NBA 2017-2018 thread

[OttoinGrotto]

Durant had two 4 point plays within like a minute of each other in the 3rd Q against Portland.

 

[OrangeDW]

Ok, Lakers version.

PG:
$5 - Magic Johnson
$4 - Jerry West
$3 - Slater Martin
$2 - Norm Nixon
$1 - Nick Van Exel

SG:
$5 - Kobe Bryant
$4 - Gail Goodrich
$3 - Byron Scott
$2 - Eddie Jones
$1 - Michael Cooper

SF:
$5 - Elgin Baylor
$4 - James Worthy
$3 - Jamaal Wilkes
$2 - Ron Artest
$1 - Rick Fox

PF:
$5 - Pau Gasol
$4 - Lamar Odom
$3 - AC Green
$2 - Robert Horry
$1 - Elden Campbell

C:
$5 - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
$4 - Shaquille O’Neal
$3 - Wilt Chamberlain
$2 - George Mikan
$1 - Vlade Divac

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Ok, Lakers version.

PG:
$5 - Magic Johnson
$4 - Jerry West
$3 - Slater Martin
$2 - Norm Nixon
$1 - Nick Van Exel

SG:
$5 - Kobe Bryant
$4 - Gail Goodrich
$3 - Byron Scott
$2 - Eddie Jones
$1 - Michael Cooper

SF:
$5 - Elgin Baylor
$4 - James Worthy
$3 - Jamaal Wilkes
$2 - Ron Artest
$1 - Rick Fox

PF:
$5 - Pau Gasol
$4 - Lamar Odom
$3 - AC Green
$2 - Robert Horry
$1 - Elden Campbell

C:
$5 - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
$4 - Shaquille O’Neal
$3 - Wilt Chamberlain
$2 - George Mikan
$1 - Vlade Divac

Ill take Magic, Kobe, Rick Fox, Shaq, and Erick Rogers at PF because those 3 are enough for me

 

[Knicks411]

Ok, Lakers version.

PG:
$5 - Magic Johnson
$4 - Jerry West
$3 - Slater Martin
$2 - Norm Nixon
$1 - Nick Van Exel

SG:
$5 - Kobe Bryant
$4 - Gail Goodrich
$3 - Byron Scott
$2 - Eddie Jones
$1 - Michael Cooper

SF:
$5 - Elgin Baylor
$4 - James Worthy
$3 - Jamaal Wilkes
$2 - Ron Artest
$1 - Rick Fox

PF:
$5 - Pau Gasol
$4 - Lamar Odom
$3 - AC Green
$2 - Robert Horry
$1 - Elden Campbell

C:
$5 - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
$4 - Shaquille O’Neal
$3 - Wilt Chamberlain
$2 - George Mikan
$1 - Vlade Divac

Man I almost feel like the center position is cheating; I get Wilt for $3??? The same as Byron Scott??

So I'm thinking

West
Cooper
Baylor
Horry
Wilt

I'm not sure I totally love it. But I do have some floor spacing with Cooper/Horry/West. I just need to convince Wilt to be the Lakers wilt who would rebound and pass and score when needed.

Another option (especially if we can do the Celtics thing where you can take guys from the same position)

Magic
West
Artest
Horry
Wilt

I may like that better

 

[OrangeDW]

Man I almost feel like the center position is cheating; I get Wilt for $3??? The same as Byron Scott??

So I'm thinking

West
Cooper
Baylor
Horry
Wilt

I'm not sure I totally love it. But I do have some floor spacing with Cooper/Horry/West. I just need to convince Wilt to be the Lakers wilt who would rebound and pass and score when needed.

Another option (especially if we can do the Celtics thing where you can take guys from the same position)

Magic
West
Artest
Horry
Wilt

I may like that better

The Lakers C history is absolutely loaded. PF is pretty weak though, given how strong the teams always were before the last few years.

 

[OrangeDW]

I’m going Nixon, Kobe, Wilkes, Horry, Wilt.

2 all stars, 2 all time NBA greats, and the ultimate winning role player.

 

[Knicks411]

I’m going Nixon, Kobe, Wilkes, Horry, Wilt.

2 all stars, 2 all time NBA greats, and the ultimate winning role player.

I just don't like Kobe, can't take him. I think Wilt for 3 bucks and West for 4 is basically stealing money. Jerry West was so damn good. Probably historically underrated

 

[kirbivore]

Ok, Lakers version.

PG:
$5 - Magic Johnson
$4 - Jerry West
$3 - Slater Martin
$2 - Norm Nixon
$1 - Nick Van Exel

SG:
$5 - Kobe Bryant
$4 - Gail Goodrich
$3 - Byron Scott
$2 - Eddie Jones
$1 - Michael Cooper

SF:
$5 - Elgin Baylor
$4 - James Worthy
$3 - Jamaal Wilkes
$2 - Ron Artest
$1 - Rick Fox

PF:
$5 - Pau Gasol
$4 - Lamar Odom
$3 - AC Green
$2 - Robert Horry
$1 - Elden Campbell

C:
$5 - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
$4 - Shaquille O’Neal
$3 - Wilt Chamberlain
$2 - George Mikan
$1 - Vlade Divac

Magic, Cooper, Worthy, Green, Mikan

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I took 5 mini Wilts.

 

[OrangeDW]

I just don't like Kobe, can't take him. I think Wilt for 3 bucks and West for 4 is basically stealing money. Jerry West was so damn good. Probably historically underrated

Your team has 3 all time greats, and 2 very good role players that can hit the open 3 and play D. Can’t argue with that.

Also, I debated with Shaq and Wilt, who should be $4 and who should be $3. I don’t think there’s a wrong answer and in this game, whoever is the $3 one is going to be the popular pick as that is insane value. They’re both $5 players for arguably every other franchise. I went with Shaq as the $4 guy because he was NBA MVP as a Laker and Wilt wasn’t, and because he won 3 titles in LA vs. 1 for Wilt. Also played for the Lakers longer and in his peak years of ages 24-31, where Wilt was a Laker from ages 32-36.

 

[Knicks411]

Your team has 3 all time greats, and 2 very good role players that can hit the open 3 and play D. Can’t argue with that.

Also, I debated with Shaq and Wilt, who should be $4 and who should be $3. I don’t think there’s a wrong answer and in this game, whoever is the $3 one is going to be the popular pick as that is insane value. They’re both $5 players for arguably every other franchise. I went with Shaq as the $4 guy because he was NBA MVP as a Laker and Wilt wasn’t, and because he won 3 titles in LA vs. 1 for Wilt. Also played for the Lakers longer and in his peak years of ages 24-31, where Wilt was a Laker from ages 32-36.

Yeah there's really no going wrong, those are probably 3 of the 5 or 6 best centers in NBA history?

You know what's interesting, is I think for the sake of this exercise, Lakers Wilt is probably better than Lakers Shaq, and maybe even better than pre Lakers Wilt. He didn't have the insane scoring numbers, but at this level, your team is going to be loaded no matter what, so maybe you'd rather have the Wilt that could still score if needed, but focused on rebounding and passing. Just a thought

 

[br801]

Ok, Lakers version.

PG:
$5 - Magic Johnson
$4 - Jerry West
$3 - Slater Martin
$2 - Norm Nixon
$1 - Nick Van Exel

SG:
$5 - Kobe Bryant
$4 - Gail Goodrich
$3 - Byron Scott
$2 - Eddie Jones
$1 - Michael Cooper

SF:
$5 - Elgin Baylor
$4 - James Worthy
$3 - Jamaal Wilkes
$2 - Ron Artest
$1 - Rick Fox

PF:
$5 - Pau Gasol
$4 - Lamar Odom
$3 - AC Green
$2 - Robert Horry
$1 - Elden Campbell

C:
$5 - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
$4 - Shaquille O’Neal
$3 - Wilt Chamberlain
$2 - George Mikan
$1 - Vlade Divac

West - $4
Kobe - $5
Wilkes - $3
Bill Bridges (I'm cheating) - 0$
Wilt -$3

This team would really score, play defense and rebound.

 

[bpo57]

Ok, Lakers version.

PG:
$5 - Magic Johnson
$4 - Jerry West
$3 - Slater Martin
$2 - Norm Nixon
$1 - Nick Van Exel

SG:
$5 - Kobe Bryant
$4 - Gail Goodrich
$3 - Byron Scott
$2 - Eddie Jones
$1 - Michael Cooper

SF:
$5 - Elgin Baylor
$4 - James Worthy
$3 - Jamaal Wilkes
$2 - Ron Artest
$1 - Rick Fox

PF:
$5 - Pau Gasol
$4 - Lamar Odom
$3 - AC Green
$2 - Robert Horry
$1 - Elden Campbell

C:
$5 - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
$4 - Shaquille O’Neal
$3 - Wilt Chamberlain
$2 - George Mikan
$1 - Vlade Divac

Wilt behind Shaq? Whoa Nellie.

 

[bpo57]

Yeah there's really no going wrong, those are probably 3 of the 5 or 6 best centers in NBA history?

You know what's interesting, is I think for the sake of this exercise, Lakers Wilt is probably better than Lakers Shaq, and maybe even better than pre Lakers Wilt. He didn't have the insane scoring numbers, but at this level, your team is going to be loaded no matter what, so maybe you'd rather have the Wilt that could still score if needed, but focused on rebounding and passing. Just a thought

About a month ago Mad Dog Russo had Tommy Heinsohn on after the death of Jo Jo White. Toward the end Russo asked Heinsohn to rank the best centers of all time. Heinsohn said think of the centers in terms of being positioned on a map of the US. He said Russell is in Boston, Wilt is in Worcester, MA and Kareem is in Buffalo. He said all of the other centers are located west of the Mississippi. Admittedly he's an old school homer and a Boston homer.

I watched Wilt in the last 30-40% of his career. He and Kareem were the two most dominant players I've ever seen. Wilt averaged 30 points and 23 rebounds for his career. One year he averaged 50/28. Another year he led the NBA in assists. These two are rare in that if you could transport them from their prime to today they would be just as dominant today as they were back then. Kareem would annihilate any current center out there right now. In sports it's very rare to say that about anybody that played 30-40 years ago.

 

[Knicks411]

Yeah I'm not gonna take anything Tommy says at face value.

Would love to see Wilt play today

 

[br801]

About a month ago Mad Dog Russo had Tommy Heinsohn on after the death of Jo Jo White. Toward the end Russo asked Heinsohn to rank the best centers of all time. Heinsohn said think of the centers in terms of being positioned on a map of the US. He said Russell is in Boston, Wilt is in Worcester, MA and Kareem is in Buffalo. He said all of the other centers are located west of the Mississippi. Admittedly he's an old school homer and a Boston homer.

I watched Wilt in the last 30-40% of his career. He and Kareem were the two most dominant players I've ever seen. Wilt averaged 30 points and 23 rebounds for his career. One year he averaged 50/28. Another year he led the NBA in assists. These two are rare in that if you could transport them from their prime to today they would be just as dominant today as they were back then. Kareem would annihilate any current center out there right now. In sports it's very rare to say that about anybody that played 30-40 years ago.

I mainly saw the older, heavier Laker version of Wilt and he was scarier and intimidating as hell, and could still score when the situation dictated it. His tremendous athleticism would have played well in any era.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Yeah I'm not gonna take anything Tommy says at face value.

Would love to see Wilt play today

He's one of a handful of oldies-but-goodies I could see being transported through time who could play today at the highest level. Jerry West, Big O, too.

Wilt was my first hoops "hero." Rooted for whatever NBA team he was on, always had his back in the Russell-vs-Wilt debate. Still do.

 

[Knicks411]

He's one of a handful of oldies-but-goodies I could see being transported through time who could play today at the highest level. Jerry West, Big O, too.

Wilt was my first hoops "hero." Rooted for whatever NBA team he was on, always had his back in the Russell-vs-Wilt debate. Still do.

Im trying to think of a comp for Wilt; like 2011 Dwight Howard who could score 30 points a game? I don't know

 

[bpo57]

Yeah I'm not gonna take anything Tommy says at face value.

Would love to see Wilt play today

Discount his opinion on Russell cuz that was his teammate. There are no other centers, past or present, that rival Wilt or Kareem.

 

[bpo57]

I mainly saw the older, heavier Laker version of Wilt and he was scarier and intimidating as hell, and could still score when the situation dictated it. His tremendous athleticism would have played well in any era.

There is youtube video of Wilt at around the age of 38 blocking Kareem's sky hook two times in a row. Staggering feat for a man of that size and age. His hand was up near the top of the backboard.

 

[br801]

Im trying to think of a comp for Wilt; like 2011 Dwight Howard who could score 30 points a game? I don't know

I don't think there is a good comp for the young scoring Wilt, the more all-round Wilt of his mid-career years, or the defensive/rebounding Wilt with the Lakers.

 

[OrangeDW]

Wilt behind Shaq? Whoa Nellie.

I explained above. In short: Shaq led the Lakers to 3 titles and was NBA MVP. Wilt led the Lakers to 1 title and did not win MVP as a Laker.

Shaq accomplished more as a Laker.

 

[Knicks411]

I explained above. In short: Shaq led the Lakers to 3 titles and was NBA MVP. Wilt led the Lakers to 1 title and did not win MVP as a Laker.

Shaq accomplished more as a Laker.

It's always crazy to me to think Shaq only won the MVP once

 

[bpo57]

I explained above. In short: Shaq led the Lakers to 3 titles and was NBA MVP. Wilt led the Lakers to 1 title and did not win MVP as a Laker.

Shaq accomplished more as a Laker.

Not to take anything away from Shaq but his Laker teams that won three three consecutive finals beat the Pacers, Sixers and NJ Nets. Not exactly murderer's row, particularly that Sixer team with George Lynch and Eric Snow in the starting line-up. Meanwhile Wilt lost four finals with the Lakers - two to the Boston Celtics and two to the NY Knicks - and two that came down to the 7th game. Can't hold too much against Wilt there for losing to some of the all time great teams in NBA history.

One thing the two had in common was neither one could shoot FTs.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

This is sick. Dunk contest tomorrow night could be fun.