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Good article.
Fantasy matchup unreal
By Gary Washburn
Globe Staff / June 1, 2010
The Celtics have won nine of 11 NBA Finals against the Lakers, making this not so much a rivalry as a domination.
In the golden era of fantasy sports, when all-time teams can be pitted against each other via video screens, the Globe decided to match the 15 top Celtics and Lakers from those 11 Finals to see who would win a seven-game series.
That’s Bob Cousy vs. Magic Johnson. Bill Russell vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Paul Pierce vs. Elgin Baylor. And before we begin, this is just players who faced the Lakers or Celtics in a Finals, so that leaves out Dave Cowens for the Celtics and Shaquille O’Neal for the Lakers.
And these are the best 15 overall players from those 11 series, meaning position was ignored. The “rosters’’ are mostly made up of guards and forwards, given the lack of great centers besides Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, and Robert Parish.
Here are the starting fives for each team:
Celtics: Cousy, John Havlicek, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Russell.
Lakers: Magic, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, Baylor, and Abdul-Jabbar.
For the Celtics, there could be some debate as to whether Pierce could replace Havlicek or Kevin Garnett could step in for McHale. Havlicek was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, scored more than 26,000 points, and won all five Finals against the Lakers. While Pierce is a Celtics great and has one Finals victory over the Lakers, Havlicek has better credentials at this point.
McHale and Garnett are closer. They were equally talented in their prime and McHale actually traded Garnett to the Celtics as a general manager, so maybe he should get the nod on that alone. Since McHale was a lifelong Celtic and helped win three les, we gave the nod to him.
The most pressing question about the Lakers was Abdul-Jabbar or Chamberlain, and Kareem won for two reasons: he beat the Celtics in two Finals and was a more productive player during those Finals. Chamberlain infamously asked out of Game 7 of the 1969 championship series against the Celtics and an angry Butch Van Breda Kolff did not put the big man back in the game. So on this team, he is relegated to the bench.
After further examination, the Celtics’ bench on this fantasy Finals team is a lot deeper than the Lakers’. Not only would you have several members from those storied Celtics teams of the ’60s, the Big Three also could come off the bench, as well as Dennis Johnson and Parish.
There would be little drop-off when Cousy got tired because DJ could spell him. Garnett could be teamed with Russell and nobody would score inside. Pierce and Bird could be an unstoppable 3-4 scoring tandem, and Parish could come off the bench to give Russell a breather.
The Lakers would have to depend on their amazing starting five. The Celtics would be hard-pressed to stop West, Bryant, and Baylor at the same time. In fact, no NBA defense would be capable of containing those three. And Magic Johnson would have little trouble seeing over the defense for entry passes or running the break to give the ball to Bryant for a streaking layup or Baylor for one of his spinning jumpers.
And Russell retired a year before fans could determine whether he could block the sky hook. In the short time an aging Chamberlain played against Abdul-Jabbar, he was unable to do anything besides swipe in vain. While Russell would control the paint, block shots, and get rebounds, Abdul-Jabbar’s size (7 feet 2 inches) and the sky hook would prove to be major issues.
The Lakers would have a thin bench, but Michael Cooper would be an X-factor against Bird or Pierce. At 6-6, he would have the height and length to check Bird, who is two inches taller than Pierce. So both Celtics would have their troubles with Cooper.
The Celtics could go to their ’60s lineup off the bench with Tom Heinsohn and Don Nelson, along with Sam Jones and K.C. Jones to join Cousy, or 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell could come off the pine to spell Pierce or either Jones.
As for the Lakers, an aging but still effective Bob McAdoo could spell Bryant without a drop in scoring, but he might have trouble on defense, and Jamaal Wilkes could hit long-range jumpers while brushing his teeth, but by the time the Lakers faced the Celtics, he was more of a role player.
Current Lakers Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol would give the older Celtics some trouble with their athleticism and Derek Fisher could spell Magic. DJ’s defense could prevent Fisher from distributing but Fisher’s guile would make the matchup even.
Kurt Rambis and A.C. Green would give the Lakers toughness, but that would be offset by Garnett and Maxwell.
The Lakers likely would win the series if they only needed to play with their starting five. It’s hard to argue against a team of Magic, Kobe, Baylor, West, and Kareem.
But the Celtics would have more depth. Garnett off the bench is a menacing thought and Parish would flourish in limited playing time. Maxwell, the Joneses, Pierce, Ray Allen, Heinsohn, Nelson, and Johnson would be just too tough in a seven-game series.
The series would be close because Bryant and Baylor would have the ability to win games on their own, as would Magic.
But in a Game 7, with both teams exhausted, the Celtics would win with their talented reserves.
Celtics, four games to three.
Last edited by MiamiHeat; 06-01-2010 at 08:05 PM.
Good article.
Magic dominates that backcourt. Game over. Kareem has like 5 inches on Russell.
Russell was a defensive power house....but I don't think he would be able to stop Kareem.
He's not stopping Kareem. You'd have to put Mchale on him.
Imagine a Magic, West, Kobe, Worthy/Baylor fast break
Lakers by 30.
That's some good stuff MH.
But can we really compare athletes from the 60's, 70's and even 80's era to todays well conditioned athlete. Physiological differences are there when comparing these guys especially guys from the 60's don't you think.
I am wondering what happens to this well written scenario if you throw a one Shaquille O'neal into all of this? A prime Shaq at that.
Pfft
WHo has won most of the Finals between those 2 teams?
Throughout the NBA's existence, it's safe to say that the Celtics have clearly owned L.A
So, All-Time Celts win
By a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide margin
Thread closed
Nice in depth analysis
basically, run Iso with Kobe. Who guards him? Cousy? Bird??
Cousy would be a defensive liability and would get ripped if Bean is guarding him especially with that one handed dribble .
Kareem, Wilt, Shaq center rotation
Unfreakin unbelievable if such rotation existed huh?Kareem, Wilt, Shaq center rotation
This truly WOULD CLOSE THIS THREAD.
I mean, if that's ya best point guard, that squad is ed:
he guards Magic
he guard Kobe
both would literally post his tiny ass up ...... make sure Compton's finest Dennis Johnson is on the squad
he's ed
I guess they're saying only the Celtic and Laker teams that has faced each other which would leave out Shaquille, since he didn't play against the Celtics in any finals
The pride of Pepperdine..I mean, if that's ya best point guard, that squad is ed:
he guards Magic
he guard Kobe
both would literally post his tiny ass up ...... make sure Compton's finest Dennis Johnson is on the squad
he's ed
You have no credibility whatsoever. Cousy is known for his unprecedented ball-handling skills, especially due to his ability to handle and pass the ball equally well with both hands.
I doubt you've watched a single minute of Cousy and 90% of those guys playing.
the whole thing is flawed but if you were to take greats versus greats, I think the Lakers would easily roll. Most of the Celtics greats are pretty much dudes from the 60s. I mean, they retire people's numbers who really isn't Hall of Fame material. I still love McHale in the post though. The Black Hole was a masterpiece on the block.
All those past Lakers are really great and the Cs would have no chance.
That's why the record is 9-2.
Damn, it's always hilarious to see how hard Lakers fans buy their own hype.
are you kidding me??? every game or clip I've seen, the dude is constantly dribbling with his right hand and as soon as he dribbles with his left hand, he goes right back to his strong hand which is evidently his right. LOL
due would get ripped constantly and too damn small to guard 6'9" Magic or 6'6" Bean. , even Red said he'd take Magic over Cousy.
You've never seen a game or a clip, stop pretending.
Cousy was ambidextrous.
and his whopping 37% field goal percentage really wouldn't worry the Lakers .....
a 6'1"point guard with one good hand and a one handed set shot vs. 6'9" Earv or 6'6" Bean who can basically jump over him equals Lakers in 5
FYI, 90% of the players in that era couldn't use their off-hand to save their lifes.
You were unlucky to assume Cousy was one of them. His ability to use both hands is a big reason why people say he created/revolutionized the point-guard position and was the first modern point-guard.
So, next time around don't pretend to know more than you actually do.
How many clips have you seen?are you kidding me??? every game or clip I've seen, the dude is constantly dribbling with his right hand and as soon as he dribbles with his left hand, he goes right back to his strong hand which is evidently his right. LOL
due would get ripped constantly and too damn small to guard 6'9" Magic or 6'6" Bean. , even Red said he'd take Magic over Cousy.
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