Create the Dream Team of the past 20 years

[Senser81]

Robinson, Malone, Ewing, Barkley, etc. sounds nice, but who among them is going to guard LeBron? Melo? Durant? Not to mention, you can't play them all at once, which somewhat diminishes that advantage.

The '92 team is more stacked top to bottom, and has fewer glaring holes, but in an actual basketball game where athleticism and match-ups are taken into account, they would have their hands full.

LOL at this.

Who's going to guard a fat Melo? Hmm. How about Karl Malone kicks his ass for 48 minutes? Who's going to guard a rail-thin Durant? How about Charles Barkley kicks his ass for 48 minutes?

You make it sound as if the 2012 team is athletically superior, but I don't think thats the case at all. Guys like Robinson, Malone, and Barkley were superior athletes, especially when compared to Anthony and Durant. Gimme a break.

[Senser81]

Was Stockton hurt? He barely played at all.

He had a leg injury, IIRC.

[jaxjaggywires]

LOL at this.

Who's going to guard a fat Melo? Hmm. How about Karl Malone kicks his ass for 48 minutes? Who's going to guard a rail-thin Durant? How about Charles Barkley kicks his ass for 48 minutes?

You make it sound as if the 2012 team is athletically superior, but I don't think thats the case at all. Guys like Robinson, Malone, and Barkley were superior athletes, especially when compared to Anthony and Durant. Gimme a break.

Also, who will Melo be guarding? Because that will be the other team's leading scorer...

This discussion has taken a bit of a hit after that crap game against Brazil, with the team really struggling. The 1992 team did not struggle, but they also did not have to face the level of international competition like there has been for about a decade now. I also wasn't expecting to see such a strong Drexler v. Kobe debate.

As for who guards whom, Pippen would take LeBron, and do well. Malone and Barkley would dominate at the 4, Robinson would shut down anyone who tried to drive the lane. The real question would be who would take Durant hovering around the 3-point line? His shooting could be negated with Mullin (and the occasional Bird). Paul and Williams would be a real problem, with an old Magic and a broken Stockton to guard them, since Jordan would be busy with Kobe.

In short, the 1992 team would probably handle the current team fairly easily in a one-game situation. In a best-of-7, the '12 team might get a game or two off the backs of the point and Kobe/LeBron going off, but would not really stand a chance.

[ralaw]

As for who guards whom, Pippen would take LeBron, and do well.

What do you mean by do well? I'm not sure Pippen could handle LeBron James. He'd probably do better than anyone else we've seen, but athletically, strength and skill wise James is on an entirely different level.

[Fight'On]

forget who is guarding melo, bron, durant. who is guarding jordan, ewing, robinson, barkley, malone? The dream team would wipe the floor w/ this years verison

[jaxjaggywires]

What do you mean by do well? I'm not sure Pippen could handle LeBron James. He'd probably do better than anyone else we've seen, but athletically, strength and skill wise James is on an entirely different level.

Certainly, James would still get points...but I think you're forgetting just how great defensively Pippen was (8 straight years 1st team All-Defense between 1992 and 1999). He might not shut down James (who can, aside from James himself?), but I'd be willing to bet he would do the best defensive job we have ever seen against him.

[ralaw]

Certainly, James would still get points...but I think you're forgetting just how great defensively Pippen was (8 straight years 1st team All-Defense between 1992 and 1999). He might not shut down James (who can, aside from James himself?), but I'd be willing to bet he would do the best defensive job we have ever seen against him.

As I said, Pippen is my favorite player of all-time, so I'm aware of how great of a player he was, but he never faced a player like LeBron James. James has Karl Malone's size, Barkley's strength and the quickness of a 6'1 guard and when you add in his ability to put the ball on the floor and create I don't think Pippen could handle him. I do think Pippen would do better than anyone we've seen, but IMO that wouldn't be saying much.

[JeremyHight]

LBJ would be harshly negated by the fact that you have a center in the key who wouldn't even come close to having to worry about Chandler, but could still get rebounds. LBJ has shown that when his inside presence is gone (Bosh or when he was back in Cleveland against teams with an inside presence), he isn't that huge of a factor. Yes, he is still an all-star and could probably still get 20+ points, but it would be a pain-staking process, especially when the other side could rotate in physical guys like Barkley and Malone to pound him on the defensive side of the game.

[ralaw]

LBJ would be harshly negated by the fact that you have a center in the key who wouldn't even come close to having to worry about Chandler, but could still get rebounds. LBJ has shown that when his inside presence is gone (Bosh or when he was back in Cleveland against teams with an inside presence), he isn't that huge of a factor. Yes, he is still an all-star and could probably still get 20+ points, but it would be a pain-staking process, especially when the other side could rotate in physical guys like Barkley and Malone to pound him on the defensive side of the game.

That could be said for anyone, because it is basketball 101......even the great Michael Jordan would have to adjust dealing with that (The Jordan Rules).

[Senser81]

That could be said for anyone, because it is basketball 101......even the great Michael Jordan would have to adjust dealing with that (The Jordan Rules).

But I think Jordan's mid-range game was/is much stronger than LeBron's mid-range game. I think LeBron would have more difficulty adjusting to a clogged lane than Michael.

[JimLeavy59]

Jordan played in such a tougher defensive era than any of these guys have, I think that alone would help the 1992 team.

[FedEx227]

I still think you're seriously underrating defense today. I know the narrative is that there's no defensive anymore, but there is, it's much smarter defense. There is less punishing hits or hard fouls/non fouls but the defense itself is a much smarter approach especially with implementation of zone defense.

You also have to realize floor spacing is completely different today. Your average guy is around 6'6 these days, big guys have insane wingspans and then you have 6'10+ guys running at SF.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I still think you're seriously underrating defense today. I know the narrative is that there's no defensive anymore, but there is, it's much smarter defense. There is less punishing hits or hard fouls/non fouls but the defense itself is a much smarter approach especially with implementation of zone defense.

You also have to realize floor spacing is completely different today. Your average guy is around 6'6 these days, big guys have insane wingspans and then you have 6'10+ guys running at SF.

I alluded to this earlier in terms of defense. We really need to know which rules we are playing under to really break this down. 1992 NBA? 2012 NBA? 1992 FIBA? 2012 FIBA?

Then again, there is no chance in hell that the '92 team is trailing an Anderson Varejao led Brazil team mid way through the third quarter, so this is all probably moot anyway.

[MattD56]

I still think you're seriously underrating defense today. I know the narrative is that there's no defensive anymore, but there is, it's much smarter defense. There is less punishing hits or hard fouls/non fouls but the defense itself is a much smarter approach especially with implementation of zone defense.

You also have to realize floor spacing is completely different today. Your average guy is around 6'6 these days, big guys have insane wingspans and then you have 6'10+ guys running at SF.

the average height hasn't really changed in the last 20 years or so...players have gotten a little more meaty and strong with improvement in physical conditioning

you do see some taller guys on the perimeter perhaps

durant would be a tough bet for the dream team even with pippen because he's so tall and lengthy and has a ridiculously high release point of the shot that it makes it very tough to guard

[MattD56]

i dont think the 2012 team stands a chance unless they have everyone healthy...they would get eaten up inside