There are three teams in Texas (Mavs, Spurs and Rockets) and four teams in California (Lakers, King, Clippers and Warriors). I am just wondering, overall, which state has the best stars and can be called the State of Basketball. Here I'll do a comparison of top three players of each position from each state, and see who are better overall, and please give some feedbacks. Remember, this is not a to form two teams (it's impossible for them to match as teams, since if they do, some of the teammates absolutely hate each other and will never play like a team). Point Guard: Nash/Francis/Van Exel VS Bibby/B. Jackson/A. Miller This is very hard to compare, Bibby and Jackson would have slight edge over Nash/Van Exel, we saw the former two outplayed the later two in last years playoff games. Before the Mavs and Kings play again this year, I will stick with the results from last year. However, Francis and Miller are two different types of point guards. I liked Miller better because of his unselfishness. However, he hasn't proved himself to be a winner. He played for the Cavs, and they were horrible. In the summer, his team USA stunk the whole world. Now he's playing for the Clippers, who hasn't won much either. Francis hasn't won much more either, but he's an all-star after all, and his team is doing well (thanks to Yao Ming too). I'll take him before Miller. But overall, California won at point guard. Shooting Guard: Finley/Mobley/Smith VS Kobe/Christie/J. Rich With Kobe's presence in this contest, I don't think there is a question that California wins this one, although it's hard to call the for the rest of them. Small Forward: Dirk/Bowen/Rice VS Peja/Jamison/Odom Dirk is a MVP contender, and his presence in Texas is a little overwhelming for the Californians. People might argue he's a power forward, but I think he plays more like a small forward. However, the drop of talent from Dirk to Bowen(defensive force) and Rice(decent role player) is too big to make up, since Peja(last year all star), Jamison(scoring machine), and Odom(a great all around player) all have all-star qualities. Californians won it again. Power Forward: Duncan/LaFrentz/K. Thomas VS Webber/Brand/Murphy Although Duncan is somehow struggling this year, I still think he is a better player than Webber. Then, Brand is an all star and would be too much for LaFrentz to handle, althogh LaFrentz is a solid player as well. Murphy and Thomas would be a close call. Murphy plays on a bad team. but is a much better rebounder. I'd give it to Murphy here. Overall, Californians won it AGAIN. Center: Yao Ming/D. Robinson/Bradley VS Shaq, Kandi, Divac Well, the toe daddy is here. Too bad for the Texans, our boy Yao Ming is amazing, has great potential and all, but now, Shaq is too much for anyone to handle at this point. Not to mentional Kandi and Divac have an edge on Robinson and Bradley too. Californians snatch this one. Overall, Californians won the contest in all five positions(I originally though we Texans could at least won at PF with Duncan's presence, but I found I out-argued myself in my analysis). The players in our state of Texas are elite players, but we are just not deep enough. I have to admit my opinion might not be entirely accurate. If you think so, please give some feedbacks.
Yo jamalccc...At first, I thought you might have some California-bias but looking at your assessment, it's pretty good. I think you are wrong at point guard however. No matter what they say about Miller, he's never led a .500 team. At least Stevie can claim that. And while Bibby and Jackson did beat Nash/Van Exel in the playoffs...I wouldn't say they had a better series or are just plain better. I'm giving Texas the advantage in PGs. But, there is a PG on GSW that I love...Gilbert Arenas.
You forgot to rank the coaches: 1. RUDY!!! 2. Phil "Good Situation" Jackson 3. Popovich 4. Adelman 5. Nelson 6. Musselman 7. Gentry
Man what are you smoking? No way Bibby/Jackson beats Nash/Van Exel. Throw Stevie in there he'll kill Miller. The reason Nash and Van Exel sucked last playoff is cuz of the team not cuz they got beat one on one. Dallas didn't know how to play together, Sac did. Simple as that.
Miller was/is just in the wrong team. One year later,he will be better though he will not be a californian then.
If you compare a California team to a Texas team just by there starters, we would get different answers. California: pg- Jackson sg - Kobe sf - Stojokovic pf - C-Webb c - Shaq vs. Texas: pg - Francis sg - Finley sf - Nowitzki pf - Duncan c - Ming I think the Texas team clearly wins 3 out of the 5 position battles. Francis is better than Jackson, Dirk over Peja, and T-Dunc over C-webb (in my opinion). Shaq would still control Ming, and Kobe.....well, he's not bad!
Interesting thread idea. I think the PG and SF (if you put Dirk there) clearly go to the Texans. I don't care who is playing behind Dirk, his edge over the Californians is so big that this should be ours. I'd call the PF position even, because Duncan is clearly the best out of that group. Other than that, I have to agree more or less.
Also it's not fair that CA has 4 teams to TX's 3. Even though GS sucks they are able to contribute a couple of good players. I say take the top 3 CA teams vs the TX trio.
Then PLEASE don't ever take CDs place as Rockets GM. Troy Murphy is a good rebounder who is a total non-threat on the offensive end. And to top that off, he's quite possibly the worst defender in the league. Definitely in the top 5 bad defenders. I'd take+ KT over TWO Murphys.
LOL, ok, I will not take CDs place, satisfied? Who wants to be the GM of a NBA franchise anyway. Murphy is averaging more points than Thomas, and since you said he's a non-threat, I guess our Thomas is ...., don't know what to say. Come on, let's not to be homers here for just a second. Murphy is a 7-footer who grabs more rebounds and scores more points than Thomas, who is 6-7. I agree that Thomas has better defense, but if you want to take that defense over size/points/rebounds, ... Anyway, if you are just a die-hard homer who thinks Thomas is better, go for it. Laker's Horry can take Murphy's place and will probably have a pretty good match up with our Thomas. Moreover, as I said, Brand vs LaFrentz is just too much of a mismatch, and the Murphy vs Thomas thing shouldn't matter.
I did not like your comparison so here is mine, from a bias Texan. PG All Texas Team-Francis, Nash, Parker All Cal Team-Miller, Bibby, Arenas Adventage-All Texas Team SG All Texas Team-Mobley, Van Exel, Steve Smith All Cal Team-Kobe, Christie, J. Rich Advantage-All Cal Team SF All Texas Team-Finley,Bruce Bowen, Kenny Thomas All Cal Team-Peja/Jamison/Odom Advantage-All Cal Team PF All Texas Team-Dirk Nowitzki, Duncan, Raef LaFrentz All Cal Team-Webber, Brand, Clark Advantage-All Texas Team C All Texas Team-Yao, Bradly, Cato All Cal Team-Shaq, Kandi, Divac Advantage-All Cal Team Overall? Texas baby!
Cool thread idea. I think Texans clearly win the PG and PF positions because Timmy is a monster on both sides of the court and since you give Kobe's position the nod, you should give it to TD as well. Texans PG position is much much deeper too. A coach would switch around those matchups you posed. 3 outta 5 for the Californians, but check out their elite starters. California: pg- Bibby sg - Kobe sf - Jamison (start but might not finish) pf - C-Webb c - Shaq Texas: pg - Francis sg - Finley sf - Nowitzki pf - Duncan c - Ming In a zone you'd have 3 7 footers for the Texans! It's a tough call. I think some Live simulations should help clear this up...
Clippers are starting to get things straightened out. It's possible 6 out of 8 West playoff teams will be from Texas or California . And the semis will probably be Texas vs. Cali again. Let's hope the Rockets are half of the Texas contingent. BTW...Dirk holds a bigger edge at SF than Duncan over Webber. So, give another score to Texas!! 3-2 Texas (and we have the better coach).
a friend of mine and I did something similar to this on PS2. this'll be long, but perhaps you'll find it interesting. we broke the nation down into 9 teams: Colonial Quarter. . . . . . . . . .knicks, celtics, nets, sixers Tobacco Road . . . . . . . . . . . hornets, wizards, grizzlies Citrus Peninsula . . . . . . . . . magic, heat, hawks Heartland Breadbasket . . . pacers, bulls, cavs, bucks Lone Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rockets, mavericks, spurs Great Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . pistons, timberwolves, raptors Desert and Mountain . . . . . suns, jazz, nuggets Pacific Northwest . . . . . . . . sonics, trailblazers, kings Napa/Silicon Valley . . . . . . . lakers, clippers, warriors for the sake of space, I'll only list the starting rosters of each team: {*note - these were done last year. some of these rosters will be out of date} Colonial Quarter: Kidd, Iverson, Pierce, Walker, Mutombo Tobacco Road: B. Davis, Jordan, P.J. Brown, Battier?, Campbell Citrus Peninsula: Terry, McGrady, Hill, Abdur-Rahim, Mourning Heartland Breadbasket: Cassell, Allen, Robinson, O'Neal, Ilgauskas] Lone Star: Francis, Finley, Nowitzki, Duncan, Robinson Great Lakes: Brandon, Stackhouse, Carter, Garnett, Wallace Desert and Mountain: Stockton, Marbury, Marion, Malone, Lafrentz Pacific Northwest: Payton, Bibby, Webber, Wallace, Divac Napa/Silicon Valley: Odom, Bryant, Jamison, Brand, O'Neal we had actual 12-man rosters, but that would take up too much space. anyway, it was the Texas/California matchups that got us thinking of this to begin with. once we had the teams made up, we thought the Colonial Quarter squad was looking pretty tough. we ran the whole thing through 12-minute quarters, fatigue, substitutions. . . the whole 9 yards. . . on simulation. you want to know who won? you're not going to believe who won the tournament. go ahead. guess. FRICKIN' TOBACCO ROAD. tell me there's no Jordan bias. a team comprised of the Hornets, the Wiz and the Grizz beat all the rest of the super-teams. anyway, there you have it. . .
