Tag: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

All-Time Los Angeles Lakers vs. All-Time Portland Trail Blazers

Our next matchup, the All-Time Los Angeles Lakers vs. All-Time Portland Trail Blazers, features two annual Western Conference contenders who have engaged in a fairly one-sided rivalry over the past 45 seasons. Things started off promising for Portland in their magical 1977 season, when they swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals on their way to the only championship in franchise history. Since then, however, they’ve lost nine of 10 playoff series to L.A., including two brutal Western Conference Finals losses in 1991 (when they had the best record in the league) and 2000 (when they blew a 16 point lead in game seven and launched the Shaq-Kobe mini-dynasty). Will things be any different in our tournament? Here’s how the franchises match up.

Lakers vs. Blazers

Key Matchups

L.A.’s wings vs. Portland’s power forwards: The Lakers have one natural power forward on the roster, Vern Mikkelsen, and two other players who can play at the four (James Worthy and Elgin Baylor). Portland features a deep collection of power forwards (LaMarcus Aldridge, Rasheed Wallace, Maurice Lucas, and Sidney Wicks), who will all earn minutes alongside their pair of centers (Bill Walton and Arvydas Sabonis). The Lakers will experiment with certain Twin Towers lineups, but will generally have one big on the floor with their collection of wings. Can Portland exploit the Lakers when they play small? Magic Johnson, the Lakers’ jack-of-all trades, will help to minimize any size disadvantage that Baylor or Worthy have against Portland’s power forwards.

Walton and Sabonis vs. L.A.’s Hall-of-Fame big men: The Blazers feature the best passing big man duo in the tournament. Bill Walton, their great but oft-injured center, was also an elite defender, and Sabonis was one of the bigger players in NBA history. They’re going to have their hands full with the greatest collection of centers ever assembled. The Lakers feature legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Wilt Chamberlain, who will all share minutes and provide different looks for the opposition. Walton will have to avoid foul trouble for Portland to have any realistic chance of competing.

Biggest Mismatches

L.A.’s star power vs. Portland’s star power:  The Lakers feature eight of the greatest players in NBA history. Their other four roster spots belong to four run-of-the-mill Hall of Fame players. The Blazers feature the Hall-of-Fame duo of Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton, surrounded by a mix of all-star players, but they’re outmatched by L.A.’s dominant legends.

X-Factor

How will the Lakers’ high-scoring stars co-exist with one another? The Lakers have many players who are used to having the ball in their hands, particularly in their starting lineup. Coach Pat Riley has a unique challenge getting them to blend their talents together. Who will willingly take on a supporting role? Will Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor complement each other, or will their minutes have to be staggered to maximize their effectiveness?

Results

After getting a bye in the first round, Los Angeles uses this round to work out the kinks and settle their rotation. The Magic Man leads them to an expected victory.

Magic Johnson is ready for all challengers Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com
Magic Johnson is ready for all challengers
Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com

Lakers sweep, four games to none.

Next Round

Los Angeles plays the winner of the All-Time 76ers vs. All-Time Knicks.

All-Time Boston Celtics vs. All-Time Milwaukee Bucks

Our first Sweet Sixteen match features perhaps the greatest franchise in NBA history facing off against a former powerhouse who has struggled to stay relevant in recent seasons. Is this a mismatch? Or can Kareem Abdul-Jabbar carry his team to another upset victory? Here is the battle between the All-Time Boston Celtics vs. All-Time Milwaukee Bucks.

Celtics vs. Bucks 2

Key Matchups

Bill Russell, Dave Cowens, and Robert Parish vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Vin Baker: Milwaukee’s biggest strength, the play of their legendary big man, will be tested by Boston’s trio of Hall-of-Famers. Russell never had a chance to play against Jabbar, but Cowens and Parish had extensive experience going against him. Cowens played against the Milwaukee version of Jabbar in the 1974 NBA Finals, and unsurprisingly struggled to slow him down (Jabbar averaged 32.6 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 5.4 APG, and shot .524 from the field, while Cowens averaged 22.7 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 4.6 APG, and shot .439). Jabbar doesn’t have a true backup center, however, so he’ll have to play big minutes in this series. The fastbreak ability of Russell and Parish, along with the bruising relentlessness of Cowens, may wind up wearing him down.

Boston’s bench vs. Milwaukee’s bench: The Celtics feature a bench without any weaknesses. Milwaukee has a solid bench, led by their dynamic point guard duo (Oscar Robertson and the underrated Sam Cassell), but they’ll be hard pressed to stay with the Celtics’ Hall-of-Famers.

Biggest Mismatch

Boston’s big man depth vs. Milwaukee’s big man depth: In addition to their three centers, the Celtics have Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, and Tommy Heinsohn, all of whom can play power forward. Milwaukee only has Vin Baker and Terry Cummings besides Jabbar, so they’ll have to play some small-ball lineups featuring Marques Johnson or Bob Dandridge at the four.

Expect the Celtics to swarm Abdul-Jabbar Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com
Expect the Celtics to swarm Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com

X-Factor

The first season for Milwaukee was 1968-69, which was the final year of Bill Russell’s Celtics dynasty. Six players on the All-Time Celtics team had already established themselves in Boston before the Bucks even existed. Boston had a 22 year head start on Milwaukee, and won 10 titles in that time (and an 11th in the Bucks’ first year of existence).

Results

The Celtics use their great depth to outlast a game Bucks team. The old guard celebrates another playoff victory.

Red_and_Me_Part_Two_Bill_Russell_and_Red_Auerbach

Celtics win, four games to one.

Next Round

Boston faces the winner of the All-Time Magic vs. All-Time Heat.

All-Time Golden State Warriors vs. All-Time Toronto Raptors

Get ready for an epic showdown. The All-Time Golden State Warriors vs. All-Time Toronto Raptors promises to electrify…ok, I can’t do it. I’m not going to waste anyone’s time here.

Results

Warriors sweep 4-0.

Next Round

Golden State faces the winner of the All-Time Rockets vs. All-Time Suns.

Instead of the usual breakdown, I’m going to use this space to try to contextualize Wilt Chamberlain’s absurd scoring averages with the Warriors.

All-Time Scoring Leader Infographic

Here are the 15 highest scoring seasons in NBA history, by points per game. Not surprisingly, Wilt’s six years with the Warriors are all included here. Rick Barry’s second season with Golden State (then San Francisco), when he averaged an otherworldly 35.6 points per game, a record for an NBA forward, is also included; making Golden State by far the most represented team on the list.

Basketball-reference.com lists an estimate for each team’s number of possessions per 48 minutes, by year (called Pace Factor). However, this information is only available since 1973-74; other estimates were used for team pace prior to this date. These estimates help us understand how much the game has changed since Wilt’s heyday. In his record-breaking 1961-62 season, the estimate for the Warriors’ pace was 131.1, and the average team scored 118.8 points per game. Compare that to Kobe Bryant’s 2005-06 season, when he averaged 35.4 points per game with a team pace of 90.9, and a league scoring average of 97.0. Also of note is Bob McAdoo’s underrated 1974-75 season, when he averaged 34.5 points per game with a team pace of 107.3 and a league scoring average of 107.6.

In addition, basketball-reference.com has a year-by-year breakdown of the top 10 players in true shooting percentage. True shooting takes into account three-point field goals and free throws; however, it’s important to note that the NBA did not adopt the three-point line until the 1979-80 season. This benefited players who played close to the basket, like Chamberlain, and hurt long-range shooters, like Pete Maravich, who would have thrived with a three point line. Regardless, we see that in Wilt’s three highest scoring seasons, he ranked in the top 6 in the league in true shooting percentage. Barry ranked ninth in his breakout 1966-67 season. Remarkably, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were both able to surpass a .600 true shooting percentage in high-scoring seasons; Jabbar ranked 2nd in the league in 1971-72, while Michael ranked just outside of the top-10 in 1987-88, his first MVP season.

Finally, we can see how far ahead of the competition each player was in his prolific scoring season(s). Elgin Baylor is the only player on the list who did not lead the league in scoring; in both 1960-61 and 1962-63, he averaged 34 points per game plus, but did not win the scoring title because of Chamberlain. Speaking of Wilt, in his 1961-62 season, he was 18.8 points ahead of the league’s next leading scorer. It’s safe to say that this type of disparity will never be approached again.

This data shows that Wilt scored efficiently with the Warriors, and was a monster in relation to his competition. However, the league was much different back then, and he benefited from an absurdly fast-paced environment. Even though nobody will ever approach his raw averages again, we have seen players put up scoring numbers that, when considering context, were nearly as impressive.

All-Time Oklahoma City Thunder vs. All-Time Milwaukee Bucks

Our first matchup features two very intriguing teams, the All-Time Oklahoma City Thunder vs. All-Time Milwaukee Bucks. It’s a shame that one of these teams will be eliminated so early, but this shows the depth of talent in our tournament. Below is a breakdown of this classic battle.

Oklahoma City’s Advantages

Perimeter Defense: Specifically, the defense of former Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton. The Bucks starting lineup does not feature a traditional point guard, and Payton’s presence will force them to use more of Oscar Robertson and/or Sam Cassell as the primary ballhandler. When one of these two replaces Ray Allen, there’s less spacing around Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; when one of them replaces Sidney Moncrief, the Bucks perimeter defense is severely compromised. If the Bucks play lineups featuring Robertson or Cassell, Allen, Moncrief, and Marques Johnson, then they’ll suffer on the boards, despite the presence of Jabbar.

Frontcourt Length: Kevin Durant, Shawn Kemp, and Jack Sikma are all over 6’10”, which will cause problems for the Bucks on both ends of the floor. If the Bucks try to play small ball against this unit, they’ll get murdered on the boards, and Durant and Kemp’s athleticism won’t allow Milwaukee to have a large edge in quickness on the perimeter.

Three Point Shooting: This team, featuring one of the greatest groups of three point shooters in this tournament, will never be out of a game. Lineups with Durant at the 4 will be particularly unguardable, and the Bucks won’t be able to physically dominate him on the other end of the court unless they play Vin Baker alongside Jabbar. Baker would have no chance against Durant on defense, so the Bucks will avoid using this lineup as a counter.

Milwaukee’s Advantages

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: If Oklahoma City decides to double Kareem, then the Bucks have the perimeter firepower to make them pay. Lineups with Ray Allen and Michael Redd will be particularly difficult to defend from beyond the arc. Sikma is a crafty defender, but he doesn’t have the size or length to effectively defend Jabbar one-on-one, and if he gets in foul trouble, Oklahoma City doesn’t have another true center on the roster.

Defending Durant: Marques Johnson will make Durant, Oklahoma City’s best scorer, work very hard on the defensive end of the floor. In late game situations, expect the Bucks to put Moncrief on KD, despite the size mismatch. Smaller defenders have had some success against Durant (Jason Kidd, for example), since he doesn’t have the bulk to dominate them down low. He can shoot over anybody, but Moncrief will make him work for everything.

X-Factor

Foul trouble and Roster Depth: Both teams have plenty of backcourt depth, but don’t have a deep roster of big men. Can the Thunder’s bigs stay out of foul trouble defending Jabbar? When Sikma sits, Kemp will serve as his primary defender, so player/coach Lenny Wilkens will have to stagger their minutes and play Spencer Haywood and Detlef Schrempf alongside both big men. Vin Baker will have to step up in case Kareem gets in foul trouble, which (needless to say) is a big downgrade for Milwaukee on both ends of the court.

Results

These two teams go back and forth in a seven game battle. Oklahoma City proves to have a deeper bench, but Milwaukee has the best player in the series. Down the stretch of the deciding game, Durant hits a three to put the Thunder up by one. Seven seconds remaining. Larry Costello knows exactly what to draw up:

Bucks win four games to three.

Next Round

Milwaukee faces the number one seeded Boston Celtics.

All-Time Milwaukee Bucks Team

All-Time Milwaukee Bucks Team Infographic

Fear the deer! The all-time Milwaukee Bucks team has a unique blend of perimeter firepower and low post dominance. With one championship, they are the 17th seeded team in our tournament, and have a first round matchup with the Seattle Sonics/Oklahoma City Thunder.

The starting backcourt consists of all-around dynamo Sidney Moncrief, and the all-time leader in three pointers made, Ray Allen. Moncrief was one of the great, underappreciated players of the 1980s, and won the first two Defensive Player of the Year awards ever. If they need more ball handling, they can bring in the past-his-prime but still effective Oscar Robertson, or Sam Cassell, who averaged 19.0 PPG and 7.2 APG during his five years with the Bucks. In addition, they have two-time Sixth Man of the Year Ricky Pierce, and three point gunner Michael Redd to spread the floor. Similar to the Sonics, they’ll play a lot of three guard sets, and space the floor very effectively around their big men.

Marques Johnson and Terry Cummings are the starting forwards. Johnson was another special player who rarely gets his due; watch how he dominates a do-or-die playoff game against the 76ers to get a feel for his incredible offensive game. Cummings was very athletic, had a great face-up game, and should be a perfect fit in the starting lineup. Bobby Dandridge is the first forward off the bench, a prototypical three who used his quickness and mid-range game to frustrate opponents. They also have Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, who could score prolifically, even if he didn’t have a great all-around game. Vin Baker is the backup big man, and he’ll have to play both the power forward and center spots. This is another team without great big man depth, so health and foul trouble will both play an important role in their fortunes.

Every single player in this tournament is good, and many are all-time greats. Only a handful are transcendent legends who can single-handedly carry their teams to victory. Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of those legends. In his six seasons with the Bucks, the team averaged 57 wins per season, and went to the only two NBA Finals in franchise history. Jabbar won three MVP awards during his Bucks tenure, and easily ranks as the greatest player in franchise history. His presence makes them a dangerous sleeper in this tournament.

In many ways, this team is similar to their first round opponent, with a deep backcourt featuring Ray Allen alongside one of the great defensive players ever, and an athletic, multi-talented frontcourt that lacks big man depth. Jabbar should expect to play a ton of minutes, which he’s accustomed to, since he averaged over 40 minutes per game every year he was with the team.

Coach: Larry Costello

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .512

All-Time Los Angeles Lakers Team

All-Time Los Angeles Lakers Team

The All-Time Los Angeles Lakers Team is…pretty good. Some might call it elite. Consider that the 12 selected players AVERAGED 8.5 all-star game appearances and 6.9 all-NBA appearances during their tenure with the team. The starting lineup AVERAGED 13.2 all-star game appearances, and 11.4 all-NBA appearances. Three of the greatest players of all time, George Mikan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Wilt Chamberlain, have to come off the bench. Every single player is either in the hall-of-fame, or will be enshrined as soon as they’re eligible (Shaq and Kobe).

It’s hard to even choose a coach for this team. John Kundla, who won five titles in 11 seasons, and had a .583 winning percentage? Pat Riley, who won four titles in nine seasons, and had a .733 winning percentage? Or Phil Jackson, who also had five titles in 11 seasons, coupled with a .676 winning percentage?

The easiest call on this team is at point guard, where 6’9” Magic Johnson provides greatness, leadership, and positional flexibility. His size makes it easier to start two other guards beside him – Jerry West and Kobe Bryant. There’s really not much that I can say about this trio. West and Kobe might fight to the death over who gets the last shot in the game, but talent (usually) trumps all in the NBA, and this is the greatest backcourt in this tournament.

Elgin Baylor is the greatest forward in franchise history, and gets the start in the frontcourt alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem’s consistency over a long period of time gives him the slight edge over Mikan, who has a case as the most dominant player relative to his competition in league history, and O’Neal, who has a case as the most statistically dominant player in franchise history. In his four Finals appearances as a Laker (20 games), Shaq AVERAGED 33.6 points per game, 14.1 rebounds per game, and shot 60.2 percent from the field.

The bench consists of trailblazers from the first era of team greatness (Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen, and Mikan), secondary stars who helped the team continue to flourish in the subsequent decades (Gail Goodrich and James Worthy), and the two most physically imposing superstars in league history (Chamberlain and O’Neal). There’s not even room for the likes of Pau Gasol, Jamaal Wilkes, or Slater Martin due to the greatness of the 12 selected players.

I can’t identify a weakness with this team. We can quibble with the fact that they have no backup point guard, but West can slide over to that position if Magic needs a rest. The starting lineup will have to find a way to share one basketball, but that’s certainly a nice problem to have, and one that Magic Johnson should help to alleviate. Even though this team enters as the two seed in our tournament, they’re the favorites to win it all, and it will be interesting to see who will be able to challenge them.

Coach – If I have to choose, I’ll go with Riley, but you can’t go wrong with Jackson or Kundla.

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .609