Marques was a monster in the series averaging 25 points (including 36 in Game 7), 9.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 55.6% shooting. It was his finest playoff series as he crushed the 76ers for six… SIX!… offensive rebounds a game in the series.

PF: 1990 Charles Barkley [14.9 FGA] ~ All-NBA 1st team, 1990 Sporting News MVP, league-leader in true shooting percentage (66.1%) and offensive rating (128)

Below are Barkley's plus minus statistics from the 76ers yearbooks, and the on/off statistics of him offense, defense, and overall net. His defense is looks relatively good in 1989 and 1990, but horrible in 1991 & especially 1992. His 4 year average for Net ORtg is +11.5, peaking at +14.4 in 1991-92.

viewtopic.php?t=1344019

Regressed RAPM adjusted for 2014 Variance

1988 2.40
1989 7.29
1990 7.73
1991 6.71
1992 5.45

Here is where those RAPM numbers would rank in 2014:
88: 33rd
89: 1st
90: 1st
91: 3rd
92: 5th

"Barkley is like Magic [Johnson] and Larry [Bird] in that they don't really play a position," Bill Walton said in a SLAM magazine issue ranking NBA greats. "He plays everything; he plays basketball. There is nobody who does what Barkley does. He's a dominant rebounder, a dominant defensive player, a three-point shooter, a dribbler, a playmaker."

4. Magic Johnson over Charles Barkley, 1990
In the closest NBA vote since the media took over the voting in 1981, Johnson edged Barkley by 22 points, even though Barkley received more first-place votes (38 to 27). Barkley averaged 25.2 points and 11.5 rebounds and shot 60 percent from the field. Johnson averaged 22.3 points, 11.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds (while shooting 48 percent). Barkley's Sixers won 53 games while the Lakers won 63. Oh yeah -- Michael Jordan averaged 33.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists and finished third in the voting.

Statheads, on the other hand, often decry the outsize role that championships have taken in assessing NBA players’ legacies and have little use for raw numerical accumulation. Instead, they marvel at numbers such as Barkley’s outrageous per-possession offensive efficiency rating, which is the highest ever among players who used as many possessions as he did.

C: 1967 Wilt Chamberlain [14.2 FGA] ~ 1967 NBA MVP, All-NBA 1st team, NBA champion, league-leader in a litany of stats and adds 7.8 assists per game to top it off
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJhr4-Fotm0/Vl_IcB7eCgI/AAAAAAAAHXY/cz6PdKePmiobKHUu-nZFFxja6N-ybyxoQCCo/s0/Wilt1967.jpg

"Wilt is playing better than I used to -- passing off, coming out to set up screens, picking up guys outside, and sacrificing himself for team play."

"Later in the game, Gus was out on the fast break, and the only man between him and the basket was Wilt. He was goin to dunk on Wilt--again. Gus cupped the ball and took off--he had a perfect angle for a slam. Wilt went up and with one hand he grabbed the ball--cleanly! Then he took the ball and shoved it right back into Gus, drilling Gus into the floor with the basketball.
Gus was flattened and they carried him out. It turned out that Gus Johnson was the only player in NBA history to suffer a dislocated shoulder from a blocked shot."

"I have great respect for Wilt. When I was with the Lakers, he never missed a practice or a game, or was late for a plane. If I asked him to make an appearance, he did it. This man has gone through life with a bad rap. We are talking about a very good person."

Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath.

"People lose sight of the fact that Wilt was a 440 champion, a guy with great coordination. He also was so strong that the double-teaming defenses used today wouldn't bother him."

"Once Wilt got upset with me and dunked the ball so hard it went through the rim with such force that it broke my toe as it hit the floor."

"I said, 'Wilt isn't such a tough guy. I can guard him.' He backed me down and dunked the ball. And I was so far under the basket, and he dunked it so hard, that the ball came through the net and hit me in the forehead twice! Bang! So I said, 'You know, I think he is that great.'

"When I coached the San Francisco Warriors, I thought Al Attles was the fastest guy on our team--by far. We used to gamble a lot--which player could jump the highest and run the fastest. So I set up a series of races, baseline to baseline. In the finals, it was Wilt and Al Attles and Wilt just blew past him. I'm convinced that Wilt Chamberlain is one of the greatest all-around athletes the world has ever seen."

Bench:
SF: 2009 Shane Battier [5.9 FGA] ~ 2009 All-Defensive 2nd team, 2014 teammate of the year, analytics exploiter and 44% 3 point shooter from the corner

The game drew a huge national television audience, which followed Bryant for his 47 miserable minutes: he shot 11 of 33 from the field and scored 24 points. “A lot of people watched,” Morey said. “Everyone ­watches Kobe when the Lakers play. And so everyone saw Kobe struggling. And so for the first time they saw what we’d been seeing.” Battier has routinely ­guarded the league’s most dangerous offensive players — LeBron James, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce — and has usually managed to render them, if not entirely ineffectual, then a lot less effectual than they normally are. He has done it so quietly that no one really notices what exactly he is up to.
...
This year Battier, recovering from off-season surgery to remove bone spurs from an ankle, has played in just over half of the Rockets’ games. That has only highlighted his importance. “This year,” Morey says, “we have been a championship team with him and a bubble playoff team without him.” “I call him Lego,” Morey says. “When he’s on the court, all the pieces start to fit together. And everything that leads to winning that you can get to through intellect instead of innate ability, Shane excels in. I’ll bet he’s in the hundredth percentile of every category.”
...
Bryant doesn’t merely help his team less when Battier guards him than when someone else does. When Bryant is in the game and Battier is on him, the Lakers’ offense is worse than if the N.B.A.’s best player had taken the night off. “The Lakers’ offense should obviously be better with Kobe in,” Morey says. “But if Shane is on him, it isn’t.”

1994 Nate McMillan [5.4 FGA] ~ 1994 All-Defense 2nd team and perhaps a better defender than teammate Gary Payton ; future coach and excellent three-point shooter (39% on the year)

Thankfully, the great Harvey Pollack (RIP) has been recording plus-minus since at least the 1993-1994 season in his NBA Statistical Yearbook. Incredibly, this plus-minus data paints Nate McMillan not just as one of the best defensive point guards, but as one of the most valuable players in the league during that time period.
Using his data, it turns out that the Sonics outscored opponents by 616 points when Nate McMillan was on the court in the 1993-94 season (the first year this data was recorded), which was the best in the league.
(For reference, the other leaders in net points in a season since 1994 are LeBron James 5 times, Tim Duncan 4 times, Shaq 3 times, Curry and Michael Jordan twice, and David Robinson, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Tayshaun Prince, Paul Pierce and Draymond Green once)
That's the 36th best total contribution since the 2000-01 season, but the crazy part is that he played only 1887 minutes! That's 25.8 minutes a game in 73 games. The Sonics outscored opponents by 15.7 points per 48 minutes that McMillan played. To put this in perspective, the only players since the 2000-01 season with a higher net points per 48 than Nate that year are from the last two years' historic Warriors teams.
...
Nate McMillan has the highest career DBPM of any guard ever. He also has by far the single best season by DBPM for any guard, and 4 of the top 10 seasons. As good as The Glove was at getting steals, Nate McMillan was better, including one season [1994] where he averaged an absurd 5.8 steals per 100 possessions (by far the highest ever). Nate McMillan was also one of the best rebounding point guards ever -- only Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd had a higher rebounding rate than him among PGs.

2000 Bo Outlaw [4.1 FGA] ~ Eight in the entire NBA in non-prior impacted RAPM in 2000 and league leader in DBPM in 2000 (5.6) who can play three positions defensively, switch everywhere, block shots at the rim, and blow up the pick and roll; 59.7 true shooting percentage and 5.2 assists per 100 possessions. Players that played as many minutes as Outlaw and had a BPM that was equal or higher? Ben Wallace, David Robinson, Marcus Camby, Mark Eaton, Hakeem, and Joakim Noah. That's it! All centers.
Adored by every team that he played for.

Outlaw made up for what he lacked in skills with hustle. Lots of hustle. The sort of hustle that'll prompt standing ovations from home crowds and'll leave opposing coaches shaking their heads. Outlaw pursued rebounds and loose balls with a ferocity and urgency I've not seen in any player before or since.

But he played every possession as if his life depended on it. He was the ultimate energy guy, flying all over the court, diving into the crowd for loose balls, working his ass off on defense. Among teammates who were playing out the string, he immediately became a fan favorite as you may have already guessed. Bo's job in the NBA was to play tough defense, to bug the crap out of the guy he was guarding, to block shots, to dive after loose balls, to be a great teammate, and to just generally help in any way he could. In four seasons with the Clippers at the start of his career, and for 11 more seasons after that, he did his job to perfection. And for that he is a Clippers Cult Classic.

The 6’8″, 210-pound (although he put on muscle throughout his career) Bo was just an athletic freak who played with passion and hustled everywhere, frustrating opponents of all positions.
...
You can try and convince me a young Bo Outlaw wouldn’t be a max contract candidate if he were a free agent this summer. But you’d fail.

The goal here was to avoid giving the opponent mismatches to exploit, and to have a roster capable of exploiting and potential weaknesses on the other team. This meant that I needed a team comprised of two-way players who are capable of defending effectively, generally without much help, on one end. On the other end, they can all exploit bad defenders on the opposing team, leaving nowhere to hide poor defensive players.

Standout defenders were especially essential to accomodate Barkley, who was a slight positive defensively in 1990 but who also has obvious defensive limitations. Wilt is an ideal front-court mate whose 1967 has a stellar defensive reputation. Johnson often played small-ball PF and can switch effectively as is shown in the quotes from the 1980 Sports Illustrated article. Both perimeter guards are defensive players of the year (1984 Moncrief and 1996 Payton). Barkley's defense was not a negative in 1990. Past individual defense, all five players can crash the defensive glass effectively. I expect some teams to design their offenses around getting players switched defensively and finding a mismatch. That is not going to lead to effective offense here. We may not switch, but in order to avoid defensive chaos it is a possibility depending on the matchup. All starters are 6'4" or taller and are comfortable with a variety of matchups. With high steal rates, there should be plenty of quick buckets in transition. All of the starters can run and finish.

On the other end, there is nowhere to hide. If the other side has a defensive hole, it will be exploited. All of the starters are capable of taking their defender off of the dribble. Every starter is a plus playmaker who will exploit help coming off. All of the players are accustomed to moving without the ball. Each player can handle the ball and, at the same time, none of the players are ball dominant. The spacing may be questioned, but it shouldn't be. First of all, there is more than one way to provide spacing. Like I wrote, everybody moves without the ball and everybody can use given space to take it to the rack. Come off to help? With five plus passers, the ball is moving. Screens are another way to create spacing. For example, was termed by one article at this point (1996) to be "a shooting guard in a point guard's body" who was more comfortable running around screens off-ball and letting McMillan dictate the pace and direction of the offense. Ball handling will be spread out here. Then there is shooting. The quotes above mention the shooting capabilities of Johnson and Moncrief. Excellent shooters, just not from three-point range. Highly efficient offensive players. Payton, meanwhile, shot over 40% from 3 in the playoffs on almost 5 attempts per game! As for the midrange, he shot over 40% from there from 2001-2003 (from when we have shot tracking data). Barkley can't be left alone. Even if you remove his scoring from the equation, obviously a ridiculous concept, he would destroy the offensive glass if left alone. Wilt is much the same, and he is a far more suitable lob target on top of that. Marques Johnson gives us a third player who can destroy the offensive glass, as he averaged 3 offensive rebounds per game in 1981. Moncrief and Payton are going to be heading back on defense whenever the shot goes up.

With the starters, the offensive flow is going to generally run through Barkley or Chamberlain early in the shot clock. We will grind the shot clock in the half court off of makes and run off of steals and misses. Everybody can run in transition. In the half court, Charles and Wilt are excellent passers out of the double team. The other players will be running off-ball in constant motion. I chose Chamberlain and Barkley because they are so resilient. There are no "bad matchups" for such high quality offensive players who are also excellent passers. They demand double teams and know how to respond to them. If it gets to be late in the shot clock, both guys are highly efficient options. However, as I previously wrote, we will exploit a mismatch. If Marques Johnson is being guarded by a defensive sieve, that is a highly efficient shot for our offense. The same thing goes for Moncrief and Payton. No bad defenders can be hidden.

Depending on the matchup, it is very possible that McMillan / Battier get starts over Johnson / Payton. They are less effective off of the dribble, but both are quality three point shooters. Amazingly enough they may both be better than their starting counterparts defensively. They are basketball impact savants. McMillan is a plus passer and set an all time steal-rate in 1994. His impact numbers are ridiculous. Battier exploits advanced analytics and is a sniper from the corner. He is the lego man, according to Morey. When these guys come in, the Barkley / Wilt will likely increase their scoring output. Defenders will be reluctant to come off of the short corner 3. They likely start if their positional counterpart is a superior defender or help defender so that we can drag him farther from the action. If McMillan or Battier start, it allows Payton or Johnson to wreck opposing second units. We simply chose the current starting lineup in order to leave nowhere to hide poor opposing defenders.

Outlaw is another impact monster. Ranked eighth in NPI RAPM in 2000 and led the league in BPM. High in PI RAPM through 2003 or 2004. Can switch across the defense, block shots, and steal the ball. Provides a spark on that end. He is another plus passer. Protects the rim, plays man defense, switches, and can destroy pick-and-roll rhythm. A perfect foil for Charles Barkley.

Total FGA: 89.5

[lorak]

PG - Mike Conley '17, 14.6 FGA
SG - Kobe Bryant '08, 20.6 FGA
SF - Paul George '12, 9.7 FGA
PF - Dennis Rodman '96, 4.8 FGA
C - Tim Duncan '03, 17.2 FGA

BENCH
Paul Pressey '87, 10.1 FGA
Trevor Ariza '09, 7.3 FGA
Tyson Chandler '11, 5.5 FGA

TOTAL 89.8 FGA

[AustinCarr61]

Draft Selections
Shaquille O'Neal 99-00 (21.1)
Scottie Pippen 90-91 (14.1)
Rasheed Wallace 05-06 (13.3)
Terry Porter 90-91 (11.7)
Danny Green 12-13 (8.3)
Charles Oakley 93-94 (9.3)
Brent Barry 00-01 (6.0)
Steve Kerr 96-97 (5.7)

Rotation
Regular Season
PG: Porter (33) / Kerr (15)
SG: Green (28) / Barry (15) / Kerr (5)
SF: Pippen (36) / Barry (12)
PF: Wallace (32) / Oakley (16)
C: Shaq (38) / Oakley (10)

Post Season
PG: Porter (37) / Kerr (11) / Barry (Spot)
SG: Green (32) / Barry (16)
SF: Pippen (40) / Barry (8)
PF: Wallace (30) / Oakley (18)
C: Shaq (42) / Wallace (6)

Gameplan
Will write more later but as usual for my teams there's lots of defense and passing to go with a dominant scorer (in this case arguably the most dominant single season scorer ever in motivated Shaq). Pippen will be the slasher and secondary ball handler as well as the perimeter stopper; Green will take the secondary perimeter threat if needed and both him and Porter space the floor very well. Sheed is a do-it all PF as he can combine PnR/low post defense and shooting/low post scoring offense. The reserves bring specific skills and every player was excellent in the postseason. Can defend against anyone and have an primary offensive option that is even more deadly with short rotations and limited fouls available.

[THKNKG]

Here's the roster in descending order of FGA:

Michael Jordan - 22.4 - '91
Artis Gilmore - 16.1 - '75
Giannis Antetokounmpo - 15.7 - '17
Reggie Miller - 13.2 - '94
Maurice Cheeks - 7.2 - '81
Marvin Williams - 6.3 - '15
Bruce Bowen - 5.3 - '08
Chris Anderson - 3.8 - '14

Total: 90 FGA


Here are the rotations:

PG: Cheeks/Jordan or Giannis
SG: Reggie/Jordan
SF: Jordan/Bowen/Giannis
PF: Giannis/Williams
C: Gilmore/Anderson

Explanation for each pick, in order of picks:

1. Michael Jordan
I don't need to explain this. He's one of the five best players ever. I picked him over my other contemplated choices (Wilt, Shaq, KAJ, etc.) because I was banking on there being a plethora of big men available of high quality even after the first few were gone. I wasn't so confident in the depth at the wings still being available. Jordan will be the team's primary scorer and playmaker, as expected, but will spent limited minutes in a backup PG role.

2. Reggie Miller
I picked him because I have wanted him in a draft like this for a little while, honestly. Basketball-wise, I picked him because he seems like a perfect pairing with MJ - off-ball primarily, highly efficient, high gravity. Offensively, he gives Jordan breathing room, and defensively, he is no slouch.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
I'm sure some considered this a reach (hehe), but I'm pleased with the pick. He'll play a lot of minutes at the 4, and he'll be a secondary rim protector, solid perimeter defender, and a nightmare to defend in transition. I may have him at PG instead of Jordan to keep a non-volume scoring player at point, but we'll see.

4. Artis Gilmore
He's from my wife's hometown. Excellent defender, will make a solid backup option on offense, etc.

5. Bruce Bowen
The stereotypical 3 and D guy, and a really good one at that. He'll spell some of the players at the 3.

6. Maurice Cheeks
Arguably the best defensive PG ever, and a decent enough facilitator. That's not too much of an issue though, since scoring is not much of an issue on this team.

7. Marvin Williams
He's a cheap, solid stretch 4 to give the offense some space and guard 4's.

8. Chris Anderson
Backup finisher and rim protector; there's not really much else to his game, but I don't need a bevy of skills from him. I just need those.


Team strategy:

Pretty self explanatory form those explanations. Main scoring option is MJ, with Reggie as off-ball threat, Giannis as cutter/transition threat, Gilmore as low post threat. Defensively, good luck scoring against this team. Cheeks/MJ/Bowen/Gilmore are all top tier defenders at their positions, Giannis was really good this year, and Miller/Williams/Anderson are not bad at all.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[Doctor MJ]

Note: I want to expand on this later both to explain my thinking and to have fun with the theme. That may not happen until this weekend though.

Starters:

Code: Select all

Player                                           FGA   Year   Age
1 - John "Ned" Stockton                          9.3   1997   34
2 - Khris Middleton aka "Middlefinger"          11.0   2015   23
3 - LeBron "The Prince that was Promised" James 17.6   2014   29
4 - Bobby Jones Snow                            10.7   1977   25
5 - Rudy "The Tower that Stifles" Gobert         7.7   2017   24


Substitutions:

Code: Select all

Connie "Azor Ahai" Hawkins                      17.5   1968   25
Ser Otto the Portable                           10.0   2017   23
Ryan "Giantsbane" Anderson                       6.2   2010   21

Total FGA: 90.0

Okay, I'm afraid I just don't have the time or energy to go all out with my GRRM stuff right now unfortunately, so I'll just expand on this practically here.

LeBron
The basic structure to my team is based around how LeBron likes to play. Him going to work as the hub, and making use of perimeter shooting and cuts from the perimeter.

Connie
After I drafted LeBron 1st I intended to draft Connie Hawkins 6th. In the real world you can't put in a poor man's LeBron for LeBron when he goes to the bench because LeBron clones, even poor quality ones, basically don't exist. But in the all-time league there are a few of them and I'd argue that Connie might be the single closest thing to LeBron.

I realize that many will find that hard to believe, for the same reason that I knew Connie would still be available in the 6th round, but let's at least talk about what's in common with them:

1st, Connie Hawkins is clearly one of the prototypes that has led to LeBron. Baylor is typically the earliest guy mentioned and then oftentimes people skip straight to Dr. J, but this is because of how jacked up Connie's career path was for reasons that no seem at best silly, not because it's remotely strange to see Connie as being roughly the same caliber of performer as these other athletes.

2nd, Connie had a conscious when it came to shooting. By this I mean that when I look back at earlier eras of basketball to me there are the "get its" and the "get nots". Some "get nots" in that era would turn into "get its" today with the help of coaching progress and analytics, but the guys who "got it" even back then are special. Connie was one of those guys in a way that, say, Elgin Baylor was not.

3rd, Connie was a renowned passer. Between his hops, agility, and passing we're talking about a guy who could legitimately play point center in a way like LeBron can. There's limits to that of course. Connie didn't have the weight to do man defense against giants, but the man could certainly pressure shots.

To me if Connie is around today he's pretty easily a superstar. He's not LeBron-level talented no matter how you slice it, but who is? Meanwhile, LeBron has an issue that because of how he likes to play, his team tends to suffer when he goes to the bench. He could really use an understudy with enough talent to roughly pull off a LeBron impression.

Additionally, Connie would be able to play off-ball and be an unreal alley oop recipient both when he's out there with LeBron, and when other great passers have the ball like:

John
To me John Stockton is a steal anywhere in the 2nd round. The reality is that I'm not if anyone other than Tim Duncan was able to maintain impact like Stockton through greater and lesser amounts of primacy. No ego, all effort, always smart. He'd be able to thrive as a co-playmaker with LeBron, and of course his 3-point shooting would benefit from the set up immensely.

Bobby
I'm writing this after the seeds came out, and apparently my team is unseeded despite having the #1 pick. Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the impression that that means people think I didn't build wisely around James & Stockton, and since Bobby Jones was my next pick, and I picked him considerably higher than he was last time, and even last time that was probably surprisingly early for many, I would imagine some explanation is helpful here.

When I'm looking to fill out a team around a high volume star, I'm always looking for guys who excelled off-ball. That to me means I'm looking for motor, intelligence, and some signs of top-tier excellence. Bobby Jones is basically the textbook definition of this.

I'll put it this way: I expect that if we did a DPOY vote for 1977, the year I chose him, the only reason I'd expect to not vote for Jones is the presence of Bill Walton. Jones was the top defensive player on the top defensive team. Great at man defense, great at making smart ball stealing gambles, great at blocking shots, always moving, always trying.

Also note: Jones didn't shoot 3's but if he were around today I'm sure he would. At the very least he had some range and an ability to swoop and leap. I think he'd fit right in with LeBron.

Rudy
I wanted to have a classic eraser, but I needed it to be someone I knew could still do his thing in the space & pace era. Rudy Gobert, the best defender among true big men in the game today obviously fits this.

It's true he doesn't have much range, but the whole idea that you can ignore someone who doesn't score a lot is based on him not being able to move into scoring position with ease. Gobert is an agile mover with almost unprecedented length. You cannot remotely ignore him.

Khris
I would imagine Khris MIddleton and the next two picks below are leaving people skeptical. To be honest this is a little weird to me since we're all dealing with the FGA limitation. I don't know what more you could want in a 5th starter than Khris. He's a smart 3 & D player that has consistently impacted his team when he's been healthy. There really aren't many of these in history.

Otto
I honestly don't know if I can think of a player who better embodies are principle of Portability than Porter. This is a very intelligent player with great length who knows how to maximize his scoring impact with limited volume.

Ryan
Obviously Ryan Anderson is my stretch big. I was torn on whether to go in this direction because people are obviously going to see him as a defensive weakness, but the reality is that in a league with this many bigs from prior eras, I think there's a TON of room for exploitation from a stretch big. Basically any opponent I face that relies on a big defensive anchor is going to have to reckon with what to do against Anderson.

Also it should be noted that there's a reason why Anderson gets more playing time than the Frye's of the world. Anderson is an aggressive rebounder, and he has the body mass to at least make interior scorers work.

To me Ryan Anderson shouldn't have been available as the last pick of the draft. Simple as that.