Feature: NBA Mock Teams – Part 2

“The Brow” makes it onto Ryan’s fantasy team.

I had a lot of fun putting this team together and feel like my team has as good a chance as any to win our hypothetical championship. There were some tough decision I had to make (like not building around LeBron or Kevin Durant because they are the two best players in the league- could be a fatal decision) and several time where I wished I could have just payed the luxury tax and been done with it.

I can’t explain how much I wanted Taj Gibson on my team as a 3rd big man. The versatility he offers with his size and athleticism would have been great to have off the bench. There were other players that I wanted that I wasn’t able to fit in for various reasons, including my boy Isaiah Thomas who is going to get an inevitable payday and become unaffordable by the slimmest of margins.

The good thing about this league is that there are bargains to be found if only you just search around the league for them. I picked this team with an eye on future development, especially on the bench where I put mostly 2nd and 3rd year players who have started to breakout in their respective roles. It was impossible for me to not let certain personal ideals affect my team, and one of those is how much I like and root for young guns to improve and become significant players in the league.

On that note, I love having Jared Sullinger, who is really improving with all of his new responsibility on the horrible Celtics team. Finally, I crafted my team with a noticeable competitive mentality in mind. Players such as Russ, PG, Joakim, and Patrick Beverly are greatly noted for their tenacity, desire to win, and propensity to do anything to get that W (I mean, Joakim played with plantar fasciitis last year for 12 playoff games where he described the pain as feeling “like you have needles underneath your foot while you’re playing…

You can imagine how hard it is when you need to run or when you need to jump…I mean you don’t want needles in your feet, right?) This is the type of players I want; when they are in a seven game series, and that is why I think my team will always have a fighting chance to win.

PG: Russell Westbrook ($16.7m)

SG: Klay Thompson ($6.1m)

C: Joakim Noah ($14.2m)

SF: Paul George ($16.9m)

PF: Anthony Davis ($7.0m)

Bench: Patrick Beverly ($1.1m)

Bench: Anthony Morrow ($1.2m)

Bench: Omri Casspi ($1.3m)

Bench: Jared Sullinger ($2.2m)

Bench: Miles Plumlee ($2.1m)

Bench: Fab Melo ($0.4m)

Bench: Glen Rice Jr. ($0.5m)

Explanation:

Starting Backcourt:

After all of the hatred Josh spewed against Russ, I decided that he was going to be on my team. I figured his crazy ass heard everything we were talking about and would make it his personal mission to make Josh pay for all of the slander he brought upon the Westbrook name.

Could this backfire a little as I watch Russ try and go one on five to prove Josh wrong? Possibly, but there aren’t to many players that I would rather have starting for me from a competitiveness perspective.

And all this BS about how Russ is selfish, he has a poor attitude, and any other criticism people conjure up for him, I say watch a Thunder game and see how he makes Ibaka so much better with his great dump off passes after fearlessly attacking the lane. Or maybe how his teammates, Kevin Durant included, are always right there to pick him up when he gets knocked down, I’d say these criticism come from people who want a perfect player in an imperfect world.

As for Klay, I think I had a dream last night of him wetting jumpers as everyone paid attention to Russ driving the lane. He is going to play a similar role to the one he does on the Warriors as secondary backcourt scorer and top backcourt defender, except now he’ll be the defense’s 3rd focus with Paul George out there the majority of the time. And as Klay continues to add more consistency to his game, his $6.1 million will be a nice bargain.

Starting Frontcourt:

I’ll take 2 emerging superstars and a versatile, if annoying, center to go along with them. I don’t think you can say much about Paul George besides he’s the 3rd best small forward in the game now, fully taking that spot from my boy Carmelo, with his tour de force on both sides of the ball this year. I know he is scoring 24 points a game this year, but I have to say, I took him for his defense as much as anything.

There is only one other two- way player like him, and though PG isn’t at LeBron status (not sure how close he even is), I think he can and will continue to fine tune his game to do a reasonable impression of the King. He also has shown that he is not afraid of LeBron in any way and pairing the mentality up with Russ cannot be understated.

With Anthony Davis, I think we are already seeing his potential realized this year, and he still has a ways to go on the offensive side of the ball. For my team that will be just fine because all I see him doing on that end is hitting some midrange jumpers, getting offensive boards, and, most importantly, being a devastating lob partner for Westbrook on the pick and roll. I’m not quite sure there would be a much better point guard/power forward combo on the pick and roll form an athletic standpoint.

Obviously, The Brows true value lies in his defense. He has some work to do as an on ball post defender, that skinny frame isn’t fully ready to bang in the post on a consistent basis. However, he still holds his own there while being a devastating help defender. I see him as a better Serge Ibaka already and he’s only 20 freaking years old, I think he keeps getting better in this year alone.

Finally, we have the bun sporting, pistol shooting, and general opposing-fan annoyance Joakim Noah. Once again, I picked a scrappy, battle tested competitor who will never back down from anyone (do you sense a theme). Joakim can do all the little things for the team, get offensive boards, set great screens, play great defense, and stand up to anyone who thinks they can punk Anthony Davis for his unibrow. (This actually might not happen since each of our teams have The Brow so they probably know how sensitive he is about it).

What I love most about Jo though, and what I think sets him apart from basically every center in the league besides the Fat Bro Marc Gasol, is his passing. I envision him giving the guards on the team 2 or 3 easy layups a game with craft, creative passes from the high post, and possibly 1 or 2 sweet lobs to Davis.

Bench:

Because I heavily invested in my starting lineup, I had to search for bargains in the league and I am pleased with what I was able to find. Although I really wanted to have Taj and Isaiah Thomas for this team, I think the players I got in their place provide me with some versatility while complementing the starters well.

I am not a big fan of playing all bench units, so I had an eye on how these guys would allow for interesting lineups, a longtime passion of mine. I thought about the tension between Patrick Beverly and Russell after last seasons playoffs, but figured they would put their differences aside in order play of a coach/GM such as I. Beverly brings another fierce competitor to the team, as well as a serious on ball defender who can be unleashed backup point guards for some 94 foot pressure.

Anthony Morrow and Omri Casspi give me two 3 point bombers who I feel are imperative to having a good bench unit. I have enough people to attack the rim and figure Russ or PG will be on the floor entire game so you can’t have enough floor spacing. Casspi also offers me the ability to go small as he has should the ability in Houston to play as a stretch 4 and battle bigger power forwards in the post.

For my bigs, I really like what I have seen from Jared Sullinger and Miles Plumlee this year. I don’t need anything more than hustle, defense and boards from my backup center and that is exactly what Plumlee provides, who has shown himself to be quite competent in a starter’s role this year in Phoenix.

As for Sully, he has stepped up to the plate and shown the inside scoring ability that made him a two time All American at Ohio State. The back problems give me a slight pause, but just take a look at his stats this year (12 points, 7 rebounds on 47% shooting in 23 minutes) and imagine him in a slightly reduced role with better players. You’re damn right I’m excited to have him on the team. And he has been playing much improved defense this year which fits right into the defensive mentality I want from my frontcourt players.

Omri Casspi (Houston Rockets) plays on Ryan’s bench.

Overall:

I really like the lineup flexibility I have with my roster. I am a big fan of having some run and gun, small ball lineups that make basketball so fun to watch, but I felt that 4 traditional (position wise) big men are still essential to having good teams. Obviously I like my starting lineup, but the fun was looking at different bench heavy lineups that sound fun to watch play. My favorite might be a Russ, Morrow, Klay, Casspi and Plumlee run and gun team that is looking to spread the floor and rain threes. Another lineup that is intriguing is a Beverly, Morrow, PG, Sully, and Noah quintet. The high-low game that Noah and Sully provide as Noah finds crafty angle with which to set up Sullinger for easy posts up. Also, Paul George is already adept at working with 2 bigs on offense so it will be normal for him to work with this lineup, and I actually think he will work even better because of Noah’s aforementioned passing ability allowing him to use his instincts for off the ball cuts. (I’m probably talking too much about his passing so I’ll get out now. Just don’t let the bun and overall ridiculousness overshadow that for you.)

Thoughts:

I love how all of us picked Klay and Anthony Davis. See we can all agree on something, or in this case, two somethings. I had a lot of fun looking at the other rosters and kicking myself for not picking up a bench player on each team, whether because I didn’t think of them or couldn’t find a way to fit them in salary wise. I don’t know if you guys struggled with this at all, but there were some players that I wanted to have because I like them so much, but just can’t fit in, basketball philosophy wise, with how successful teams play. (Yes I’m talking about Carmelo).

Josh’s Criticism

The starting five of Ryan’s team is a good one. A quick explosive guard with good shooters in Thompson and George allows spacing for the big man to operate. Anthony Davis and Joakim Noah are similar to my Hibbert/Davis combination in that both player complement one another on the offensive and defensive end. George and Thompson are also excellent perimeter defenders, which coupled with Noah/Davis, makes this a defensively sound team. And that brings us to my boy Russ. Or, as I call him, the asshole who celebrates too much and takes too many shots. Sure, Westbrook is a top-10 point guard, but he tries to take control of the game too much and if paired with PG and Klay, I don’t see a very cohesive backcourt. Nonetheless, there are worst options at guard.

The bench has some slight issues. For instantce, I see no dominant scorer off the bench. Patrick Beverley is probably the highest scorer in the NBA right now for that bench. Hypothetically, if an injury should occur to one of Ryan’s starting five, who would step up and assume the scoring burden? Who would maintain leads when the starters sit. I’m not saying that the bench players are bad. Casspi and Morrow can light it up from beyond the arc, sure. But are they proven, consistent scorers? No. Miles Plumlee has started his career off well, and I imagine he would make a suitable back-up for Noah/Davis. The Duke product has started off his NBA career at Phoenix shooting well and posting 10 points, 8 boards a game. While this is his rookie year, and I expect those numbers to dip somewhat, if they don’t, Plumlee is a steal at $2.1 million. Jared Sullinger is also a decent player. My only concern is injury issues. He had injury problems at Ohio State and had to end his season early last season with the Celtics because of back problems. If he can stay healthy, he’s an excellent back-up big man. So actually, Ryan’s bench has decent back-up bigs, but I am definitely not sold on his secondary guard unit.

Parker’s critique

First thoughts: Hahaha eff you Josh… PG is nice… but wait both of them?… The Brow and Noah could tear up an opposing offense though… where’s the sixth man? the seventh?

I love that Ryan made a conscious effort to say, “eff you Josh I’m going with Russell Westbrook” because Ryan’s right. Westbrook get’s an unfair amount of criticism for his part in the Thunder losses compared to how big a part of their success he is. However, I don’t think he and George would play well together. They are both slashers offensively, and not the dish-off kind that Wade and LeBron are. Both go to the basket, hard, looking to score. That’s one reason Westbrook and Durant, still the league’s best catch and shoot guy, work so well together. So that’s a bad star to star connection for me. Obviously I love The Brow and Klay Thompson as well. I really like Noah as a center because he has so many shots in his starting five already, he doesn’t need an offensive post. I like Pat Beverley and Omri Casspi coming in, Beverley ironically spelling the very guy he injured last year in the playoffs, and Casspi coming in to stretch the floor. I’m just not sure in Sullinger, Plumlee, Melo, and Rice. I think it’s because he has so much cash invested in his point guard that he can’t really do much else. Again I love the effort to make Josh wrong by building a team around Westbrook, but this team will undoubtedly be around PG, because he’s better, and Ryan ought to restructure the team so it is.

Matt’s Critique

I love coming in at the end so that I can blow everybody away with my incredible knowledge and excellent GM abilities. It looks like all those years of doing fantasy drafts on NBA Live and NBA2K have really paid off. With that being said I really like Ryan’s starters. No offense to Josh or Parker, but this was by far the scariest team on paper. The greatest weakness for any great offensive team is relentless defense and that is what Ryan’s team brings to the table. I am not even sure you have to worry about pieces like Paul George and Russell Westbrook being a perfect fit on the offensive end. Aside from Klay Thompson, all four of his starters are elite defenders. Any team will have an extremely hard time scoring, which should lead to transition baskets for PG and Russell two of the best transition players in the game. The Miami Heat are not the best offensive team in the league because Lebron James and Dwyane Wade do not mesh on the offensive side of the ball, but the Heat are definitely the best defensive team in the league. They, like Ryan’s team will make offensives work all four quarters to score.

My only real concern is that he invested too much money in his starting line-up expecting them to perform at a high level for 40 minutes every night. I am not saying that this isn’t possible, but it always helps to have a bench player who can step up and provide a spark. These players help relieve pressure off the Starters and let them know that they can rest and have confidence that they will stay in the game. I am not sure Ryan has that guy on his bench. That player that can step in and provide some scoring for a tired Westbrook or Paul George. It killed the Pacers in the playoffs last year not having that type of player and it may kill Ryan’s team. I am not so worried about injuries like Josh or Parker because you can’t really plan for them. However, players in the NBA do have tough games and sometimes need help from their teammates. When Ryan’s team gets into a battle and Russell is struggling to find his jumper or PG is having a tough night finishing, who is going to be the guy who steps up and says, “hey guys for the next five minutes I got us.” Games like that happen for the best of players in the NBA and having that guy off the bench can do a lot for the momentum of a game.

Ryan’s Last Thought:

Everyone hates on my bench, and I get it, on paper none of the guys NBA production to this point has been stellar by any means, but last I checked, the Heat get by with bench guys who know their role and step up with scoring if/when needed. And you wouldn’t classify any of their bench guys as scorers (Ray Allen is basically just a catch and shoot guy only now, not a scorer). I have confidence in Sullinger to be that guy off the bench who can get me through some minutes when I need scoring, and Morrow and Casspi will recreate the Shane Battier and Mike Miller roles (the Heat guys are only marginally better 3 point shooters over the last 3 seasons). Now, my bench might not be fully ready to win the ship but give me a year or two to work on improvement and I think they would be downright scary.