PG - Isiah Thomas vs. Gary Payton:

Great match-up. 2 of the all-time greatest pgs in league history. At first glance one might believe Thomas might have the upper hand, but that is not entirely true at all. Theres not much difference between the two at all if you were to analyze the match-up. What matters really is the people who you surround these 2 great pgs with and i believe I have the better team of the two. Offensively theres not much divided. Isiah is faster and is probably the better penetrator out of the two, which is fine by me, cause he will run into the leading shot blocker in the history of the game. Gary will use his size to exploit this match-up because he is one of the greatest post up point guards in the history of the game. Both are great shooters but Gary has a little more range. Defensively is where this match-up will be determined. Isiah is no slouch defensively but Gary has him beat here. Gary was a great on the ball defender and they don't call him the glove for nothing. They are both great floor generals and great leaders which every team needs. I honestly think this match-up can go either way but I believe because i can exploit their size differential I have the upper hand.

Advantage: Can go either way

SG - Sidney Moncrief vs. Grant Hill:

Another good match-up. I don't believe this match-up is up for discussion really though. I imagine my opponent will tell you otherwise. He will say how Moncrief is a great defensive player and is a better offensive player then most people give him credit for. I dont disagree with that statement. Lets analyze this match-up. You might believe Hill is out of position, but i beg to differ. Grant could play the 1-3 even the 4 and he would play these position using his head. His skills were often greater then his opponent but he would know how to exploit his match-ups, thats what made him so great. he was too quick for small forwards and too big for shooting guards. Today he will play shooting guard his 6'8 frame vs. 6'3 moncrief. Theres only so much Sidney can do but there is no way he can handle the post up game that hill contains. Plus factor that in with Hills pg like mentality and hes finding the open man every time down court. Defensively, I can play man to man and give Moncrief room to shoot, because stats show that he was an awful 3 point shooter, hell i might even challenge their guards shooting ability and play zone. Thomas best 3 point shooting was 33% and Moncrief was 32% and thats his starting backcourt. Zone defense it will be.

Advantage: Hill. Without a doubt.

SF - Alex English vs. Bobby Jones

Great, Great match-up. The ol' offense vs. defense. I don't really have to say much. Alex English is a great scorer and thats about it. I like my match-up here though. Actually I love it. I have the greatest neutrilizer to his best offensive force. Thats 8 straight all first team defensive player Bobby Jones (10 in total) . All Bobby has to do is defend. Offensively, I have enough forces. Defensively i could not ask for anything better. You best believe Bobby's long frame will bother English. English is a great scorer. Bobby wont shut him down, but if he can make him take tough shots and shoot a horrid number then hes done his job which i have no doubt in my mind that he can do. Like i said, you have to ask yourself, defense vs. offense. More times then not, defense is triumphant and this case is evident to that.

Advantage: Bobby Jones

PF - Elvin Hayes vs. Bob Pettit

Good match-up: Pettit is one of the greatest PFs in the history of the game. Yes he played in the old, old school era, but don't take anything away from that. Stats dont lie and neither does his credentials. 10 time all-nba, 11 time all-star and 2 time MVP and this was during the Russel era. Now thats impressive. Only a couple of players can say they have done that, and Hayes is not one of them. Pettit is the superior rebounder and scorer. I wont be asking Pettit to score much, but because of his rebounding ability I expect offensive rebounds and put backs. He should also be open to shoot the 15 footer from double teams to Payton and Hill.

Advantage: Bob Pettit

C - Walt Bellamy vs. Hakeem Olajuwon

It's a match-up, but that about it. Olajuwon is a top 3 centre of all-time defensively and offensively. Theres not much i can really say here. I like the match-up in my favour alot. My offense is going to revolve around Payton, Hill and Olajuwon. Pettit will be called upon from time to time aswell. But theres really not much i can say here. I have not seen Bellamy play, just seen his stats and Olajuwon is superior to him in all categories.

Advantage: Olajuwon, in a landslide.

Bench - Adrian Dantley, Micheal Ray Richardson, Dwight Howard vs.
Mark Jackson, Tracy Mcgrady, Bob Lanier

Good Bench vs. Bench match-up but I believe i built my bench better then he built his. First of all Howard does not belong in this competition and if my opponent opposes, he can face Hakeem or Lanier can show the rook some moves in the post. I believe I have the best players in my bench which is Bob Lanier, not only that, but hes a big man hall of famer. I could play Lanier at PF or C. I got great role players coming off my bench. Tracy Mcgrady will also be my super sub for instant scoring. And Mark Jackson will do what he is good at, and that is be a floor general. He isnt the second leading assist man for nothing you know. And again he is also one of the greatest post point guards in history. His bench is very suspect to me. The Dwight Howard pick i have no comment for, it truely speaks for itself. I guess he will have Richardson playing backup point but I still believe it was a poorly constructed bench. Hes got no size whatsoever. The SF slot looks very suspect unless he plans on playing English the whole 48 minutes which is fine by me. The players are not the fault, but the fact remains, it was just a poorly constructed bench for this team, and thats that.

Advantage: Mcgrady, Lanier, Jackson


:::::::::::GAMEPLAN:::::::::::

My gameplan is simple really. Exploit matchups. He has a small backcourt I will be posting them up every half court set. And as soon as he goes to his bench, more trouble will follow. The Centre match up favours me heavily aswell too, so look for Hakeem to get Bellamy into foul trouble early. As soon as Howard enters the game, game over.

Defensively, I got Defensive Player of the Year at PG, SF and C. What more can i ask for really? I will play zone aswell, because this teams outside shooting is very suspect. As I have stated, 33% and 32% from his respective PG and SG.

Mcgrady will be my super sub for instant scoring and his post up abilities will definetly be used on whoever is guarding him. Mcgradys 6'9 frame will cause huge problems for his SF, SG. Lanier will be great in giving Hakeem breathers and i will also play Lanier and Olajuwon together if the Pettit match-up does not suit up. Mark Jackson, will be Mark Jackson. Look for the scorers, defend and be a leader of the bench. At first I thought this might be a tough match-up for my team, but this might actually be a blowout. In any case, my team will be the more dominant using our size and strength.

Outcome: My team wins by at 5-10 points at least.