Reaction to SI's Ultimate NBA Draft Playoffs

Playoffs Matchup 1

Paul Forrester (fourth place 42-40)
C Shaquille O'Neal (6)
PF Bob Pettit (35)
SF Walt Frazier (26)
SG Dominique Wilkins (46)
PG Jerry West (15)
6 Elvin Hayes (55)
7 Kevin Johnson (66)
8 Tracy McGrady (75)
9 Artis Gilmore (86)
10 Kevin Durant (95)
11 Chauncey Billups (106)
12 Joe Johnson (115)

Chris Ballard (first place 46-26)
C Bill Russell (3)
PF Charles Barkley (23)
SF Dennis Rodman (43)
SG Reggie Miller (38)
PG LeBron James (18)
6 Chris Mullin (58)
7 Arvydas Sabonis (63)
8 Deron Williams (78)
9 Tiny Archibald (83)
10 Carmelo Anthony (98)
11 Shawn Marion (103)
12 Bill Laimbeer (118)

The Matchup

In the frontcourt, team Forrester has Shaq and Bob Pettit. Both players at their prime could go for around 26 points and 17 rebounds a night making this an imposing frontcourt. Matching up with them on the low block is Bill Russell and Charles Barkley. Russell is a Celtics legend with 11 championships, and while Barkley never won a chip he is one of the best rebounders pound-for-pound (not a fat joke) of all time. The two best undersized rebounders are both on team Ballard with Rodman and Barkley, and this compensates for the height they give up (Shaq 7'1"/ Russell 6'9" and Pettit 6'9"/ Barkley 6'6"). Shaq is a winner and a charismatic game-changer, but the finals MVP is named after Russell for a reason. This would be a titanic clash. Forrester can bring Elvin Hayes and Artis Gilmore off the bench, while Ballard brings Arvydas Sabonis and Bill Laimbeer.
Advantage: Forrester

On the wings, team Ballard has Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin to surround LeBron James who would start at point guard. LeBron would, at times, relinquish ball-handling duties and run the wing as well. Mullin and Reggie netted a combined 3375 three-pointers and this wouldn't let defenders sag off them giving LeBron a path to the basket. If they tried to double or triple-team Bron he could kick it to either capable wing player for an automatic three points. On team Forrester, Walt Frazier and Dominique Wilkins can score, but it is the bench of a T-Mac in his prime and Kevin Durant and Joe Johnson that really impresses. The wings on team Ballard are dependent on LeBron doubling as a scorer and distributor, but Carmelo and Shawn Marion are great late-round pickups in this draft. Scoring comes in a variety of ways for team Forrester, while team Ballard's gameplan relies on hefty doses of LeBron.
Advantage: Forrester

At point guard, Ballard has done an interesting thing by starting Bron out of his natural position, but also putting the ball (and the team) firmly in his hands. Deron Williams is a capable backup and Tiny Archibald is the gravy on the cake. Jerry West (AKA the Logo) will not be able to defend LeBron, Kevin Johnson was an overrated pick and Chauncey is solid, but unspectacular.
Advantage: Ballard

Result: Ballard wins - LeBron would dominate the small guards of team Forrester and even the variety of wing options couldn't match up with James. The frontcourt of Shaq, Pettit, Hayes and Gilmore is almost a tipping point, but cannot control the game like Ballard's team strategy. With Mullin and Miller shooting away, Rodman can shut down whoever gets hot on team Forrester whether it's T-Mac, Dominique or Durant.

Playoffs Matchup 2

Alex Wolff's team (third place 43-29)
C David Robinson (20)
PF Dave Cowens (40)
SF Michael Jordan (1)
SG Dwyane Wade (21)
PG Chris Paul (61)
6 Nate Thurmond (60)
7 Joe Dumars (41)
8 Dennis Johnson (80)
9 Robert Horry (81)
10 Terry Porter (100)
11 Ben Wallace (101)
12 Maurice Cheeks (120)

Joe Posnanski's (second place 45-27)
C Wilt Chamberlain (2)
PF Dirk Nowitzki (42)
SF Julius Erving (19)
SG John Havlicek (39)
PG Isiah Thomas (22)
6 Dwight Howard (59)
7 Dolph Shayes (62)
8 Mark Price (79)
9 Grant Hill (82)
10 Vince Carter (99)
11 Jerry Lucas (102)
12 Michael Cooper (119)

The Matchup

For his frontcourt domination, Wilt Chamberlain should have gone #1 overall in my opinion. With career averages of 30 points and 23 rebounds per game, The Dipper is an incomparable offensive force (see: 100 point game) that can haul in the rebounds for team Posnanski. "The Admiral" David Robinson is great but cannot match up with Wilt. Dave Cowens is no Dirk Nowitzki either as we saw Dirk explode in this past year's playoffs. As an inside-out weapon to complement Wilt's post game, Dirk will have the space to roam and shoot over the 6'9" Cowens. Dolph Shayes was undersized at 6'7" in the paint against Nate Thurmond but Dwight Howard would be able to counter him. Dwight and Wilt together would be scary too.
Advantage: Posnanski

On the wings, Jordan and Wade is a dream team. Wade is Chicago born, the next in line for team Jordan, and plays LeBron's Pippen (or is the other way around?). It's hard to argue against the GOAT with Wade too, and Dr. J and Hondo would match up respectibally, but not effectively. Carter, Hill, Lucas and Cooper provide points off the bench, but not defensive matchups.
Advantage: Wolff

At point, Chris Paul vs Isiah Thomas is an epic matchup. Both gritty guards they can defend and create steals. Both seem to suit their teams as well. Joe Dumars has a slight advantage over Mark Price. I think Chris Paul was a steal at pick #60.
Advantage: Wolff

Result: Posnanski wins - This matchup comes down to dynamic wing players versus a dominating frontcourt. How frustrating would it be for Jordan to watch as Wilt dominated and Dirk killed them softly. Julius Erving would put up points to supplement to onslaught in the post, and the height around the rim would force Jordan and Wade to become shooters. Dirk took down Bron and Wade without Wilt, and Wilt is every bit as impactful as Jordan.

Finals Matchup: Posnanski vs Ballard

Sports Illustrated's NBA Ultimate Fantasy Draft

Each All-time draft team was put through a Strat-O-Matic 72-game Season Simulation. Here are the records and the teams.

official link

Alex Wolff's team (third place 43-29)
C David Robinson (20)
PF Dave Cowens (40)
SF Michael Jordan (1)
SG Dwyane Wade (21)
PG Chris Paul (61)
6 Nate Thurmond (60)
7 Joe Dumars (41)
8 Dennis Johnson (80)
9 Robert Horry (81)
10 Terry Porter (100)
11 Ben Wallace (101)
12 Maurice Cheeks (120)

Joe Posnanski's (second place 45-27)
C Wilt Chamberlain (2)
PF Dirk Nowitzki (42)
SF Julius Erving (19)
SG John Havlicek (39)
PG Isiah Thomas (22)
6 Dwight Howard (59)
7 Dolph Shayes (62)
8 Mark Price (79)
9 Grant Hill (82)
10 Vince Carter (99)
11 Jerry Lucas (102)
12 Michael Cooper (119)

Chris Ballard (first place 46-26)
C Bill Russell (3)
PF Charles Barkley (23)
SF Dennis Rodman (43)
SG Reggie Miller (38)
PG LeBron James (18)
6 Chris Mullin (58)
7 Arvydas Sabonis (63)
8 Deron Williams (78)
9 Tiny Archibald (83)
10 Carmelo Anthony (98)
11 Shawn Marion (103)
12 Bill Laimbeer (118)

Lee Jenkins (sixth place 35-37)
C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (4)
PF Karl Malone (17)
SF James Worthy (44)
SG George Gervin (37)
PG Jason Kidd (24)
6 Pete Maravich (57)
7 Robert Parish (64)
8 David Thompson (77)
9 Larry Nance (84)
10 Lenny Wilkens (97)
11 Alex English (104)
12 Dan Issel (117)

Jack McCallum (tenth place 22-50)
C Wes Unseld (45)
PF Kevin McHale (36)
SF Elgin Baylor (16)
SG Scottie Pippen (25)
PG Oscar Robertson (5)
6 Ray Allen (56)
7 Dave DeBusschere (65)
8 Earl Monroe (76)
9 Pau Gasol (85)
10 Bill Sharman (96)
11 Jack Sikma (105)
12 Gail Goodrich (116)

Paul Forrester (fourth place 42-40)
C Shaquille O'Neal (6)
PF Bob Pettit (35)
SF Walt Frazier (26)
SG Dominique Wilkins (46)
PG Jerry West (15)
6 Elvin Hayes (55)
7 Kevin Johnson (66)
8 Tracy McGrady (75)
9 Artis Gilmore (86)
10 Kevin Durant (95)
11 Chauncey Billups (106)
12 Joe Johnson (115)

Ian Thomsen (eighth place 30-42)
C Bill Walton (14)
PF Alonzo Mourning (47)
SF Larry Bird (7)
SG Clyde Drexler (27)
PG Steve Nash (34)
6 Manu Ginobili (54)
7 Chris Webber (67)
8 Michael Ray Richardson (74)
9 Dikembe Mutombo (87)
10 Andrei Kirilenko (94)
11 Fred Brown (107)
12 Blake Griffin (114)

Phil Taylor (seventh place 31-41)
C Moses Malone (13)
PF Bob McAdoo (33)
SF Rick Barry (28)
SG Sidney Moncrief (48)
PG Magic Johnson (8)
6 George Mikan (53)
7 Penny Hardaway (68)
8 Spencer Haywood (73)
9 Billy Cunningham (88)
10 Mitch Richmond (93)
11 Charles Oakley (108)
12 Derrick Rose (113)

Chris Mannix (ninth place 29-43)
C Patrick Ewing (32)
PF Willis Reed (29)
SF Bernard King (49)
SG Kobe Bryant (9)
PG John Stockton (12)
6 Paul Pierce (52)
7 Chris Bosh (69)
8 Amar'e Stoudemire (72)
9 Rajon Rondo (89)
10 Brad Daugherty (92)
11 Adrian Dantley (109)
12 Kevin Love (112)

Richard Deitsch (fifth place 37-35)
C Hakeem Olajuwon (11)
PF Tim Duncan (10)
SF Kevin Garnett (31)
SG Allen Iverson (51)
PG Bob Cousy (30)
6 Gary Payton (50)
7 Sam Jones (70)
8 Connie Hawkins (71)
9 Bob Lanier (90)
10 Hal Greer (91)
11 Dave Bing (110)
12 Bobby Jones (111)


Playoffs link

(1) Ballard def (4) Forrester 4-2
(2) Posanski def (3) Wolff 4-2

Finals
(2) Posanski def (1) Ballard 4-3

The Lighter Side of the NBA Lockout

 As everybody knows, the NBA is now under a restrictive lockout that doesn't look like it will be resolved before the start of the NBA's 2011-2012 season. Most fans are panicked or depressed, and all are becoming less and less hopefull that the NBA owners and players will be able to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement any time soon. David Stern seems content to watch the players union squirm while he sports a cheap grin and digs in his heels. If both sides seriously wanted an NBA season next year, this debate should be able to be settled in a week at most by the two sides working together rather than acting standoffish and awkward. But both sides are too proud and too stubborn to relent with the stonefaced and short-sighted demands for respect. This means the season is cancelled.

Still, today the potential 2011-12 schedule was released as a tease by the NBA. Don't let this get under your skin, this is a tactic of the NBA owners to make people pine for the season and excite the players and make them want to fold. But the players won't back down from the owners and are settling into life without NBA contracts. And it's not all bad.

Players like Brandon Jennings and Kevin Durant have been hitting open runs. Players like Josh Howard and Mike Beasley are free from NBA drug testing. Players are free to perform stunts and feats of dangerous athletic manliness like Tony Parker's jetpack training. Players like Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams, and Dwyane Wade have said they are open to playing overseas and traveling the world to make use of their freedom. Pure chaos and pure freedom.

Raptors guard Sonny Weems represents the opinions of many players who are pessimistic that there will be any NBA season at all and has moved towards signing a one-year contract with a foreign team that would keep him overseas regardless of wether the players and owners can salvage at least part of an NBA season. The Raptors basically told him not to worry about the upcoming season after they opted to draft Jonas Valanciunas in the 2011 NBA draft, a player who was still under contract in Lithuania for the upcoming season. The Raps are probably banking on there not being a season anyways, with an eye on the bigger picture.

During the last lockout and economic debate in 1998-1999 the two sides managed to carve out a 50-game season after the players gave some concessions. The owners risk losing a growing fanbase and turning fans off by what is seen as greedy millionaires.

But it's not all bad. Players are free from their NBA contract restrictions and this means freedom unseen in the NBA in a long time. Players can travel and play wherever they want, worldwide. Kobe Bryant said, "One thing about basketball is that it is a global sport now, so you can play anywhere you want to." Foreign leagues have grown in the past decade since the last lockout and now constitute a legitimate training ground for NBA-level talent. If the NBA wants to expand overseas and be the first truly "global" game of the big American team/ ball sports, this may be the best thing that could have happened.

New leagues are trying to attract NBA players to grow the game in their own country, such as the NBL of Canada which has targeted locked-out NBA players to help fill its rosters.

With players travelling overseas and spreading the love of the game and the excitement of the NBA to all corners of the globe, it can only be good for the game. Foreign stars in the NBA like Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Andrei Kirilenko have a chance to grow the game in their native countries. Maybe the NBA will have an influx of big point-guards from Turkey in a few years who were inspired by Deron Williams' play during this lockout season. Maybe the next Kobe will be some young kid from China who is touched by Kobe's brilliance during a Chinese league one-year tour. The lockout may stimulate worldwide markets for the globalization of the game and create legitimate fanbases across the world who are ready to support an overseas NBA team to play inter-league, regular-season games with NBA teams. Yes, if the NBA wants to expand into foreign countries, no season may be as important as the season that never will be; 2011-2012 will be remembered as the year the NBA truly went global.

And how about the Olympics? By next summer, after players have had a season to mature, grow, lead, train, travel, find themselves, become involved in foreign charities, be ambassadors for the NBA to a growing global audience, and wisen to the different styles of play across the world. The players will all return to their roots and travel home from afar to share their experiences and lessons in the international sphere for the support of their home nations (unless ongoing contract complications ruin that too). Nationalism will peak and fans will clamor for high-level basketball after a long, NBA-induced longing. The NBA should have their broken financial model solved and excitement will be back about the upcoming NBA season of 2012-13. The American fan audience will embrace their wayward sons as if they were a long-distance girlfriend they haven't seen in six weeks and hold them with both love and a strangely-detached reverence.

When the players return to the NBA, it will be a different game. Players will be in new places, stars will have aged and youngsters will have matured. Some players will have gracefully left the game and taken the lockout as an opportunity to hang up their kicks peacefully while the NBA was sleeping. Yao and Shaq have begun the trend and many veterans are sure to follow in their path as little-used veterans make room for new and exciting talent that will arrive both domestically and from abroad. Skill levels will have developed at strangely different increments for different players; their progress during the off-year depending on their individual experiences.

Basketball will still be happening across the world during the lockout on many levels and bringing excitement to communities that have never been so close to NBA-level play. Basketball goes on with or without an NBA season in 2011-12, and when it finally comes back it will be more multi-cultural, globally influenced and pointed in a new and exciting international direction.