Mj picks his alltime fantasy lineup [Archive] - Message Board Basketball Forum

TheMarkMadsen

11-14-2013, 04:11 PM

MJ's ultimate team: Magic, Himself, Scottie Pip, James Worthy & Hakeem Olajuwon.

He said he ain't losing with that lineup no matter what either. Which I doubt.

He's not losing with that team. Hell nobody is.

That team would actually mesh well together. Perfect balance of un selfish players with just the right amount of scoring and play making.

Best PG ever.

Best player ever

Best defender of his generation (possibly)

Do it all PF who can run the floor and is great with Magic

Top 10 player ever.

3/5 players are FMVP, 3/5 are top 10 all time, and the other 2 are great team players who are legends in their own right.

No team would beat this team

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 04:12 PM

No Bird?

Huge snub. Bird was good enough to be able to compete with MJ's team with his own squad.

Lebron
Kobe
Bird
Duncan
Shaq

This squad matches up favorably against MJ's in all but one position: SG.
Scottie was his first pick, and given the familiarity the two have with each other, and how their games obviously work so well together, I don't see how you can knock that pick at all.

Worthy over Bird, Duncan, Garnett, Malone, etc. at PF was mind-boggling however although I'm sure Magic-Worthy's familiarity was part of the thinking. He's still going to get abused down low if he faces a "Twin Towers"-esque team with a physical PF.

Teanett

11-14-2013, 04:14 PM

James Worthy at PF? Timmy D's gonna abuse him down low.

he picked worthy because they played together in college.
take it with a grain of salt, people.
also, this statement is old, from before timmy's prime.

Teanett

11-14-2013, 04:16 PM

Worthy over Bird, Duncan, Garnett, Malone, etc. at PF was mind-boggling however although I'm sure Magic-Worthy's familiarity was part of the thinking. He's still going to get abused down low if he faces a "Twin Towers"-esque team with a physical PF.

look,
mj is loyal to his peeps and he won championships with worthy and pip.
so no barkeley or malone here.

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 04:19 PM

look,
mj is loyal to his peeps and he won championships with worthy and pip.
so no barkeley or malone here.
That's fine. He can be as loyal as he wants, but don't say your team is unbeatable when there's clearly flaws and exploits other teams could use to beat you if they had a similar talent level.

He said he wouldn't lose. I think he would. :confusedshrug:

STATUTORY

11-14-2013, 04:19 PM

:facepalm

Weak player evaluation, not surprising consider his ownership record

Micku

11-14-2013, 04:19 PM

Two SF's.

Worthy and Pippen were both SF's, but they could both defend PF's.

James Worthy played PF in his earlier years.

Teanett

11-14-2013, 04:21 PM

That's fine. He can be as loyal as he wants, but don't say your team is unbeatable when there's clearly flaws and exploits other teams could use to beat you if they had a similar talent level.

He said he wouldn't lose. I think he would. :confusedshrug:

you'd bet against a team with magic, jordan and hakeem?
good luck.

hitmanyr2k

11-14-2013, 04:22 PM

The only issue I have with the Magic pick is his defense. They'd have to somehow hide him on that end of the court lol. Jason Kidd would be a better fit.

scm5

11-14-2013, 04:24 PM

He's not losing with that team. Hell nobody is.

That team would actually mesh well together. Perfect balance of un selfish players with just the right amount of scoring and play making.

Best PG ever.

Best player ever

Best defender of his generation (possibly)

Do it all PF who can run the floor and is great with Magic

Top 10 player ever.

3/5 players are FMVP, 3/5 are top 10 all time, and the other 2 are great team players who are legends in their own right.

No team would be this team

If I were building a team purely to beat MJ's...

Lebron at PG to counter Magic.

Reggie at SG because of his range and ability to play off the ball, also the clutch factor since no doubt, these two teams would go down to the wire.

Bird at SF for everything because he is the best SF to ever play. Shooting, rebounding, passing. He will make the right play all the time.

KG at PF for versatility. He's like a longer version of Pippen. Team defensive anchor that does everything well except close out games. That's what Bird and Reggie are for. Remember Kobe and KG during the 01' ASG? Lebron and KG would be even better than that.

Shaq at C. The most dominant player ever. He was so consistent in his prime, almost never had a bad game. Underrated defender, even if his defense was primarily because of his size and athletic ability. Matches up favorably against the Dream and is an excellent passer, which makes all the difference to this squad.

I truly believe this team would win more games than lose to MJ's team.

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 04:25 PM

you'd bet against a team with magic, jordan and hakeem?
good luck.
You'd bet against a team with Bird, Duncan & Shaq?
Good luck.
No I wouldn't bet against them. The chances are that they would win more often than not. But to "never lose" as MJ said. C'mon man. They ain't unbeatable. That's all I'm saying.

hitmanyr2k

11-14-2013, 04:26 PM

If I were building a team purely to beat MJ's...

Lebron at PG to counter Magic.

Reggie at SG because of his range and ability to play off the ball, also the clutch factor since no doubt, these two teams would go down to the wire.

Bird at SF for everything because he is the best SF to ever play. Shooting, rebounding, passing. He will make the right play all the time.

KG at PF for versatility. He's like a longer version of Pippen. Team defensive anchor that does everything well except close out games. That's what Bird and Reggie are for. Remember Kobe and KG during the 01' ASG? Lebron and KG would be even better than that.

Shaq at C. The most dominant player ever. He was so consistent in his prime, almost never had a bad game. Underrated defender, even if his defense was primarily because of his size and athletic ability. Matches up favorably against the Dream and is an excellent passer, which makes all the difference to this squad.

I truly believe this team would win more games than lose to MJ's team.

Whoever Reggie guards they would work him over on the defensive end. He's as bad a pick defensively as Magic.

scm5

11-14-2013, 04:26 PM

Scottie was his first pick, and given the familiarity the two have with each other, and how their games obviously work so well together, I don't see how you can knock that pick at all.

Worthy over Bird, Duncan, Garnett, Malone, etc. at PF was mind-boggling however although I'm sure Magic-Worthy's familiarity was part of the thinking. He's still going to get abused down low if he faces a "Twin Towers"-esque team with a physical PF.

Don't forget, he also played with Worthy at UNC in 81-82'.

Taking chemistry into account, I still believe a better team could be made.

RoundMoundOfReb

11-14-2013, 04:26 PM

Johnson
Jordan
James
Bird
Hakeem

scm5

11-14-2013, 04:28 PM

Whoever Reggie guards they would work him over on the defensive end. He's as bad a pick defensively as Magic.

I might even put Reggie on Magic for the simple reason that Magic isn't likely to go ham scoring on you.

Lebron would be the most likely candidate to guard Jordan either way.

ProfessorMurder

11-14-2013, 04:29 PM

Payton
Dumars
Bird
KG
Duncan

Could give them a run.

hitmanyr2k

11-14-2013, 04:29 PM

I might even put Reggie on Magic for the simple reason that Magic isn't likely to go ham scoring on you.

Lebron would be the most likely candidate to guard Jordan either way.

That wouldn't work either. Magic was a damn good post up player and he would take a twig like Miller to school on the low block. Reggie is a complete liability on that end of the floor.

Teanett

11-14-2013, 04:30 PM

You'd bet against a team with Bird, Duncan & Shaq?
Good luck.
No I wouldn't bet against them. The chances are that they would win more often than not. But to "never lose" as MJ said. C'mon man. They ain't unbeatable. That's all I'm saying.

best of 7 series?
i believe they wouldnt lose.

shaq got embarrassed by hakeem.
magic beat bird more often than bird beat magic.
plus, it's jordan+pippen. they never lost.

scm5

11-14-2013, 04:30 PM

Teanett

11-14-2013, 04:32 PM

That wouldn't work either. Magic was a damn good post up player and he would take a twig like Miller to school on the low block. Reggie is a complete liability on that end of the floor.

that's the thing, magic can play all 5 positions. they dont need a pf.
hakeem and magic would be an awesome 4-5 combo.

andgar923

11-14-2013, 04:33 PM

No shooters to open up the lanes. But who do you double, Hakeem or Mj, and James will murder you if you leave him on an iso. He'd be a bigger threat offensively than say Bron (better post up and mid range player).

Defensively they'd put tons of pressure on the ball. Magic doesn't have to guard the PG, you can have MJ on the PG while everybody else roams the court, Magic was an excellent help defender with a high IQ. Having both Hakeem and Pip back you up will only make he and Worthy better.

Hakeem, Pip and MJ can all literally cover an entire side of the court and they can all switch from one side to the other or from the top to the post in a blur. They'd be able to double the post and help off their man and get back in time if the post does decide to pass. The post player will always be weary of MJ coming from the back to block.

One more thing...

They can ALL bring the ball up the court and create/run the offense. They will run the shit out of you on a break, you have arguably the two best sets of fast breaking duos (Magic/Worthy and MJ/ Pip) in history.

Very few teams could ever beat them

I also think this wasn't MJ just sorta threw up blindly.

I can almost bet that he's had these sort of match ups and team tinkering for ages. Positive he's argued and debated this endlessly with others, he knows his pros and cons.

But more importantly, he's played against them and he knows what they bring (unlike we do). There's intangibles that they bring that we may not be aware of, so he knows first hand how they compete and how reliable they can be.

Some are questioning his selection of James, but perhaps he knows that Bird isn't needed, he understands how James will fit within his team's chemistry. James is an NBA Finals MVP and nicknamed 'Big Game James' for a reason ya'll.

fragokota

11-14-2013, 04:35 PM

Swap Pippen with Bird and Worthy with Garnett and we're talking about the most versatile team ever.Every single player could contribute in every of the 5 statistical categories big time

Magic
Jordan
Bird
Garnett
Hakeem

Teanett

11-14-2013, 04:39 PM

fragokota

11-14-2013, 04:41 PM

garnett for worthy? no way.
they call him big game james for a reason.

There won't be a "big game" for these "5", that's the thing...:oldlol:

Anyways, my dream fantasy team i suppose

davehos

11-14-2013, 04:45 PM

Of course, if I were building a team around Jordan it would look like this:

Jordan
Bird
Pippen
Lebron
Hakeem

The defense would be so versatile and suffocating. Fast breaks would be incredible with Jordan/Pippen/Bron.

That is Team 'Melo right there. Jordan, Bird, and Lebron .... Those guys take a backseat to no one. That team would have no chemistry.

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 04:48 PM

best of 7 series?
i believe they wouldnt lose.

shaq got embarrassed by hakeem.
magic beat bird more often than bird beat magic.
plus, it's jordan+pippen. they never lost.
Umm... okay.

"Shaq got embarrased by Hakeem"..... when Shaq was 22.

"Magic beat Bird more often than Bird beat Magic" Okay? They played different positions and had different roles on their teams in the Lakers/Celtics games. And they definitely have different roles on these fantasy teams. Basketball isn't cross-position 1 on 1, it's 5 on 5.

"Jordan+Pippen. They never lost" Actually. Jordan+Pippen lost in the 88 ECSF to Detroit. The 89 ECF to Detroit. The 90 ECF to Detroit, and the 95 ECSF to Orlando. So that point's kind of bleak.

Face it, that team could be beaten. They're not perfect or unbeatable, they're just really, really, really, really good. But other really, really, really good teams could be made with players Jordan didn't choose.

Ancient Legend

11-14-2013, 04:52 PM

☻/
/▌
/ \

scm5

11-14-2013, 04:53 PM

That is Team 'Melo right there. Jordan, Bird, and Lebron .... Those guys take a backseat to no one. That team would have no chemistry.

Do you watch basketball?

Lebron would be so happy making plays and only taking the most efficient shots. Bird pretty much makes the correct play more often than most other players. He doesn't force the shot or the pass very often.

MJ is the only one that would be considered "selfish" in regards to scoring and he's one of the best off the ball perimeter players.

There would be incredible chemistry, especially in the open court with MJ/Lebron/Pippen running. It would be so fun to watch.

Teanett

11-14-2013, 04:57 PM

Face it, that team could be beaten. They're not perfect or unbeatable, they're just really, really, really, really good. But other really, really, really good teams could be made with players Jordan didn't choose.

well, go ahead. but between jordan and magic you have the two greatest winners the sport has ever seen, cept for russell, but i dont claim to have seen russell play.

and yes, shaq got his ass handed to him by hakeem. the fact that he was only 22 does nothing for the argument that he ever could win that match up.

magic has the upper hand over bird from college to pros. it's a fact, however you spin it.

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 05:05 PM

well, go ahead. but between jordan and magic you have the two greatest winners the sport has ever seen, cept for russell, but i dont claim to have seen russell play.

and yes, shaq got his ass handed to him by hakeem. the fact that he was only 22 does nothing for the argument that he ever could win that match up.

magic has the upper hand over bird from college to pros. it's a fact, however you spin it.
Lol why do I even bother anymore? Prime Shaq is 10x the player 22 year old Shaq is. How on earth is Prime Shaq not gonna do better than his younger self? And so what, Magic has had an edge over Bird. They don't play the same position or have nearly the same role/needs for and from a team. It's a team sport, not individual.

I'm agreeing with you that they beat mostly everybody, mostly all the time. But you put that team together and put them in games against similar competition for 10 straight years. They're not winning 10 straight championships. No team is.

SamuraiSWISH

11-14-2013, 05:07 PM

James Worthy at PF? Timmy D's gonna abuse him down low.
He can't run with Worthy. And he'd be guarding Hakeem anyway since he's a center, not a power forward. And of course, Hakeem would abuse him as he did all his contemporaries: Shaq, Ewing, D-Rob, etc.

TheMarkMadsen

11-14-2013, 05:07 PM

he picked worthy because they played together in college.
take it with a grain of salt, people.
also, this statement is old, from before timmy's prime.

You're telling me this interview for 2k14 took place in the early 2000s?

BarberSchool

11-14-2013, 05:10 PM

James Worthy at PF? Timmy D's gonna abuse him down low.Or Sir Charles ! he can definitely run past worthy and kick james in the goggles on the backswing of his gorilla dunk.

Mike just picked Worthy on some NC brethren ish. Same as why he picked Scottie over Bird on some Bulls ish.

Teanett

11-14-2013, 05:11 PM

Lol why do I even bother anymore. Prime Shaq is 10x the player 22 year old Shaq is. How on earth is Prime Shaq not gonna do better than his younger self?

i dont know why you bother wasting everybody's time with "what if's".
let's asked robert horry (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_-9Z2LF4fI) as he played with both in their primes (and with duncan, too)

KingBeasley08

11-14-2013, 05:12 PM

Lebron
Kobe
Garnett
Shaq
Bird

This team would abuse Jordan's team

Teanett

11-14-2013, 05:16 PM

You're telling me this interview for 2k14 took place in the early 2000s?

not this particular interview, but he was asked many times before. always comes up with the same 5.

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 05:18 PM

i dont know why you bother wasting everybody's time with "what if's".
let's asked robert horry (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_-9Z2LF4fI) as he played with both in their primes (and with duncan, too)
Wtf dude? You've been sitting here arguing these same what-if's with me for 3 pages now. :roll:

I didn't even say Shaq would outplay him, or that he was a greater center. I simply said a more polished, bigger, more physical, smarter Shaq would fare better than his 22 year old self. Which is an absolute no-brainer and I don't know how on earth you think Prime Shaq wouldn't do anything more than 22 year old Shaq did.

Teanett

11-14-2013, 05:24 PM

Which is an absolute no-brainer and I don't know how on earth you think Prime Shaq wouldn't do anything more than 22 year old Shaq did.

i never said prime shaq wouldnt do better but prime shaq vs prime dream never happened. i never put that into the conversation. you did.

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 05:29 PM

i never said prime shaq wouldnt do better but prime shaq vs prime dream never happened. i never put that into the conversation. you did.
Well if we're picking dream teams I'm sure as hell gonna pick prime Shaq, not 22 year old Shaq. That's kind of common sense I thought.

So I don't know why the past Shaq/Hakeem matchups even came up in conversation, oh yeah, now I remember, it's cause you brought it up. :lol

greymatter

11-14-2013, 05:30 PM

MJ's ultimate team: Magic, Himself, Scottie Pip, James Worthy & Hakeem Olajuwon.

He said he ain't losing with that lineup no matter what either. Which I doubt. Not taking away from how amazing of a team that is, but better teams could be made IMO.

MJ's Bulls needed good shooting from the PG position because they were usually relegated to spot up shooting (BJ Armstrong, Kerr). Magic wouldn't have been as effective unless MJ was willing to be less ball dominant (like in the 92 Olympics).

My favored team would be full of two way players with the best shooting range and passing skills.

pg: Oscar Robertson
sg: Jerry West
sf: Larry Bird
pf: Karl Malone
c: Wilt Chamberlain

Yes, I left MJ and Magic off an all-time starting lineup. I'm looking to build the best team. MJ is an all time great scorer, but clearly nowhere close to an all-time great shooter. Magic needs to be ball dominant to be effective and wasn't all that good a defender. He literally has nothing on Robertson. Robertson and West were easily among the best shooters of their time and would have been very good 3 pt shooters in the modern era. West, like Jordan, is also an all-time great defender at the SG position. Robertson was considered a lockdown defender at his position earlier in his career. Bird was clearly the greatest passer and shooter to ever play at the SF position as well as one of the best rebounders. You could make a case for Duncan or McHale over Mailman, but I like Mailman because while not as great a defender or low post player, he was more offensively/defensively versatile and a better passer. Wilt = greatest scorer, passer, rebounder, 2nd greatest defender to ever play at center.

No matter what, I'd always expect to get a high quality shot with this lineup while also having 4 all-nba caliber defenders (5 if you count Bird's 3 2nd teams).

Teanett

11-14-2013, 05:38 PM

So I don't know why the past Shaq/Hakeem matchups even came up in conversation, oh yeah, now I remember, it's cause you brought it up. :lol

nah you did.

You'd bet against a team with Bird, Duncan & Shaq?
Good luck.
No I wouldn't bet against them. The chances are that they would win more often than not. But to "never lose" as MJ said. C'mon man. They ain't unbeatable. That's all I'm saying.

but anyway, of course i'm thinking prime shaq but from what we know prime shaq wouldnt outplay hakeem, in MY opinion.

MP.Trey

11-14-2013, 05:47 PM

nah you did.

but anyway, of course i'm thinking prime shaq but from what we know prime shaq wouldnt outplay hakeem, in MY opinion.
I didn't say a damn thing about 22 year old Shaq vs 32 year old Hakeem. You did. MJ said prime Hakeem, I said prime Shaq.

And I wasn't even comparing the players individually at all until you started doing that. I was simply using your own logic against you when you posted three all-time greats to build the team around, I posted three other all-time greats. Trying to show you that it's more about the team, not the individuals. But then you went to individual arguments of player vs player again, and you keep doing it.

The discussion was always "Prime Shaq vs Prime Hakeem", and the only argument you had for Hakeem winning the matchup was because he "embarrassed" an inexperienced Shaq. I stated that that has nothing to do with a Prime Shaq vs Prime Hakeem discussion. Which I still believe.

And I probably would rather have Hakeem on my team rather than Shaq as well. But he clearly was taken already, so I had to find a close comparison. Someone who could compete with him. Not beat him 1v1.

Midnite89

11-14-2013, 05:55 PM

Teanett

11-14-2013, 06:03 PM

I didn't say a damn thing about 22 year old Shaq vs 32 year old Hakeem. You did. MJ said prime Hakeem, I said prime Shaq.

And I wasn't even comparing the players individually at all until you started doing that. I was simply using your own logic against you when you posted three all-time greats to build the team around, I posted three other all-time greats. Trying to show you that it's more about the team, not the individuals. But then you went to individual arguments of player vs player again, and you keep doing it.

The discussion was always "Prime Shaq vs Prime Hakeem", and the only argument you had for Hakeem winning the matchup was because he "embarrassed" an inexperienced Shaq. I stated that that has nothing to do with a Prime Shaq vs Prime Hakeem discussion. Which I still believe.

And I probably would rather have Hakeem on my team rather than Shaq as well. But he clearly was taken already, so I had to find a close comparison. Someone who could compete with him. Not beat him 1v1.

fair enough, but even then prime shaq has one glaring weakness that comes into play 5 vs 5: free throws.

for what it's worth, if i had to put together a team to beat jordan's it would be

lebron
kobe
bird
sabonis
kareem

CP3MVP

11-14-2013, 07:40 PM

Avery Johnson responds with his team:

G: Kobe Bryant
F: Larry Bird
F: LeBron James
F: Tim Duncan
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

scm5

11-14-2013, 07:55 PM

Lebron
KD
Larry Bird
KG
Shaq

Would be ridiculous

davehos

11-14-2013, 08:09 PM

Do you watch basketball?

Lebron would be so happy making plays and only taking the most efficient shots. Bird pretty much makes the correct play more often than most other players. He doesn't force the shot or the pass very often.

MJ is the only one that would be considered "selfish" in regards to scoring and he's one of the best off the ball perimeter players.

There would be incredible chemistry, especially in the open court with MJ/Lebron/Pippen running. It would be so fun to watch.

Yes, I watch a lot of basketball. You are putting too many type A personalities on that team. Bird and Jordan on same team? Olympics .. sure ... NBA? No. They were greats because they played against each other.

Jordon picked a team that has a good marriage of chemistry, offense, and defense. You'll be hard pressed to find all of those in a team.

There is no way Bird doesn't take the last shot.

"Give Me the Ball and Get the Hell out of my way" -Larry Bird

If I were to counter MJs team I'd go with ...

Stockton - PG
Duncan - PF
James - SF
Bird - SF
Russell - C

... truth be told "The Dream" is the best center of all time, hands down. He had a complete game.

ProfessorMurder

11-14-2013, 08:10 PM

Avery Johnson responds with his team:

G: Kobe Bryant
F: Larry Bird
F: LeBron James
F: Tim Duncan
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kobe and LeBron both need the ball to be effective.

TheMarkMadsen

11-14-2013, 08:13 PM

Worthy has won a FMVP too, so 4/5

I was actually accounting for Worthys, Magics and Hakeem's.

I forgot about Jordan :biggums:

FKAri

11-14-2013, 08:19 PM

I was actually accounting for Worthys, Magics and Hakeem's.

I forgot about Jordan :biggums:

Jordan has a FMVP???????????!!!!!!!!!11

scm5

11-14-2013, 08:21 PM

Yes, I watch a lot of basketball. You are putting too many type A personalities on that team. Bird and Jordan on same team? Olympics .. sure ... NBA? No. They were greats because they played against each other.

Jordon picked a team that has a good marriage of chemistry, offense, and defense. You'll be hard pressed to find all of those in a team.

There is no way Bird doesn't take the last shot.

"Give Me the Ball and Get the Hell out of my way" -Larry Bird

If I were to counter MJs team I'd go with ...

Stockton - PG
Duncan - PF
James - SF
Bird - SF
Russell - C

... truth be told "The Dream" is the best center of all time, hands down. He had a complete game.

With a team like that, you would need a player that takes the last shot?

It would be a blowout by the end of the first quarter.