Assemble Your Own Blazer Team Day 6: Utility Big Man

but I’m gonna pick Rasheed. I have no reason to doubt that LMA has a bright future ahead of him, but Sheed (for better and worse) is a known commodity. He will be great. Plus, I imagine Walton/Lucas/Kersey/Roy/TP can keep in him line. He wouldn’t have to be “the man” on that team, and he seems to do a lot better like that.

if I scroll through the old posts and assemble a team?

Speaking of old posts, today I was just reminiscing:
http://www.blazersedge.com/2007/5/22/181439/582

I really think he is going to blow our socks off in the next few years. I know people are accused of homerism when they pick the big three to be on their team but I just can’t leave him off the team.

Rasheed and Cliff have shown more versatility than LMA has at this point in his career but I just think he is going to be an unstoppable force by the time he is through.

Starters: Walton, Lucas, Kersey, Roy, Porter – Aldridge off the bench.

Side Note: No one can control Sheed when he is in the zone. And I am not talking about his offensive prowess.

LMA has Sheed like potential, without the craziness. Sheed had some monster seasons.

Ah heck, I went with potential at C and SG, might as well do the same here. What’s more, I’m putting LMA in with the starting unit, to stretch the D and open room for Oden. Buck’s gonna be the enforcer off the bench- he should be great in that role. I’m starting the entire current big 3, with the two perfect compliments to that group.

Oden
LMA
Pip
Roy
Porter
—--
Buck

Since I already have Oden on my roster as an unproven player, I will abstain from using also LaMarcus whose career still could go flat.

Actually, the decision between Sheed and Uncle Cliffy is harder than I would have thought if you just consider their achievements (e.g. 4 All-Star games vs. 1, NBA champ). Robinson had a career spanning 18 (!) seasons, immediately starting in Portland so I would get them all. And in terms of production he is very close to Sheed. I think Sheed would have to play for 4 or 5 more seasons to reach his career totals in some categories, and I don’t see that happening with a player who is close to 34 already. Sheed’s per game numbers are slightly better though (ca. one more point and two more rebounds). He works harder on defense (slightly more blocks and steals per game, intangibles). And while Robinson’s outside shooting is even a little better than Wallace’s (probably only surpassed by Dirk for close to a 7 footer), he had a tendency to take crazy shots.

Also a funny observation: He has over 1300 more personal fouls. Sheed will never reach that if he doesn’t go nuts on us in his last years and fouls out in every other game, despite the public perception due to his many technical fouls ;-)

So yeah, I’m going with Sheed, he is the complete package on defense and offense. Have to think about it further if he will start over Lucas.

LMA is going to be better this year than Sheed’s averages but I need outside shooting and Sheed does that in spades. Not knowing who is in the final group of three I cannot risk missing out on a shooter. But I want a team of culture as well. What to choose?

LMA is my man. If I get skunked it does not matter, I want a team I like.

This is a tough choice for me between LMA and Cliff. There is no way I would take the mental breakdown that is Rasheed. Cliff was a great utility player for many years, a sixth man of the year, and an allstar. However, I believe LMA will be an allstar several times over, and would be better at filling in at the 5 than Uncle Cliffy was.

For a 6th man the potential is too good to pass up.

Not a headcase, and not a journeyman… As far as we know.

C-Sabonis
PF-Lucas
SF-Pippen
SG-Petrie
PG-Lever
bench-Aldridge

I have to take reality over potential. I truly think LA will be as good as Sheed someday, but today is not that day and it is possible it might not happen. Uncle Cliffy was good and stayed in the league forever and two days, but…

I choose Rasheed.

I’ll take Mr. Wallace!

Don’t need Sheed messing with the 9-12 players. Don’t need Uncle Cliffy passing the wacky stuff to Walton, so I am going with a hard worker with potential. Give me Aldridge!

Walton
Lucas
Kersey
Roy
Porter

Bench
Aldridge

This was a tougher pick. However, I think Lamarcus will end up the better player over Robinson. Rasheed can be great, but his inconsistency and questionable teammate abilities removes him from my consideration. I think Lamarcus’ outside shooting will compliment Oden’s inside game (just like in real life!) and thus I will relegate Buck to the bench.

I’m torn between Sheed and Cliff. I loved sheed’s game and his versatility, but half the time I was yelling at him to shut the F up and stop bitching to the officials. As often as he does it, it never helps his case. Once in a great while if you lobby your call to the officials, you’ll get a little respect (ie, B-Roy) but every game… come on. The refs wont cave in.

Overall I’d take Cliff just because he was one of my favorites when I was young (Uncle Cliffy anybody?) and he could spread out the floor with his great perimeter shooting. I need to see more consistency out of LMA before I pick him.

Wallace is one of the most skilled and talented players in the game. Defensively he can cover any PF in the league, the majority of centers and a significant percentage of the the SF’s. Offensively, there are few who can match up with his versatility. He can take his man either inside or out and that fade away jumper in the lane is almost unstoppable. He also has the right attitude in that it doesn’t bother him what position you ask him to play or whether he comes off the bench or starts.

It’s difficult to rate Robinson any less than Wallace. He too could defend 3 positions and in addition to being a 6th MoY winner, could have been Defensive Player of the Year, had he set his mind to it. In fact, Cliffy ended up making defense his forte the latter half of his career. He’s perfect as the first guy off the bench. The big thing would be to keep him away from the weed.

Another advantage for both Wallace and Robinson, under the rules of this contest, is that both started with the Blazers and then continued to have success with other teams. Meaning we’d get the full benefit of their production.

With all that said, I think I’m selecting Aldridge. It’s a risk, as he is much more of an unknown, but there are several factors that make him the obvious candidate for me.
1) Ability – the guy LaMarcus most reminds people of in terms of skill set and style of play is Wallace. While I think he’s a far distance away from Wallace as a defender and rebounder, offensively I think he’s going to prove to be the much better player.
2) Attitude – even with Wallace’s lack of ego about starting and his reputation of being very popular with teammates, there is no denying that attitude wise he has some issues. Primarily his belief that he is being exploited because he’s black. And his inability to keep his emotions in check is, plain and simple, a liability. Aldridge on the other hand has the sort of attitude coaches have wet dreams about. The guy appears to have little sense of overblown ego or self-importance. He’s quiet, but that doesn’t mean he is without drive, and his work ethic appears to be out of the world class. LaMarcus strikes me as the sort of player who would not think twice about coming off the bench behind Buck Williams (or whomever your PF is) and who would consider it a blessing to be able to learn the game as Buck’s understudy, without lessening his desire and effort to win the position from him.
3) Chemistry – Aldridge and Roy seem to get along well and have similar laid back (or at least reserved) personalities. He also appeared to mesh well with Oden last summer during informal practices. As both of these guys are on my team, Aldridge gets an edge in the chemistry department. The three young studs to complement the veteran trio of Williams/Kersey/Porter.

Oden
Buck
Kersey
Roy
Porter

LaMarcus

Got to go with LaMarcus, Rasheed has only ever had two seasons where he had a better PER than LaMarcus posted last season. I really wanted to go with Uncle Cliffy , but I’ve already put Jerome Kersey as my heart guy on the team. This was a pretty tricky call, but just going by pure stats alone, LMA seems like the guy…

Walton
Williams
Kersey
Roy
Porter

LaMarcus Aldridge

I can’t stand Sheed, but guess I’d better select him because of his defense.

Walton
Buck
Kiki
Roy
Porter **
Sheed

I’ll take the Risk with high reward.

Aldridge.

Sheed has had a steady career so he beats out Cliffy as I think they were both a little bit on the head case side, but Cliffy was STREAKY.

Aldridge however has done well, has a HUGE work ethic, and the potential on this kid is large. The fact he has a huge work ethic means he might meet that potential.

My team is definitely a risk team as three of the players are unknowns.

C – Oden – Risk (but other centers didn’t really have that long of a life and Oden makes people drool like Sabas would have if he’d come when drafted)
PF – Lucas/Aldridge – Not sure who the starter would be. I suspect I’d mix it up based on match-ups. For the purpose of this game, I somewhat hope that aldridge can hit threes down the road like Sheed, but in the real world I want him to dominate the paint.
SF – Kersey (I went for defense/longevity over scoring… Part of the reason is that with Oden/Aldridge/Roy, my team won’t be ready to take off until the third-fourth year if all stats start at the same time. starting with vets early means I waste their scoring).
SG – Roy (all around game looking at stats, and definite leadership if I’m ignoring them.)
PG – Porter (I’m actually not happy with porter, but I thought he was the best option. I say that because I’m not sure how he plays in todays league. Additionally… I’d like more threes!!! but I suppose I should really send my glare to Roy and Kersey for that).

Still, i’m happy with my team.

Is just too great to pass up. So I’ll take Rasheed. Why do I have a bad feeling now? Like I’ve decided to camp with Jason Vorhees, or accidently opened the box that calls demons from the underworld? Nah, just paranoid, I’ll go with Rasheed and hope Lucas can keep him focused.

But Sheed is by far the best of the three! LMA could reach that level but hasn’t yet and sheed is a freak of nature! Chancy Billups has said “Rasheed could be the best player in the NBA, he has the skill set to dominate anyone, he just doesn’t have the drive to.” He can defend with the best of them, that smooth and flawless turnaround shot in the post and of course his beloved three pointer in your eye! I don’t know if you are allowed to do this in this game but as a couch or GM, I would try and hone his passion and aggression better then dunleavy did to the court so he doesn’t blow up as much like he did with the blazers (he can still have some blow ups, come on its sheed!) and doesn’t seem to almost lose interest like he has with the pistons. I need his offense and any team with Sheed off the bench would be a KILLER! Sorry Cliff and LMA!!!

Aldridge is going to be better than Cliff and Sheed starting this year. Plus I just wouldn’t want Sheed’s crazy on the team. As someone else mentioned above. I might put Aldridge in the starting lineup to ensure I have some rebounding on the bench.

Current Lineup:

Oden
Buck
Kiki
Roy
Porter

Aldridge

Most definitely. I hated him with all my heart when he threw that toel at OUR-Vidas, but the more time that goes by, the more I am convinced that Portland was just a bad fit for him. His talent (so far) exceeds that of the other two, and he has something not many others on our list have… a RING.

LOVE all three of these guys, though…

I agree with the above posters who said that this was the most difficult yet. Man its difficult to pick against rising talent like LMA, but both Cliff and Rasheed have proven to be durable enough to be around for a long time. They also have more range than Aldridge and better defense. Both are willing to play off the bench as has been mentioned.

The difference between these two is relatively small. Both can shoot 3s, block nearly the same number of shots, score about the same amount. The scale tips slightly toward Wallace though because he shoots a higher percentage from the line and from the field, and because of his fire. Cliff had some fire too, but I loved Wallace here for his fire.

Sabonis
Lucas
Vandeweghe
Roy
Strickland

Wallace

All you have to do is look at my Bedger name to know who I am going to pick.

LaMonster – Its breakout year time!

No way I could gag down “smeed” and Uncle Cliffy? Meh

One more thing…Utility Man? Not.

I like POWER FORWARD!

Now I just have to decide Starter or Second Team…

I cant believe I am taking him over Uncle Cliffy, but seriously, he is one of the most talented people to ever don the Black and Red

One of the greatest Blazers ever.

Going toe to toe with the Admiral in the playoffs, when Duckworth went down, and as a rookie no less. 6th man of the year, all-star, great defender and scorer.

Bonus: no leading the league in T’s, ref on the dock confrontations, CTCs, or Yellow Hummer violations.

This is the hardest decision yet! Maybe a year from now, it’ll be obvious that LMA is the choice here. But at this point, I have to go with Sheed. He doesn’t want to be the man on a team? That’s okay here; we have “The Man” in spades.

Greg Oden©
Buck Williams (PF)
Jerome Kersey (SF)
Brandon Roy (SG)
Terry Porter (PG)
Rasheed Wallace (PF; Utility Big Man)

The guy has all the skills, and a bench guy isn’t required to be the man.
And about the time he opens his yap, or does something stupid, Buck will be there to ram his sneakered foot somewhere unpleasant.

C- Oden
PF- Buck
SF- Kiki
SG- Roy
PG- Porter
Bench 1- ‘Sheed

I’m going to pick a stoner…but the mellow one. I’d love to pick LMA, but I can’t argue with Cliffy’s numbers:

Team Donkey:

C: Walton
PF: Lucas
SF: Kersey
SG: Roy
PG: Porter

Bench 1: Robinson

As long as this is in fantasy world and he doesn’t threaten referees or request someone to ‘CTC’, then I take sheed.
He could post up, he could fadeaway, he could hit threes, he could rebound, play D. This guy could have been one of the best PF’s if he put his mind to it.
As if he doesn’t put his mind to it in this fantasy world, that’s okay, he makes a great backup to Luke.
C: Walton
PF: Lucas
SF: Kersey
SG Roy
PG: Porter

Bench: Sheed.

I’ve got Lucas and Oden in the starting lineup, Aldridge will be a change of pace for me off the bench. He’s also the best option for the back up center role.

I went in circles on this decision. Culture & Longevity drove this one for me. Sheed most talented, but I just kept thinking about he & bonzi wells throwing basketballs at one of the other players from long distance & hitting them…thinking it was funny. I looked at cliffy’s numbers…pretty impressive. Great 6th man.
Oden
Lucas
Kersey
Roy
Porter
Cliffy-bench

LMA has a lot of potential, Tough to defend against his shot, versital, A good inside outside game that will probibly get even better with experience, and a great team member.

Clifford was the sixth man that the blazers needed at that time. Able to defend, score from the inside and out to the three point line, block shots get a few steals and assists and was able to play three positions ( even the two guard in one game once as I recall).

Sheed was also tough to defend, had a sweet looking (almost unblockable) shot, hit the three, able to defend and played three positions.

I have to go with experience and an ability to come of the bench…

Cliff Robinson fits that better than Sheed.

Starting Lineup

C – Sabas
PF – Buck
SF – Kersey
SG – Roy (subbing for the injured Drexler)
PG – Porter

Bench

C\PF\SF – Cliff

D Marty

I can’t stand him, but the others will keep him in line and I need a big man shooter.

C: Walton
PF: Lucas
SF: Vandeweigh
SG: Roy
PG: Lever
6: Wallace

I know there are plenty of reasons not to be a huge fan of ‘Sheed, but none of them matter. He’s one of my favorite five Blazers (that I got to watch). And since we get to take the stuff they did after their time in Portland, he brings a lot to the table, as someone who could play alongside Luke or Walton.

C Walton
PF Lucas
SF Kersey
SG Roy
PG Porter
6 Wallace

Hate saying it but Sheed is the best of the forwards. Hate his attitude and behavior but got to go with the best rebounder and scorer.

c- Walton
PF- B. Williams
SF- Kersey
SG Roy
PG Porter
6 Wallace

Sabas
Buck
Kersey
Roy
Porter

I must admit. I’m a little surprised about the number of votes for Sheed in this question. For a guy’s who’s overall (I thought) reputation in Portland was one of disinterest, less than 100% effort, and running mate to Bonzi Wells, he sure has garnered a lot of support. I don’t know if it’s because this is a hypothetical situation and we’ve had a few post-Sheed years to get some of the bad taste out of our mouth, but Wallace as clearly the “winner” in this topic.