RollWithEm

Posters like Najee have questioned my methods for picking the draft class teams in previous threads. In response to their concerns, I will post both the statistically-chosen teams and the teams I would pick if I were using all factors available including my own opinions. So here is the 1/8 Match-Up from the Jay Williams region:

(1) 1999
G Steve Francis
G Manu Ginobili
F Shawn Marion
F Andrei Kirilenko
F Elton Brand
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G Baron Davis
G Jason Terry
G Andre Miller
F Corey Maggette
F Ron Artest
F Lamar Odom
F James Posey

Statistically, Jeff Foster had the best season of any center in this draft class. That leaves them quite thin down low. I would definitely try to address that problem. If I were picking the team, I would choose:

PG Baron Davis
SG Manu Ginobili
SF Shawn Marion
PF Elton Brand
C Jeff Foster
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G Andre Miller
G Jason Terry
G Rip Hamilton
F Ron Artest
F Lamar Odom
F Andrei Kirilenko
C Francisco Elson

Notice that I opted out of having Steve Francis on the team despite his gaudy statistical production early in his career. I think Baron Davis and the team’s overall lack of size and of outside shooting makes Francis expendable. I also made a tough call leaving James Posey off the team. I thought the desperate need for size far outweighed the need for an extra perimeter defender, given that Artest and Marion can both defend big guards when necessary.

Let me just be clear in saying that the statistics do not back up these decisions. Steve Francis had easily the most statistically-successful season of any PG in the 1999 draft. If anyone were to include him on their team, I would have no real way to argue his inclusion. I just think Andre Miller and Jason Terry would both be more valuable for this particular team given their unique skills. This team already has enough of the athleticism and scoring that Steve Francis gives you.

Also, Rip Hamilton’s inclusion on the team over Corey Maggette flies in the face of statistics. I just think that Hamilton’s pesky defense and consistent midrange game would help this team more than Maggette’s ability to finish at the rim and get to the foul line.

Even more egregious, perhaps, is my choice of Francisco Elson. This team obviously lacks size, but why would I pick Elson over Kenny Thomas, Todd MacCulloch, Calvin Booth, or Michael Ruffin? Thomas is too small. He’s like a homeless man’s Elton Brand. This team already includes Brand. MacCulloch was a surprisingly effective player when healthy, but he could never find a way to stay on the floor. He wasn’t included because he was a little more plodding and deliberate. This team is going to get out and run. Booth and Ruffin are both a little too unskilled for this type of competition. I chose Elson because he’s mobile, because he’s a good defender, and because he knows how to fit in on a team full of stars. All-in-all this is a pretty well-wounded team.

VS.

(8) 2000
G Speedy Claxton
G Michael Redd
F Mike Miller
F Kenyon Martin
C Jamaal Magliore
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G Hedo Turkoglu
G Quentin Richardson
G Jamal Crawford
G Jason Hart
F Darius Miles
F Stromile Swift
C Etan Thomas

This team has an overall lack of size and playmaking ability. That’s probably why they’re an 8th seed. Here’s what my team would look like if I were picking them based on all factors:

PG Speedy Claxton
SG Michael Redd
SF Mike Miller
PF Kenyon Martin
C Jamaal Magliore
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G Marko Jaric
G Hedo Turkoglu
G Jamal Crawford
F Morris Peterson
F Darius Miles
F Etan Thomas
C Joel Przybilla

Picking this team is very hard. This draft had a lot of busts. The best true points in this draft class’ last year in college were Mateen Cleaves, Khalid El-Amin, and Erick Barkley. Unfortunately for them, Cleaves’ and Barkley’s lack of outside shooting and El-Amin’s size kept them from sticking in the league. This draft looked like it was stacked at PG on draft night, but only Claxton, Dooling, Jaric, and Hart really became rotation players in the NBA. I chose Claxton and Jaric, but you can pretty much interchange Dooling and/or Hart for them without much improvement or drop-off.

At the wing positions, Darius Miles, DerMarr Johnson, and Courtney Alexander were the main busts. I decided to include Miles on this team anyway because he had a couple of competent offensive seasons, and that’s more than I can say about some of the other guys in this draft. I went with Mo Pete over Q for his defense and efficiency.

At the PF spot, Stromile Swift, Marcus Fizer, and Jerome Moiso all have grossly underperformed at the NBA level. I picked Etan Thomas over Stromile Swift because Swift doesn’t bring a single thing to the table that you can’t get from Kenyon Martin. Thomas brings this team some size and defensive intensity off the pine.

This draft has an absolute dearth of quality centers. I went with Magliore and Przybilla because my other options were Mihm and Madsen. If I were to include another wing player like DeShawn Stevenson instead of Przybilla, this team would struggle mightily to rebound the basketball.

I hope that my logic for picking these teams is a little clearer now than it was in the past. Who do you think will win?

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But that's just me.