Favorite to watch...

[Spurminator]

Not going to try to make the order complete... Keep in mind I started watching in the early 90's.

Allen Iverson
Kobe Bryant
Michael Jordan
Manu Ginobili
Reggie Miller
David Robinson
Hakeem Olajuwan
Shawn Kemp (young)
Ben Wallace
Vince Carter
Dirk Nowitzki
Shawn Marion
Earl Boykins
Andrei Kirilenko
Tony Parker
Tim Duncan
Bruce Bowen
Rasheed Wallace
Robert Horry (esp. as a Rocket)
Alonzo Mourning

[Darrin]

That's not the Sixers problem. Believe me. Igodala and Korver are studs compared to those guys. And Webber, even hobbled is much needed. Dalembert is Dalembert....I think it's the fact that Cheeks can't coach to save his life.

I don't think so. I watched that team play the Pistons in last year's playoffs, I didn't fear them in the least.

Kyle Korver can score, but he cannot guard anyone. I point to Rip Hamilton's 37 points on 16-24 shooting on opening night. He's a Steve Kerr-type role player. Samuel Dalembert has the skills to be the best defensive center in the league, but his timing on blocked shots, his positioning for rebounding, and defending the pick-and-pop make him a raw if not disappointing prospect. That's why Dalembert was benched recently for Steven Hunter. Their frontline defense stinks, and really has since those guys I just mentioned. People forget, so here's a little reminder:

Theo Ratliff: 12.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 3.74 bpg. (ALL-STAR STARTER)
Tyrone Hill: 9.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, .49 spg.
George Lynch: 8.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.21 spg
Allen Iverson: 31.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.6 apg, 2.51 spg (MVP)
Eric Snow: 9.8 ppg, 7.4 apg, 1.54 spg.
Aaron McKie: 11.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.39 spg (SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR)
Matt Geiger: 6.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Rodney Buford: 5.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg.

Steals: They had the 2nd (Iverson), 30th (McKie), 39th (Lynch), and 82nd (Snow) leaders in steals in 2000-01. Brown pressured the ball everywhere. Everyone was lanky with quick hands. Lynch was their Bruce Bowen, Snow the one-man press, and Iverson was the man playing the passing lanes.

Rebounding: Ratliff would've been the hands-down Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league in blocks. As it stood, the 2nd (Mutombo), 23rd (Hill), 34th (Lynch), and 72nd (Ratliff, never played a game with ATL in 2001) rebounders in in the league.

Overall: The team had the third best defense in the league. Iverson was asked to score, but the rest of the team was asked to hit open jumpshots, nothing more. They would establish some post sets, but then it was screen after screen for Iverson and Snow for them to make plays. They were a great road team (27-14). For a bunch of scrubs, they sure did play exceptionally well defensively. Much better than the overrated trio of Korver, Dalembert, and Iguodala.

Another lesson on the "reputation" of a player versus their results:

With Mutombo:
2000-01 Season: 15-12
2001 postseason:12-11
Total: 27-23 (.540)

With Ratliff
2000-01 Season: 36-14 (.720)

[1Parker1]

^ Who the said I think the Sixers are good enough to beat the Pistons?! My point was that they are good enough to not be struggling below .500 for yet another season. No way are they contenders in any way.

Look at it this way. Compare the Sixers team to the Lakers. Kobe and AI more or less cancel eachother out....now tell me of the surrounding cast, which do you think has the better players? Lakers with guys like Odom, Luke Walton, Sasha, George, etc....or the Sixers with Webber, Igodala, Korver, Dalambert, etc??? I'd take the Sixers supporting cast of the Lakers any day of the week. Yet, the Lakers are holding the 7th playoff spot in the Western conference, above .500.........yet the Sixers are struggling to keep their 8th playoff spot in the Eastern conference, below .500.

[Darrin]

^ Who the said I think the Sixers are good enough to beat the Pistons?! My point was that they are good enough to not be struggling below .500 for yet another season. No way are they contenders in any way.

I didn't say they could beat the Pistons. I watch 29 teams play the Pistons every season. If the Pistons had been matched up with the Wizards, a team with one scoring machine and didn't beat the Pistons in the regular season of 04-05, it would've been a tougher series despite the Wizards only having 2 more wins than the Sixers last season.

Look at it this way. Compare the Sixers team to the Lakers. Kobe and AI more or less cancel eachother out....now tell me of the surrounding cast, which do you think has the better players? Lakers with guys like Odom, Luke Walton, Sasha, George, etc....or the Sixers with Webber, Igodala, Korver, Dalambert, etc??? I'd take the Sixers supporting cast of the Lakers any day of the week. Yet, the Lakers are holding the 7th playoff spot in the Western conference, above .500.........yet the Sixers are struggling to keep their 8th playoff spot in the Eastern conference, below .500.

I'd take the Lakers to be honest. George has been a solid defender this season and lightyears ahead of Korver in that respect. There are more consistent options in terms of hitting open shots around Kobe than Iverson. And for as much crap as Odom gets for not being a 25, 7, and 5 guy every night, he doesn't need to ball in his hands to be effective the way an immobile Chris Webber must. I'm suprised you went as deep into the bench as Luke Walton, and forgot two starters in Chris Mihm and Smush Parker. The only two players I would take off the Sixers are John Salmons and Samuel Dalembert. Plus, the Lakers supporting cast isn't signed to long-term contracts because the Lakers don't think Smush and Walton and George are the longterm answers in their current roles. Only Kobe, Kwame, Sasha, and Bynum are under contract past 2008.

This is exactly where I thought they would be - a 37-42 win ballclub. Iverson and Webber need the ball to be effective. That doesn't work because, since 2001, Iverson hasn't let anyone dribble that basketball. They don't run him off catch-and-shoots that made him a great shooting guard.