Can anyone beat my team?

Can anyone beat my team? Dec 3, 2020 13:06:11 GMT nutsberryfarm 🏜 and permutojoe like this

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Post by ReyKahuka on Dec 3, 2020 13:06:11 GMT

Dec 2, 2020 23:42:38 GMT permutojoe said:

Dec 2, 2020 19:53:46 GMT ReyKahuka said:

You're not wrong, but that doesn't mean his lineup couldn't take two games out of ten. Your original post doesn't ask for a team that could beat yours in a seven game series, only one that could take 2/10 games. I was 100% sincere with my 86 Celtics comment. You could Frankenstein a few lineups, or use actual rosters like the 2017 Warriors who would take a couple of games against your roster. They wouldn't win a seven game series, but two out of ten is achievable.

The 86 Celtics would feast on your team inside. They beat Hakeem twice in the regular season and won the Finals 4-2. They took the season series 3-1 vs. the Bulls and swept MJ in the playoffs despite him having a monster playoff series. They swept the Lakers in the regular season. Of course, Pippen and Rodman weren't in the league yet, and of course putting them all on the same team changes the dynamics of the defense, the point is none of those guys were too much individually for the Celtics to handle and they wouldn't be overwhelmed at any position by any individual player-- not enough to at least take two games.

The 1985-86 Celtics had the highest basketball IQ maybe of any team, ever. They were as talented, confidant and incredibly scrappy. The starting five featured four Hall of Famers (Parish, McHale, Bird, Johnson) and a guy who made an all-star team (Ainge). I won't go so far as to suggest they could win a series outright, but they could take two games. If you think I'm wrong, I encourage you to go back and watch Celtics games from that season.

Yeah Steph Curry and Klay Thompson would scare up at least a few wins out of 10 against any team because of their deadeye shooting from anywhere past halfcourt. The '86 Celtics would have a formidable frontcourt but they'd still need the guard play to get the ball up the court and start the offense. It's hard to say how that would go as I haven't actually seen that team in action much. I will have to put it on the to-do list.

It'd be tough for any team to move the ball around the perimeter against Jordan and Pippen, no doubt. Still, I like this team's chances to pull out a few wins. Everyone knows Bird, McHale and Parish were great, but people forget how good DJ and Ainge were. DJ was a Finals MVP before he even came to Boston. Bird called DJ "the smartest player I ever played with." Ainge played hard on both ends of the floor, and while he was highly skilled, he wasn't afraid to mix it up with anyone.

Regarding ball movement, the end of game 4 of the 86 Finals is a great snapshot of what this team could do. Up by one possession, the Celtics forced a turnover at halfcourt with like 15 seconds left and passed the ball around to run out the clock. The Rockets couldn't even foul anyone, that's how well the ball moved on that team.

For a series I think the paint would belong to the Cs, but in the end, peak Magic, Jordan and Pippen would be too much to handle. Rodman was an ingenious addition to your lineup because not only was a he a great defender and rebounder, but he wouldn't demand any shots. He'd get a few tip ins and Magic would find him for easy buckets in transition, otherwise he'd stay out of the way on offense. You could try to go up tempo and run the Cs out of the gym, but the 84 Lakers tried that and lost (albeit in a seven game series). I think the athleticism and defensive versatility would be the difference for your squad. Pippen could guard literally anyone on the court, Rodman could guard any big. Magic is 6'9". Jordan is psychotic (and I say this with appreciation as a huge Jordan fan!).

There's just too much of everything on your team. If I could tweak it at all, I'd switch out Olajuwon for Wilt and put Bill Russell in at PF. A team with peak Jordan and Russell is unbeatable. Pippen doing all the little things, Magic getting the ball where it needed to be, Chamberlain being completely unstoppable in the paint.