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Should two great players be sufficient to win an NBA championship?

Hopper

Hopper

Banned
Many of the Sloan-bashers around these here parts insist that it should. This guy takes a look at some of the great "duos" that didn't, such as Jerry West/Elgin Baylor ("Both Baylor and West averaged at least 30 points per game in 1961-62. Baylor put up a remarkable 38.3 ppg that year") and Oscar Robertson/Jerry Lucas ("Robertson usually averaged around 30 points and 10 assists, while Lucas added about 20 points and 20 rebounds per game").

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Depends on who they are playing against. What if the other team also has two great players? Most true contenders do.

While it kills me that the Jazz had so many shots from 1994 to 1999 and came up empty, I can see why. In general, they were facing teams that also had two great players. The 1994 Rockets might be an exception (with Hakeem and a bunch of three-point shooters). 1999 was also an exception, but the Jazz ran into a young, deep Portland team after the lockout had accelerated the season and left them worn out. Besides those two years, they met Olajuwon/Drexler, Kemp/Payton (not as great, but surrounded by an overall more talented team), and Jordan/Pippen/Rodman (twice).
 
You've got to have good role players around the two superstars.
It's pretty easy to negate 1 or 2 players in a series. The Boston/LA series was a classic example. The stars didn't win the series. For the most part, the games were determined by which role players stepped up. Kobe scored a lot of points, but he didn't shoot very well for most of the series. When it counted, the Laker bench beat up on the Celtics in Game 6, then Artest came up huge in Game 7, just like Big Baby did for the Celtics in Boston.

I think you generally need at least 2 superstars (Detroit being the exception), but at the same time, you can't have any major weaknesses.
 
Two bonafide stars and a third borderline stud is needed. If you dont have that third stud your two stars better be really good. Not just all stars but almost franchise players, top 10-15 in the NBA, like a Lebron or Kobe or Pierce. We have really just one stud-Deron. Jazz need to get two more stars. Good luck with that. (Booz is just borderline, in my opinion. He can be a third option at best) If Booz leaves, no matter who we draft at 9, this season's team will be Deron + a bunch of role players, some of them good, others not quite. That would barely be sufficient to make the playoffs.
The Jazz need a Deron-Joe Johnson-Bosh type nucleus to contend along with some really good specialist role players.
I dont see it happening any time soon
 
You've got to have an interior scorer, tough interior defense and at least two players who can hit big shots. I don't think 2 great players can do it, unless they're superstars. Remember the Lakers when they had Shaq and Kobe, got big contributions from players like Robert Horry and Ron Harper. Two superstars have to lead, but there has to be pretty good depth at all positions.

The best shot the Jazz have with their current outlook would be:

1) Deron Williams,
2) re-sign Boozer,
3) draft either George or Babbit and hope the guy turns out to be a total stud and lights-out shooter,
4) bring in Tomic to be our version of Pau Gasol
5) get a lock-down defender at the other wing position who can hit open shots

This is why I say there really is no point drafting a player like Aldrich, Udoh or Patterson.

If the Jazz can make a move in this draft and somehow get a hold of Wesley Johnson or Demarcus Cousins, they should. They should be willing to move AK, Miles and even Millsap in the right deal.

Otherwise, given that the Jazz have Millsap and Tomic waiting in the wings, they really should consider getting a talented wing player. If they can get another player like Whiteside, Sanders or maybe Brackins also in the draft, they should.
 
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You have to have at least 1 superstar, 1-3 other "stars," and some damn good role players coming off the bench to win a championship these days.
 
what, no talk of the officiating? isn't that like the fifth dimension of winning it all?

You folks are disappointing.
 
The biggest thing is that one of the two stars be at least 6'10" and be a dominant big. The other star needs to be a scoring 2. Solid role players are a given. But if you look at the NBA champs in recent years they all have a dominant big and scoring 2.
 
I think you need 2 superstars and good role players. The 04 pistons are really the only exception I can think of, but they were one of the best defensive teams ever. The spurs had duncan and robinson, then duncan, parker and ginobili. Lakers had shaq and kobe, then kobe and gasol. Bulls had Jordan and Pippen.

The Jazz need a legit superstar next to dwill if we hope to win it all. That is why this draft is so important.
 
Chances of getting a legit superstar at 9, are doubtful. Would need a risky pick like Whiteside developing into the next Bill Russell.
 
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