Bill Simmons on 2012 team vs. the Dream Team

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

That shyt happened way to frequently to say they'd have off games.

As I said, they were 15-37 against Spain in the gold medal game which I believe is about 40% where they won by seven and it was close throughout and they were also 10-33 against Lithuania in a five point win which is about 30%.

I wouldn't call 15-37 an off night but it's definitely a night that the original Dream Team could live with...

10-33 would be a disaster.

Those two games were against far inferior defenses so my point is that even against inferior competition there are going to be off nights.

I can say they'd have off games because they did.

 

[Malta]

Mastermind on his "did you watch?" shyt again lmao. Never gets old.

If Gasol is an advantage against the current '12 bigs and Spain loses only by seven even with allowing 15 threes.. what do we call having Robinson, Ewing, Barkley and Malone on the inside and the '92 team having better perimeter defenders than Spain had for this tourney?

Think about replacing the Gasols with the '92 bigs and Rudy/Navarro with Pippen/Jordan.

then think about replacing Calderon/Rodriguez with Stockton/Magic.

You would agree that Spain is a tough match for the 2012 team, correct? They were a tough match in the '08 Gold Medal game as well.

So now replace all of Spain's best players with far superior players at each position.

Since you want to use opponents as an idea of what would happen, the Croatian team hit 9 of 17 three pointers in the gold medal game against the Dream Team, if they could do that, what do you then think the current team could do?

That Croatian team turned the ball over a lot, but when they actually got a chance to run offense they shot nearly 50% against the Dream Team, and 52% from 3.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

You see what I mean? We are using single games and small sample sizes to determine what you think could happen.

the '12 team shot 10-33 against Lithuania. What would happen if they shot 10-33 against The original Dream Team? Would you say that they would probably lose?

I'm not buying this idea from NYC Rebel and Mastermind that the '12 team is incapable of having off nights from three. We saw an off night and I think the original Dream Team also lives with 15-37..

That's why I'm sticking with the Dream Team's advantage in the paint. Any way you look at it, they are going to be taking higher percentage attempts.

 

[mastermind]

Mastermind on his "did you watch?" shyt again lmao. Never gets old. .

your post suggests you didnt.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

your post suggests you didnt.

Do you have a response or

 

[Malta]

You see what I mean? We are using single games and small sample sizes to determine what you think could happen.

the '12 team shot 10-33 against Lithuania. What would happen if they shot 10-33 against The original Dream Team? Would you say that they would probably lose?

I'm not buying this idea from NYC Rebel and Mastermind that the '12 team is incapable of having off nights from three. We saw an off night and I think the original Dream Team also lives with 15-37..

That's why I'm sticking with the Dream Team's advantage in the paint. Any way you look at it, they are going to be taking higher percentage attempts.

You're acting like David Robinson and Pat Ewing were featured in their offense, it was mostly Chuck and Karl doing work off pick and rolls while Pat and DR were there for garbage points. Do you really think a team can set up and run a cohesive offense through centers like that in such a short time span?

The top 5 scorers on the Dream team in order were -

Chuck
Mike
Karl
Mullin
Drexler


Pat and Robinson averaged under 10ppg each, could they score, of course, but they weren't scoring much against crappy competition either. The dream team was as much of a perimeter attacking team as the 12 team, they have the inside advantage against the current team, but nikkas are acting like the centers were getting the ball down low and going to work every single time down the court.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

The Dream Team had the advantage of running the offense any way they saw fit because it didn't matter. They were great and the competition was shyt.

I'm guessing if they had to play against stiffer competition we would be seeing different looks. If they see they have an advantage on the inside and that is their one big advantage you don't think they will try to exploit that? I mean.. what are we talking about here.. The original Dream Team never had to give any of this shyt a second thought but lets not act like the coaching staff was full of dumbasses and they didn't know how to take advantage of mismatches.

 

[Malta]

The Dream Team had the advantage of running the offense any way they saw fit because it didn't matter. They were great and the competition was shyt.

I'm guessing if they had to play against stiffer competition we would be seeing different looks.

And yet, they didn't run the offense through the 5s, because it's not as easy to set up an offense to run out of the post when you have 8 games to do it.

That is why the constant use of Spain makes no sense, they have played together for damn near a decade and run all their offense through Pau and his brother.

 

[mastermind]

Do you have a response or

there is no response needed, im not convinced you watched them play.

They had one bad shooting game the entire tournament, and yet you suggested that them hitting 16 three pointers a game is an "if" scenario.

Nor you keep using a Spanish team that has played together for almost 10 years to show that the '92 team would destroy the '12 team. The '92 team was partying most of the time and only had a month of training together.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

The Dream Team wasn't even put together for the same reasons. They were for lack of a better phrase, having fun out there and they were doing it to show the world how dominant the U.S. was at basketball.. as well as marketing reasons, etc.

If they had to gear up for a real competition there is no telling what would come from it. There is no telling how much effort they would put into playing together and making it work. Would it work, how would it work.. those aren't questions that we can answer.

The Spain comparison is a fine comparison because we are assuming that the Dream Team is playing in an era where international basketball is taken seriously.

'92 was a different world.

The only thing we are comparing in this thread is the '92 roster vs. the 2012 roster and how they would handle one another. That's it.

Stop piggybacking off other posters too

 

[mastermind]

ok, well Durant, Lebron, Kobe, and Melo would have won games by 70 points in 1992.

You see how that works?

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

No, because if it was '92 they would have had a month to train and they would have been out partying every night.. remember? They might not even make it to the game on time

 

[ghostwriterx]

You're acting like David Robinson and Pat Ewing were featured in their offense, it was mostly Chuck and Karl doing work off pick and rolls while Pat and DR were there for garbage points. Do you really think a team can set up and run a cohesive offense through centers like that in such a short time span?

Do you really think it would've take a three month training camp for Chuck Daly and those vets to figure out a way to attack Tyson Chandler?

Why do people think the three pointers the 2012 team hit with frequency would suddenly stop?

That shyt happened way to frequently to say they'd have off games.

One or two of them would go on those three point barrages. That was the best shooting exhibition I've seen in my entire life.

They had 2 off games in the Olympics.

 

[mastermind]

they can hit 3 pointers tho

in fact Coach K was on the 1992 staff

I stand by the 70 point wins in 1992 by the 2012 team.

 

[Ready2Rhyme]

Dream Team never faced an NBA All-Star center like Gasol.

I love the 90's too, but c'mon Bill.