Rules
-Rank only the best 12 teams
-No voting for yourself
-Send your rankings to me in PM, that way we don't have people fighting over who ranked who where
-The top 12 will then each face a team from the 12 who didn't get ranked
-If you didn't post your team then you're not in here, and will automatically be in the bottom 12. Post it in the Rosters thread asap and I'll put it in here
Teams
New York Knicks
PG Goran Dragic / Isaiah Thomas
SG Joe Johnson / Delonte West / Gerald Green
SF Chandler Parsons / Thaddeus Young / Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
PF Carmelo Anthony/ Kevin Seraphin
C Anderson Varejao / Tiago Splitter
My team will have tons of scoring through Melo, Joe, Dragic, Thad, Isaiah, Green, etc. and will play great defense. Carmelo played his best stretch of games as a PF this season and also played better D against PFs. He also causes mismatches since PFs cant stay with him, and they have to bring a wing to defend him leaving one of my wings against a slower PF. Joe will play more of the role he did in Phoenix as a spot up shooter and my #2 guy. Dragic will be setting them up and hitting all the open shots that come his way. Andy V and Parsons are 2 of the best defenders/role players in the game
My bench is stacked and should be able to outscore any other bench in the league and play solid D. They will come in and change the pace since everyone on my bench is great running the floor. Isaiah and Tiago are 2 of the best P&R players in the league and will mesh perfectly.
Phoenix Suns--> Best defensive backcourt ever assembled.
PG-Rajon Rondo/Rodrigue Beaubois
SG-Andre Igoudala/Jason Richardson/Randy Foye
SF-Gerald Wallace/Charlie Villanueva
PF-Andrea Bargnani/Jason Maxiell/Hakim Warrick
C-Spencer Hawes/Brandon Haywood
Great defence, rebounding, athletcism, driving ability at the PG/SG/SF spots and then great shooting, scoring, length at the big men spots.
Detroit Pistons
PG Tony Parker/Norris Cole/Luke Ridnour
SG Tony Allen/Leandro Barbosa
SF Luol Deng/Al Farouq Aminu/Jan Vesely
PF David West/Tyrus Thomas
C Roy Hibbert/Marcus Camby
Oklahoma City Thunder
PG-Derrick Rose
SG-Kevin Martin
SF-Wilson Chandler
PF-Amare Stoudamire
C- Samuel Dalembert
Bench:
6-Jarret Jack
7-Anthony Randolph
8-Enes Kanter
9-Baron Davis
10-Terrence Williams
11-Andray Blatche
12-Daniel Gibson
Milwaukee Bucks
PG: Jrue Holiday/Patty Mills/Darius Morris
SG: Monta Ellis/Kemba Walker/
SF: Derrick Williams/Wes Johnson/James Jones
PF: Zach Randolph/Udonis Haslem
C: Greg Monroe/Robin Lopez/Bismack Biyombo
Orlando Magic
Pg: Steve Nash/Darren Collison/Jameer Nelson
Sg: Manu Ginobili/Courtney Lee
Sf: Nicolas Batum/Carlos Delfino
Pf: Paul Millsap/Al Harrington
C: Tim Duncan/Omer Asik/Mehmet Okur
This team has everything. I honestly can't think of a style of play that they wouldn't be successful at. Maybe isolation basketball, but that never really leads to winners anyway. Great 3 point shooters, defenders, passers, mix of youth and veterans, and role players. Really a team that meshes well together. Probably the most depth of any team not named the cavs. Doesn't need a guy to score 20 to win. Remove a player of your choice and I still think I could win a couple rounds. Only way I can see this team losing is if voters way overvalue ALL NBA star power, or are only look at starting lineups.
Sacramento Kings
PG: Ty Lawson / Brandon Knight / Nate Robinson
SG: Wesley Matthews / JR Smith
SF: Lebron James / Reggie Williams
PF: Kris Humphries / JJ Hickson
C: Marcin Gortat / Jordan Hill / Kosta Koufos
Brooklyn Nets
C : Javale McGee - Brandan Wright
PF : Al Horford - Larry Sanders - Reggie Evans
SF : Rudy Gay - Tracy McGrady - Jonas Jerebko
SG : Paul George - Evan Turner
PG : Chauncey Billups - Brandon Jennings
Defense will be synonymous to the Brooklyn Nets. The length and athleticism of this team will be our major weapon.
Point Guard
Chauncey Billups will lead the team but due to his old age his minutes will be significantly lower than what he used to get. he will definitely be an option during crunch time.
Brandon Jennings, a spit-fire guard will mainly back him up and anchor our running game, providing major scoring from the bench.
Evan Turner will see some action here when we match up against taller PGs, his defense and length will be key in containing the other team's play makers
Shooting Guard
Paul George will be the main guy to man the SG spot, he has 3pt shooting, athleticism, length and defense. and did i mention he's 6'10"?
Evan Turner will be the guy to backup George, he can also handle the ball and help with the play making
Tracy McGrady can provide some offense and veteran leadership
Small Forward
Rudy Gay is the Net's main perimeter scorer and finisher on the break, which we plan to have a lot of because of our defense, a good defender and a clutch scorer too
Paul George due to his size can also play some SF
Tracy McGrady will see some time here too
Power Forward
Al Horford's natural position, he will be the main post scorer, he has the size to bang down low and the quickness to guard the smaller PFs.
Larry Sanders is very athletic and will provide hustle with the back up unit
Rudy Gay can get limited minutes here, when we play our quick lineup
Center
Javale McGee will be our man in the middle, providing help defense and tough interior defense. he will also provide comic relief every once in a while with his boneheaded plays
Brandan Wright is almost like McGee, the length and athleticism will make him a good with on-ball and help defense.
Al Horford can also see some action here with our small and quick lineup
Chicago Bulls
PG- Russell Westbrook/Ramon Sessions
SG- Klay Thompson/Mo Williams
SF- Corey Brewer/Shane Battier/Dahntay Jones
PF- Chris Bosh/Lamar Odom/Gustavo Ayon
C- Joakim Noah/Ben Wallace
Team Building Explanation:
The basic premise behind every good team is that it has one superstar. So I traded for Westbrook. Check. Next, I wanted to surround Westbrook with players who could run the floor with him, and stretch the defense in half court situations with their outside shooting. In comes Klay Thompson and Corey Brewer. Every good team needs secondary scoring options. I think Bosh is as good as those come. Now Bosh isn't an elite defender by any means, so I needed a Center who would do the dirty work and provide second chance points/opportunities. Done, with the trade for Noah. Lastly, a good team needs depth. And with that depth, there needs to be a good blend of offensive firepower and defensive prowess. Offensive firepower: Moe Williams and Lamar Odom. Two of the better scoring bench players in the NBA, including a former sixth man of the year. Ben Wallace and Ayon round out what I consider an excellent, versatile frontcourt. Sessions was a steal, and is an excellent 1 to bring off the bench. I needed a true point. Someone who could beat their man, penetrate, and make the high percentage plays. Sessions does all those things. Finally I needed a bit more depth and perimeter defense. In my opinion, Battier is one of the most underrated/underappreciated players in the league. He is extremely smart and continues to be one of the better perimeter defenders in the game. Watch Game 1 of the NBA Finals or the Lakers-Rockets series in 2008. Those games will give you a clue to just how good he has been and remains. Dahntay Jones was the last player I drafted. He gives my team an edge, additional perimeter defense, and outside shooting. All in all, I wanted a team that primarily runs the floor and utilizes Westbrook's talents. Check. I also wanted the team to be versatile enough to execute half court sets when neccesary. Check. I wanted the team to have a unique blend of offensive firepower and defensive intensity. Check. And I wanted to have a team with length. Check. Hope you like my team as much as I do.
Golden State Warriors
PG Stephen Curry
SG Gerald Henderson
SF Kevin Durant
PF Derrick Favors
C Deandre Jordan
BENCH:
Greivis Vasquez/ Eric Maynor
Shannon Brown
Chase Budinger/James Johnson
Glen Davis
Tristan Thompson
Utah Jazz:
C - Nene, Zaza Pachulia
PF - Ersan Ilyasova, Amir Johnson, Renaldo Balkman
SF - Marvin Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Luke Babbitt
SG - Kobe Bryant, Kyle Korver,
PG - George Hill, Beno Udrih
My goal is to average 20 3-pointers per game. I have a dynamic post scorer in Nene, a wing scorer with Kobe, and they are surrounded by athletic wing shooters who can defend as well. I have a high efficiency team which can shoot, defend, and rebound with a strong bench with shooters and size in the front court.
Memphis Grizzlies
PG Ricky Rubio / DJ Augustin / Jerryd Bayless
SG James Harden / Willie Green / Rudy Fernandez
SF Tayshaun Prince / Grant Hill
PF Brandon Bass / Patrick Patterson
C Kendrick Perkins / Ian Mahinmi
Cleveland Cavaliers
PG Devin Harris (I like him better as a starter than Andre Miller - he is capable of more offense, and is a moderately good 3P shooter)
SG Demar Derozan (slasher)
SF Caron Butler (solid defender/slasher)
PF David Lee
C Marc Gasol (love our starting frontcourt duo)
Bench
SF Hedo Turkoglu - very versatile reserve, can play multiple positions
SG Jamal Crawford - 6th man - quick scoring option
SF Richard Jefferson - proven vet presence -
PG Andre Miller - excellent backup PG
PF Dejuan Blair - solid reserve PF/banger
PF Tyler Hansborough (for some hard fouls and crazy hustle plays off the bench)
SF Steve Novak (pure 3-point specialist - best percentage in the NBA)
My (and trell's) Cavaliers team is complete, for now. Still entertaining trades - would like more perimeter shooting in the starting lineup. Derozan is definitely on the trade block for something that could help w/ that.
Either way, I really like this team as far as depth is concerned, though there is no go-to-guy (which happens when all of your picks are between rounds 3 and 8) - I would be surprised to see a deeper team from 1 to 12, though.
I'm sure this team will be a Denver Nuggets/Indiana Pacers style team that uses depth and preaches team play. All 12 teammates have a role right now. As of now, just about all of our perimeter shooting will come off the bench, with Turkoglu, Crawford, Novak, and Jefferson (with some corner 3's). In the starting lineup, Harris and Butler can hit from outside when needed.
The pick-and-roll game will be excellent w/ Harris and either Lee or Gasol.....our starting 5 should be able to pick-and-roll teams to death. We plan to use our superior depth to adapt to whatever is needed as far as matchups. Turkoglu and Crawford will both be awesome 6th men, depending on our team's need. Butler and Derozen will penetrate and get to the foul line quite a bit.
Turkoglu is a key to this team as he can play multiple positions (SG, SF, PF) and is a great passer out of any position. He provides depth all over the court supposing there's any foul trouble. Like the Indiana Pacers, we plan to be one of the most physical teams in the NBA, being that foul trouble won't cripple us with our team depth. We hope to get at least 4 or 5 good hard fouls from Blair and Psycho-T when facing the league's top bigs and penetrators. Our 2nd unit is almost as strong as our 1st, which will be good for us and bad for the opponent as the game wears on. I'd say we have the most depth in this entire league...the key is finding out if our starters pull through.
Indiana Pacers
PG: Kyle Lowry/Jordan Farmar/John Lucas
SG: Ray Allen/Daniel Green
SF: Shawn Marion/Corey Maggette
PF: Carlos Boozer/Antawn Jamison/Drew Gooden
C: Dwight Howard/Boris Diaw/Drew Gooden
Sonics:
Starters
PG: Jeremy Lin
SG: Tyreke Evans
SF: Jared Dudley
PF: Lamarcus Aldridge
C: Al Jefferson
Bench
PG: Steve Blake, Will Bynum
SG: Gary Neal
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Darell Arthur, Troy Murphy
C: Joel Pryzbilla
Rockets:
PG Deron Williams/JJ Barea/Jimmer Fredette
SG Rip Hamilton/Vince Carter/Jodie Meeks
SF Sam Young/Gary Forbes
PF Blake Griffin/Jason Thompson
C Nikola Pekovic/Greg Stiemsma
Boston Celtics
PG - Chris Paul - Jason Kidd
SG - Brandon Rush - Stephen Jackson - Marco Belinelli
SF - Ron Artest - Stephen Jackson
PF - Ryan Anderson - Carl Landry
C - Tyson Chandler - Chuck Hayes - Aaron Gray
This team was built around the pick and roll brilliance of Chris Paul. Paul has been surrounded with the perfect plethora of shooters and big men capable of operating in the pick n roll. Anderson will act as the main pick and pop man, and with his incredible efficiency, should be a deadly target. With the defense and alley oop threat of Tyson Chandler, the Celtics will be diverse on both ends and look to pose a threat to any team.
Atlanta Hawks
Starting 5:
C Emeka Okafor
PF Josh Smith
SF Danny Granger
SG Nick Young
PG Jose Calderon
With the starting group, plenty of offensive shooting power with Nick Young and Danny Granger at the 3 and 2 spots, with a decent point guard in Jose Calderon. Josh Smith has the ability to go outside on the perimeter or to bring it in from midrange to the rim providing even more scoring from the four. Finally at the 5, a defensive anchor in Mek, to help balance out the scoring from 2-4 spots.
Bench:
Taj Gibson, CJ Miles
Landry Fields, Eric Bledsoe
Ed Davis, Francisco Garcia
Jordan Crawford
Bench provides plenty of scoring options and also has some defenders in Taj, Bledsoe, and Landry Fields
Washington Wizards
PG-Rodney Stuckey
SG-Arron Afflalo
SF-Paul Pierce
PF-Luis Scola
C-Dirk Nowitzki
BENCH-PG:
SG:
SF:
PF:Channing Frye
C:
Toronto Raptors
PG: Chalmers
SG: D Wade
SF: Ronnie Brewer
PF: Pau Gasol
C: Brook Lopez
6th man: PG/ SG Iman Shumpart
PF/C: Marreese Speights
PG: CJ Watson
C: Cole Aldrich
PG/ SG: Kirk Henrich
SF: Alonzo Gee
SG: Ben Gordon
New Orleans Hornets
PG: John Wall
SG: Jason Terry
SF: Michael Beasley
PF: Kevin Love
C: Andrew Bogut
OJ Mayo
Elton Brand
Avery Bradley
Jason Smith
Gilbert Arenas
Matt Barnes
San Antonio Spurs
PG: Ray Felton
SG: J.J. Redick
SF: Danilo Gallinari
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Andrew Bynum
6th Man: Lou Williams
Bench: Kawhi Leonard
Bench: Nick Collison
Bench: Mickael Pietrus