by asgsjb on Thu May 17, 2007 11:42 pm
Trying to, at least. While playing the games is fun, I like the chance to play GM. And as a NYer and a Knicks fan, taking apart the mess Isaiah Thomas put together is a real challenge. The real Knicks are set up with their best star at PG (Marbury), a good talent at SG (Crawford), insufficient size up front, and a tendency (until this year) to trade youth to get overpriced aging ex-stars. That's not how I like to see my team, especially in NBA Live. I prefer to have my star be at SG, with my PG being a great passer, dribbler and defender and with the ability to shoot accurately and hit the 3...my PG should be able to take over a game if needed, but tend to get the ball to the others on the team. I like my SF to be an accurate shooter who can take the ball to the net and who is decent at defense...3-point shooting is a plus. I like my PF to be a great blend of offense and defense...he can hit a 10-15' shot, is strong, takes the ball to the hoop well, rebounds and, if possible, blocks. My C needs to be strong, a great rebounder and blocker, and if he can score well, that's a nice add-on. My backups should be young and cheap, should be able to fill in for starters for 1/4 of the game, and should be skilled enough in key categories that they can develop into replacements for starters once the starters are good trade bait or are too expensive...good young talent should never be traded.
I think my team has shifted from the Isaiah Thomas mold into more of what I like in a team. J-Will is exactly the type of PG I mentioned...he can take over a game if needed, but does not demand the ball like Marbury. J-Will is fast, a great passer and defender and can hit the 3. Kobe is not only the star of my team, but one of the best in the league. Gerald Wallace can't hit 3's, but he is fast and can go to the hoop well...he also defends nicely. I am also developing his shooting and speed more. Okafor needs development in shooting accuracy, but he is offensively focused, is strong, can go to the hoop, and is an excellent defender and can give me blocks. Ilgauskas is too expensive and is getting older, but he is the complete offensive/defensive package at C. With Kapono, Ariza, Korver, Sweetney and Mihm, I have backups who meet my needs...they meet my skills qualifications, are young, cheap, and with Sweetney and Mihm at least, are tied in for a few years. I can also use Kapono and Korver interchangeably at SG and SF.
Now if I can just leverage Norris, Houston, Hardaway, and/or Mohammed into the same type of young cheap talent, I'll be set. I'd love to add a young PG like Banks, House, Pargo, Harris, Ford, Barbosa or the like, and a young C like Diop, Harrison, Kaman, Gadzuric, Dalembert, Hunter, Swift, Haywood or Ramos. Those are the focuses. If I can add youth at the other spots (Childress, Gordon, Petrius, Rush, Iguadala at SG; Josh Smith, Deng, Nocioni, Pavlovic, Daniels, Kedrick Brown at SF; Jefferson, Perkins, Biedrins, Anderson, D.West, Collison at PF), that would just be gravy.
I see you're from Australia....cool! Always wanted to go there. I have a cousin in Perth and my boss is from Sydney and spent 7 years in Melbourne.