NBA draft - The grand Finale

Who will win the series?

  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .

Varun

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Welcome to the final match of the NBA draft!

Vote for the team you believe would win the series.

Team Syrian/NM:

Starting 5:
PG-Stockton - 2x NBA First Team(1994-1995), All NBA second Team(1996), 2x All NBA third Team (1997-1999), 2x NBA Defensive Second Team (1995-1997), NBA All-Time Assist Leader, NBA All-Time Steal Leader.
SG-L. James - 3x NBA Champion, 3x NBA Finals MVP, 4x MVP, 10x NBA First Team, 2x NBA Second Team, 5x NBA All Defensive First Team, 1x NBA All Defensive second Team, 1x NBA Scoring Champion.
SF-Pippen - 6x NBA Champion, 3x NBA First Team, 2x NBA Second Team, 2x NBA Third Team, 8x NBA All Defensive First Team, 2x NBA All Defensive Second Team, 1x NBA Steals Leader.
PF-Duncan - 5x NBA Champion, 3xNBA Finals MVP, 2x MVP, 10x NBA All First Team, 3x All NBA Second Team, 2x All NBA Third Team, 8x All NBA First Defensive Team, 7x All NBA Second Defensive Team, Spurs All Time Leading Scorer.
C-David Robinson - 2x NBA Champion, 1x MVP, 2 NBA First Team(1995, 1996), 2x NBA Second Team(1994, 1998), 2x NBA All Third Team(2000, 2001), 2x NBA Defensive First Team(1995, 1996), 2x NBA Defensive Second Team(1994, 1998), NBA Scoring Champion(1994).
Sixth Man - Ginobili... SG - 4x NBA Champion, 1x NBA Sixth Man of the year
PG - Rondo - 1x NBA Champion, 1x NBA Third Team, 2x NBA Defensive First Team, 2x NBA Defensive Second Team, 3x NBA Assist Leader, 1x NBA Steals Leader.
SF- Paul Pierce - 1x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MXP, 1x NBA Second Team, 3x NBA Third Team.
PF - Al Horford - 1x NBA Third Team, 1x NBA Shooting Stars Champion.
C - Camby - 1x NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 4x NBA Block Leader, 2x NBA Defensive First Team, 2x NBA Defensive Second Team

A team with great balance between offense and defense, L. James to guard Kobe is the best option someone could have for a defender on Kobe, Pippen also a great way to limit Durant, while Robinson will at least give Shaq a contest, Ginobili the ultimate sixth man.

While we have the great connection between Duncan and Robinson in the starting 5 we also have a great partnership in the bench between Pierce and Rondo, 2 assists machines with Stockton and Rondo while also having a great passer of the ball with James, we also have the option to play Horford as a stretch 4 when needed.

PS. I'll only include accolades in the time period of the draft in my write up.

Team Akshay/MJJ:

Starters: Shaq, Garnett, Durant, Westbrook, Kobe Bryant

Shaquille O'Neal (C)
  • Shaq Attack - The best center in the draft
  • Most Valuable Player 2000
  • 3x NBA Finals MVP
  • 14x All NBA Team, 3x All Defensive Team
  • 2x NBA scoring champion
  • 7th highest point scorer in NBA history
Kevin Garnett (PF)
  • Most Valuable Player 2004, Defensive Player of the Year 2008
  • Only player in NBA history with more than 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 steals and 1,500 blocks
  • 9x All NBA Team, 12x All Defensive Team
  • 5x League Leader in Defensive Rebounds
Kevin Durant (SF)
  • Most Valuable Player 2014
  • 6x All NBA Team
  • 4x NBA scoring champion
Russell Westbrook (PG)
  • 5x All NBA Team
  • 2015 NBA scoring champion
Kobe Bryant (SG)
  • Best shooting guard since MJ
  • Most Valuable Player 2008
  • 2x NBA Finals MVP
  • 15x All NBA Team, 12x All Defensive Team
  • 2x NBA scoring champion
  • 3rd highest point scorer in NBA history
Bench: Wallace, Rodman, Mullins, Billups, Ray Allen

Strategy:
We will be playing the same system that won the Lakers three consecutive championships 2000-2002 under Phil Jackson. Kobe and Shaq will reprise their roles in a triangle offense, with Garnett serving as the third point. Durant and Westbrook will partner up as the weak-side combination. With big scorers all over the court, there isn't going to be any way to keep them all quiet.

On defense, Shaq will stay and protect the rim while Garnett (and his deputy Rodman) cleans up the rebounds. Garnett and Durant are incredibly mobile defenders allowing us to shut down the pick-and-rolls. Defending LeBron will be a team effort, as he's the main attacking threat.
 
Varun said:
A team with great balance between offense and defense, L. James to guard Kobe is the best option someone could have for a defender on Kobe, Pippen also a great way to limit Durant, while Robinson will at least give Shaq a contest, Ginobili the ultimate sixth man.
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"Kobe has scored 20 points (free throws included) on 27 isolation plays when guarded on-ball by LeBron, while LeBron has scored seven points on 13 isolation plays when guarded by Kobe. Bryant shot 9-for-28 from the field with two turnovers, while James was two-for-eight with just one gaffe. Finally, on a points-per-play basis, Kobe is ahead .74 to .54." [Article]

Small sample size, but there is nothing based on the history to suggest LeBron would do a good job on Kobe. Kobe on LeBron on the other hand..
 
Akshay said:
"Kobe has scored 20 points (free throws included) on 27 isolation plays when guarded on-ball by LeBron, while LeBron has scored seven points on 13 isolation plays when guarded by Kobe. Bryant shot 9-for-28 from the field with two turnovers, while James was two-for-eight with just one gaffe. Finally, on a points-per-play basis, Kobe is ahead .74 to .54." [Article]

Small sample size, but there is nothing based on the history to suggest LeBron would do a good job on Kobe. Kobe on LeBron on the other hand..
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You know we have Pippen who is also one of the best defenders, if Bron wasn't doing a good job shutting Kobe down they can just switch.
 
Neither of these teams really make much sense to me. Will probably end up like an All-star game with the result being a toss up and secondary.
 
Skills said:
Neither of these teams really make much sense to me. Will probably end up like an All-star game with the result being a toss up and secondary.
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So my team, has multiple players who were selected for All-NBA Defensive Teams is going to defend like an all-star game? as for point about Bron defending Durant, like I said Bron can switch with Pippen going on Kobe if Kobe was giving us too much trouble.
 
Any team with Westbrook will end up losing. Also NM's bench is much stronger than MJJ's bench. And no real facilitation in MJJ's team.
 
RDCR07 said:
Any team with Westbrook will end up losing. Also NM's bench is much stronger than MJJ's bench. Also no real facilitation in MJJ's team.
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This! Two strongest points of my team against akshay's is the match up between Stockton and Westbrook and the bench.
 
The defensive unit of Syrian/NM is unreal. Pip, LeBron, Timmy and Robinson are all-time great defenders and Stockton himself was a very good defender. The only issue is, the spacing is poor comparatively. But they have some elite playmakers in LeBron, Stocton and Pippen who can facilitate and create easy buckets.

Akshay/MJJ on the other hand have an offensive juggernaut. Shaq, KG, KD, Russ and Kobe is simply fantastic offense. The thing that remains to be seen is, how will they mesh because there is only one ball and KG aside, all were offensive players who needed the ball at their hands to really thrive. I love Russ and he is a great player but Allen is a much better fit here because he was an elite spot-up shooter and with so many offensive players, he would have got a lot of open looks.

Its still a close match. I will go through what both managers have to say and think about it before voting.
 
Akshay said:
Stockton was past his prime by 94-95. Don't think the match-up between him and Westbrook favors you. And I don't even like Westbrook much.
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Stockton wasn't past his prime. He still has three-four great seasons.
 
The Red Viper said:
Stockton wasn't past his prime. He still has three-four great seasons.
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His peak was clearly 87-92 for me. He had his best assist per game and points per game ratios in those seasons as well. He averaged 14 APG and just under 17 PPG at that time.

Post 94 he never averaged above 15 PPG and only had one season with more than 12 APG.
 
Akshay said:
His peak was clearly 87-92 for me. He had his best assist per game and points per game ratios in those seasons as well. He averaged 14 APG and just under 17 PPG at that time.

Post 94 he never averaged above 15 PPG and only had one season with more than 12 APG.
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Really? Because he had 2x All NBA First Team so the facts don't really back your claim.
 
Also you really need to take the bench into consideration, Clippers eventhough they have a great starting 5 their bench always held them back ie, that shows the importance of a bench.
 
Pardon me for being too lazy to do any research, but are there any limitations in play here? What's the pool of available players? Anyone who ever played in the NBA?
 
Akshay said:
His peak was clearly 87-92 for me. He had his best assist per game and points per game ratios in those seasons as well. He averaged 14 APG and just under 17 PPG at that time.

Post 94 he never averaged above 15 PPG and only had one season with more than 12 APG.
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On second thoughts, I have to agree with you that it wasn't his prime but as a player, he was still extremely dominant in this timeline. Probably lost a bit of quickness even though he was never known to be the quickest. But when it came to running those PnR, feeding entry passes and defending, he was still pretty legit.
 
The Red Viper said:
On second thoughts, I have to agree with you that it wasn't his prime but as a player, he was still extremely dominant in this timeline. Probably lost a bit of quickness even though he was never known to be the quickest. But when it came to running those PnR, feeding entry passes and defending, he was still pretty legit.
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Yeah I am not saying he was bad or anything, to be honest Stockton is one of my favorite PGs, I just want to point out he shouldn't be considered at his peak for this draft. Peak Stockton might have been the best PG available.
 
Rondo on Westbrook, Pippen on Kobe and Lebron on Durant. I think the bench is being overlooked in this matchup. Its a 7 game series and you need your bench to step up. Scoring wise NM has a more balanced bench in terms of scoring and defending while MJJ is focused more on the defensive side only.
 
Syrian's team has an incredible lack of shooting and MJJ's team paired two of the highest usage players of all time (Westbrook and Kobe) with other ball dominant offensive players. I agree with Skills that they both are just all star teams.
 
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