ONE LOVE:
Gary Payton (38) / Tim Hardaway (12)
Chris Mullin (38) / Mitch Richmond (12)
Paul Pierce (38) / Jamal Mashburn (12)
Shawn Kemp (38) / Larry Johnson (12)
Shaquille O'Neal (38) / Robert Parish (12)
Offensive Philosophy
This team will play inside-out basketball with the ever reliable
Gary Payton running the offense.
Shaq & Kemp will both feature prominently offensively. They will both demand the ball and score at will down low.
Both
Mullin and
Pierce are great mid range and 3pt shooters and will provide plenty of spacing for Shaq and Kemp to operate down low as well as hit timely 3's. They can also drive to the basket to score or make plays if need be.
Solid and experience bench with
Hardaway running the show, feeding
Richmond and
Johnson who are both great scorers in their own right.
Defensive Philosophy
Defense starts at the PG with
Gary Payton, the only point guard to have ever won a DPOY. Shaq also provide terrific defensive anchor, with
Shaq averaging 3 blocks per game in his prime. In the 2nd unit,
Robert Parish will organise the defensive strategy. His presence and experience alone makes the team better defensively.
Gary Payton in his prime is considered the best defender of Michael Jordan, and in this match-up, Payton will really relish the chance to pester and bother LeBron.
Match Up with NPC D4617
- Post: SHAQ/Kemp >>> Jokic/Rodman
- Point: Payton = James
- Wings: Pierce/Mullin = George/Thompson
While at the point and the wings the match-up is quite even, the dominance will come in the Post where
SHAQ/Kemp would likely dominate Jokic/Rodman.
In summary,
the dominant post play up front and overall balanced scoring should translate to a 4-3 series win.