Teams that deserve a spot in 2k16

Now you may think that this article may be a little bit delayed since 2k16 has been for over a month, and I apologize for the lateness of this article.But, I must digress  I’m sure we have all tried out and experienced the new historic teams like the 99-00 Raptors with T-Mac and Vince Carter,but with every 2k game eventually you play with all the teams and you start to get bored of playing with the same old teams. I’m suggesting seven teams that can bring some excitement back into 2k16’s quick games.Let’s dive right into it.

2006-2007 Golden State Warriors

 

I believe that this team got snubbed because it was one of the most exciting teams I have ever seen. The roster is composed of a young Jason Richardson, Monta Ellis,and a healthy Baron Davis. This team also finished the season as number one in pace, and number two in points per game. If that doesn’t prove that they were a high flying offense powerhouse what will? This is why this team would most likely be a very exciting team to play with in game,and why I believe they should be in 2k16.

1999-2000 Sacramento Kings                                                  

The 99-00 Sacramento Kings though they didn’t win the championship, they were one exciting team, ending the season first in points per game and also first in pace. The team was lead by a exciting core made up of Jason Williams aka “White Chocolate”, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic,and the player leading the charge Chris Webber, who averaged 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds that year. This team may not have had success in the playoffs,but they were an exciting team that I’m sure fans of basketball would enjoy playing as.

1979-1980  Los Angeles Lakers

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The 1979 season was the beginning of the the showtime era with Magic Johnson as the face of the team with top veterans such as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes with his silky smooth jump shot,and Norm Nixon who was a reliable scoring option. The  team went to the finals and captured the title in 5 games, and went on to become one of the greatest teams of the decade. That’s why this team should be in 2k16.

57-58 Boston Celtics

With Bob Cousy getting a brand new amethyst card in 2k16’s MyTeam game mode, why shouldn’t the team that he led get in the game for the players use. That team wasn’t just Bob Cousy as you may think that roster was the beginning of the Celtics dynasty which won 11 championships. This team had future hall of famers such as Bill Russell, Sam Jones, and Tom Heinsohn. With Bob Cousy running the offense the team was nearly unstoppable dominating the other teams in the league in most of the major stats. This is a hall of fame caliber team and at the very least deserves a spot with the other historic teams within 2k16.

07-08 Denver Nuggets

With Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson together this 07-08 Nuggets team was an offensive juggernaut ranking 2nd in points per game and 1st in overall pace. Even though Allen Iverson was 32 years old that didn’t stop him from appearing and starting the whole season while averaging the amazing stat line of 26 points,7 assists and 2 steals per game. If you think I may have forgotten Carmelo I’m just getting started that season he averaged about 26 points,7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. I believe that this team needs to be in 2k16 because that Nuggets team featured arguably one of the most exciting duos of all time.

99-00 Indiana Pacers

                                                                                              

The 99-00 Pacers led by Reggie Miller a player that has been requested to be in the game for the past couple of years, and consistently has been snubbed throughout the past years. Some other reasons they should be in the game is that this team is the only pacers team to ever make it to the NBA finals, and the roster consisted of players such as Jalen Rose,Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson,and of course Reggie Miller.But of course the main reason is that Reggie Miller and his teams have consistently been snubbed throughout the years and deserve a chance to be among the historic teams within 2k16.

92-93 Phoenix Suns

The 92-93 Suns featured a potent offense combined with a great defense which was showcased in the regular as well as the postseason evidenced by their 62-20 record in the regular season, and their deep playoff run to the NBA Finals. That very talented team was led by the Charles Barkley who had won MVP that year because of his staggering numbers of 25.6 points,12.2 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. It wasn’t just Charles Barkley though, Kevin Johnson orchestrated the offense with around 8 assists per game. That is why that team has been heavily requested for the past years and why the most defiantly deserve a place within 2k16’s historic teams.

        Now I may have left off some teams that you may think deserve to be in this game, so if you want to tell me what teams I may have left out leave it in the comments and I might include them in a follow up article. Thank you for reading and have a great day!

-all statistics and facts from http://www.basketball-reference.com

Why Micheal Jordan Would Suck in Today’s NBA

Hello, my name is Kevin and I’m new to this whole blogging thing, so my brother and I could get our opinions out to the internet about basketball. Now that the introduction is out of the way let’s get to the topic on hand.

Why Michael Jordan wouldn’t be good in today’s NBA

I understand why this opinion is controversial because many people today call him the greatest basketball player to ever play the game, but I believe that if Michael Jordan were to be drafted into today’s current NBA his performance would not even be close to the level he was at when he played. Now, you may think that this claim is blasphemous, but there are many parts of his game that would not survive in the current NBA.

The number one reason is that he needs the ball too much in his hands to succeed. While most shooting guards today are able to move off ball and succeed while doing that,  that was something Jordan couldn’t do extremely well. Many players today have even earned All-Star game selections because of their ability to impact the game off-ball. One such player is Kyle Korver. This year he made the All-Star team mostly because of his ability to affect the game without the ball in his hands. On the other hand, Jordan  always had the ball in his hands, which is evidenced  by his 30% usage rate. Now 30% may not sound like a lot, but to put it in perspective around 1 out of every 3 of the team’s possessions would  involve Jordan, be it through passing, shooting, or rebounding. You might think, well if MJ always needed the ball then all the  top guards in today’s NBA must need the ball in order to be great then too, but you would be wrong. Many great players such as Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, and  Stephen Curry have never had their usage rate exceed 30%. To prove my point, I will give you each of the 3 players usage rate over their careers, and will also give you Jordan’s career usage rate. I will organize the names by  greatest usage rate to the lowest usage rate.

`Usage Rate over career

Michael Jordan: 33.3%

Stephen Curry: 25.8%

Damian Lillard: 25.3%

Chris Paul: 23.7%

The list shows how 3 of the top guards in the NBA are able to succeed without the ball in their hands at all times, and many teams now don’t like their guards to be ball dominant. Most teams prefer to have them able to move off-ball, and convert catch and shoot attempts, which all of these players are exceptional at. Chris Paul ,a player who is not well known for his catch and shoot abilities, had an effective field goal percentage off of spot up attempts of 60.8% which was higher than one of the best shooters in the game Klay Thompson. That was just one of the players whom I had mentioned earlier. Two more All-Star caliber guards who also fit this mold are Kyle Korver and Steph Curry, who are well known for their prowess on spot up shots. In order to prove this, I have provided graphs that show their percentage on these types of shots and their percentage.

          – http://grantland.com/the-triangle/curry-korver-and-the-raiders-of-the-arc-a-3-point-contest-preview/

One major issue that Michael Jordan would face is his outdated play style. During his playing days the 3- point shot wasn’t very important, and the name of the game back then was the mid-range game. Nowadays almost every single team in the NBA likes to shoot 3’s. While that may be good for some players,it’s terrible for Michael Jordan because at every point of his career he was never a good 3-point shooter. Over his career he shot an abysmal 32% from behind the arc, and additionally,one of Jordan’s favorite shots, the mid-range jumper, is one of the most inefficient shots in basketball. Now, you’re probably thinking, “Sure Jordan wasn’t a good 3-point shooter,but his team will do just fine.” Well, you would be wrong, since your best player would use a third of your possessions and also would shoot the most inefficient shot in basketball. An example of this would be the 14-15 LA Lakers,whose star player was Kobe Bryant, a player whose play style is extremely similar to Michael Jordan’s, and that team was the one of the worst teams in the NBA as evidenced by their appalling 21-61 record in the regular season.

-Lakers record from  http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Cnf.html

My final reason of why Jordan wouldn’t be as good in the NBA today as he was in the 90’s, is that his defensive skills would result in a lot of fouls. The reason for that being is,in the 90’s and late 80’s things that would not even be categorized as fouls back then: are now technical fouls. An example of this is the hand checking rule. During that era it was a common occurrence to which the referees didn’t even pay attention to. Nowadays, if you did that, the referee would call a personal foul. If were to play now,he most likely would get in foul trouble early in the game and get benched early so he wouldn’t foul out. So in almost every game, he would be in foul trouble, and would not be able to play a lot of minutes during the game.

I gave my reasons, and I believe that I presented enough evidence to prove Jordan wouldn’t be great in the NBA today. I’m not trying to say Jordan sucks, all I am trying to say is he just wouldn’t be the greatest of all time if he played now.

-Usage Rate from http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/usg_pct_season.html

Effective Field Goal Percentage from http://www.clipsnation.com/2014/10/24/7043363/clippers-player-profile-chris-paul

Hello world! This is Jesse and Kevin.

Hello, my brother and I started this blog to express our thoughts, musings, and opinions on anything that grabs our attention in the basketball world, from hot international prospects, to the most efficient screen setters in the NBA. Hope you enjoy our content!