Create the best possible lineup from Magic players, past and present in their primes

[Natmayo 0]

Hardaway

McGrady

Wilkins

Kemp

Howard

 

Billups

Carter

Lewis

Grant

O'Neal

 

Price

Anderson

Hill

Wallace

Ewing

[Magicfan57 0]

My top 15 are:

Shaq

Dwight

Dominique

V Carter

Billups

 

Ewing

Ho Grant

Grant Hill

T Mac

Penny

 

Kemp

Juan Howard

Lewis

Maggette

Steve Francis

[Osprey 199]

quote:

Originally posted by Natmayo:

Hardaway

McGrady

Wilkins

Kemp

Howard

 

Billups

Carter

Lewis

Grant

O'Neal

 

Price

Anderson

Hill

Wallace

Ewing

 

Co-signed, but swith Lewis to third team with Hill. Hill was a top 5 player in his prime. Lewis has never been a top 5 player at any point.

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

Looking at these lists, I'm pretty sure that if Mark Price were alive, he'd be turning in his grave.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

quote:

Originally posted by Drunk on Mystery:

Looking at these lists, I'm pretty sure that if Mark Price were alive, he'd be turning in his grave.

 

always gotta have a problem with everything DOM

[jec 427]

Who the hell is Mark Price?

[SmackDaddy 30]

Billups

Nique

GHill

Kemp

Shaq

 

Price

TMac

Shard

Grant

Howard

 

Hardaway

Carter

Turkoglu

Wallace

Ewing

[TheRevTy 6]

I'll play. I am going to construct my team not based on name recognition, but based on players actually playing roles. So this I'm not tackling this as the best 15 players.

 

First, let's start with the franchise players. Penny in his prime clearly was a special player. He created mismatch opportunities that were easy to capitalize on. And I have to choose between Dwight and Shaq as the other end of the 2 man monster. Here is my question: are we going for a 1 year run, or is this a long-term thing? If it is a 1 year burst, you go Shaq. He simply was the most dominant player of his era. However, his ego tends to clash with other talents. If I include Dwight, I can get away with adding a little more firepower rather than just complimentary players. So Dwight it is. Next, do I want T-Mac or Vince? Ya know what, screw it, I'm doing both and convincing T-Mac to be Pippen.

 

Penny

Vince

McGrady

?

Dwight

 

Alright, there is the core. Penny is our distributor, Vince our primary scorer, T-Mac our do-everything glue guy, and Dwight our defensive anchor. That is a lot of offensive firepower. Our role-players should be defensive. That brings me to Horace Grant, my power forward. Doesn't need a ton of offensive touches, and a tough defensive presence. There's our starting 5.

 

Penny

Vince

T-Mac

Horace

Dwight

 

Now, who do we have off the bench? At point guard, I like to have a change of pace guy who can come in and reinvigorate the offense. Hello, Jameer Nelson (plus he doesn't have the ego of Skiles or Francis). And the third point guard is Darrell Armstrong, because every team needs a hustle player.

 

At shooting guard, I need a shut down guy. I considered Courtney, but we don't know how good he can be. I admit ignorance when it comes to many of our role players of the distant past, so I'll go with Pietrus. Instant energy, tough defense, and a dynamic scorer. With him and Jameer off the bench, we really don't need much more offense. So that brings me to back-up SF. Here is our grit and complete role player: Matt Harpring. He can rough up a guy who is on fire and get into his head. Perfect. What about PF? Dang, can't think of anyone I want to add. I guess I begrudgingly go with Kemp. And the center is Ben Wallace, bringing more toughness and defense.

 

Penny/Jameer/Darrell

Vince/Pietrus

T-Mac/Harpring

Horace/Kemp

Dwight/Ben Wallace

 

For the rest of the roster, I go with Magic men. Nick as the third SF, Bo as the third PF, 3D as the third SG, and Gortat as the third C.

 

Penny/Jameer/Darrell

Vince/Pietrus/3D

T-Mac/Harpring/Anderson

Horace/Kemp/Outlaw

Dwight/Ben Wallace/Gortat

 

There are a couple guys that I cringe at adding, but overall, that is a good balance of offense and defense.

[Skywise316 211]

C. Dwight Howard/Shaquille O'Neal/Patrick Ewing

PF. Horace Grant/Rashard Lewis/Ben Wallace

SF. Grant Hill/Dominique Wilkins/Dennis Scott

SG. Penny Hardaway/Tracy McGrady/Nick Anderson

PG. Mark Price/Chauncey Billups/Jameer Nelson

 

Alright, there's my team. This is Mark Price with the Cavs. Grant Hill, Billups, & Wallace with the Pistons. 'Nique with the Hawks. Shaq with the Lakers, and Ewing with the Knicks, duh.

 

Alright, here's the long reasoning with my team, if you got time to read it all.

 

First off, I felt like putting Vince Carter on this team was just downright unfair, LOL. So since he hasn't even practiced with the team yet, I decided to leave him off. If I put him on I probably would of dropped Dennis Scott, put T-Mac as the starter at SF, and put Penny & VC at SGs. But I left VC off for now.

 

Centers. Dwight starts because between him, Ewing, and Shaq, I think last year's Dwight is the most capable and most willing defender between the three. I really struggled with who was 2nd string between Knicks Ewing and Lakers Shaq. Shaq brings the pain and the offense, while Ewing was a more all-around center with less brute strength. Finally I leaned towards Shaq, just too dominant to be left 3rd string. I'm left arguing with myself over this one though, I've always felt like Shaq's D, even in his prime, was overrated.

 

Power forwards. Even though I think Rashard is far more talented offensively, I felt like the starting lineup had more than enough offense and went with the defense, rebounding, and hustle of Horace Grant in the starting lineup instead. Besides, he still had that deadly 18 foot jumper for the other team to deal with. Also this way, Rashard could kill off the bench. Detroit's Ben Wallace is on the roster for when extra D in the frontcourt was needed. It was a really tough decision, choosing between Ben Wallace and Shawn Kemp (Seattle). Finally, I decided the team had enough offense as is, go with the defender.

 

Small Forwards. Alright, every team needs a Mr. Everything. People forget just how incredible Grant Hill was with Detroit before he got hurt (and before Orlando was saddled with Mr. Suit). He was All-World. People were talking about Penny and Grant like they were in the race for "the next Michael Jordan." He was Rookie Of The Year. All-NBA first team once, All-NBA 2nd team four times. He was the 1st rookie in major pro sports history to lead an All Star Game in most fan votes. According to Wikipedia, Hill's 1996

[Drain-O 369]

Can I just entertain myself before I think about this more seriously...

 

Penny/Carter/Hill/Kemp/Howard....

 

Imagine these gazelles in their primes running up and down the floor together.

 

Whoa nelly!

[Skywise316 211]

quote:

Originally posted by Drain-O:

Can I just entertain myself before I think about this more seriously...

 

Penny/Carter/Hill/Kemp/Howard....

 

Imagine these gazelles in their primes running up and down the floor together.

 

Whoa nelly!

 

That's actually pretty nasty! And Penny, Vince, and Grant could all start that fast break. I would almost feel sorry for the other team that see has to see that coming right at them.

 

Almost.

[BillFan 1]

quote:

Originally posted by TheRevTy:

I'll play. I am going to construct my team not based on name recognition, but based on players actually playing roles. So this I'm not tackling this as the best 15 players.

 

First, let's start with the franchise players. Penny in his prime clearly was a special player. He created mismatch opportunities that were easy to capitalize on. And I have to choose between Dwight and Shaq as the other end of the 2 man monster. Here is my question: are we going for a 1 year run, or is this a long-term thing? If it is a 1 year burst, you go Shaq. He simply was the most dominant player of his era. However, his ego tends to clash with other talents. If I include Dwight, I can get away with adding a little more firepower rather than just complimentary players. So Dwight it is. Next, do I want T-Mac or Vince? Ya know what, screw it, I'm doing both and convincing T-Mac to be Pippen.

 

Penny

Vince

McGrady

?

Dwight

 

Alright, there is the core. Penny is our distributor, Vince our primary scorer, T-Mac our do-everything glue guy, and Dwight our defensive anchor. That is a lot of offensive firepower. Our role-players should be defensive. That brings me to Horace Grant, my power forward. Doesn't need a ton of offensive touches, and a tough defensive presence. There's our starting 5.

 

Penny

Vince

T-Mac

Horace

Dwight

 

Now, who do we have off the bench? At point guard, I like to have a change of pace guy who can come in and reinvigorate the offense. Hello, Jameer Nelson (plus he doesn't have the ego of Skiles or Francis). And the third point guard is Darrell Armstrong, because every team needs a hustle player.

 

At shooting guard, I need a shut down guy. I considered Courtney, but we don't know how good he can be. I admit ignorance when it comes to many of our role players of the distant past, so I'll go with Pietrus. Instant energy, tough defense, and a dynamic scorer. With him and Jameer off the bench, we really don't need much more offense. So that brings me to back-up SF. Here is our grit and complete role player: Matt Harpring. He can rough up a guy who is on fire and get into his head. Perfect. What about PF? Dang, can't think of anyone I want to add. I guess I begrudgingly go with Kemp. And the center is Ben Wallace, bringing more toughness and defense.

 

Penny/Jameer/Darrell

Vince/Pietrus

T-Mac/Harpring

Horace/Kemp

Dwight/Ben Wallace

 

For the rest of the roster, I go with Magic men. Nick as the third SF, Bo as the third PF, 3D as the third SG, and Gortat as the third C.

 

Penny/Jameer/Darrell

Vince/Pietrus/3D

T-Mac/Harpring/Anderson

Horace/Kemp/Outlaw

Dwight/Ben Wallace/Gortat

 

There are a couple guys that I cringe at adding, but overall, that is a good balance of offense and defense.

 

Nice of you to mention Harpring... Hes definetly one of the toughest and grittiest players in the NBA.