I combed through the rosters online and these seemed the best players. If you find better ones that Jackson has coached, plead your case. The regular season provision was to exclude All-Star teams, Olympic teams, etc. that Jackson may have coached.
I combed through the rosters online and these seemed the best players. If you find better ones that Jackson has coached, plead your case. The regular season provision was to exclude All-Star teams, Olympic teams, etc. that Jackson may have coached.
I miss the old Mile High Stadium.
The original premise was that Jackson isn't a great coach but a coach blessed with great players. I am not taking sides here. I just found the question interesting and the teams rather even.
I miss the old Mile High Stadium.
First of all, roster construction:
Phil Jackson
C - Shaquille O'Neal - Pau Gasol
PF - Horace Grant - Karl Malone - Dennis Rodman
SF - Scottie Pippen - Robert Horry - Toni Kukoc
SG - Kobe Bryant - Craig Hodges
PG - Michael Jordan - Gary Payton
I'm starting Horace Grant because I need a scorer in the post on my second unit and a defender on my starting five. Jordan is the point and he and Kobe and Scottie can hand those duties back and forth for that front line as needed to get you in and out of different sets. O'Neal is the obvious starting center and he gets the majority of minutes at Center, but I feel like Gasol is a good complement when Malone comes in at PF. Malone is one of best at getting to the line, so that suffices as the scorer we need inside on the second line and allows Gasol to work at the elbow. I need shooters, so I'm going with Horry, Kukoc and Craig Hodges on the second unit, because you get more of a true point with Gary Payton. That allows you to mix and match when you need some outside shooting, too, not that Bryant can't provide that, just some insurance and to give him a breather.
I'm giving about 38 minutes a game to Kobe, Jordan and Pippen. 30 to Shaq, 18 to Pau. 20 to Grant, 28 to Malone and then letting those other guys split the other 30 minutes just for breathers.
Everybody else
C - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Wilt Chamberlain - Hakeem Olajuwon
PF - Tim Duncan - Moses Malone
SF - LeBron James - Julius Irving - Ray Allen
SG - Oscar Robertson - Larry Bird
PG - Magic Johnson - Steve Nash
Same type of idea inside here. Duncan works a little higher off the post than Jabbar, plus he's a supreme passer, whereas Malone works on the block and Chamberlain can do just about everything. You could easily start Malone and Chamberlain and switch out Jabbar and Duncan, or go really big, or smaller.
Starting Magic at the point, but Robertson and James give you flexibility. Steve Nash is on the roster for energy, and Larry Bird plays on the second unit with him as the primary scorer and sixth man, even if it does piss off his ego. Irving is the high-flyer on the second unit and I love that. Ray Allen is there because he's one of the best pure shooters in the game and doesn't have to work with the ball, he can just park in the corner or run off screens.
I think the minutes would be almost split on this team with James playing the most.
As to who wins, I'm going with everyone else and not Jackson's team.
Looking at Mo's post, the starting units are pretty close, with a slight edge to Jackson's team, but the second unit on the other team would wipe the floor with Jackson's. Bird, Wilt, and Dr J coming off the bench? Phil's bench can't compete with that.
By making Bird and Magic guards, you do realize that Jordan and Bryant would be giving away 3-4 inches apiece to cover them.
I miss the old Mile High Stadium.
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