BadBaronRudigor

No PG shortages in this one. I'd be starting Purvis Short or Mike Mitchell over Reggie Theus in this one; you don't need yet another creator with the ball when you already have Cheeks, Richardson, and Bird on the floor; Short and Mitchell were both great catch and shoot guys who are finishers. For better size to counter that weak 4, I'd probably also start Stephan Jackson at the 3 moving McGrady back to the 2 and have Jackson and/or McGrady on Bird with Van Horn or Thomas on Short/Mitchell despite the post-up issues.

So
Duncan/Van Horn/S.Jackson/McGrady/Billups (B.Jackson/T.Thomas/Fortson)
v.
M.Thomson/Bird/Mitchell/Richardson/Cheeks (Ford/Theus/Short/Corzine)

Who is the more dominant, peak Duncan or peak Bird . . . Duncan has won more titles with less support and is a defensive keystone, Bird is the more statistically dominant player. Looking at the second prime players, McGrady is the 3rd best player on the floor but has never played his best when Yao is healthy it seems, Billups is terrific and underrated; Richardson was good but not consistent, Cheeks consistent but not a dominator, Short/Mitchell better than whoever the 97 squad puts out there. Tough matchup, but where both squads have this much offensive talent I go with the better defensive squad and that's whichever team Tim Duncan plays for. 97 should win.

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