All-Time NBA Draft Final Four: Spycam1 vs. White Chocolate

[Elizah Huge]

Team Spycam1:

PG - Chauncey Billups / Rajon Rondo
SG - Dwyane Wade / Dale Ellis / Andre Iguodala
SF - Larry Bird / Glen Rice
PF - Dennis Rodman / Blake Griffin
C - Hakeem Olajuwon / Mark Eaton / Joakim Noah

Team White Chocolate:

PG - John Stockton / Bob Cousy
SG - Pete Maravich / Elgin Baylor
SF - Ron Artest / Rashard Lewis / Antoine Walker
PF - Julius Erving / Amar'e Stoudemire
C - Bill Walton / Willis Reed / Wes Unseld



Spycam1's Case:

n/a

White Chocolate's Case:

Positionless Basketball

"We don’t want to define positions," Quin Snyder said. "We think basketball should be positionless. We want to have great shots each time down the floor."

The best statistical season for each of my starting-five:

John Stockton - 17.2 PPG, 14.5 APG, 2.7 SPG, 2.6 RPG, 41.6% from three.

Pete Maravich - 31.1 PPG, 5.4 APG, 5.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 84% from the line.

Ron Artest - 20.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.3 SPG, 38% from three.

Julius Erving - 31.9 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 2.5 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 49.7% from field.

Bill Walton - 18.6 PPG, 14.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, 3.2 BPG, 52.8% from field.

From Dr. J's autobiography:

From the first day of training camp, Pete and I hit it off. He's a soft-spoken guy, sort of like me, and a little bit in his own world, but then sometimes I can seem that way too. I'm not aloof, but when I'm playing, I get so focused that I almost seem to lose intensity when I'm actually just totally into the game. Pete is the same way.

But when you're playing with Pete, you realize that his game, which on TV looks like a flashier version of what I was familiar with from watching the Globetrotters, is actually much faster than anyone who is doing that kind of dribble, cross-over, snap-pass, no-look stuff. Pete has all of the Globetrotters moves, but he can do them at unimaginable speeds. He's one of the fastest players I've ever played with.

Pete Maravich is the most skilled basketball player I've ever seen.

Bob Ryan from the Boston Globe:

If Planet Earth were involved in a winner-take-all one-game basketball playoff against an alien invader, the loser to go into servitude for all eternity, my first pick of anyone who has ever played basketball in our known world would be a healthy Bill Walton. He was the most complete center ever, the perfect control tower through which to run both your offense and your defense.

John Stockton - 5× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1989, 1991–1992, 1995, 1997)

Ron Artest - NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2004), 2× All-Defensive First Team (2004, 2006), 2× All-Defensive Second Team (2003, 2009)

Julius Erving - ABA All-Defensive First Team (1976)

Bill Walton - 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1977–1978)

John Stockton would guard Chauncey Billups.

Ron Artest would guard Larry Bird.

Julius Erving would guard Dwyane Wade.

Bill Walton and Pete Maravich would regularly double-team Hakeem Olajuwon.

We're going to make Dennis Rodman beat us on the offensive end.

My team will have enough spacing on the offensive end, whoever Rodman guards will be out on the perimeter limiting his rebounding.

John Stockton's career best from three is 44.9% on 227 attempts, Ron Artest's is 40% on 383 attempts, and Pete Maravich's is 66.7% on 15 attempts (small sample size, but can you imagine?).

John Stockton - Pete Maravich - Julius Erving running the break would be something truly beautiful to watch.

Lastly, my bench is superior to Spy's. Two scoring machines in Elgin Baylor and Amar'e Stoudemire off the bench and two MVP's of the league in Reed and Unseld also waiting on the bench, w/ Cousy tying it all together being the distributor of the second unit. Thank you for taking the time to read my write-up and vote for who you think would win this matchup.

 

[spycam1]

My team has better defense, spacing, and overall talent. The two best players in this series are on my team (Olajuwon/Bird).

 

[spycam1]

Putting Julius at the 4 is interesting. Rodman would be perfectly comfortable guarding him though. I would have put Rodman on him for stretches either way.

 

[Elizah Huge]

My team has better defense, spacing, and overall talent. The two best players in this series are on my team (Olajuwon/Bird).

Putting Julius at the 4 is interesting. Rodman would be perfectly comfortable guarding him though. I would have put Rodman on him for stretches either way.

I had to do something, my other lineup would have been way mismatched. This lineup can guard your lineup rather well, imo.

Stockton vs. Billups
Erving vs. Wade
Artest vs. Bird
Walton + Maravich vs. Olajuwon

 

[spycam1]

I had to do something, my other lineup would have been way mismatched. This lineup can guard your lineup rather well, imo.

Stockton vs. Billups
Erving vs. Wade
Artest vs. Bird
Walton + Maravich vs. Olajuwon

It's a decent move. Gotta try to shake things up and find a mismatch somehow.

 

[spycam1]

Have you had a different starting lineup in all three matches?

 

[Elizah Huge]

It's a decent move. Gotta try to shake things up and find a mismatch somehow.

It's obviously not working lol, the voting is 5-1.

My bench is WAY better than Spy's, if that matters to anyone.

Elgin Baylor, Amar'e Stoudemire, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Bob Cousy >>> Rajon Rondo, Dale Ellis, Blake Griffin, Glen Rice, Mark Eaton.

 

[Jazz and Utes]

You made it far Chocolate with a very good team with out a 1st RD pick which is impressive, but Spy has the more complete team and it just makes a lot of sense. Billups-Wade-Bird on the break? Over with imo, than add in Hakeem?
All she wrote....Him having Bird/Hakeem is what beat you and for me, what made me vote Spy was the fact that you don't have a guy like Bird (I'm aware of Dr Js talent beyond highlight dunks) you took a risk but in the end I think it was the wrong move, obviously way easier to say that now.

 

[Elizah Huge]

Have you had a different starting lineup in all three matches?

Yes.

 

[Elizah Huge]

You made it far Chocolate with a very good team with out a 1st RD pick which is impressive, but Spy has the more complete team and it just makes a lot of sense. Billups-Wade-Bird on the break? Over with imo, than add in Hakeem?
All she wrote....Him having Bird/Hakeem is what beat you and for me, what made me vote Spy was the fact that you don't have a guy like Bird (I'm aware of Dr Js talent beyond highlight dunks) you took a risk but in the end I think it was the wrong move, obviously way easier to say that now.

In 44 head to head games:

Larry Bird 23.8 PPG

Julius Erving 22.8 PPG

...

 

[Elizah Huge]

You made it far Chocolate with a very good team with out a 1st RD pick which is impressive, but Spy has the more complete team and it just makes a lot of sense. Billups-Wade-Bird on the break? Over with imo, than add in Hakeem?
All she wrote....Him having Bird/Hakeem is what beat you and for me, what made me vote Spy was the fact that you don't have a guy like Bird (I'm aware of Dr Js talent beyond highlight dunks) you took a risk but in the end I think it was the wrong move, obviously way easier to say that now.

Not nearly as cool or awesome as Stockton - Maravich - Erving. I do think not having a bonafide star is going to hurt me in the end. There is just so much talent in the 13-30 range in this thing, the one place I messed up was drafting Iverson at 23. Then ended up trading him for less value than what 23 is worth, my fault though. I could have had a Dirk or Wilkins or Pippen to compliment Stockton and Erving or even a shooter like Allen or Miller. Hey, in the end you live and you learn.

 

[spycam1]

It's obviously not working lol, the voting is 5-1.

My bench is WAY better than Spy's, if that matters to anyone.

Elgin Baylor, Amar'e Stoudemire, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Bob Cousy >>> Rajon Rondo, Dale Ellis, Blake Griffin, Glen Rice, Mark Eaton.

Could your bench have less floor spacing?

Griffin > Stoudemire (let me know when Stoudemire averages 5.3 APG)

Eaton is a better defender than anyone on your bench.

Dale Ellis' best season:

27.5 points - 4.2 rebounds - 2.0 assists - 48% from 3 on 4.1 attempts

Glen Rice's best season:

26.8 points - 4.0 rebounds - 2.0 assists - 47% from 3 on 5.6 attempts

And have people forgotten how good Rondo was? Dude is a 2X assist leader and 2X 1st Team All-Defense.

Rondo is 4th all time in playoff triple doubles (tied with Larry Bird). He's ahead of guys like Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain in this regard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sCLRIcLvaw

My bench functions as a complete unit on its own. Ellis and Rice spread the floor for Rondo to slice through the defense to lob it up to Griffin while Eaton anchors the defense (and Rondo pesters the other team's PG).

 

[Elizah Huge]

^^^ Elgin Baylor is SEVERLY underrated on this board. He averaged 38.3 PPG in his best season. Wllis Reed, Wes Unseld, and Bob Cousy are all league MVP's.

 

[spycam1]

^^^ Elgin Baylor is SEVERLY underrated on this board. He averaged 38.3 PPG in his best season. Wllis Reed, Wes Unseld, and Bob Cousy are all league MVP's.

In an era people are highly skeptical of.

 

[Elizah Huge]

In an era where most JazzFanz contributors know nothing about.

. They do love themselves some 90's and 00's players though, I will have to remember that for next time.

 

[Elizah Huge]

 

[spycam1]

Round 2:

Rodman vs Ron

 

[spycam1]

^^was easier than trying to beat him at basketball

 

[Elizah Huge]

Round 2:

Rodman vs Ron

Don't make me post the Malice in the Palace and his elbow to James Harden, lol.

 

[NAOS]

In an era people are highly skeptical of.

yall should just make these things from 1980 to the present.