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NBA Offseason 2015: The DeAndre Jordan's Feelings, nothing more than feelings Edition


Trebla

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Know what? Screw the starting five bull, this is a salary cap league. You are going to get two all time greats at most, and then maybe another hall of famer not in the GOAT conversation for their possition.

I think I am taking LeBron and Magic. And I think Nash would be willing to run point on this team for a lesser contract.
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I'd still go for a killer line-up that has Magic, Jordan, LeBron and Chamberlain at center. Let's put Prime Tim Duncan in there at power forward, might as well. The "play your best 5 guys tactic" is embraced plenty of times by NBA coaches even today.

It's damn tough making a line-up for today's players though. Incredibly hard, as you can see when the US has to create a roster for 2016 Olympics. That team is going to be packed Dream Team style. More than 4 year ago.

I know my starting five would have LeBron at 4, Durant at 3. I guess I would choose Davis to play center ahead of Howard, Cousins, DeAndre Jordan and Drummond ( all superb options). That leaves me with a backcourt. Can I exclude Westbrook, when I like him so much? Paul? Irving? Curry? What if Rose has a great season? John Wall is also excellent. Is Harden my 2-guard or do I go with Klay Thompson? Am I missing someone else who would compete for the 2-guard, assuming the system calls for a 2-guard rather than just a backcourt consisting of two point guards? Curry has been named league MVP but honestly for me he is not a sure-fire starter in that team.

So I think my backcourt has to have at least 1 PG who wants to pass and does not need to shoot, because we have mega offense weapons in LeBron, Durant and Davis who all need the ball. who among the top PG's would be willing to take a backseat and let everybody else score?

Guys like Carmelo, Blake Griffin and Kahwi Leonard would need to come from the bench. Same for Kevin Love and Lamarcus Adridge. Nuts.
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I'd still go for a killer line-up that has Magic, Jordan, LeBron and Chamberlain at center. Let's put Prime Tim Duncan in there at power forward, might as well. The "play your best 5 guys tactic" is embraced plenty of times by NBA coaches even today.

It's damn tough making a line-up for today's players though. Incredibly hard, as you can see when the US has to create a roster for 2016 Olympics. That team is going to be packed Dream Team style. More than 4 year ago.

I know my starting five would have LeBron at 4, Durant at 3. I guess I would choose Davis to play center ahead of Howard, Cousins, DeAndre Jordan and Drummond ( all superb options). That leaves me with a backcourt. Can I exclude Westbrook, when I like him so much? Paul? Irving? Curry? What if Rose has a great season? John Wall is also excellent. Is Harden my 2-guard or do I go with Klay Thompson? Am I missing someone else who would compete for the 2-guard, assuming the system calls for a 2-guard rather than just a backcourt consisting of two point guards? Curry has been named league MVP but honestly for me he is not a sure-fire starter in that team.

So I think my backcourt has to have at least 1 PG who wants to pass and does not need to shoot, because we have mega offense weapons in LeBron, Durant and Davis who all need the ball. who among the top PG's would be willing to take a backseat and let everybody else score?

Guys like Carmelo, Blake Griffin and Kahwi Leonard would need to come from the bench. Same for Kevin Love and Lamarcus Adridge. Nuts.

 

Holy fuck, how did I not mention Anthony Davis? Yeah, if today's team has any chance to beat the GOAT team, it'll be through sheer freakishness and ability to dominate both ends of the floor. So I guess I go: Paul, Kawhi, KD, Lebron, The Brow. No actual 2 guard today could hang in this game - Harden doesn't play enough D and Klay isn't good enough. I mean this guy's going to cover Jordan FFS. So I'm fine moving the most versatile 3 in the league into the 2 spot - hell both positions are swingmen. The real problem is that if you put Shaq on the GOAT team, ain't no-one today will be able to handle him. Shaq would eat the leaguewide trend of small ball alive. You'll just have to swarm him and pray. 

 

Anyway I completely agree with your rationale at PG and it's honestly why Wall is close to cracking this team. Definitely fits freakish, is as good of a facilitator as anyone (which is exactly what a team of offensive gods needs) and is very strong defensively. But he (and Rose) are disqualified until they're better from 3. It's that important in today's game. Westbrook's out for the same reason and because his beserker mode isn't the best fit on a team where everyone is a stud. Just reflects why Chris Paul is always #1 among true PGs (Curry, Westbrook and Harden all play like hybrid PG/SGs) - there's no part of the game he doesn't excel at, y'know except win playoff series. (Too soon?)

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 Just reflects why Chris Paul is always #1 among true PGs (Curry, Westbrook and Harden all play like hybrid PG/SGs) - there's no part of the game he doesn't excel at, y'know except win playoff series. (Too soon?)

 

 Nope, I think it's fair after a decade in the league. It's the only reason I can't put him at #1. Something is missing there, methinks.

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 Nope, I think it's fair after a decade in the league. It's the only reason I can't put him at #1. Something is missing there, methinks.

 

Well if what's missing is contested 25 footers with 20 seconds left on the shot clock, no fear, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith have arrived.  

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Well if what's missing is contested 25 footers with 20 seconds left on the shot clock, no fear, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith have arrived.  

 

 I really thought both Paul and the Clips had gotten over the hump with that series win against the Spurs. But then the Rockets were who they thought they were, AND THEY LET 'EM OFF THE HOOK! Yeah, their bench sucks, but no excuses, that was just horrific.

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Just too include a lineup of players not mentioned, i'd compete with-

PG- Isiah Thomas, 2nd- Allen Iverson
SF- Dennis Rodman, 2nd- Julius Erving
PF- Karl Malone, 2nd- Elvin Hayes
C- Akeem Olajawan, 2nd- Kareem Abdul Jabbar
SG- George Gervin, 2nd- Reggie Miller or Pistol Pete Maravich

I really think it would be fun to see what this group could do together, or could have done together anyways.
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My GOAT team:

 

Guards -Magic and MJ

Forwards - Bird and Bill Laimbeer

Center - Hakeem Olajawan

 

I feel you always need one that doesn't need the ball and does the dirty work.  That's Laimbeer in a nutshell.  Plus he (along with Jordan, and Bird wasn't a slouch either) would get all the pussies that play today off their game within seconds.

 

EDIT:  Of course Jordan and Bird hated Laimbeer's guts and would never play with him, but this is a fantasy lol

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Jaime, I had actually been thinking about Leonard as the 2-guard because he is so good defensively and is athletic, and while he can score plenty, on this team he does not need to and would recognize that he is surrounded by better offensive weapons. I also considered LeBron as the point, freeing up room in the frontcourt, but I like a real point guard better, especially as this team is flush with superb PG options.

 

I would exclude Westbrook from the starting line-up because in such a team he takes up too much of the ball and everyone would get grumpy. I like Wall as a great passer, but yeah, his shooting still needs to improve ( though it's coming along). Curry, Paul or Irving to start. A second unit would come in consisting of Westbrook, Harden, Paul George or Carmelo ( assuming both are fully recovered, as I do expect), LMA and Cousins.

 

Already looking forward to massive wins during Olympics. There's something to be said for sheer greatness even if the rest cannot compete on that level. 'm not looking for tension.

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All-time starting five: Magic, Jordan, Larry, Lebron, Russell. I'm taking Larry for his offense and Russell is the best team player and winner the league has seen. Bron can play the 4, hell he can 1-5 on any team. Probably not the best 5 I could come up with, but I like the vibe I'm getting thinking about these 5. To take a page from Simmons, if I had to pick 5 to play against aliens to save the world, this would be my 5. Not much defense, but we'd just have to score more points and that's doable with that lineup.

Current starting five: Curry, Westbrook, Lebron, KD and Davis.

I couldn't decide between Westbrook and Kawhi. Went with Westbrook because he's a freak, and should play the 2 anyway.
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One way to look at this is after you assemble for GOAT 5 (or 12)

Then see if you can find any other 5 guys that could beat that team in a 7 game series.

This is where I think career role players will come in handy rather than stacking hall of famers.
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