[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.


Buffalo Braves Team:

PG: Oscar Robertson
SG: Earl Monroe
SF: Reggie Miller
PF: Detlef Schrempf
C: Darryl Dawkins

BENCH: Sean Elliot, Vern Mikkelson, Lamar Odom, Robert Horry, Tyson Chandler

Chicago Bulls Team:

PG: Kevin Johnson
SG: Dennis Johnson
SF: John Havlicek
PF: Marcus Camby
CE: Bill Walton

BENCH: Dan Roundfield, Marques Johnson, Xavier McDaniel, Kurt Thomas, Brevin Knight

Detroit Pistons Team:

PG: Isiah Thomas
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Glen Rice
PF: Kevin Willis
CE: Robert Parish

BENCH: Rony Seikaly, Sam Cassell, Michael Finley, Andre Iguolada, Antonio Davis

Indiana Pacers Team:

PG: Magic Johnson
SG: David Thompson
SF: Chris Mullin
PF: Dolph Schayes
C: Bill Russell

BENCH: Tom Chambers, Mark Jackson, John Starks, Jalen Rose, Michael Cage

Milwaukee Bucks Team:

PG: Maurice Cheeks
SG: Vince Carter
SF: Andre Kirilenko
PF: Pau Gasol
CE: Hakeem Olujawon

BENCH: Don Buse, Sean Battier, Terry Cummings, Lou Hudson, Sam Lacey

[Sharpie]

I have a writeup on my team ready but I'm going to save it for the conference voting thread since this division is really the Pacers to lose and the Bulls are a very strong team as well.

[BadBaronRudigor]

Will hold off on voting to see if anyone wants to writeup a report or a rebuttal but here are my impressions so far:

Buffalo: assuming Elliot or Odom moves into the starting lineup and Monroe goes back to the bench, this team has incredible guards with Oscar, Reggie and Earl, excellent ballhandling at the forwards with Schrempf, Odom and Elliot . . .after that, the front line isn't great defensively or on the boards though it can score.

Chicago: A very nice team with great passing and outside shooting, great defense all around, not a great percentage shooting team but still very dangerous if the jump shooters are hot. Bench drops off fast after Camby and Marques Johnson.

Detroit: Brutal physical guards (yes Kobe, you are a dirty player, it is one of your strengths), solid center, weak at forward as both Rice and Willis are limited defensively. Again, a good team, just not a great one.

Indiana: Russell and Magic is as nasty a pair as exists, two of the top 5 players of all time. They may be enough to carry this team though I don't like the rest of it much. Thompson and Mullin were both incredible offensive players but neither played much defense and they both have extremely high usage rates . . . it is one reason I didn't draft Thompson despite his abilities. The bench is ugly, Chambers and Rose didn't play defense, Starks was an offensive liablily and Jackson and Cage are both undertalented overachievers in this league.

Milwaukee: another nice team with Hakeem, Cheeks and Kirilenko for defense and Carter for offense. Gasol is a weak line, Cummings might be better. Good bench, probably my second choice in the division right now behind Chicago pending arguments.

[jericho]

How is Bill Russell on both Chicago and Indiana?

[fruitcake]

bill walton is on chicago

[Hyperion]

That backcourt that Buffalo has will almost assuredly eat any front court ALIVE! I don't see how the bigs of the opposing team will stay out of foul trouble AND play aggressively with Oscar, Earl, and Reggie in the mix. Reggie is a tougher assignment than Jordan because Reggie runs you ragged through screens and cuts the whole game.

[Flash is the Future]

The Detroit Pistons have a little bit of everything. Deadly outside shooting on the wings (Kobe and Rice), and lights out shooting off of the bench in Cassell and Finley. We're a little weak defensively, but Parish can block shots, and Willis can get the boards. People forget he once averaged 17/15 for an entire season. This tandem of 7 footers will be deadly rebounding wise. Kobe and AI provide a combination of athletiscism unmatched at the SG spot. Overall, this team is the most balanced team in the division IMHO. There's not a single thing that we can't do. There's a great mix of lights out perimeter shooting, perimeter defense, playmaking, and rebounding.

[Diophantos]

Originally Posted by IceMan23and3

Reggie is a tougher assignment than Jordan because Reggie runs you ragged through screens and cuts the whole game.

Eddie Jordan? Jared Jordan? Can't think what Jordan you're talking about.

[Diophantos]

I like Milwaukee and Chicago and think both have their strengths; Detroit is solidly built as well. But frankly I don't see any of those three beating Indiana.

[fruitcake]

its just cruel to have magic and russell on the same team. that should be illegal

[Hyperion]

Originally Posted by Diophantos

Eddie Jordan? Jared Jordan? Can't think what Jordan you're talking about.

Malik Jordan.... I used to play pick-up ball with ... Michael Jordan! That's what everyone has said that Miller is the hardest guy to guard because you are just so exhausted by the end of the game, that you can't even play offense if you're guarding him.

[jericho]

Originally Posted by IceMan23and3

Malik Jordan.... I used to play pick-up ball with ... Michael Jordan! That's what everyone has said that Miller is the hardest guy to guard because you are just so exhausted by the end of the game, that you can't even play offense if you're guarding him.

Well, Miller might be harder to stay with over the course of a game. But I think it's an objective fact that Jordan was much harder to keep from actually scoring.

[Seuss]

Voting closes Sunday, 5EST/2PCT.


I will vote last, then tally the votes.

[jericho]

Buffalo: Oscar, Pearl and Reggie is a nice combination. Reggie would get eaten alive at small forward here; Pearl would make a great 6th man, with maybe Odom in as the starting SF to help with ball movement and rebounding. Schrempf and Dawkins are really outclassed as starters in this league, though. Schrempf would be a nice 6th or 7th man. But my main issue with this team the way it's composed is that Oscar's only significant scoring help is coming from other guards. Reggie's shooting helps, but I'd like to see more different kinds of looks on offense. Also, this team will struggle on the boards against the more imposing front lines.

Chicago: One of the better running teams in the league, with just terrific defense at the 2-4 positions. This is one of my favorite starting fives, although I'm pretty underwhelmed by the bench and I'd like to see some better shooting to space the floor for cutters. Havlicek has a pretty big offensive responsibility, but only Camby, Thomas, and Knight have little to offer on offense. Overall, I like this team and expect them to go deep into the playoffs, though probably not win it all.

Detroit: Kobe and Isiah are two of the best ever at flat-out taking over at crunch time. There are some mediocre to poor defenders on this team, which tells me that the Pistons will have to rely on outscoring everyone. I'd like to see a better shotblocker somewhere here, although Parish and Willis are a very good rebounding duo. First round exit, maybe?

Indiana : Unlike Baron, I really like Mullin on this team. He's a good finisher and great shooter in a run-n-gun system. Not a good defender, but that's what Russell is for. Thompson has a tendency to slow things down and sit on the ball while he maneuvers for a fancy dunk, so he's a bit of a liability, but there's no denying his fabulous talent, and I actually would count on the intensely strong and competitive personalities of Magic and Russell to keep him and every other schmoe on this team in line. The weak link to me is Schrempf, who gives up size in this league and that makes me worry about his hacking tendencies. He could lead the league in fouls. I like the idea of Chambers playing a lot of minutes off the bench with explosive scoring, daring the other team to outgun them. The rest of the bench is in over their heads, though. I'd call Indiana one of the favorites to win it all if a stronger reserve unit was in place.

Milwaukee: This team is clearly put together very thoughtfully. Maybe one of the league's better benches. You can count on Kirilenko for some very effective help defense, and to get slaughtered man-on-man by opposing SFs from Dr. J. to Lebron to Dominique to Wilkins. It's a 2-sided coin using him in a starting role in this league. Cheeks will mostly be fine, especially with Hakeem and Andrei backing him up. Gasol shouldn't play heavy minutes, with Cummings and Lacey also aboard. Basically, I think this team does extremely well but will struggle when Hakeem can't dominate--e.g., against Wilt, and maybe a prime Shaq, Kareem, or Russell.

Very nice work in this division. I give it to Indiana by a hair over Milwaukee, and we'll see what happens in the postseason.

[Seuss]

Voting Results:

Pacers - 9
Pistons - 1
Braves - 1
Bulls - 1
Bucks - 0