Team building game 2013. Now with coaches and a prize that isnt worth your time.

[iamgine]

Lot of players I like. I have questions though. Adleman....considering that hes had the likes of Drexler/Tmac/Webber/Vlade/Brad Miller as the playmakers on many teams I can see him playing through Pippen...but his high post options are limited. If there at all. Hes got stone hands Mutombo, a fairly nimble but not playmaking Nance..Grant....and Chandler. He could adjust...but my view of his best work is usually with that good motion offense. Lot of pieces...lot of options. Like in Portland and on the Kings and briefly Rockets.

I think he would reduce Durants scoring a bit having him play into the ball movement atmosphere he would bring...making him less effective than usual. Pippen thrives...Durant and he would be a great combo...but Durant I dont think is best in Ricks offense.

Drexler shined yes....but he wasnt a halfcourt guy like Durant often is. Durant runs...but Drexler was like....90% head down coast to coast. Post you up or blow by you if he has to...but he was running sooooooooo much to do what he did.

Roy leading the break? Eh. Miller could...but how much is he playing? Cooper fits Adlemans do everything swingman role...but how much is he playing with Roy/Pippen/Durant?

Id say this is more of a team for a Jeff Vangundy or Larry Brown. Grind it out....limit posessions. Team is talented enough to run...but I dont know if it has the parts to fit together on both ends.

Mutombo lets you run while he waits to see what happens. Id like them more with a bigman they could play through.

Of course they win in the real world.

When its vs these monster teams? Id like to know what kinda offense you had in mind to picture it coming together.

Which of Adlemans teams could you see them playing like?

All I can imagine is trying to squeeze Roy into a Terry Porter role and make a 90s Blazers kinda squad with one Drexler too many.

Its not a bad team. I just dont know what its trying to do.

Actually my first draft I was pairing Pippen with Mchale. While replacing Durant and Nance with Love and Marc Gasol.

So it would be:

Starters:

Scottie Pippen (2)
Brandon Roy (4)
Kevin Mchale (2)
Kevin Love (3)
Marc Gasol (4)

Bench:

Andre Miller (5)
Dell Curry (6)
Michael Cooper (6)
Horace grant (5)
Mehmet Okur (5)

Ramon Sessions (7)
Shawn Bradley (7)

Some issues I had with that team. Love being defensive liability. And I thought there was no clear strong 1st option so I thought I needed someone like Durant. But looking at it now, doesn't look that bad. There seems to be enough "strong borderline 1st option" for it to work and certainly all are good enough shooter. Would this team be better?

With either team I picture a lot of mismatches in the offense with opposing PG/SG/SF have to guard either Pippen/Roy/Mchale/Love while Pippen and Mchale could guard opposing PGs and SFs. Well, at least better than the vice versa. I was also thinking of replacing Love with Rodman but then I'd lose some of the mismatch advantage.

[kshutts1]

Actually my first draft I was pairing Pippen with Mchale. While replacing Durant and Nance with Love and Marc Gasol.

So it would be:

Starters:

Scottie Pippen (2)
Brandon Roy (4)
Kevin Mchale (2)
Kevin Love (3)
Marc Gasol (4)

Bench:

Andre Miller (5)
Dell Curry (6)
Michael Cooper (6)
Horace grant (5)
Mehmet Okur (5)

Ramon Sessions (7)
Shawn Bradley (7)

Some issues I had with that team. Love being defensive liability. And I thought there was no clear strong 1st option so I thought I needed someone like Durant. But looking at it now, doesn't look that bad. There seems to be enough "strong borderline 1st option" for it to work and certainly all are good enough shooter. Would this team be better?

With either team I picture a lot of mismatches in the offense with opposing PG/SG/SF have to guard either Pippen/Roy/Mchale/Love while Pippen and Mchale could guard opposing PGs and SFs. Well, at least better than the vice versa. I was also thinking of replacing Love with Rodman but then I'd lose some of the mismatch advantage.

My only real issue with the team is lack of consistent 3p offense. Love and Okur are your 2nd and 3rd best options, behind Curry. Pippen, even though being Bulls all-time leader in 3s made, is streaky. Andre Miller and Ramon Sessions have no 3p shot. I think that trading Brandon Roy for Steph Curry, Allan Houston, Eddie Jones, or someone similarly adept at 3p shooting would improve your team, especially since Roy is not being relied upon to be the primary creator (Pip) or a wing defender.

[TwentyThree]

2
Chris Paul
Durant

3
2005-2010 Bosh

4
Paul George
Mark Gasol
Thibodeau

5
Turkoglu
Mo Williams
Eaton

6
Ibaka
Cooper

7
Eddie House
Novak
Sanders

Paul/House
George/Cooper
Durant/Turkoglu/Novak
Bosh/Ibaka/Sanders
Gasol/Eaton

Coach: Thibodeau


Great thread. I'll probably give it another try later

[Twiens]

C- Shaq(1)
PF- PJ Brown(5)
SF- Ron Artest(4)
SG- Brandon Roy(4)
PG- Andre Miller(5)

Bench-

Serge Ibaka(6)
Robert Horry(5)
Bruce Bowen(6)
Micheal Redd(5)
Derek Fisher(6)

Shawn Bradley and Manute Bol(7) for Shaq to slap around.

No weaknesses, who's beating that team?

Coach- Tom Thibodeau(4)

[IGotACoolStory]

I like this stuff... Let me try:

I'll start with group 1, since there's a reason why you tank for a superstar then extend all your resources around said superstar to keep him happy.

Draft:
Group 1: Bill Walton
Group 4: Anthony Mason, Rick Adleman (coach), Drazen Petrovic
Group 5: Robert Horry, Tyson Chandler, Andre Miller, Horace Grant
Group 6: Tayshaun Prince, Bobby Jackson, Brad Miller
Group 7: Alvin Williams, Jason Kapono

Roster: (not in rotations form)
Bill Walton / Tyson Chandler / Brad Miller
Horace Grant / Robert Horry
Anthony Mason / Tayshaun Prince / Jason Kapono
Drazen Petrovic / Alvin Williams
Andre Miller / Bobby Jackson

Coach Rick Adelman


Honestly, I just wanted to build a team around Bill Walton for fun. He doesn't get enough love and he could legitimately lead a team to a championship without another star. Did it once and was going to do it again, had it not been for injuries.

The point guard position has always been overrated when it comes to rings. Just give me a guy who can defend, distribute, and not make stupid decisions. I feel Andre Miller fills that gap. Then throw in a scoring combo off the bench to give the defense a different look.

Petrovic is my primary perimeter scoring threat and lethal 3pt shooter, which is obviously needed in the starting lineup. He should get tons of looks with the passers, really at the 1, 3, 4, and 5 positions. That is what I was mainly trying to achieve... Team defense with, rebounding, and excellent ball movement. Alvin Williams is just there to watch it happen from the bench... I feel like Prince could play some SG. Obviously a reason why I took Bobby Jax too... Alvin is a good defender, tho. What Petrovic lacks in defense, every other player on the floor can make up for it.

The front court speaks for itself. Not sure why DPOY Chandler is group 5-er, but I'll take it. Threw Horry in there just because... Solid depth with legit 6th men (Jackson, Prince, Miller -- two of which fit within a scheme and 1 as an alpha) and specialist (Kapono, Chandler, Horry) if needed.

As far as why I took Rick Adleman... I just basically tried to rebuild his early 2000 Kings team with better players. There's a stark contrast between Mike Bibby and Andre Miller, but that was to put the focus more on the interior than perimeter scoring. Which, imo, would have made those Kings teams more successful had they done that. The rest is on par, give or take switching the role of a couple positions (Walton more as Webber, Mason more as Christie, Petrovic more as Peja).

[3peated]

1 from group 1
3 from group 4
4 from group 5
3 from group 6
2 from group 7

1) Shaq 94-02
4) Stan Van Gundy
4) bibby (kings)
4) david west
5) jason terry (mavs)
5) jr smith
5) mo williams
5) hedo (first run with magic)
6) gortat
6) tony allen
6) shane battier
7) earl clark
7) smush parker


Yes i understand smush parker is the worst nba player of all time but this way i could gift that sorry sob a ring, i'd put this team up against anyone's

[ThaRegul8r]

What the hell... kinda bored. I'm taking likely chemistry into account (i.e. Kobe, AI, Melo on the same team would not work well) --

(Group) - Player/Coach - Position I would play them - Reasoning (if applicable)

(4) - Coach Adelman - I had Thibs first.. but after seeing the players I had assembled, I believe that Adelman would be a better fit to utilize their offensive abilities, namely 3p shooting.

(1) - Bill Russell - C - We have all seen what a healthy Tyson Chandler does for a team, as a defensive minded C, now imagine upgrading from Chandler to best defensive player of all time.
(5) Horace Grant - PF - I want someone around Russell that can hit jumpers, without being a weak link on D or rebounding. Add to that, Grant won titles as a starting PF, so he's not some scrub.
(4) - Paul George - SF - Great (though not all time great) defensive player that can also hit 3s, and is blossoming in front of our eyes.
(4) - Allan Houston - SG - ATG 3p shooter
(5) Blaylock - PG - Ridiculous steals/threes combo

Bench:
(5) Jason Terry - G - See below
(5) Michael Redd - G - These two would just rain 3s/points on the opposition. Their sole purpose on this team would be to score, score, score.

(6) Perkins - C - below
(6) Ibaka - PF - Starting frontcourt for a championship favorite now, and I can draft them this late? Perkins may be of little use in today's NBA, but he can guard big Cs straight-up, without help. Ibaka is an elite weak-side shot blocker with a legit jumper.

(6) Michael Cooper - SG/SF - This team needs an elite wing defender, and who better to do that, and come off the bench, than arguably the best bench player/defener of all time? Again... 6?

(7) Tim Legler, Larry Sanders - G, PF - This late in the "draft" I am taking elite talents. Both of these players have elite ability in specific areas. I'd rather go elite in some than good at all.

Conclusion: This team will run and gun, all day, every day. Huge weakness is that they don't have much post scoring... Russell was better at that than people give him credit for, and Grant and Ibaka can score from a front court position, but otherwise this team is hugely reliant on the wing players to provide scoring punch. Without an all-time scoring threat, will they be able to score enough? Will their D be good enough to compensate?

I'm surprised someone built around Russell. I figured that with the steeper penalty for choosing a player from tier 1, Russell would be one of the players without any takers.

George is a player I'm considering from the fourth tier. I chose Terry and Ibaka in the 2011 game, and Cooper's on my draft list for Russell as the 7th man/defensive stopper for all the high-scoring wings if he's available.

I have a player in mind for post scoring, but I don't know if he'll be considered good enough with all the competition. I'm taking Thibodeau for the simple fact that as assistant coach with Boston with Garnett, the Celtics were one of the greatest defensive teams of all time. So I would want to see what a Russell-anchored defense coached by Thibodeau would look like, with the two of them working together.

I'm also concerned about not having an all-time scoring option, as it was felt last time that my Russell-centered team didn't have enough scorers to score in such an environment against some of the teams, though it garnered Honorable Mention. In these type of things if seems that one is at a disadvantage without a historic-level scorer, as most people are going to stack their teams with as many as the rules allow. But that makes it more challenging, and also more interesting to try.

[Carbine]

Really, the way this is set up...you would be a fool not to take two from the 2nd and 1 from the 3rd instead of the 1 from the first group and an extra pick in the 4th group.

Nobody in their right mind would take Jordan & Camby over Durant/Ewing/Rodman....

[wally_world]

Dre / Bobby Jax
Redd / Christie
AK47 / Bowen / Novak
Nance / Varejao / Rambis
Hakeem / Eaton
Coach: Thibs

First and foremost, nobody is scoring on this team. The Dream manning the paint with another versatile defender in Larry Nance (career 2.2bpg, 0.9spg) and Mt Eaton/Varejao off the pine, and AK47/Christie/Bowen/Dre will absolutely lock down the perimeter. Dont forget defensive specialist head coach Thibs.

Offense will be ran through the post. Hakeem/Nance can both go inside and out and their length will be a nightmare to handle. Prime Michael Redd will absolutely burn the opposite team with the bigs drawing all the defensive attention. Dre/AK47 are capable scorers as well. Bobby Jackson is my wildcard, and the rest of the bench have their ways to get their points as well.

It doesnt look like the most talented team on paper, but they can match-up so well with any team. The versatility and defence of my team is just insane.

Any comments?

[DatAsh]

Really, the way this is set up...you would be a fool not to take two from the 2nd and 1 from the 3rd instead of the 1 from the first group and an extra pick in the 4th group.

Nobody in their right mind would take Jordan & Camby over Durant/Ewing/Rodman....

Durant and Ewing are arguably too good for that second tier in my opinion, though I doubt they'd ever be picked if he moved them up.

[Buffalobraves]

My Team:

2: Pippen, Durant
3: Rondo
4: Thibodeau, Anthony Mason, Peja
5: McMillian (player), Jamal Crawford, Tyson Chandler
6: Ibaka, Affalo
7: Stro Swift, Robin Lopez

Line-up

Coach: Tom Thibodeau

Rondo / McMillan
Durant / Crawford / Affalo
Pippen / Peja
Mason / Ibaka / Swift
Chandler / Lopez

Why my team would win:
One word: Balance.

I tried to find a bunch of versatile guys who could play in the half court as well as play an up tempo game. I think that this is a tough group of guys who would fit well into Thibodeau's system pretty well and be dedicated to defense the way you have to be when playing for Thibs.

These guys would be able to get steals and finish in transition with defenders like Rondo, Pippen and McMillan off the bench. I chose Mason because of the toughness and strength he would bring to the team. Nobody would be messing with Durant if he had Mason, Pippen, and Rondo on his team (Rondo rivals Kobe for being the toughest player in today's soft NBA IMO).

Chandler would patrol the paint and if Mason were to get posted up on by bigger guys then Ibaka would come in to further solidify the paint. Robin Lopez and Stro Swift seem like concerns for back ups but they wouldn't play a lot- this team would instead switch to a small ball line up and put Pippen or Durant at PF and try to run a little more.

Team would be great in transition..all of these guys are great finishers and most of them can handle in the open court.

Half Court offense would run smoothly. Rondo can pick and roll with Chandler or pick and pop with mason. Imagine Rondo getting penetration and having Durant or Peja to kick to on the wings! Or just have either one of them curling off an Anthony Mason screen? Durant could get his own shot when Rondo sits or you could throw Pippen a post up. If the offense were to ever go stale then you could throw in Crawford as a spark- the guy is amazing offensive player.

Should I have picked someone better than Stro Swift in the 7th tier to be on my team? Probably. Am I keeping him on because the idea on Rondo throwing him lobs just seems too god? Absolutely.

Thanks for doing this Kblaze this is truly an awesome thread...I have spent all night trying out different combinations.

[Brunch@Five]

Coach: George Karl (4)
C: Mutombo (3), Noah (4), Bradley (7)
PF: Horace Grant (5), Horry (5)
SF: Pippen (2), Prince (6), Kapono (7)
SG: Curry (4), Cooper (6)
PG: Payton (2), Terry (5)

somehow wanted to pick Payton and Pippen and build a team around them. Decided that combining them with Karl's swarming/trapping defense and Mutombo down low would be the way to go.
On offense this team has good spacing and is very versatile, despite not a lot of offense coming from my big men. Payton and Pippen can both post up AND run, Steph Curry is already one of the best shooters the game has seen and can create his own shot. All of them can handle the ball and take over playmaking duties.
Grant is one of the prototypical PFs that can bang and operate from the high post. Not my strongest position, but he doesn't have weakness really, provides exactly what you want from your PF.
Off the bench this team provides more devastating defense (Noah, Prince, Cooper) as well as on of the best 6th men of all time that is also clutch as hell (Terry). Noah will play both C and PF.

[bigballer]

Coach- Larry Brown (3)

C- Yao Ming (2)
PF- Horace Grant (5)
SF- Cedric Maxwell (5)
SG- Drazen Petrovic (4)
PG- Walt Frazier (2)

Michael Cooper (6), Larry Nance (4), Mo CHEEKS (4), Mark Eaton (5), Tayshaun prince (6), Mo Pete (7), Chucky Atkins (7)

Thoughts?
Choice of coach adds a lot to the game, i was tempted to go the superstar route but its hard to pick one and then have a less than stellar coach. I think choosing the coach as an afterthought is a mistake, but if you choose a coach first its hard not to pick every player through the filter of who would fit in with his scheme. tricky

[Kovach]

John Stockton (2)/ Bobby Jackson(6)/ Chucky Atkins (7)
Dale Ellis (3)/ Michael Cooper (6)/ Bobby Jackson (6)
James Worthy (2)/ Ricky Pierce (5)/ Michael Cooper (6)
Larry Nance (4)/ Horace Grant (5)/ Kurt Rambis (7)
Vlade Divac (4)/ Mark Eaton (5)

Coach: Lenny Wilkins

What flaws would this team have? Just curious to know what you think :)

[Brunch@Five]

What flaws would this team have? Just curious to know what you think :)

not nearly enough scoring. Worthy is a 2nd option, Stockton is the prototypical pass-first PG, and Dale Ellis can't consitently create his own shot. Defense would be suspect as well IMO.