http://espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?sportIndex=frontpage&pollId=4594934 These types of worst pro vs best college team comparisons are usually silly. It happens almost every year, and the consensus is usually that there is no way the college team can beat the pro one. However, this one is different. On one hand, Kentucky indeed has many NBA caliber players on its roster. According to Draftexpress.com, 5 Kentucky guys will be drafted in the first round this year. Some can argue that as many as 10 guys can end up on a NBA roster some times in the future. On the other hand, Sixers are tanking. And they are doing so by using non-NBA caliber players on purpose. In fact, they are doing that in hope to land one of the Kentucky guys like Karl Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein in the draft. This is the first time ever I would consider voting for the college team. What do you think?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>On separate matter, Westgate Las Vegas Superbook tells ESPN that it would list Sixers as 17-point favorite over Kentucky if teams could play</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/535522483055886337">November 20, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>That Sixers/Kentucky theoretical line established by Westgate Las Vegas Superbook assumes game played on a neutral floor under NBA rules</p>— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/535522830478483456">November 20, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
With Black or Dorsey at center, Rockets outscored the Lakers last night. In 3.5 minutes or so with DMo at center, the Lakers outplayed the Rockets by 11 points.
This article doesn't address the fact that Philly is employing many non-NBA player roster on purpose. In fact, they are being a non-NBA team in the NBA on purpose, so they can draft NBA players. The "stars" on their roster, MCW, KJ McDaniel, Tony Wroten and Nerlens Noel are all either rookies or sophomores. They would be juniors and seniors in college. Their NBA experience is in fact all losing experience, and isn't enough to make the night and day difference that this article is making it to be. I do believe Philly will probably win (which will be their first win), and maybe by double-digit. However, basketball is basketball, and talent is talent. This imaginary game is not as clear-as-day as the past comparisons. The if-you-vote-for-college-team-then-you-are-dumb attitude is dumb itself.
76ers can defeat Calipari's boys easily but Philly can't win against the best teams in the EuroLeague.
So, 'if' 5 guys that are on Kentucky get drafted, where does that leave the rest of the team? Philly would still stomp them.
It could be close if Kentucky just played their best guys and scrapped that platoon system for the series..
5 years from now, if you re-assembled this Kentucky roster on an NBA team, I think they would be better than Philly. They legit have 8 guys that could go in the first round, 2 centers will be lottery picks. But at this age college kids, even ones as talented as Kentucky, are simply too weak and raw to compete with NBA players.
Two qualifiers you missed - five guys get draft in the FIRST ROUND, and THIS YEAR! All ten of their guys will be drafted either this year or next year. Just for comparison, of the top 10 contributors Philly has, 3 were 1st rounders, 2 were 2nd rounders, and 5 undrafted. Again, Philly is using undrafted/non-NBA guys on purpose to tank. That's what everyone is missing when making this blank argument.
This is a much better argument. Two things you need to consider: 1. We call Philly a NBA team, but half of Philly's players are non-NBA quality players. 2. Philly's team is extremely young as well. Most of them would be either junior or seniors on a college team.
I think Philly would win, but Kentucky might hang around for a while! Philly has some nice lottery talent (MCW, Noel, Embiid), but they have large bunches of crap that go next to that. In favour of those large bunches of crap, many of them were very good players on very good college teams (ie, surely better than Kentucky's bench would be?). And some of the crap are role players who do 1 thing exceedingly well (Mbah a Moute etc)
