The Greatest NBA Player: 5 on 5 Clone Game

[_MeDotOrg]

What's really interesting to me is the idea that the great players tended to make everyone around them better, too.

This is where someone like Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, or James Harden gets graded down. All great players, but they tend to suck the offense out of other players when they have the ball.

[_Markk]

I was thinking about the best 12 for the best team. Not necessarily all time greats but the best team. You might have to sit out really great player to get a team that will play together.


Here’s one that I like as a aggressive running team, that rebounds and plays defense.

Magic at the 1

Reggie Miller at the 2

Pippin at the 3

LeBron at the 4

Akeem at the 5

Bench

Bobby Jones

Rodman

Shaq

Jerry West

Isiah Thomas

Walt Frazier

Gary Payton

[_MeDotOrg]

Bench

Bobby Jones

Rodman

Shaq

Jerry West

Isiah Thomas

Walt Frazier

Gary Payton

So who's going to be the one to tell Shaq he's not starting? ;-)

[_EAllusion]

I don't think a "greatest team ever assembled" can afford to have a non-scorer at any position. You want to be in a position where any ball swing to a quasi-open player feels like a certain score. A Rodman feels like a liability.

1) Steph Curry

2) Michael Jordan

3) Lebron James

4) Kevin Garnett

5) Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Bench

1) Magic Johnson

2) Scottie Pippen

3) Dirk Nowitzki

4) Kevin Durant

5) Larry Bird

6) Tim Duncan

7) John Stockton


I'd sub into the "shoot them off the floor" package the second a team doesn't field 5 players who can guard the entire court.

[_Markk]

Bench

Bobby Jones

Rodman

Shaq

Jerry West

Isiah Thomas

Walt Frazier

Gary Payton

So who's going to be the one to tell Shaq he's not starting? ;-)

Pat Riley, Red or Pop...but not me... There is a Open Court where Shaq is upset about Nash winning 2 MVP's and he only 1, and Ernie has him on the couch as a shrink...it is so funny. I'll see if I can find it.

Yours is a great question, who would coach the 5 Jordans or the 5 Labrons?

[_EAllusion]

I assume our best team ever assembled gets players at their peak value. Jordan is the best defender at the 2 in the history of the game. At the same time, he had a ridiculously high eFG% when he was the focal point of the entire offense. Put him on a team where you can’t cheat to him and you’re just deciding if you are willing to settle for only 2 points every trip. You don’t leave him off the team.

The biggest risk with that kind of talent is players getting lazy because it’s too easy, but that’s why you have have competitive psychos like Jordan who would murder you over a game of cards.

[_Markk]

I don't think a "greatest team ever assembled" can afford to have a non-scorer at any position. You want to be in a position where any ball swing to a quasi-open player feels like a certain score. A Rodman feels like a liability.

1) Steph Curry

2) Michael Jordan

3) Lebron James

4) Kevin Garnett

5) Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Bench

1) Magic Johnson

2) Scottie Pippen

3) Dirk Nowitzki

4) Kevin Durant

5) Larry Bird

6) Tim Duncan

7) John Stockton


I'd sub into the "shoot them off the floor" package the second a team doesn't field 5 players who can guard the entire court.

Chemistry is everything...and shooters need to shoot, and there is simply not enough ball to go around. Championships are won with defense...and specifically rebounding and no turnovers. You need player to set picks, and take hits on picks. Every winning great player had studs helping them be great...except for maybe some of Labron's teams.

Your team would be great, Kareem in my opinion is the greatest ever, but I'm not sure they would mesh well. Every team needs a Rodman or Jones. Most every Great team has one. Whether it be the Bad Boys, Bull's, or Green with GS...Rambis and Cooper with the showtime Lakers, ML Carr with the Celtics. Great teams have great role players and Rodman and Jones are two of the best ever in my opinion.

If my team played your team in the 80's...Steph would be sent to the bench crying by Gary Payton...I would put Payton, or even Isiah, on him and say send him home.

Fun conversation.

[_Bret Ripley]

Gary Payton

I love it ... some love for The Glove.

While doing some research for an idea for some entertaining match-ups (I was toying with Bill Laimbeer vs. Dennis Rodman just to keep the hockey fans interested) I discovered that Laimbeer played a Sleestak on the old 'Land of the Lost' series several years before he went on to play one for the Detroit Pistons.

[_EAllusion]

I don't think a "greatest team ever assembled" can afford to have a non-scorer at any position. You want to be in a position where any ball swing to a quasi-open player feels like a certain score. A Rodman feels like a liability.

1) Steph Curry

2) Michael Jordan

3) Lebron James

4) Kevin Garnett

5) Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Bench

1) Magic Johnson

2) Scottie Pippen

3) Dirk Nowitzki

4) Kevin Durant

5) Larry Bird

6) Tim Duncan

7) John Stockton


I'd sub into the "shoot them off the floor" package the second a team doesn't field 5 players who can guard the entire court.

Chemistry is everything...and shooters need to shoot, and there is simply not enough ball to go around. Championships are won with defense...and specifically rebounding and no turnovers. You need player to set picks, and take hits on picks. Every winning great player had studs helping them be great...except for maybe some of Labron's teams.

Your team would be great, Kareem in my opinion is the greatest ever, but I'm not sure they would mesh well. Every team needs a Rodman or Jones. Most every Great team has one. Whether it be the Bad Boys, Bull's, or Green with GS...Rambis and Cooper with the showtime Lakers, ML Carr with the Celtics. Great teams have great role players and Rodman

If my team played your team in the 80's...Steph would be sent to the bench crying by Gary Payton...I would put Payton, or even Isiah, on him and say send him home.

Fun conversation.

You don’t need to rebound the ball as much when it is always going in. That said, I put in elite rebounders and defenders at the top three positions just in case. Only unlike Rodman, they also were fantastic scorers up close and from range as well. When Rodman is on the floor on your team, I would just leave him wide open and see if he can score the % of time needed to keep pace.

Every one of my players offensively dominates your players one on one. If Gary Payton wants to stick to Curry 30 feet out, that’s fine. Then it’s 4 in 4 with 3 of my offensive players being the most unguardable people in history. How do you play help defense against that? And if I don’t like that, I can put an elite range scorer at every spot and play Spurs-ball and win with 3 point efficiency.

(Stockton is there to control pace if needed and because he cheats.)

[_EAllusion]

Chemistry wise, I think what you want to avoid are too many player who need to be ball-dominant to function. Curry is good because he can spot up shoot as well as anyone ever. Harden isn’t because his offensive efficiency depends on him working the ball.

Players like Magic and James can be ball dominant or not depending on what the team needs.

Jordan is the only player I have who really needs the offense to flow through him at times, but that’s Ok because he’s still one of the most efficient offensive players ever to play and has a competitive spirit that would likely allow him to bend his game to the most effective sets. If he is a little too selfish, that’s the cost of the best defending shooting guard ever to lace them up. Prime Jordan shut down players like Payton like they were scrubs.

Ideally he’s just a much better Wade on this team. If Jordan gets too carried away with iso ball, pull him for the splash squad.