What's new
By:

All-Time NBA Draft Round 2: Ellis269 vs. LogGrad98

Who would win in a 7 game series?

  • Total voters
    19
  • Poll closed .
Elizah Huge

Elizah Huge

Respect All, Fear None
Contributor
2024 Award Winner
Team Ellis269:

PG - Gary Payton / Deron Williams
SG - Michael Jordan / Kyle Korver
SF - Scottie Pippen / Jimmy Butler
PF - Chris Webber / Chris Bosh / Larry Johnson
C - Patrick Ewing / Dwight Howard / Nate Thurmond

Team LogGrad98:

PG – Isiah Thomas / Damian Lillard
SG – Vince Carter / Jeff Hornacek
SF – LeBron James / Bruce Bowen / Detlef Schrempf
PF – Shawn Kemp / Kevin Love
C – Artis Gilmore / Rudy Gobert / Mehmet Okur



Ellis269's Case:

n/a

LogGrad98's Case:

Let’s face it, this comes down to the GOAT against GOAT2, LBJ and Jordan in that order. This is the playoff series everyone talks about. Who would win between Jordan and James? As with most things, the devil is in the details.

LeBron James’s Team > Michael Jordan’s Team

LBJ’s team here will win it in 7 games. The supporting cast will allow him to shine, while everyone plays as a cohesive unit. With certain roadblocks on his team Jordan’s group will never get the team play required.

Key Matchup: Starting 5

Isiah Thomas > Gary Payton

Isiah wins this matchup. Thomas’ combination of wits, ability to score anywhere on the court, and man to man defense is too much for Payton. Remember, Thomas scored 25 points in a single quarter in the finals, largely against the defense of Michael Cooper a terrific defender. In that stretch the Lakers put everyone on Isiah at one point: Worthy, Magic, Cooper. None of it mattered. Payton cannot contain Isiah by himself, with the other matchups he isn’t getting much help.

https://www.nba.com/history/isiahheroic_moments.html

Lakers guard Magic Johnson, Thomas' longtime friend, added: "I think he was just unconscious. I think he said, 'Okay, I'm going to take this game over.' I've seen him do that before. He was in his rhythm. When he starts skipping and hopping, that means he's in his rhythm. That means he's ready."
Click to expand...

Michael Jordan > Vince Carter

This is closer than you think. Carter was physically a Jordan clone, and had equal if not better athleticism in his prime. Carter’s offensive game will keep Jordan on his heels on the defensive end of the court, and, even while he would struggle to contain Jordan, as really few people could anyway, he would have an all-world defensive combo backing him up. Essentially this position comes to a push+ for Jordan.

LeBron James >> Scottie Pippen

Pippen was a fantastic defender at small forward. One of the best all-time, no doubt. But LBJ is a freak of nature. Pippen might bother him a bit, but LBJ has shown that he has the ability to shake off the toughest individual defenders. He can get others involved in ways even Jordan never did. Pippen never had to face a force like LBJ.

1st place all-time for scoring average in elimination games with 31.7 points per game.[54]
1st place all-time for playoff games with at least 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists with 88.[55][56]
1st place all-time for playoff games with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists with 39.[55][57]
1st place all-time for playoff games with at least 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists with 58.
1st place all-time for playoff games with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists with 28.[58][59]
T-1st place all-time for playoff games with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists with 8.
Click to expand...

Shawn Kemp >> Chris Webber

Shawn Kemp athletically was more than a step ahead of Webber. Webber put up some nice stats, but he just never really delivered. Kemp lead his team to the NBA finals, something Webber could never do.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=jy-webberretires032608

In an infamous ESPN The Magazine interview that previous season, he said he was “bored to death” of living in Sacramento and complained about his teammates’ “softness.”

“I want to play with guys who really can’t stand losing,” Webber told the magazine. “I mean, guys who’d rather die than lose. Guys who will sit in their cars after we lose and just wonder what we could have done better. Our team isn’t always like that.”

No it wasn’t, but Webber needed to take a long look in the mirror. For it was he who never delivered when it mattered most, and that’s why it’s easier to recall what he didn’t do in his career than what he did.

Webber didn’t remember the Wolverines were out of timeouts. He didn’t block Robert Horry’s fateful three-pointer in Game 4 of those 2002 conference finals, missing it by just a fingertip. He didn’t tell the truth.

Through it all, Webber could always grin and make you think better days were ahead. He did so again Wednesday. Sitting at the podium by himself, he struggled to come up with a single moment from his career that he treasured the most.

“Most memories are just being happy,” he said, “talking a little bit of junk, smiling and making faces and all that stuff.”

A chair in TNT’s studio awaits him on Thursday, and it should fit well.
Click to expand...

Artis Gilmore = Patrick Ewing

This spot is a true push. Gilmore in his prime is very similar to Ewing in his prime. The big differences is that Gilmore averaged more rebounds and more blocks in his prime than Ewing did. Ewing scored more, but not by much. I would give the edge to Gilmore if I were forced to pick one, as he was a defensive force and viewed by many as one of the strongest men to ever play the game.

Bench

Lillard > Williams

I see Williams as a divisive force on this team overall. He will not be happy being forced to the bench. Lillard has the size, quickness and scoring punch to give Williams fits. Williams will sulk, Lillard will play.

Hornacek >> Korver

Hornacek is so much more of a complete player than Korver ever was, and I am a Korver fan. In his prime Horny averaged 5 rebs, 5 asts and 2 steals along with 20 pts and impeccable shooting. Korver doesn’t have the chops to hang, frankly.

Bowen = Butler

In this spot Bowen is there to make sure Butler doesn’t have an impact. Mission accomplished!

Bosh = Love

Love’s offensive game would have Bosh scrambling at all times. At the same time Love will struggle on the defensive end against a decent 2-way player. In the end Love’s scoring punch will win through, but this is probably going to be a push.

Dwight Howard > Rudy Gobert

I will give the nod to Howard. But at the end of the season last year Gobert was holding his own against all comers, with phenomenal rebounding rates to boot. I think Gobert will still have a devastating impact at the rim. But Dwight in his prime will keep Gobert’s hands full.

The bigger problem here is that Howard has already shown he cannot mesh with other great players. He pulled it together with Harden, but he bolted town on Kobe. Chemistry problems brewing on this team with Howard and Williams, even Howard and Payton.

Conclusion

Everyone will be quick to simply dismiss this team because they don’t have the big names. But our team cohesion will win the day. Players like Webber, Williams, and Howard will be disrupters to team chemistry, will hold back the whole and put far too much pressure on the stars to make it all happen. My team will play as a unit, and we will mix and match to win the day.

This is the matchup between LBJ and Jordan, but, in the end, this will be won by the role players, as Horny and Love, and even Schrempf provide a surprise scoring punch as Gilmore and Gobert control the paint. LBJ will be free to do what he does best, and pull in that triple double. We can bring in Okur alongside Gilmore for a 3 pt threat and strong scoring punch. We can shift LBJ to the PF position against Weber and let Bowen contain Butler. Flexibility and chemistry is our winning factor.

LBJ wins this in 7 games.

PG – Isiah Thomas/Damian Lillard
SG – Vince Carter/Jeff Hornacek/Bruce Bowen
SF – LeBron James/Bruce Bowen/Detlef Schrempf
PF – Shawn Kemp/Kevin Love/LeBron James/Mehmet Okur
C – Artis Gilmore/Rudy Gobert/Mehmet Okur
 
Gotta go Ellis, like logs team too but not enough shooting on your starting line up imo, yes you could bring in Horny but than he'd get destroyed by MJ....will wait to vote and give it a little more thought but that's where I'm at right now
 
I have to go Ellis. He has a great starting five, though Webber leaves a little to be desired. His bench is really good too though the Deron selection sort of baffles me. Though I guess it shouldn't on a Jazz board.
 
Cunning Linguist said:
I have to go Ellis. He has a great starting five, though Webber leaves a little to be desired. His bench is really good too though the Deron selection sort of baffles me. Though I guess it shouldn't on a Jazz board.
Click to expand...

Deron was the best choice at his selection
 
Gotta go with grandmama!

Grandmama_Larry.jpg
 
lol I loved the fact that once again as a routine **** in these tourneys, the dude who takes the effort to tell many things loses by a great margin to the dude who gets MJ. I ****ing love it. There is not way of winning this if you're not a fan favorite.


I vote for Log. Because Kemp. But I'm late. Sorry Log.
 
addictionary said:
lol I loved the fact that once again as a routine **** in these tourneys, the dude who takes the effort to tell many things loses by a great margin to the dude who gets MJ. I ****ing love it. There is not way of winning this if you're not a fan favorite.


I vote for Log. Because Kemp. But I'm late. Sorry Log.
Click to expand...

I think Log just lost because his team was worse, not because he spoke more.
 
OK, in my scenario, Jordan doesn't have the refs in his back pocket. Gilmore goes down with an injury, allowing Gobert to average 15/20 and 8 blocks per. In Game 7, Webber calls a time out that his team doesn't have with the game tied. Snyder, who is coaching LogGrad's team, substitutes Memo for Love. Gobert inbounds the ball to Lillard, who quickly passes to LBJ. James is doubled and finds Memo above the arc. Memo............MONEY!
 
Stifle Tower said:
OK, in my scenario, Jordan doesn't have the refs in his back pocket. Gilmore goes down with an injury, allowing Gobert to average 15/20 and 8 blocks per. BRONZE In Game 7, Webber calls a time out that his team doesn't have with the game tied. SILVER Snyder, who is coaching LogGrad's team, substitutes Memo for Love. Gobert inbounds the ball to Lillard, who quickly passes to LBJ. James is doubled and finds Memo above the arc. Memo............MONEY! GOLD
Click to expand...
.
 
tfivas said:
Deron was the best choice at his selection
Click to expand...

This is the problem with these kind of contests. Are we talking about a peak year (or even two or three), or are we talking about how that player was viewed over the course of his career? Peak Deron was arguably the best PG in the league. Peak Deron had stats that rivaled those of Stockton and a lot of other HOF PG's. I'm too lazy to do exact totals, but from the '07-'08 season until he was traded, his average was nearly 20 pts, 10+ assists and he shot around 47%/37%. Stockton averaged 52%/38% and 10.5 assists but only 13 pts/per for his ENTIRE career. Obviously, you have to take into account the fact it took 3 years for Stockton to become the starter and then factor in his last years when stats declined.
 
tfivas said:
Great point made me think.
Click to expand...

Deron was a good choice, but there were four other guys I considered for that pick. It's very subjective. I was looking for a more modern PG who could shoot. Deron fit best for what I wanted. There's another guy that I almost went with that would have been as good (if not better), but he wouldn't have filled that role as well.
 
Ellis269 said:
Deron was a good choice, but there were four other guys I considered for that pick. It's very subjective. I was looking for a more modern PG who could shoot. Deron fit best for what I wanted. There's another guy that I almost went with that would have been as good (if not better), but he wouldn't have filled that role as well.
Click to expand...
Cousy would in this format, and DWill before Rondo any day, who were the other 2
 
Ellis269 said:
Chauncey Billups (who I missed out on when I took Bosh) and Tim Hardaway.
Click to expand...

Most underrated PG ever. He was elite at controlling the pace and leading a team. No other PG gives you elite shooting as well as great defense. Most PGs who shoot well aren't good defenders and vice versa. Really glad I got him. Perfect fit for my team. I could have taken a bigger stat stuffer like D-Will or Hardaway, but Billups is the better shooter, defender, and leader; he also plays off the ball better which I needed so that Wade and Bird can do their thing.

At the end of the day, Billups gives you everything you could ask for out of a PG. Not many championship teams have a PG as one of their top players, and Billups is one of the very small group of PGs who have won Finals MVP anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page
Back
Top