RollWithEm

First of all, the premise behind this tournament is that each player is at their own peak prime level when this is taking place. If you’re wondering which Tim Hardaway you’re going to get, the answer is Tim Hardaway at the best level he ever played at in his NBA career.

With that being said, the PG match-up is a great one in this game. I like Price’s consistency a little more than Hardaway’s streakiness, but Mookie and Barros on the bench gives 1989 ridiculous depth. Mookie would probably do a pretty good job of disrupting Price and Skiles in this game.

At SG, the 1986 team has all the depth. Harper/Horny/Drazen/Curry is a deep group of shooters. Anderson/Mookie doesn’t quite measure up. Although, Mookie could be successful guarding Curry or Hornacek despite his small stature because he would constantly bother their dribble. They’d have to rely on only catch-and-shoot play when he was guarding them. Still, 86 has the decided advantage at this position.

At SF, Person/Newman is a talented duo that’s not quite as deep as Rice/Elliot/Ferry. If you look at the wing players in their entirety on both teams, these groups are pretty evenly matched. 1986 is just a little out-sized.

The PF match-ups are perhaps the most compelling in the whole game, IMO. The defensive group of Rodman/Salley against the offensive grouping of Kemp/Cliffy/Ellison is quite compelling. Both Rodman and Salley did decent jobs in their careers of bothering Kemp. Even in his prime, The Reign Man had a tendency to gravitate too much to the perimeter when he faced tough defenders down low. Can Rodman’s rebounding advantage outweigh the perimeter game of Robinson? Can Kemp’s athleticism account for Salley’s toughness?

With all of the other match-ups being so hotly contested, I think this game will come down to pivot play. I’m as big a fan of Divac’s game as anyone you’ll talk to, but the 1986 team is too good down low. Daugherty/Sabas is the perfect 1-2 combo to devastate this 1989 team. Neither Divac nor Radja would feel comfortable guarding Sabonis on the perimeter. Divac would play solid defense on Daugherty, but Daugherty would return the favor on the other end. If you call those two a wash, I think Sabas’ distinct advantage in size and skill would push 1986 over the top.

So, I’m going with the 1986 team’s overall versatility to advance.

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But that's just me.