Your all-time starting five in basketball (3 Viewers)

[Danchrism]

wow only one mention of Pistol Pete... turrible.(excuse me two)

Coach: Phil Jackson

PG Pistol Pete
SG Jordan
SF Bird
PF Rodman
C Shaq

Bench
Magic
Kobe
Lebron
Duncan
Chamberlain
Hakeem
Reggie Miller

Honorable Mention......Robert Horry cause he wins championships... but really he can be the towel guy

I'd press your starting five until you put Magic and LeBron in

I'm from Houston. Twin towers, sampson and olajuwon. Olajuwon played the 4 when both were on the floor

No he didn't, Sampson stretched the floor (not to 3pt range, but still) while Hakeem worked the low block

So you're telling me that Dennis Rodman was a better Power Forward than Karl Malone and Charles Barkley?

The only reason Duncan was EVER a power forward was because of David Robinson. They were both too good not to be both on the floor at the same time. Duncan is a center, through and through. He was just a tad more versatile than Robinson.

My apologies, Dr. J was a 3.

I didn't say that, I just think the rationale for Malone or Barkley (i.e., their defense) was silly and misguided. Notice that I didn't pick Rodman on my team. He might not even make a team of 12 if I put one together. But neither would Malone, and Barkley might wave towels and give chest-bumps.

People forget that Rodman was once quite the june-bug on defense before settling into a role pretty much exclusively guarding bigs.

Duncan isn't a center because the Spurs kept signing former centers instead of a quality power forward after Robinson retired. Duncan only really started playing center in the '08-'09 season...

 

[kcirdor]

I'd press your starting five until you put Magic and LeBron in

Press'em. Pistol will find the open man.

 

[zeetes]

I'm from Houston.

i should have quit reading there.

 

[donato]

Basically pick five guys (at the height of each of their careers) who would beat anyone elses starting five.

PG: Magic
SG: Jordan
SF: LBJ
PF: hakeem the dream olajuwon
C: Shaq Diesel aka Wilt Chamberneazy aka The Big Aristotle

I have this conversation every now and then. Oddly enough the first post here is always my answer. And there's no doubting Olajuwon could easily man the 4.

 

[Danchrism]

I have this conversation every now and then. Oddly enough the first post here is always my answer. And there's no doubting Olajuwon could easily man the 4.

At no point in his career was Hakeem a 4.

Granted he was probably 6'10", he was not a 4

You could sneak him on as a 4 much in the same way I could put Magic Johnson on my team as a 4, and say "Well, he played the 4 in 1995!" or as a 5, citing the 1980 Finals... I think the rule is that you play them where they played. I'm not going to list Carmelo as a PF because he played that position in the '08 Olympics. Wade isn't a PG even though he began his career as one. LeBron, Pippen, Odom, et al aren't having special concessions made for the point-forward position. No one is pairing Barkley with a 6'10" small forward.

 

[Teachersaint]

Press'em. Pistol will find the open man.

This isn't HORSE--we actually want to win----great player, and the 3 pt line helps him, but no chance that he is better than Magic or Isiah...

 

[Teachersaint]

At no point in his career was Hakeem a 4.

Granted he was probably 6'10", he was not a 4

You could sneak him on as a 4 much in the same way I could put Magic Johnson on my team as a 4, and say "Well, he played the 4 in 1995!" or as a 5, citing the 1980 Finals... I think the rule is that you play them where they played. I'm not going to list Carmelo as a PF because he played that position in the '08 Olympics. Wade isn't a PG even though he began his career as one. LeBron, Pippen, Odom, et al aren't having special concessions made for the point-forward position. No one is pairing Barkley with a 6'10" small forward.

agree---

 

[Teachersaint]

PG: Magic
SG: Jordan
SF: Bird
PF: Duncan
C: Chamberlain
(as much as I want to put The Big Galactus, Wilt was a much better defenseman)

really, Wilt? The ultimate ME guy on that team where he isn't getting the ball? I take the guy with 11 rings every time....

 

[Teachersaint]

Anyone picking Malone over Duncan is straight basketball-stupid. That's not even a competition.

100 % agree--plus if Fisher doesn't make that miracle shot in 04, and Dirk's 3 pt play in 06, could be 6 titles....yeah, he may seem boring, but Duncan is the man---every year avgs 23 and 11---50% shooting, most low post moves,

3 Finals MVPS

plus his best teammate were RObinson (33 in Duncan's rookie year)
and Ginobili

 

[whoah whoah]

pg- CP3
sg - Jordan
sf - Durant
pf - Duncan
c - Shaq

 

[stunpals]

Two issues:

1) No one asked for your bench players.

2) Anyone choosing Wilt over Russell has no clue.

 

[Twenty]

I'd press your starting five until you put Magic and LeBron in


No he didn't, Sampson stretched the floor (not to 3pt range, but still) while Hakeem worked the low block


I didn't say that, I just think the rationale for Malone or Barkley (i.e., their defense) was silly and misguided. Notice that I didn't pick Rodman on my team. He might not even make a team of 12 if I put one together. But neither would Malone, and Barkley might wave towels and give chest-bumps.

People forget that Rodman was once quite the june-bug on defense before settling into a role pretty much exclusively guarding bigs.

Duncan isn't a center because the Spurs kept signing former centers instead of a quality power forward after Robinson retired. Duncan only really started playing center in the '08-'09 season...

I gotcha.

I can see your defense of Rodman in this format, after all, it isn't the "Best players at each position". It's "your starting 5". And on a team with Jordan and Bird, you don't really need your PF to score.

But then again, in my defense, with Jordan and Bird on the floor, you won't really need Malone to be clutch.

 

[Loose Cannon]

So you're telling me that Dennis Rodman was a better Power Forward than Karl Malone and Charles Barkley?

The only reason Duncan was EVER a power forward was because of David Robinson. They were both too good not to be both on the floor at the same time. Duncan is a center, through and through. He was just a tad more versatile than Robinson.

My apologies, Dr. J was a 3.



This.

Dude would have been great.

No. Duncan has played the true 4 almost his entire career. You could make the case that for the last two years he's been the true center on our team, due to the fact that Matt Bonner, our "center", is really essentially a 3. But After Robinson you had true centers playing true center like Nazr Mohammed, Fabricio Oberto, Rasho Nesterovic, etc.

When Duncan gets fed the ball, he gets it fed to him where power forwards do.

By no means has Duncan been a center for any significant part of his career.

 

[kcirdor]

This isn't HORSE--we actually want to win----great player, and the 3 pt line helps him, but no chance that he is better than Magic or Isiah...

Considering that Pistol isn't the "best player" on my team he won't need to be the scorer. He can continue to be the creative scorer/passer he was by getting the ball to Bird, Jordan and Shaq.

 

[livefromDC]

No one is pairing Barkley with a 6'10" small forward.

How did you come to this conclusion?
Barkley was smaller than pretty much every power forward he played against, but a wider, stronger build than any small forward in the league. He often paired against centers, guards, and yes, 6'10" small forwards with great success. Incredibly agile and strong at the same time, Barkley dominated matchups against small forwards. Where in the world did you get this opinion because the film shows the opposite. As a matter of my own team, if I had the luxury of having another dominant power forward in my starting 5, I would definitely put Barkley in at small forward because he would dominate the opponent offensively and defensively.