Revisiting NBA Jam: The Eastern Conference

Apparently they're making this again. I did this already before, but not for a couple of years, let's do this again...

If I recall correctly you have three players per team of which you have to choose a two player combination, on the list I will list the defaults then add the third player. 

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Atlanta Hawks:
Default: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith
Res: Al Horford
This isn't going to change unless the Hawks decide to trade Josh Smith or something.  As bad as the Joe Johnson contract is, NBA Jam is hardly a game that looks at the long-term prospects of players.  This would probably be one of my personal favorite teams to play with, I'd love bombing those alley-oops all day, with the crazy 3/4 shots from Johnson.  Horford is probably going to be the third player that no one ever uses, though maybe we could use Jamal Crawford instead.

Boston Celtics:
Default: Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett
Res: Rajon Rondo
It's hard to leave Ray Allen off of this short list, but with the emergence of Rondo and the decline of the Big 3 it's hard to justify adding Allen at the expense of the 3rd best point guard in the league.  Pierce and Garnett still remain the face, though Rondo is slowly usurping them.  If only Garnett could still play like this in real life.  No love for the O'Neals, but that's really not surprising.

Charlotte Bobcats:
Default: Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace
Res: Boris Diaw
The third player here is pretty much just something of an afterthought.  You know he's there, but you only really look to see who he is, and you'll only ever play with him if you accidentally choose him to be on your team.  That being said, Jackson and Wallace would probably be something I'd enjoy playing too.  Especially since Jam players are indestructible, so if they don't give Gerald Wallace concussions in the game, I'm happy with it.

Chicago Bulls:
Default: Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer
Res: Luol Deng
Boozer was the big free agent addition this year, so this would be interesting.  Deng is probably one of the more interesting third options, despite his injuries, the whole invincible player thing would solve that problem.  So let's not worry about it.  Though a substitution thingy would be pretty nifty, I can see it being frustrating actually having injuries.

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Default: Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison
Res: Jamario Moon
Cleveland once again becomes the team that everyone avoids like the plague, it'll be kind of sad, probably more than kind of.  Moon, the former Globetrotter makes the cut because, well, he's a former Globetrotter.

Detroit Pistons:
Default: Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton
Res: Tayshaun Prince
There are going to be a number of these plague-like teams.  Honestly, just looking at the roster I had a hard time figuring out who I would actually enjoy playing with on this team...  As tempting as Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox, and Kwame Brown would've been, I showed restraint.

Indiana Pacers:
Default: Danny Granger,Tyler Hansbrough
Res: Darren Collison
This is only marginally easier than Detroit to figure out due to the presence of Danny Granger on the roster.  I think Collison will be a big part of the Pacers offense.  Though I know that this is not an accurate portrayal of the ethnic demographic of the Pacers team, I could not in my right mind bring myself to make a team of Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Foster, and Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Miami Heat:
Default: Dwayne Wade, LeBron James
Res: Chris Bosh
Gee... that was hard.  Insert joke about Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Juwan Howard.

Milwaukee Bucks:
Default: Brandon Jennings, Andrew Bogut
Res: John Salmons
I think Michael Redd is done, and I'm sure everyone hopes that Bogut makes a full recovery.  I wonder who they'd get to call the game (it was Steve Kerr if I remember the Live series correctly, but that was 2008).  It would be sweet to hear them saying Mbah a Moute, seriously.

New Jersey Nets:
Default: Devin Harris, Brook Lopez
Res: Troy Murphy
I kind of wanted to squeeze Travis Outlaw in there somehow, but hey, this is good.  Nets still seem like a sad team, but there are other teams that seem sadder.  Still, I suppose you can't get much worse than 18 wins.  Good thing this isn't real life.

New York Knicks:
Default: Amar'e Stoudemire, Anthony Randolph
Res: Danilo Gallinari
I hope the Knicks keep Randolph, and I hope he develops into a great player, he's got the potential.  I kind of feel bad for Wilson Chandler with the addition of Kelenna Azubuike and D'Antoni's propensity to move forward with Gallinari.  I think these are the only three players that are going to be here for the long haul.  Maybe this is the only opportunity for Eddy Curry to get some playing time.


Orlando Magic:
Default: Dwight Howard, Vince Carter
Res: Jameer Nelson
This is one way I can continue to convince myself that Vince Carter has still got game.  Hard leaving Rashard Lewis off, but he's fallen off so much, it's hard to justify putting him on.  Besides, who doesn't want to see Jameer Nelson dunk on and swat 7-footers?

Philadelphia 76ers:
Default: Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand
Res: Louis Williams
This was the first team I was tempted to put a rookie on, but Evan Turner was so disappointing in Summer League that Sixer fans would probably get angry at how good he is in the game.  I really can't figure out who is actually any good on this team, but that has never made a difference.

Toronto Raptors:
Default: Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa
Res: Jose Calderon
Until Calderon gets traded, we'll stick with this.  When Andrea Bargnani is your primary scoring option, your team is screwed.  If you beat someone else with this team though, you got bragging rights.  Can't you imagine running around screaming: "YOU JUST GOT POSTERIZED BY ANDREA BARGNANI!  YOU GOT DUNKED ON BY A GUY NAMED ANDREA!!!"

Washington Wizards:
Default: John Wall, Gilbert Arenas
Res: JaVale McGee
Eh... this was a pretty hard one too, throwing Yi Jianlian out was hard.  Oh well.  Wall is supposed to be good, so he goes in here.  Arenas... sure.  McGee... well... he almost made Team USA? or did he? What? Anyways, Epic Vale sure.