Graycap23 said:

Larry Brown (the Pistons' head coach at the time) knew that Kobe was a ball-hog. The Pistons' defense let Shaq open at the low post many of times because they knew that Kobe (when double-teamed) was too damn selfish to pass the ball. And Kobe was stupid enough to fall for that trap.

RodeoSchro said:

That was a regular season game, not the play-offs.

TonyVanDam said:

Right. . And it was the other things I mentioned, too.

uPtoWnNY said:

Yeah, but you're talking about 1 time. Then they lose to 2 HOFers in Doc and Mo. And that's my whole point - The Celts, 6ers, and Lakers were the only teams stacked in the 80s.

Graycap23 said:

Are you kidding? Michael, Scottie, & Dennis were THE cornerstones of a team (1995-96 Chicago Bills) with the best regular season record of all-times (72-10). All 3 men were also members of the 1996 NBA All Defense Team.....the first time they ever had three members from the same team.

BTW, you forgot the mention Toni Kukoc (NBA Sixth Man Award winner) & Steve Kerr (at that time had the NBA Finals record of most 3-pointers made).

TonyVanDam said:

Even though the '96 Bulls won more games, the '91-'93 Bulls were better(top to bottom), IMO.

Ray Allen, Scott Pollard, and a 1st rounder in 2009 for Kobe. I love my big 3 the celts have, but shit if we had Kobe it would be over.

Love this thread!

Since there seem to be so many hoopheads here, I'll ask what you think of an all-time team that I assembled over on sportsline. 25 teams participated in a mock draft where any player was eligible. My team is now in the quarterfinals with the two seed. I tried to assemble a team of intelligent, multi-faceted, gutsy winners. Behold the Flying Onomatopoeias:

PG: Maurice Cheeks
SG: Michael Jordan
SF: Adrian Dantley
PF: Dan Issel
C: Nate Thurmond
RS: Bill Laimbeer
RS: Paul Westphal
RS: Maurice Stokes (RIP)

Moonbeam said:

Mo Cheeks could not hold the jock strap to the great point guards of his day. Magic Johnson, Dennis Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, hell I even think Doc Rivers was a better point guard. You have the best SG of all time so you are straight there. Adrian Dantley is a defensive force but he is more of a sixth man. I think you would have done better there with a Dominique wilkins, Paul Pierce, Shawn marion, Scottie Pippen, or Sydney Moncrief. Dan Issel, thats just garbage. All the good Big men must have vanished. Nate thurmond is consistent, but you should have gotten Russel, Hakeem the Dream, or Parish. I love your reserves.

Moonbeam said:

Your guards are solid, and so is your C. Your Fs are decent. Your bench is VERY suspect though.

karmatornado said:

Keep in mind a lot of these players were taken! I would have loved to grab Russell or Hakeem, but they were gone. I had the 1st, 50th, 51st, 100th, 101st, 150th, 151st and 200th picks in the draft, so many of those players weren't available. Now I'll defend my choices! Maurice Cheeks was a career 52% shooter and led the 76ers to a championship. He was a perennial All-Star as well as a 4-time member of the All-Defensive first team! Adrian Dantley was a more potent scorer than any of the small forwards you mention and is among the top 5 most efficient offensive players ever! He is one of 4 players in NBA history to average over 30 points per game in 4 consecutive seasons. He shot 54% lifetime against players usually 3-4 inches taller than him. Dan Issel ranks among the top 10 scorers of all time. Nate Thurmond was a defensive beast. He is the only player in NBA history to hold Wilt scoreless, and Wilt and Kareem have gone on record naming him as their toughest defender!

MuthaFunka said:

Everyone on my bench was an All-Star. Paul Westphal even nabbed a few All-NBA 1st team selections. Maurice Stokes averaged 16 PPG, 17 RPG and 5 APG (enough to put him in the top 10 per season when he was playing) during his short career. He would have been one of the all-time greats had his career not been cut short so tragically.

Moonbeam said:

But you're talking about how great those players were in their respective eras, and I guess that's ok since it's an all-era contest.

karmatornado said:

What's with the Mo Cheeks hate, and Glenn Doc Rivers, come on. Charles Barkley said Maurice was the best PG he had ever played with (and he played with Kevin Johnson)


Mo was a top 5 PG of the 1980's.
1. Magic
2. Isiah
3. Dennis Johnson
4. Mo Cheeks
5. Micheal Ray/Fat Lever

It's hard 2 rate your team without seeing the other teams. That said Mo Cheeks was a true baller and a clutch player. Don't sleep on Mo.

Graycap23 said:

Yes, you have to give Mo Cheeks his due. He was a vital part of those early 80s Sixer teams.

Moonbeam said:

Bill Laimbeer is a crybaby and was a dirty player. I can't stand him.

uPtoWnNY said:

No one created the hype like Darryl Dawkins. I remember when he took a swing at Maurice Lucas of the Trailblazers. Lucas - who was the epitome of the dirty player (I'm sure Bill Laimbeer took copious notes) - deserved to get punched out, but a roundhouse from Dawkins would've KILLED him.

To Lucas' credit, after the punch missed he backed away. He wanted none of it.

Best fight I ever saw was in the late 70's, Rockets v. Celtics. Kevin Kunnert fouled the shit out of Dave Cowens. Cowens started bitching and some drunk ran onto the court, jumped on Cownens' back, and yelled, "Now THIS is a foul!"

Cowens shook the guy off and I swear Charlie Scott punched the fool 20 times before he hit the ground, and 50 times after he landed. Fastest puncher I have EVER seen!

RodeoSchro said:

Chocolate Thunder! Hot damn!! That cat was ahead of his time. He was breaking rims when Shaq was in diapers.

Anyone remember the night Kermit Washington punched out Rudy T.? Scary sh!t - Rudy almost died that night, but I felt Kermit got unfairly tagged as a dirty player. Kermit was all wired up fighting Kevin Kunnert, felt someone rushing at him from the back, and responded.

Howard Stern: "When you take these little white girls to your hotel room, you pull down your pants and they see your Chocolate Thunder, what do they do?"

DD: "They do either one of two things - they run toward you or run away."

Stern: "You've had women run away from you?"

DD: "Yep - changed their minds. I-I-I can't handle that!"

Stern: "Couldn't you ease them into it?"

DD: "I was smooth, but not that smooth!"


One of the funniest interviews I ever heard. Darryl also talked about the legendary Magic Johnson booty parties.
[Edited 10/23/07 12:34pm]

uPtoWnNY said:

I will never, ever forget that night. What you say about Kunnert and Washington getting into it is true; however, Washington was a dirty player who loved to fight. If you ever get a chance, find a copy of the 1976-1977 NBA Players Guide and read what it says about Washington.

It was eerily prophetic.

Speaking of the man from Planet Lovetron, do you remember when he had a shoulder injury, and the docs couldn't figure out what was causing it?

That is, until they saw Dawkins walking to the plane, with a 50-pound boombox cradled on his shoulder. True story!
[Edited 10/23/07 12:34pm]

uPtoWnNY said:

LMAO, I bet that WAS hilarious!

RodeoSchro said:

Yeah, I remember that story. Dude also had names for each of his dunks. He was a character, but he had game and a serious jump shot.

uPtoWnNY said:

Those booty parties.....were all they were cracked up 2 be.

Graycap23 said:

....and then some. Magic told Howard he learned about throwing parties from the best(Hugh Hefner & Dr. Buss). Dawkins said he never stayed that long, because sh!t was getting too crazy even for him!

The Bulls' record against the Rockets during Michael Jordan's career:

1984 - 85 0-2
1985 - 86 1-1
1986 - 87 0-2
1987 - 88 2-0
1988 - 89 1-1
1989 - 90 1-1
1990 - 91 0-2 (1st championship)
1991 - 92 1-1 (2nd championship)
1992 - 93 0-2 (3rd championship)
1995 - 96 2-0 (4th championship)
1996 - 97 1-1 (5th championship)
1997 - 98 2-0 (6th championship)

So Jordan's Bulls were 11 - 13 against Hakeem's Rockets overall, and 6 - 6 during their championship years.

uPtoWnNY said:

They used 2 call Magic.....Buck back in those days.
[Edited 10/23/07 13:28pm]

uPtoWnNY said:

James Worthy knows about those parties...

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Actually most of hollywood/pro sports knew about those parties.