Dream Team vs The best of today, who would win?

[Matthew]

Basically, who would win if the dream team from 92 (not 96) played the best players in todays game? The lineup of todays best is certainly open for debate, but heres mine:
Current best:
Shaq
Duncan
KG
Ko-be
Kidd
Iverson
T-Mac
Dirk
Jermaine Oneal
Webber
Payton
Ben Wallace
And of course they would be matched up with the Original dream team:
Barkley
Jordan
Malone
Mullin
Drexler
Ewing
Pip
Robinson
Larry legend
Magic
Laettner (lol)
Stock

I decided the starting line-ups would be
Shaq vs David Robinson
Duncan vs Malone
Garnet vs Larry Bird
Kobe vs Mike
Kidd vs Magic

So lets begin
Centre
Shaq is a monster and unstopable one on one which does put a hell of a lot of pressure on any defense to contain him. But i think when you look at the talent the dream team has, they could do just that. An immediate double team of perhaps pippen or Magic would give him problems. Plus David Robinson in his prime would be a difficult cover for shaq becuase of his athleticism.
Advantage Current players: Shaq is just too dominant for even a healthy David Robinson.

Power Forward
Tim Duncan has the height, but malone has the strength and quickness. Duncan is more fundamentally sound, Karl Malone is more feirce. But, these players are incredibly well schooled and some will say boring. But fuck that, they are the 2 best power forwards of all time. Some could say Duncan is better, becuase he has 2 rings. But he never had to go through MJ.
Dead heat: Its just too close to call.
Small Forward
As good as KG is, Larry Legend is an icon. His play in the 80's was incredible. Injuries fucked him up later in his career, but in his prime he took his team past some of the great NBA teams in history to 3 titles. He had help yes, but who do was the unquestioned leader? KG would give Bird some problems tho, but on the whole Larry's jump shot was just too unstopable, and would prevent KG from creating havoc defenisvely.
Advantage Dream Team: Larry Birds trashtalk and competiveness takes over and schools KG into submission
Shooting Guard
Kobe has alot of game, but not even him (or Tmac, or iverson, or vince, or anyone) can match up with MJ. MJ's 63 points against the celts in 86, the only guard to ever had a 200 steal/ 100 block season, the 41 ppg he averaged against pheonix in the 93 finals. The 8.0 assists he averaged in the 88-89 season. He could do it all, and he did whatever it took to suceed. Kobe will improve, and one day might close the gap. But right now, the comparison still isnt fair.
Advantage Dream Team: Mike gives Kobe a lesson of a lifetime
Point Guard
Magic, Like mike, did whatever it took to win. Just think back to as a rookie him starting at centre in game 6 of the finals. That type of team first attitude magic had made him a top 5 player in league history. And although he wins this matchup, Jason Kidd needs his props. He did help turn New Jersey into a contender, and his game does resemble Magics. But Magic is the real deal, not a replica. Thats not a knock on Kidd, he's the closest replica i can think of.
Advantage Dream Team: Magic shows the world the difference between him and Jason Kidd emphatically
The Benchs
Dream Team
Barkley
Drexler
Pippen
Ewing
Stockton
Mullin
Laetnerr
Current
Iverson
T-Mac
Dirk
Jermaine Oneal
Webber
Payton
Ben Wallace
Advantage Current Players: It was close, but I think a backcourt of iverson and tmac, along with Webber and Dirk, is just too dangerous offensively for the dream's bench. But The Dream team does posses alot of very nice players.. And Stockton does have the ability to make everyone around him better. Its the closest advantage given out.

Overall The Dream team takes it 3-2. But The matchups they won were more convincing then the current players. Of course this is all hypothetical, and i welcome everyones opinion here.

[Dramacydal]

u should have taken iverson stead of kobe cause 1st: hes simply better, 2nd: esp against jordan, hehe, remeber when he crossed him up with a killer crossover move in his rookie season, ill never forget that, it was one of those "i cant believe what ive jus seen"-situations, he left mike wonderin what jus happened...lol

[Matthew]

I don't think so. Iverson is a different player to Kobe. But Kobe matches up against mike alot better than what Iverson does. MJ or MJ(Magic Johnson ) would be able to just post iverson up with ease. Plus becuase AI is such a potent scorer, he could be brought off the bench and provide instant offense.

As for Iverson being better, as much as I like him, i cant agree. Kobe has proven he can bottle his game up for the better of the team, and release it in spurts when the team needs it. Iverson is yet to do that. Plus in terms of rebounding and defense he is better. Iverson is a future hall of famer, but right now I'd take Kobe ahead of him.

[.]

u should have taken iverson stead of kobe cause 1st: hes simply better, 2nd: esp against jordan, hehe, remeber when he crossed him up with a killer crossover move in his rookie season, ill never forget that, it was one of those "i cant believe what ive jus seen"-situations, he left mike wonderin what jus happened...lol

why is he better because he crossed him over? I can say the same...Kobe scored 42 in 1 half against him. but Im not surprised that you think hes better with the "Kobe did it" banner in your sig and a Iverson pic in your avater.....I am not saying this as a Kobe fan, but as a basketball fan. Bryant is a proven better player. And.....the most importand factor is: He plays on both ends of the floor. I know, Iverson can get a steal anytime....but that doesnt mean he can hold down a player from having a big night, Kobe has that abbility (spelling). The rest is said by Matthew so theres no need to repeat that

[Boyk]

i'd lineup the current team with:

Duncan
KG
T-Mac
Kobe
Kidd

and go with:

Centre: Advantage to Current, Duncan proved to me in last years playoffs on how good he really can be.

Power Forward: Advantage to Current i'd say. KG can do it all, malone can also but hes a major choker in the clutch, KG is quite good. KG may get beaten up in strength, but in the end, i feel KG would come out on top.

Small Forward: Hmmmmmmm Bird or T-Mac????? The best Non-Athletic player of all time, agaisnt one of the best Athletic players. With the expierence and smart thinking of Bird, and his deadly shot, and also standing at 6'10, i think he may come out on top in this battle, though T-Mac would give him hell with his speed and athleticism, but Bird is to smart of a player for T-Mac. Advantage Dream Team.

Shooting Guard: Advantage.........heheeh Dream Team. As good as Kobe is, MJ in his prime is still one of, if not the best ever. Kobe may one day take the throne of king in the NBA(heck maybe even Bron) but MJ would still win this matchup.

Point Guard: Advantage Dream Team. Kidd hasnt got shit on Magic lol. Earvin Johnson got his nickname for a reason, coz hes Magic. Kidd is just a good all-round player, but stilll is the best PG today. But Magic would teach Kidd some lessons on passing.

[TRUball]

so after reading both comparision i see that we fell that today th big men are better and back then teh guards were better(but not taking anything away from the guards today(i.e.: kobe, a.i., etc))

[Swoosh]

yeah but if u go more back u have kareem, wilt the stilt, bil russel, moses malone and some others, so it kinda proves that it's different from generation to genaration(decade),though ewing and robinson in their prime and even mourning can not be underestimated

[Dramacydal]

cmon kobe4mvp...ure a kobe fan, im an ai fan, u think kobes better, i think ais better, wheres the problem? we got different opinions on that, so fuck that shit, i c u dicovered my 8didit banner, gotta check out the site, very funny

[Swoosh]

don't get me wrong dramacydal, i am a big ai fan too, ever since he came into the league, and played live 97 with him to kick everybody's ass , but honestly i got to admit kobe has the edge over ai(and not a small one im afraid), yes on speed and crossovers ai has an edge, but when it comes to defense(man to man but also rebounding and stuff) and helping your team i think kobe is the better player, and maybe the better shooter, of course you can say that ai is forced to take a lot of shots kobe doesnt have to but kobe also creates a lot of shots for himself(though he shouldnt have to do that imho, just pass out)but of course everyone is entitled to have their own opinion

[.]

cmon kobe4mvp...ure a kobe fan, im an ai fan, u think kobes better, i think ais better, wheres the problem? we got different opinions on that, so fuck that shit, i c u dicovered my 8didit banner, gotta check out the site, very funny

like I said....I was saying that as a NBA/basketball fan, not as a Kobe Bryant fan. I know we have different opinions, but thats why there is a message board in the 1st place, to share our opinions. but just by saying Iverson is better and having a anti-Kobe site in your banner and a Iverson avater, it looks pretty obvious that you dont like Kobe and like Iverson. But thats your opinion, and like I said. Thats why forums are here and I dont like any of that Kobe did it things. Hes my rolemodel, and there is a chance that he will never be able to play in the NBA again. This is a serious case and I just dont like that fact that people are making fun of that

[Robby]

I'm not a Kobe or an AI fan but I'd have to give Kobe an edge in that matup becuause of Kobe's size advantage and his ability to do more things on defense.

Power Forward: Advantage to Current i'd say. KG can do it all, malone can also but hes a major choker in the clutch, KG is quite good. KG may get beaten up in strength, but in the end, i feel KG would come out on top.

If Malone's a choker, then KG is much worse since Malone has at least made it past the first round unlike KG. Also, Malone did have a few good games in the Finals against Chicago that most people overlook (Game 3, 4 97 and Game 5 98). Finally, against MJ in his prime, most people would look like chokers. Also, Malone played very well in the conference playoffs against other teams (like the Lakers, Spurs, and Rockets).

The Benchs
Dream Team
Barkley
Drexler
Pippen
Ewing
Stockton
Mullin
Laetnerr
Current
Iverson
T-Mac
Dirk
Jermaine Oneal
Webber
Payton
Ben Wallace
Advantage Current Players: It was close, but I think a backcourt of iverson and tmac, along with Webber and Dirk, is just too dangerous offensively for the dream's bench. But The Dream team does posses alot of very nice players.. And Stockton does have the ability to make everyone around him better. Its the closest advantage given out.

I have to disagree. Stockton and Pippen could more than hold their own against AI and T-Mac. Ewing would destroy C-Webb and Mullin would do just fine against dirk. Also, you should take out a player from the Current Player's team and stick in Nick Collison since Laetner was a college player when he played for the Dream Team. Or you could stick in Hakeem for Laetner, but then there is no way the Current team would win. Payton couldn't keep up with Drexler and Barkley would dominate Jermaine O'Neal. That's why I'd give the edge to the Dream Team.

[LeBron James]

kidd is better than magic.

[Dramacydal]

k, but u cant blame me 4 havin an ai avatar when hes ma favorite basketball player...i still think hes better cause defense doesnt count that much in this case (read this befo, dont come and say how could u say defense doesnt matter [dedicated 2 all those guys that wanna sound smart but dunno what they talkin bout]) cause the sixers r switchin on d, snow defends the sg and ai defends the pg, so he can run the fastbreak better after a steal, and thats y he doesnt rebound as good as kobe, but i think in this case u cant compare that cause they got different jobs on defense, on offense i still think ais better, even tho u all mite not understand that

anyway, theyre both great players and (if u want 2) i could remove that 8 did it banner (i still like the site but if u got a problem with that banner ill remove it jus 4 u 2days ma social day, lol)
btw, u aint got a problem with ma banner of the official 2pac site? cause thers no way ima remove that

[.]

lol...ok, like I said....you have your own opinion which I respect, but I dont agree with it. And thats my opinion. But ok, lets stop this now....and you dont have to remove that 8 did it thing.....if you dont like Kobe or think the site is funny, youre welcome. Im not his agent or brother or anything..just a fan

[TRUball]

kidd is better than magic.

Ok there you go again, didn't andrew warn you about stuff like this? I don't want to start a whole thing on this but.,, just don't post in it if you got nothing to add to the convo.



Center

Shaq Vs. Robinson
Well Shaq will just destroy anyone, so Auto for Shaq.
1-0
Duncan Vs. Malone
Close...Very Close... I think I would have a tie here...
1-1
Garnett Vs. Bird
Bird would easily win this, through I guess Garnett could take him into the post, but Bird had too great of a shot.
1-2
Kobe Vs. MJ
This would be a classic match-up. Obvisiously Kobe would win, j/k. Well, MJ would be have a hard time to defend Kobe as most people do, but Kobe also would have a very hard time to defend MJ. But I would give it to MJ because he has the advantage in the offencive department.
1-3
Kidd Vs. Magic
I would love to see this mostly because then we can laugh at "jason duncan" when he says jason kidd is the best. But Magic is.. well... Magic and Kidd would stand a chance vs. Magic Johnson.
1-4

So that would mean the Dream Team, but what about shaq... he could just dominate and that is worth another oh 3 point, so 4-4 tie, so what i am getting at is..... It is impossible to make a decision. But this will never happen unless everyone on the dream team gets back to how they were 11 years ago....

[Dramacydal]

i almost totally agree, but theres 1 thing i doubt. i dont think bird would win vs kg, as u said, kg would take him 2 the post, and even tho bird is the best shooter ever doesnt mean he could stop kg on defense, i think bird would drop alota points on kg but i aslo think kg could do that the other way around, so its gonna b a tie cause none of them could stop the other one on defense...

[ThisizaJackMove]

Ha Ha Me and some of my friends did this a while back In School. I think dream team..If I can find the paper i'll post the match ups we had.

[Vins15]

where's Paul Pierce? god he did so much to take the C's to the playoffs and i think he derserves a spot at the lineup..Webber is too old and have lots of problem with injury..so i'd take him out and replace it with Pierce...
Ray Allen and Finley should be on this list too...Finley is way underrated...he help the Mavs in the playoffs when Dirk was injured...just cuz Sonics didn't make the playoffs that didn't mean Allen isn't good...he's awsome...he can kill ppl with his jumpshots...

[Matthew]

2nd: esp against jordan, hehe, remeber when he crossed him up with a killer crossover move in his rookie season

Sorry i missed that. It was one play dude, i mean c'mon, if you're going by that logic then Troy hudson should replace Kobe and Shaq becuase he crossed Kobe up and hit a floater over shaq. And while we're at it, David Vaughn blocked mj once in the 97/98 season.

So that would mean the Dream Team, but what about shaq... he could just dominate and that is worth another oh 3 point, so 4-4 tie, so what i am getting at is..... It is impossible to make a decision.

I think shaq would win the battle, but I doubt he would out and out dominate David robinson in his prime. Robinson was really athletic and incredibly built. Not as built as shaq, but he did have some muscle behind him. Plus shaq plays almost soley in the paint, where its much easier to double team, so they could be a factor. So i would say shaq wins, but only gets one point, the same way magic, mike and bird only get one point for winning their matchups. And its strictly hypothetical, so we cant come up with a definitive answer as to who would win, but i thought it would be interesting to see other peoples opinions, thats all

i almost totally agree, but theres 1 thing i doubt. i dont think bird would win vs kg, as u said, kg would take him 2 the post, and even tho bird is the best shooter ever doesnt mean he could stop kg on defense, i think bird would drop alota points on kg but i aslo think kg could do that the other way around, so its gonna b a tie cause none of them could stop the other one on defense...

Bird wasnt that bad of a defender, and I agree that KG could give bird some problems defensively. But the difference is Bird would create more havoc (imo) on offense than what kg would. Thats why I gave him the edge.
Vins15, I thought about Paul Pierce and Vince Carter too, but if they were to be included then jermaine oneal would be shown the door and Dirk moved to power forward. Can you imagine Barkley terroizing Dirk down low? Certainly creates a matchup problem. Who would you take out to put pierce or carter in?

[TRUball]

Who would you take out to put pierce or carter in?

you don't have to cause there were 13 players on the dream team... but someone was injured right that is why...

[Matthew]

Really? who? I dont know about that, and i didnt include 13 guys on the dream team, so that would mean it would be lobsided in the current players favour...

[TRUball]

Really? who? I dont know about that, and i didnt include 13 guys on the dream team, so that would mean it would be lobsided in the current players favour...

wtf, when i was reading it before, i swear 9 players were on the dream teams bench... did u edit it?

[Matthew]

You're seeing things buddy
But seriously no i didnt edit the amount of players on the dream team

[Andrew]

I'd say the Dream Team. I don't have much else to add to the matchup debate that hasn't already been said, but:

i dont think bird would win vs kg, as u said, kg would take him 2 the post, and even tho bird is the best shooter ever doesnt mean he could stop kg on defense, i think bird would drop alota points on kg but i aslo think kg could do that the other way around, so its gonna b a tie cause none of them could stop the other one on defense...

Remember, Bird is 6'9", 220. KG is 6'11", 220. Larry Bird was no weakling, and a very intelligent basketball player. I don't think KG would have his way on offense.

Shaq Vs. Robinson
Well Shaq will just destroy anyone, so Auto for Shaq.

But consider the 1995 NBA Finals, when Hakeem more than held his own against Shaq. Robinson in his prime had the tools to overcome Shaq's brute force.

[Robby]

John Stockton broke his leg during the 92 Olympics but I don't think anyone replaced him on the team.