Our next match up features two teams who won the 1977 (Portland) and 1978 (Washington) NBA Finals. They haven’t been able to win it all before or since, but they’re linked by their success in an overlooked era in NBA history. Who would win the battle between the All-Time Washington Wizards vs. All-Time Portland Trail Blazers? There are many factors at play.
Similarities
Passing Big Men: Both teams are anchored by starting centers who were known for their passing skills. Wes Unseld is widely regarded as the best outlet passer in history, while Bill Walton may have been the best passing center to ever play the game. Both teams often ran their offense through these players, and their career assist numbers reflect this. In addition, Washington’s Chris Webber and Portland’s Arvydas Sabonis were excellent passing big men who can play similar roles when Unseld and Walton are not on the floor.
Big Rosters: Big men make up half of each team’s roster. They each should be able to keep everyone rested, avoid foul trouble, and throw multiple looks at one another.
Washington’s Advantages
Battle of the Boards: Washington’s big men should have a slight advantage in controlling the glass. The starting trio of Gus Johnson, Elvin Hayes, and Wes Unseld is one of the tournament’s best in terms of rebounding, and Walt Bellamy, Jeff Ruland and Webber should help them maintain this advantage off the bench.
Versatility: Washington should be able to play many different styles. They have score-first ball handlers (Gilbert Arenas and Earl Monroe), and a pass-first option (John Wall). They have a physical small forward (Johnson), an outside threat (Bob Dandridge), and a tweener (Antawn Jamison) that they can play at the three. They have a pass-first big man (Unseld) and a dominant low post scorer (Bellamy). They also have good defensive players (Hayes, Johnson, Dandridge, Wall) who can play when they need to get stops. Coach Dick Motta has many options at his disposal.
Portland’s Advantages
Offensive Efficiency: Overall, Portland’s team shooting is very high, and they don’t feature a player on the roster who shot below 46 percent for his Blazers career. In addition, the advanced statistics (PER and WS/48) of the Portland players are higher than those of the Washington players. Will this translate to the games? Portland’s pieces do seem to fit well with each other, and they have several excellent passers who should help them mesh as a unit.
X-Factor
Health: Much like real basketball, fantasy tournaments of this nature can often be decided by injuries. The methodology here is that once a player makes the cutoff for years and games played for a franchise (4 seasons, 200 games played), then they’re eligible to compete in all games of their series. This clearly benefits a player like Walton, and discounts the ironman achievements of someone like Elvin Hayes. While imperfect, this method allows us to imagine each team’s best roster, and filters out those who had extremely short stints with a franchise.
Results
Once again, we have a very hotly contested series. In the end, the brilliance of Walton and Drexler and the clutchness of Porter win out. The good people of Portland go a bit overboard in their celebration.
Portland wins, four games to three.
Next Round
Portland faces the All-Time Lakers.