[Seuss]

You are voting as to which team you feel is the best of the bunch.
Leaving comments as to why you picked a team would be appreciated.

If you are not a part of this draft or your team is in this division, you are not allowed to vote, and your vote will/would not count.

Charlotte Bobcats Team:

PG: Harold Greer
SG: Clyde Drexler
SF: Billy Cunningham
PF: Charles Barkley
CE: Dan Issel

BENCH: Chet Walker, Johnny Moore, Glen Robinson, Clark Kellog, Cliff Robinson

Miami Heat Team:

PG: Terry Porter
SG: Tracy McGrady
SF: Larry Bird
PF: Dennis Rodman
CE: Yao Ming

BENCH: Paul Westphal, Maurice Lucas, Elmore Smith, Calvin Natt, Steve Francis

Orlando Magic Team:

PG: Mike Bibby
SG: Gerald Wallace
SF: Rick Barry
PF: Horace Grant
CE: Dave Cowens

BENCH: Bill Laimbeer, Derek Fisher, Nick Anderson, Kiki Vandeweghe, Red Robbins

St. Louis Hawks Team:

PG: Gary Payton
SG: Mitch Richmond
SF: Bernard King
PF: Buck Williams
CE: Tim Duncan

BENCH: Brad Daugherty, Andrew Toney, Paul Silas, Gus Williams, Richard Jefferson

Washington Bullets Team:

PG: Walt Frazier
SG: Fat Lever
SF: Shawn Marion
PF: Bobby Jones
CE: Wilt Chamberlain

BENCH: Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Dale Ellis, Kirk Hinrich, Tayshaun Prince

[Sharpie]

Leaning towards the Bullets here. They have the best player, by far, best combo (having two of the five best players will do that), also by far, and the best group of role players.

[ss03]

People not in the draft can't vote? This could take a while then...

Anyway, this is a tough division, and my top 3 are the Heat, Hawks and Bullets...

Before I vote, I'll let them get a few words in if they want.

[Seuss]

It really came down to Bullets and Hawks. I took Hawks.

Both teams do not have a great perimeter shooting game, but the Hawks are more capable of defending Wilt because the players they are leaving to double are not great shooters. I think the Hawks would probably win 50 something games in our league.

[Diophantos]

Wow...talk about a tough division. That’s what I get for picking my favorite team.

Anyways, I'll start rambling here about my team; how it functions, how I feel the players fit together, etc. This was fun to write, but I’ll be surprised if anyone actually reads the whole thing through…

Offensively, my main assets are the prodigious talents of my two starting wings, Bird and McGrady. Not only are they both great scorers, both have excellent court vision and are willing passers. In addition, they're both comfortable playing anywhere on the floor offensively: in the post, on the wing, at the top of the key, cutting, whatever.

Thus, I'll be trying to maximize these virtues on offense by running most things through Bird and McGrady in a wide variety of different situations. Bird in the post with McGrady on the same wing is one configuration as that allows Bird to (a) score in the post, (b) find McGrady for jumpers if doubled, or (c) play a give and go game with McGrady on the wing. Combine this with Porter stretching the floor at the top of the key, and you have a triangle-like set-up which has a lot of scoring options.

McGrady in the post is another option, leaving Bird free to roam the other wing looking for (a) skip passes from McGrady and (b) offensive rebounding opportunities, one way that Bird made a killing on the offensive end.

The presence of Yao as a legitimate post-scoring option introduces an extra layer of variety into this attack: either McGrady feeding Yao in the post makes him impossible to be doubled, and Yao (an excellent passer from the pivot) has a cutting Bird or Rodman as options. As an excellent mid-range shooter, Yao can also free up space for one of his wings to operate in the post.

As for Rodman, no he’s not a scoring threat, but you’d better put a body on him, or he’ll just play volleyball all day on the offensive glass.

We’ll try and slow down the game on offense, let Porter get us into our sets, and rely on efficient scoring and offensive rebounding to keep running teams at bay.

So the offensive strengths of this unit are a wide variety of post-up options and cutters, combined with great passers at 4 positions, allowing it to create and take advantage of many matchup problems. For example, against Washington, McGrady is clearly too much for any of their guards in the post, while there’s no good matchup for Bird on St. Louis.

Defensively, the greatest strength of this team is the way they control the glass, a necessity for a slower group that wants to compete with the running teams in this league. Yao is a capable rebounder, Bird is one of the greatest rebounders at his position of all time, and Rodman, I think it can be argued, is the greatest rebounder of all time at any position. The backcourt too, is excellent in that respect, both being bigger and more physical then most of their counterparts.

The big centers (and this division has a few in Wilt and Timmy) will be guarded by Yao, who at least has the strength to keep from getting abused. Doubles, if necessary, will come from many directions, but mainly from Rodman, who has the speed/athleticism to double and then recover to his man.

High-scoring wings go up against the length and athleticism of McGrady, plus the savvy team defense of Bird (3 All-D 2nd teams!), with the physical, bruising Natt off the bench. Porter’s role defensively is to provide a physical presence against mostly smaller point guards (think Ron Harper on the Bulls). And of course, Rodman will somehow manage to guard his man and be everywhere all at once, as back-to-back DPOY’s will attest to.

Finally, the Heat bench is capable of bringing some varied looks to this team. Westphal is an All-NBA 1st teamer, a very dangerous scorer and playmaker and the kind of 6th man that carries teams for stretches offensively. The forwards (Lucas and Natt) provide great muscle, physicality, interior defense, and inside scoring. Lucas provides another defensive option on scoring 4’s and 5’s, and the kind of post scoring that Rodman lacks. Natt can guard scoring 3’s, as well as many 2’s and 4’s in this league if necessary, and offensively would play very well off my passers in Bird, McGrady, and Westphal. Smith is another big body and a big time shot-blocker who can alter a game for stretches. Francis provides an excellent complement for Porter off the bench: he has the speed to stick with speedier points, while retaining the size and physicality to deal with bigger ones. As an absolutely great finisher, he will also benefit from Bird and McGrady’s passing, and adds some speed to my team off the bench. With that speed this bench can look to pick up the pace at times when their opponents might be wearing down; e.g. playing Francis/McGrady/Natt/Bird/Smith late in a quarter could allow them to pick up easy baskets off Francis pushing the pace from Smith’s blocks or his own steals.

In short this team has two main calling cards. First, a versatile, post-up heavy, matchup oriented offensive attack, supplemented by offensive rebounding. Second and most importantly a tough, physical, don’t back down attitude that starts with Bird at the top and goes all the way through the bench. With Larry at the helm and guys like Rodman, Lucas, etc., this team will be the most intense on the floor every night, win or lose.

[jericho]

I'll say the teams I'm most scared of are the Bullets and the Heat, just based on key matchups.

Looking at Washington, Chamberlain trumps Duncan (although I think Timmy would be in his head and drive him nuts), and Frazier vs. Payton is arguably a wash. I'd double down on Chamberlain a fair bit and invite players like Bobby Jones to step up. The only Bullet who can really space the floor reliably is Dale Ellis, and Richmond and Toney can each go basket for basket with him, as well as defend better.

King and Richmond will, uh, have their hands full with McGrady and Bird. Prime King will be just as much of a nightmare to guard and can rack up points with any forward in this league, but I have to give the edge to Miami's duo for the overall game--playmaking, rebounding, size, etc. Payton has it pretty clearly over Porter, and I could see Gary spending some time at SG to harrass McGrady while Gus Williams plays on the ball. I feel good about the ability of Payton and Duncan to hold on to the tempo they want to play, and I'd give Duncan the edge over Yao. Rodman can't really afford to double down, since Buck is good for 18 ppg if guarded too loosely. Silas may not see many minutes in this matchup, unless I need someone to go elbow for elbow with Lucas and Natt.

All good teams in this division, but again, I think the Bullets and Heat are my biggest threats. I like my bench against either of theirs, but can see a case either way looking at the starting lineups.

[TiMVP2]

i voted hawks.

[Hyperion]

Miami can counter Wilt, and have some left over for offense. By a hair do I choose the Heat.

[fruitcake]

gonna have to go with Wilt and the Bullets. Tough choice between the Hawks and the Bullets.

[jericho]

We still need to hear from the GMs of the Bobcats, Bullets, and Magic!

This is a great division.

[BadBaronRudigor]

Bullets Summary:

Players
Wilt Chamberlain 1966-67 PHI 81g 45.5min 24.2reb 7.8ast 24.1pts .683fg/.441ft
In midst of 4 consecutive MVPs, won NBA championship, GOAT

Bobby Jones 1976-77 DEN NBA 82g 29.5min 8.3reb 3.2ast 2.3st 2.0bl 15.1pts .570fg/.717ft
Most decorated defensive player of all time with 11 first team and 1 2nd plus career .550+ shooter

Shawn Marion 2005-06 PHO 81g 40.3min 11.8reb 1.8 ast 2.0st 1.7bl 21.8pts .525fg/.331x3/.809ft
2nd team All-Defense, dominant with or without Nash, with or without Marion, SF or PF, consistent

Lafayette Lever 1988-89 DEN 71g 38.7min 9.3reb 7.9ast 2.7st 0.3bl 19.8pts .457fg/.348x3/.785ft
2nd team All-Defense, Best game was v. Chi: 31pts/16reb/20ast/6st guarded by Jordan and Pippen!

Walt Frazier 1969-70 NYK 77g 39.5min 6.0reb 8.2ast 20.9pts .518/.748
1st team All-NBA, One of 7 1st Team All-Defense awards, NBA Champion

Bench

George McGinnis f 1974-75 IND ABA 79g 40.4min 14.3reb 6.3ast! 2.6st 0.7bl 29.8pt .451fg/.354x3/.724ft
ABA MVP, continued to get better than 24/13/3 for next four years with 76ers in NBA

Mel Daniels c/f 1970-71 IND ABA 82g 38.7min 18.0reb 2.2ast 21.0pts .514fg/.679ft
2 time MVP, one of only 10 players to ever do so, except Nash, all others are top 20 all-time

Dale Ellis g/f 1988-89 SEA 82g 38.9min 4.2reb 2.0ast 1.3st 0.3bl 27.5pts .501fg/.478x3/.816ft
Career .400+ from 3 point range; one of 4 straight years of 24 ppg for Seattle

Kirk Hinrich g 2006-07 CHI 80g 35.5min 3.4reb 6.3ast 1.3st 0.3bl 16.6pts .448fg/.415x3/.835ft 2nd team All-D

Tayshaun Prince f 2006-07 DET 82g 36.6min 5.2reb 2.8ast 0.6st 0.7bl 14.3pts .460fg/.386x3/.768ft 2nd All-D

Team Analysis

The team concept starts with defense. Chamberlain is one of the top 5 defensive anchors of all time, Frazier and Bobby Jones are arguably the greatest defensive guard and forward ever, Marion and Lever were on the NBA All-Defense team. We will apply constant pressure as everyone in our starting lineup generated more than 2 steals/game (assuming Frazier did) relying on the shotblocking of Chamberlain and help defense of Jones (2 blocks) and Marion (1.7 blocks) to cover any penetration.

We will run off these generated turnovers plus our rebounding (Wilt, Shawn, and Fat are among the best ever) with Frazier and Lever leading the break and Marion and Jones filling lanes and finishing it. If we are in the halfcourt offense, we will run a power post offense through Wilt counting on him to dominate (.683 FG%) or pass out (3rd in NBA in assists in 67) to our high percentage shooters (starters average better than .550 FG%) or allow Frazier or Lever to create.

Our bench features two MVPs in McGinnis and Daniels. McGinnis is our most explosive scorer, able to post inside or shoot outside; Daniels is a low post physical presence. Outside, Dale Ellis is another explosive scorer shooting .478 from three point range. Hinrich gives us another 3 point shooter and he and Prince are additional All-Defense types.

In the end, we will dominate the post with Wilt, we have outstanding defenders everywhere to generate fast breaks and keep the great scorers from taking advantage and we have explosion off the bench. It’s been a fun draft.

[Knick_Killer31]

I changed my mind about a thousand times but then when I really thought about it, you just gotta go with the Hawks. They are an all around team and are talented in almost every area of the game. I thought selecting Gary Payton was a great move by jericho and adding so many different weapons to the team just really made them stand out. I have a lot of respect for the Bullets and the Heat as well. Both of those teams could have won almost any other division except this one. This is one hell of a division and all of the posters involved in the Southeat division should be very proud of themselves.

[jericho]

I'm glad to see the voting is tight and competitive in this division, as it should be.

The Hawks' starting wing players aren't notable defenders (although they're not dogs, either), so we're going to have trouble especially with Bird/McGrady but also with Drexler and Barry. But St. Louis does have exceptional defense in the post and at the point (or wherever Payton is guarding at the moment). And Jefferson and Toney are both strong defenders off the bench.

The Hawks can give a variety of looks on offense. The bread and butter is a grind-it-out half-court scheme, with the offense flowing through the PG and C positions (since both Duncan and Daugherty are excellent passers). Duncan can step out and hit the jumper when needed, which gives Payton plenty of room to post up smaller opponents inside. The bigs are all effective pick-setters, creating opportunities for shooters like Richmond and Toney. Passers can look for both cutters and shooters. With Daugherty on board, Duncan can log significant minutes at PF against bigger opposing lineups.

But the Hawks can run the break well in this league, off of outlet passes from any of the bigs or steals in the lane by Payton or Williams. Payton can push the pace well when needed, and several Hawks--including Buck, Richmond, and Jefferson--can fly on the break. King at his peak is arguably the most explosive scorer on the break among SFs.

I wish I could watch these games, or sim them somehow...

[Diophantos]

Tied 4-4 between St. Louis and Washington at the moment (since Baron's vote doesn't count), Heat lagging with 2. Come on people, vote!

[crazyfan]

WOW. my team(bobcats) are getting slaughtered and deservedly so. Great players who don't seem fit together at all in a team.


But in order not to waste the immense talents of Drexler and Barkely, I'll give it a shot.

First off, I would like to say my team consists of 4 HOFers but not all of them will be playing together at one time.

My team's DEFENSE SUCKS, especially down low in the post but I dont expect to be defending. I want to outscore my opponents.

Therefore, I have split my team into 2 sub-teams.

1st Team
PG:Johnny Moore- excellent fast break player. led league in assists in his 2nd year
SGrexler
SF:G.Robinson
PF:Barkely
C:C.Robinson

THIS team will run and run and score as many as possible. Will give up a lot of points but scoring is the main objective here. Cliffy can't mark Wilt or Duncan but he can spread the floor, allowing Barkely to work his magic.


2nd Team
PG:Moore
SG:Greer
SF:Cunningham
PF:Walker
C:Kellog/Issel

Small team but i have Greer/Cunningham/Walker played together and will be highly productive. Walker's my ultimate glue guy and Kellog was a supernatural rebounder and low post scorer. Once again, the bobcats are just going to score.


So that's my team. Might be a little too late but better than late than never ya!