So I talked about this earlier, sort of, and decided it'd be pretty interesting to visit again. So this time, let's do it by age. Here are my picks:
Over 30:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd
SG - Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Ray Allen
SF - Paul Pierce, Antawn Jamison
PF - Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki
C - Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Marcus Camby
This team would probably play pretty slow, I can see a 5 on the floor of Chauncey Billups, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Shaq on the floor causing havoc on both ends, I like Billups and Allen being spot up shooters while KG, Duncan, and Shaq cause havoc all across the various post positions. I don't know that there are enough shooters for a Greg Popovich system to work, but I'd love to see Phil Jackson run his triangle offense through this. Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, and even to some extent Camby are all very good passing big men, and the length that they'd have in the frontcourt would make them a nightmare on either end of the court. Should they want more of a transition game I can see a lineup of Kidd, Bryant, Pierce (or Carter), Dirk (or Jamison or KG), and Camby being fairly effective too.
25-30:
PG - Deron Williams, Tony Parker
SG - Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, Brandon Roy
SF - LeBron James, Caron Butler, Carmelo Anthony
PF - Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh
C - Yao Ming, Pau Gasol
This would be like a dream Mike D'Antoni team if you slid Amar'e to the 5 slot and plugged Bosh in at the 4. You could also run super small by having LeBron play the 4 and Joe Johnson or Caron Buter take the 3. Either way this team is designed for running, outside of Yao and Gasol. They have at least 6 ball handlers (Williams, Parker, Wade, Johnson, Roy, James) that can all initiate the offense fairly effectively. A big question though would be on the defensive end and how they'd hold up there, especially in the frontcourt.
Under 25:
PG - Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose
SG - OJ Mayo, Monta Ellis
SF - Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay
PF - Al Jefferson, LaMarcus Aldridge
C - Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, Andris Biedrins
This is a young team, so I would probably pick like Jerry Sloan or someone to coach it. While Mayo, Durant, and Gay aren't great 3 point shooters they can still space the floor. The big question will be if Dwight Howard and Al Jefferson can coexist as neither has a great mid-range game. However, it'd be really fun to watch Chris Paul run a high pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard.
Well? What's your pick?
Friday, March 27, 2009
What will it take?: Cleveland Cavaliers
I know, I know, I'm pretty long overdue with this post. I was hoping to get some of the more prominent names in the blogosphere involved, but alas, I don't really know anyone in the Cavs blogosphere, as I don't really follow the Cavs outside of the plethora of LeBron news that assaults my reader daily. So I guess that means I'm stuck doing my own analysis. Shucks. I'm sure that's what some of you are thinking.
Anyways, the Cavs have had a pretty strong showing ever since LeBron has been on the team, because well, LeBron is LeBron. The Cavs have made the playoffs for since the 2005-2006 season, and it's largely been on the shoulders of LeBron James, especially since Cleveland got shafted by Carlos Boozer in the 2004 free agency. Regardless, with a supporting cast featuring the likes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, Donyell Marshall, Sasha Pavlovic, Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, and the like, LeBron carried the Cavs into the playoffs (albeit in a weaker Eastern Conference), and even as far as the NBA Finals past the Detroit Pistons in 2007, only to be swept by the San Antonio Spurs. I'm sure you're all familiar with the history so I'll try to fast-forward to today.
Basically, everyone (including Mike Brown) realized that the Cavs, while a strong defensive team, desperately needed offense outside of LeBron James. LeBron just wasn't the Allen Iverson type that dominated the ball, and honestly, good defensive teams were able to stop the Cavs' offense by simply bottlenecking the point of origin, LeBron, and since he was the only point of origin, it worked. During the past offseason, the Cavs realized this and made a three-way move sending Joe Smith to Oklahoma City, who in turn sent Luke Ridnour to Milwaukee, who subsequently handed Mo Williams over to Cleveland (and Desmond Mason to OKC). At that juncture, Mo Williams was the second most reliable scorer on the Bucks behind Michael Redd, but the emergence of Ramon Sessions had rendered Williams somewhat expendable. Williams was averaging 17.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.4 assists during his last season as a Buck.
What Williams added, was a player who could create his own shot, someone who didn't have to rely on LeBron to make offense, i.e. a second point of offensive origin. Currently, Mo Williams, is doing his Mo Williams thing, just on a better team (17.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists). It's definitely improved the Cavs significantly, as it has made their offense flow better, that and the fact that Mike Brown has developed an offense outside of "pass LeBron the ball at the top of the key". However, despite having the best record in the league (58-13), there is still no guarantee that the Cavs will win a title or even make it to the Finals. They still have to fight through an improved Eastern Conference playoff bracket and then take out whoever the West throws out at them. If they do make it to the Finals again, it won't be the trouncing they received 2 years ago, but again, it's not a given that they'll take it either.
So what's it gonna take? Well, ideally I would've said another scoring option, because to me honestly, I don't think that Mo Williams is a very good second option (I think Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a crappier third option), not that he's a bad player, but I think if you had another player who could score, maybe on the low block or something, they'd be more effective. However, that essentially fell through with the lack of a trade come the deadline. Mo Williams will have big shooting nights, but not consistently as say like Ray Allen, so what's going to have to happen, is that the role players are going to have to step it up.
One of the Cavs biggest weaknesses is offense in the low post, if you look at their front court, you have some pairing of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Joe Smith, Anderson Varejao, and JJ Hickson. Let's assume that they get Ben Wallace back healthy, because I think they're going to need him come playoff time, so throw him into the mix too (Lorenzen Wright does not count). While Big Z is consistent, he's not a guy that can really score at will, and really makes a living off of open face up 12 footers than anything else.
Production-wise JJ Hickson and Joe Smith are virtually identical on a per 36 minute basis. The primary difference being that JJ Hickson coughs up the ball a lot more than Smith. While they're both solid, they, and Big Z, are by no means extraordinary offensive threats in the low block. I haven't seen much of Hickson play, but I'd imagine that he's not great or that his IQ isn't as high as Cavs might like if Brown is leery of playing him as a rookie in the post season and therefore is going with tried and true Joe Smith and his veteran exerpience. If we look at Varejao and Wallace, while Varejao isn't completely useless on offense, like Ben Wallace is, they're both more of an impact on the defensive end, which means they are even less of a scoring option than Big Z, Hickson, and Smith.
The offense then has to come from the shooters. Mo Williams, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, and Wally Sczerbiak have to keep up their solid shooting from this season in order to carry the team over the top. LeBron is going to find them, but they need to be able to make the shots that they get, and do so consistently, which I suppose is the case for most teams. However, I emphasize this for the Cavs simply because there really just aren't that many weapons to rely on, while Williams was certainly an upgrade (from Larry Hughes and Eric Snow), I don't know that it's necessarily enough to carry them over in 7 games straight, especially since they are a little weak in the low post (see Dallas Mavericks from 2005-2007). My focus in terms of offensive production I think really has to be Delonte West, who's definitely stepped it up for the brunt of the season, but really has to maintain that high level of play for the Cavs to win it all.
While the Cavs have always been a good defensive team, they can't really take all that for granted. With Ben Wallace down, the team really suffers defensively on the block, as Joe Smith and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are by no means stoppers. Joe Smith may know the system and is probably pretty good with the help, but honestly, we can't forget that he was criticized so much last season for his inability to guard Kevin Garnett in the playoffs. Joe Smith is not a young guy, and so his defense isn't really going to get better. They have to really help a lot on the defense with teams that play physical like Boston and Atlanta (and Orlando I guess), while I don't know that they'll win a lot of the frontcourt battles, they can't afford to be beat too much by the opposing bigs.
Of course the big assumption is that LeBron will be enough to tide this better team over. I think that in this off season if they can acquire a major piece, say a solid PF scorer or maybe another explosive swingman then they'd be solid. With what they have now, LeBron will have to continue to be pretty darn amazing, and everyone else is going to have to step it up.
Anyways, the Cavs have had a pretty strong showing ever since LeBron has been on the team, because well, LeBron is LeBron. The Cavs have made the playoffs for since the 2005-2006 season, and it's largely been on the shoulders of LeBron James, especially since Cleveland got shafted by Carlos Boozer in the 2004 free agency. Regardless, with a supporting cast featuring the likes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, Donyell Marshall, Sasha Pavlovic, Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, and the like, LeBron carried the Cavs into the playoffs (albeit in a weaker Eastern Conference), and even as far as the NBA Finals past the Detroit Pistons in 2007, only to be swept by the San Antonio Spurs. I'm sure you're all familiar with the history so I'll try to fast-forward to today.
Basically, everyone (including Mike Brown) realized that the Cavs, while a strong defensive team, desperately needed offense outside of LeBron James. LeBron just wasn't the Allen Iverson type that dominated the ball, and honestly, good defensive teams were able to stop the Cavs' offense by simply bottlenecking the point of origin, LeBron, and since he was the only point of origin, it worked. During the past offseason, the Cavs realized this and made a three-way move sending Joe Smith to Oklahoma City, who in turn sent Luke Ridnour to Milwaukee, who subsequently handed Mo Williams over to Cleveland (and Desmond Mason to OKC). At that juncture, Mo Williams was the second most reliable scorer on the Bucks behind Michael Redd, but the emergence of Ramon Sessions had rendered Williams somewhat expendable. Williams was averaging 17.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.4 assists during his last season as a Buck.
What Williams added, was a player who could create his own shot, someone who didn't have to rely on LeBron to make offense, i.e. a second point of offensive origin. Currently, Mo Williams, is doing his Mo Williams thing, just on a better team (17.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists). It's definitely improved the Cavs significantly, as it has made their offense flow better, that and the fact that Mike Brown has developed an offense outside of "pass LeBron the ball at the top of the key". However, despite having the best record in the league (58-13), there is still no guarantee that the Cavs will win a title or even make it to the Finals. They still have to fight through an improved Eastern Conference playoff bracket and then take out whoever the West throws out at them. If they do make it to the Finals again, it won't be the trouncing they received 2 years ago, but again, it's not a given that they'll take it either.
So what's it gonna take? Well, ideally I would've said another scoring option, because to me honestly, I don't think that Mo Williams is a very good second option (I think Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a crappier third option), not that he's a bad player, but I think if you had another player who could score, maybe on the low block or something, they'd be more effective. However, that essentially fell through with the lack of a trade come the deadline. Mo Williams will have big shooting nights, but not consistently as say like Ray Allen, so what's going to have to happen, is that the role players are going to have to step it up.
One of the Cavs biggest weaknesses is offense in the low post, if you look at their front court, you have some pairing of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Joe Smith, Anderson Varejao, and JJ Hickson. Let's assume that they get Ben Wallace back healthy, because I think they're going to need him come playoff time, so throw him into the mix too (Lorenzen Wright does not count). While Big Z is consistent, he's not a guy that can really score at will, and really makes a living off of open face up 12 footers than anything else.
Production-wise JJ Hickson and Joe Smith are virtually identical on a per 36 minute basis. The primary difference being that JJ Hickson coughs up the ball a lot more than Smith. While they're both solid, they, and Big Z, are by no means extraordinary offensive threats in the low block. I haven't seen much of Hickson play, but I'd imagine that he's not great or that his IQ isn't as high as Cavs might like if Brown is leery of playing him as a rookie in the post season and therefore is going with tried and true Joe Smith and his veteran exerpience. If we look at Varejao and Wallace, while Varejao isn't completely useless on offense, like Ben Wallace is, they're both more of an impact on the defensive end, which means they are even less of a scoring option than Big Z, Hickson, and Smith.
The offense then has to come from the shooters. Mo Williams, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, and Wally Sczerbiak have to keep up their solid shooting from this season in order to carry the team over the top. LeBron is going to find them, but they need to be able to make the shots that they get, and do so consistently, which I suppose is the case for most teams. However, I emphasize this for the Cavs simply because there really just aren't that many weapons to rely on, while Williams was certainly an upgrade (from Larry Hughes and Eric Snow), I don't know that it's necessarily enough to carry them over in 7 games straight, especially since they are a little weak in the low post (see Dallas Mavericks from 2005-2007). My focus in terms of offensive production I think really has to be Delonte West, who's definitely stepped it up for the brunt of the season, but really has to maintain that high level of play for the Cavs to win it all.
While the Cavs have always been a good defensive team, they can't really take all that for granted. With Ben Wallace down, the team really suffers defensively on the block, as Joe Smith and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are by no means stoppers. Joe Smith may know the system and is probably pretty good with the help, but honestly, we can't forget that he was criticized so much last season for his inability to guard Kevin Garnett in the playoffs. Joe Smith is not a young guy, and so his defense isn't really going to get better. They have to really help a lot on the defense with teams that play physical like Boston and Atlanta (and Orlando I guess), while I don't know that they'll win a lot of the frontcourt battles, they can't afford to be beat too much by the opposing bigs.
Of course the big assumption is that LeBron will be enough to tide this better team over. I think that in this off season if they can acquire a major piece, say a solid PF scorer or maybe another explosive swingman then they'd be solid. With what they have now, LeBron will have to continue to be pretty darn amazing, and everyone else is going to have to step it up.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Best Draft Class Revisited
So I did a post on the best draft class currently represented in the NBA. However, what if we were to do just the best draft class in the last 20 years? Who do you think would come out on top? I compiled the rosters using the ASG style format, 12 man rosters, so quality of depth does come into account. Here is my list:
So we start from 1989 and go to today, picking the best representation of each draft class, of course, I may not have picked who you think are the best players, so you can feel free to let me know if you disagree, this is just my opinion. While I think the 1996 draft class might still be the team to beat, with 2003 coming a close second, I'm actually surprised by the talent in 1999 and 2001. Of course, with the most recent drafts, it's still a bit early to tell, but let me know your pick!
| 1989 | PG | Tim Hardaway | 1990 | PG | Gary Payton | 1991 | PG | Kenny Anderson | 1992 | PG | Latrell Sprewell | |||
| SG | Sean Elliot | SG | Kendall Gill | SG | Steve Smith | SG | Jim Jackson | |||||||
| SF | Glen Rice | SF | Cedric Ceballos | SF | Stacey Augmon | SF | Robert Horry | |||||||
| PF | Shawn Kemp | PF | Derrick Coleman | PF | Larry Johnson | PF | Christian Laettner | |||||||
| C | Vlade Divac | C | Antonio Davis | C | Dikembe Mutumbo | C | Shaquille O'Neal | |||||||
| 6th | Mookie Blaylock | 6th | Toni Kukoc | 6th | Dale Davis | 6th | Alonzo Mourning | |||||||
| 7th | Cliff Robinson | 7th | Elden Campbell | 7th | Chris Gatling | 7th | Tom Gugliotta | |||||||
| 8th | Dana Barros | 8th | Dennis Scott | 8th | Luc Longley | 8th | PJ Brown | |||||||
| 9th | Danny Ferry | 9th | Dee Brown | 9th | Rick Fox | 9th | Harold Miner | |||||||
| 10th | Nick Anderson | 10th | Terry Mills | 10th | Eric Murdock | 10th | Doug Christie | |||||||
| Res | Dino Rada | Res | Loy Vaught | Res | Billy Owens | Res | Popeye Jones | |||||||
| Res | BJ Armstrong | Res | Jayson Williams | Res | Greg Anthony | Res | Jon Barry | |||||||
| 1993 | PG | Penny Hardaway | 1994 | PG | Jason Kidd | 1995 | PG | Damon Stoudamire | 1996 | PG | Steve Nash | |||
| SG | Allan Houston | SG | Eddie Jones | SG | Jerry Stackhouse | SG | Kobe Bryant | |||||||
| SF | Jamal Mashburn | SF | Grant Hill | SF | Michael Finley | SF | Peja Stojakovic | |||||||
| PF | Vin Baker | PF | Juwan Howard | PF | Kevin Garnett | PF | Jermaine O'Neal | |||||||
| C | Chris Webber | C | Eric Montross | C | Rasheed Wallace | C | Marcus Camby | |||||||
| 6th | Isaiah Rider | 6th | Glenn Robinson | 6th | Antonio McDyess | 6th | Ray Allen | |||||||
| 7th | Sam Cassell | 7th | Donyell Marshall | 7th | Theo Ratliff | 7th | Shareef Abdur-Rahim | |||||||
| 8th | Nick Van Exel | 8th | Jalen Rose | 8th | Kurt Thomas | 8th | Allen Iverson | |||||||
| 9th | Lindsey Hunter | 9th | Brian Grant | 9th | Brent Barry | 9th | Stephon Marbury | |||||||
| 10th | Shawn Bradley | 10th | Charlie Ward | 10th | Joe Smith | 10th | Zydrunas Ilgauskas | |||||||
| Res | Bryon Russell | Res | Lamond Murray | Res | Bob Sura | Res | Derek Fisher | |||||||
| Res | Rodney Rogers | Res | Aaron Mckie | Res | Travis Best | Res | Erick Dampier | |||||||
| 1997 | PG | Chauncey Billups | 1998 | PG | Mike Bibby | 1999 | PG | Baron Davis | 2000 | PG | Jamal Crawford | |||
| SG | Stephen Jackson | SG | Vince Carter | SG | Richard Hamilton | SG | Michael Redd | |||||||
| SF | Tracy McGrady | SF | Paul Pierce | SF | Ron Artest | SF | Hedo Turkoglu | |||||||
| PF | Tim Duncan | PF | Dirk Nowitzki | PF | Lamar Odom | PF | Kenyon Martin | |||||||
| C | Tony Battie | C | Raef LaFrentz | C | Elton Brand | C | Jamaal Magloire | |||||||
| 6th | Keith Van Horn | 6th | Antawn Jamison | 6th | Steve Francis | 6th | Mike Miller | |||||||
| 7th | Danny Fortson | 7th | Rashard Lewis | 7th | Shawn Marion | 7th | Quentin Richardson | |||||||
| 8th | Derek Anderson | 8th | Bonzi Wells | 8th | Andrei Kirilenko | 8th | Stromile Swift | |||||||
| 9th | Anthony Parker | 9th | Jason Williams | 9th | Manu Ginobili | 9th | Joel Przybilla | |||||||
| 10th | Antonio Daniels | 10th | Al Harrington | 10th | Jason Terry | 10th | Keyon Dooling | |||||||
| Res | Bobby Jackson | Res | Larry Hughes | Res | Andre Miller | Res | Morris Peterson | |||||||
| Res | Tim Thomas | Res | Rasho Nesterovic | Res | Corey Maggette | Res | DeShawn Stevenson | |||||||
| 2001 | PG | Tony Parker | 2002 | PG | Roger Mason | 2003 | PG | TJ Ford | 2004 | PG | Devin Harris | |||
| SG | Joe Johnson | SG | Mike Dunleavy | SG | Dwayne Wade | SG | Kevin Martin | |||||||
| SF | Gerald Wallace | SF | Caron Butler | SF | LeBron James | SF | Andre Iguodala | |||||||
| PF | Pau Gasol | PF | Amar'e Stoudemire | PF | Chris Bosh | PF | Al Jefferson | |||||||
| C | Mehmet Okur | C | Yao Ming | C | Chris Kaman | C | Dwight Howard | |||||||
| 6th | Tyson Chandler | 6th | Carlos Boozer | 6th | Carmelo Anthony | 6th | Emeka Okafor | |||||||
| 7th | Gilbert Arenas | 7th | Nene Hilario | 7th | David West | 7th | Jameer Nelson | |||||||
| 8th | Jason Richardson | 8th | Tayshaun Prince | 8th | Josh Howard | 8th | Luol Deng | |||||||
| 9th | Zach Randolph | 9th | John Salmons | 9th | Mo Williams | 9th | Josh Smith | |||||||
| 10th | Shane Battier | 10th | Luis Scola | 10th | Leandro Barbosa | 10th | Ben Gordon | |||||||
| Res | Troy Murphy | Res | Drew Gooden | Res | Boris Diaw | Res | Andris Biedrins | |||||||
| Res | Richard Jefferson | Res | Matt Barnes | Res | Kendrick Perkins | Res | JR Smith | |||||||
| 2005 | PG | Chris Paul | 2006 | PG | Rajon Rondo | 2007 | PG | Rodney Stuckey | 2008 | PG | Derrick Rose | |||
| SG | Monta Ellis | SG | Brandon Roy | SG | Rudy Fernandez | SG | OJ Mayo | |||||||
| SF | Danny Granger | SF | Rudy Gay | SF | Kevin Durant | SF | Michael Beasley | |||||||
| PF | David Lee | PF | Paul Millsap | PF | Al Horford | PF | Kevin Love | |||||||
| C | Andrew Bynum | C | LaMarcus Aldridge | C | Spencer Hawes | C | Brook Lopez | |||||||
| 6th | Deron Williams | 6th | Andrea Bargnani | 6th | Thaddeus Young | 6th | Russell Westbrook | |||||||
| 7th | Charlie Villanueva | 7th | Randy Foye | 7th | Jeff Green | 7th | Jason Thompson | |||||||
| 8th | Andrew Bogut | 8th | Tyrus Thomas | 8th | Al Thornton | 8th | Courtney Lee | |||||||
| 9th | Marvin Williams | 9th | Ronnie Brewer | 9th | Wilson Chandler | 9th | Mario Chalmers | |||||||
| 10th | Nate Robinson | 10th | Renaldo Balkman | 10th | Aaron Brooks | 10th | George Hill | |||||||
| Res | Francisco Garcia | Res | Leon Powe | Res | Nick Young | Res | DJ Augustin | |||||||
| Res | Ryan Gomes | Res | Thabo Sefalosha | Res | Greg Oden | Res | Jerryd Bayless |
So we start from 1989 and go to today, picking the best representation of each draft class, of course, I may not have picked who you think are the best players, so you can feel free to let me know if you disagree, this is just my opinion. While I think the 1996 draft class might still be the team to beat, with 2003 coming a close second, I'm actually surprised by the talent in 1999 and 2001. Of course, with the most recent drafts, it's still a bit early to tell, but let me know your pick!
Revamping All-Star Weekend
I know I have other posts I should be getting to, but this idea just popped in my head so I'm going to go with it before I forget it. Many people complain how All-Star weekend needs to be changed, I personally would like to see more basketball and less show-boating, though, that's what the regular season is for. What if we just did more basketball games with like in-game "achievements"? Though, that might get pretty messy. I wouldn't mind just having basketball though, forgoing the dunk contest, three point shootout, skills challenge, celebrity game, and Shooting for the Stars. Additionally, the big talk around All-Star break is always about who gets "snubbed".
I know, All-Star break is long over, but it never hurts to speculate though, right? So here's my take; 6-team tourney featuring the All-Stars by division not by conference. Rank the division by overall division win-loss performance, and then have the top coaching staff in each division coach. This way, even the bad teams have good representation in the festivities, and good players aren't penalized for being on bad teams. If we were to do it right now, here's what it would look like:
Eastern Conference Seeding:
1.) Southeast Division 181-177 (.506)
2.) Atlantic Division 175-181 (.492)
3.) Central Division 187-206 (.476)
Western Conference Seeding:
1.) Southwest Division 198-157 (.558)
2.) Northwest Division 174-183 (.487)
3.) Pacific Division 154- 201 (.433)
I suppose one difficulty will be figuring out how to schedule the whole thing, and that players might only want to play one game, as it is supposed to be a "break". Also given that each conference only has 3 divisions, it'd be hard to figure out who'd play more games and stuff like that. In the end, I suppose you could do like a round robin style play, where everyone plays everyone else, shorten the games a little, maybe make the rosters only 6 man and do it that way.
Picking teams also provides to be a slight challenge, but I think that each team should put in one player they think is most deserving (all teams then represented), and then the other coaches vote for the remaining players. Maybe the coaches could all nominate a panel, and from that selection the fans decide who gets to play. Teams won't all be equally represented, but certainly, the good players on poor teams get the recognition they deserve. Certainly, some of the smaller market players would get more exposure. Assuming we do normal All-Star size 12 man rosters, here are my picks, let's assume there are no season ending injuries, and everyone who started the season healthy, is still healthy:
Southeast Division (Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards)
Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy
PG: Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic)
SG: Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)
SF: Caron Butler (Washington Wizards)
PF: Antawn Jamison (Washington Wizards)
C: Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
Guards: Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), Mike Bibby (Atlanta Hawks)
Forwards: Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats), Rashard Lewis (Orlando Magic)
Center: Emeka Okafor (Charlotte Bobcats)
Reserves: Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks), Hedo Turkoglu (Orlando Magic)
Atlantic Division (Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors)
Head Coach: Doc Rivers
PG: Devin Harris (New Jersey Nets)
SG: Vince Carter (New Jersey Nets)
SF: Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics)
PF: Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics)
C: Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
Guards: Ray Allen (Boston Celtics), Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics)
Forwards: Andre Iguodala, (Philadelphia 76ers), David Lee (New York Knicks)
Center: Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets)
Reserves: Al Harrington (New York Knicks), Andre Miller (Philadelphia 76ers)
Central Division (Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers)
Head Coach: Mike Brown
PG: Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)
SG: Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks)
SF: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
PF: Troy Murphy (Indiana Pacers)
C: Rasheed Wallace (Detroit Pistons)
Guards: Richard Hamilton (Detroit Pistons), Ben Gordon (Chicago Bulls)
Forwards: Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers), Richard Jefferson (Milwaukee Bucks)
Center: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Reserves: Mo Williams (Cleveland Cavaliers), Allen Iverson (Detroit Pistons)
Southwest Division (San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies)
Head Coach: Greg Popovich
PG: Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
SG: OJ Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies)
SF: Ron Artest (Houston Rockets)
PF: Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
C: Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)
Guards: Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks)
Forwards: Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies), Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
Center: David West (New Orleans Hornets)
Reserves: Josh Howard (Dallas Mavericks), Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs)
Northwest Division (Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Portland Trailblazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves)
Head Coach: George Karl
PG: Deron Williams (Utah Jazz)
SG: Brandon Roy (Portland Trailblazers)
SF: Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
PF: Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves)
C: Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz)
Guards: Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets), Randy Foye (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Forwards: Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trailblazers)
Center: Nene Hilario (Denver Nuggets)
Reserves: Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Paul Millsap (Utah Jazz)
Pacific Division (Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings)
Head Coach: Phil Jackson
PG: Baron Davis (Los Angeles Clippers)
SG: Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
SF: Stephen Jackson (Golden State Warriors)
PF: Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns)
C: Shaquille O'Neal (Phoenix Suns)
Guards: Steve Nash (Pheonix Suns), Kevin Martin (Sacramento Kings)
Forwards: Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Zach Randolph (Los Angeles Clippers)
Center: Marcus Camby (Los Angeles Clippers)
Reserves: Andrew Bynum (Los Angeles Lakers), Jamal Crawford (Golden State Warriors)
These are my picks. I personally think the Southwest division would be hard to top, but let me know what you think, and who you would switch out. Additionally, let me know if you can think of any methodology for the All-Star break that might work better. Just some tinkering for fun.
I know, All-Star break is long over, but it never hurts to speculate though, right? So here's my take; 6-team tourney featuring the All-Stars by division not by conference. Rank the division by overall division win-loss performance, and then have the top coaching staff in each division coach. This way, even the bad teams have good representation in the festivities, and good players aren't penalized for being on bad teams. If we were to do it right now, here's what it would look like:
Eastern Conference Seeding:
1.) Southeast Division 181-177 (.506)
2.) Atlantic Division 175-181 (.492)
3.) Central Division 187-206 (.476)
Western Conference Seeding:
1.) Southwest Division 198-157 (.558)
2.) Northwest Division 174-183 (.487)
3.) Pacific Division 154- 201 (.433)
I suppose one difficulty will be figuring out how to schedule the whole thing, and that players might only want to play one game, as it is supposed to be a "break". Also given that each conference only has 3 divisions, it'd be hard to figure out who'd play more games and stuff like that. In the end, I suppose you could do like a round robin style play, where everyone plays everyone else, shorten the games a little, maybe make the rosters only 6 man and do it that way.
Picking teams also provides to be a slight challenge, but I think that each team should put in one player they think is most deserving (all teams then represented), and then the other coaches vote for the remaining players. Maybe the coaches could all nominate a panel, and from that selection the fans decide who gets to play. Teams won't all be equally represented, but certainly, the good players on poor teams get the recognition they deserve. Certainly, some of the smaller market players would get more exposure. Assuming we do normal All-Star size 12 man rosters, here are my picks, let's assume there are no season ending injuries, and everyone who started the season healthy, is still healthy:
Southeast Division (Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards)
Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy
PG: Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic)
SG: Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)
SF: Caron Butler (Washington Wizards)
PF: Antawn Jamison (Washington Wizards)
C: Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
Guards: Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), Mike Bibby (Atlanta Hawks)
Forwards: Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats), Rashard Lewis (Orlando Magic)
Center: Emeka Okafor (Charlotte Bobcats)
Reserves: Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks), Hedo Turkoglu (Orlando Magic)
Atlantic Division (Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors)
Head Coach: Doc Rivers
PG: Devin Harris (New Jersey Nets)
SG: Vince Carter (New Jersey Nets)
SF: Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics)
PF: Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics)
C: Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
Guards: Ray Allen (Boston Celtics), Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics)
Forwards: Andre Iguodala, (Philadelphia 76ers), David Lee (New York Knicks)
Center: Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets)
Reserves: Al Harrington (New York Knicks), Andre Miller (Philadelphia 76ers)
Central Division (Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers)
Head Coach: Mike Brown
PG: Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)
SG: Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks)
SF: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
PF: Troy Murphy (Indiana Pacers)
C: Rasheed Wallace (Detroit Pistons)
Guards: Richard Hamilton (Detroit Pistons), Ben Gordon (Chicago Bulls)
Forwards: Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers), Richard Jefferson (Milwaukee Bucks)
Center: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Reserves: Mo Williams (Cleveland Cavaliers), Allen Iverson (Detroit Pistons)
Southwest Division (San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies)
Head Coach: Greg Popovich
PG: Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
SG: OJ Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies)
SF: Ron Artest (Houston Rockets)
PF: Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
C: Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)
Guards: Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks)
Forwards: Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies), Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
Center: David West (New Orleans Hornets)
Reserves: Josh Howard (Dallas Mavericks), Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs)
Northwest Division (Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Portland Trailblazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves)
Head Coach: George Karl
PG: Deron Williams (Utah Jazz)
SG: Brandon Roy (Portland Trailblazers)
SF: Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
PF: Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves)
C: Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz)
Guards: Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets), Randy Foye (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Forwards: Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trailblazers)
Center: Nene Hilario (Denver Nuggets)
Reserves: Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Paul Millsap (Utah Jazz)
Pacific Division (Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings)
Head Coach: Phil Jackson
PG: Baron Davis (Los Angeles Clippers)
SG: Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
SF: Stephen Jackson (Golden State Warriors)
PF: Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns)
C: Shaquille O'Neal (Phoenix Suns)
Guards: Steve Nash (Pheonix Suns), Kevin Martin (Sacramento Kings)
Forwards: Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Zach Randolph (Los Angeles Clippers)
Center: Marcus Camby (Los Angeles Clippers)
Reserves: Andrew Bynum (Los Angeles Lakers), Jamal Crawford (Golden State Warriors)
These are my picks. I personally think the Southwest division would be hard to top, but let me know what you think, and who you would switch out. Additionally, let me know if you can think of any methodology for the All-Star break that might work better. Just some tinkering for fun.
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