So here it is... the all N.B.A. team selected by the most unqualified man to do so. Well, I exaggerate a little. I can select a helluva good NBA team in video games.
But all kidding aside here are my picks. If after scanning over them you would be interested as to how I selected them then be sure to read through the bottom portion. Go MY TEAM!
My Eleven:
Ray Allen
Shane Battier
Michael Bibby
Kevin Durant
Tim Duncan
Manu Ginobili
Grant Hill
Kirk Hinrich
Steve Nash
Rajon Rondo
Amar'e Stoudemire
(on waiver: Pau Gasol - hey, it's a blog!)
Starting Five
PG - Steve Nash
SG - Ray Allen
SF - Kevin Durant
PF - Grant Hill
C - Tim Duncan
Power Five
PG - Kirk Hinrich
SG - Manu Ginobili
SF - Grant Hill
PF - Shane Battier
C - Amar'e Stoudamire
Speed Five
PG - Rajon Rondo
SG - Michael Bibby
SF - Ray Allen
PF - Kevin Durant
C - Pau Gasol (waivers baby!)
End Game Five
PG -Steve Nash
SG - Michael Bibby
SF - Kevin Durant
PF - Tim Duncan
C - Pau Gasol (he's so new his name is misspelled on the jersey)
Explanation:
So the critical mass in any team is chemistry. I've watched these players over the years and yes some of them even longer than a decade. That's why specifically I bring up team chemistry because in each of them I've seen undeniable professionalism. Of course you can't have a squad of mercenaries like the Miami Heat but you can mix together a "get-it-done" mentality, probably best personified in Shane Battier, and a true love for the game, for instance a guy like Grant Hill.
So there's that point. Plus I'd like to say that their individual styles, in theory, compliment each other quite well. Imagine Nash feeding around the perimeter to Tim Duncan's pick-n-roll. Or a high screen feed and clear out for Durant with Ray Allen as an outlet. That's just the starters, don't even let me go to the bench.
The weakness is of course the age. But add up the minutes from these guys and it's clear their not slackers. Also, it can be a knock that up until we secured Pau Gasol on waivers (?) that there wasn't a true center. Tim Duncan has never been a true center, not in the sense of height or rebounding ability where actually he's amazing. But not a true center in the sense that it somehow has never translated to the teams play selection. He plays like a more fundamentally sound Charles Barkley that's been hanging around Kareem Abdul Jabbar all weekend. Get it to him in the low post and he's looking to pass. Get it into the high-post and he's looking to put it on the floor and get around someone. In the paint, he's never been intimidating like Barkley but he's butter smooth like Kareem.
Anyway, I could go off on a tangent about these picks. Oh wait, I already have.
