If players were restored to their prime...

[Scout200]

Which NBA team would win it all if all it's players were restored to their primes?

-Scout

[AHF]

Boston.

Prime - Rajon Rondo

Prime - Ray Allen

Prime - Paul Pierce

Prime - Kevin Garnett

Prime - Shaquille O'Neal

6th Man - Prime Jermaine O'Neal

They would destroy people, IMO.

[Guest]

Boston.

Prime - Rajon Rondo

Prime - Ray Allen

Prime - Paul Pierce

Prime - Kevin Garnett

Prime - Shaquille O'Neal

6th Man - Prime Jermaine O'Neal

They would destroy people, IMO.

Are we talking prime physically only? If so, then yes to Boston. But if this is their prime physically and bringing their personalities from their prime as well then this is a dysfunctional team. There is a trade-off with discussing "prime" because you need to keep in check what was going through the person's mind at the time too.

[AHF]

Are we talking prime physically only? If so, then yes to Boston. But if this is their prime physically and bringing their personalities from their prime as well then this is a dysfunctional team. There is a trade-off with discussing "prime" because you need to keep in check what was going through the person's mind at the time too.

I still think that team would be workable because Rondo would clearly accept his place as an offensive role-player and KG would do the same (he never wanted to step up and dominate offensively in his prime). That would essentially leave you with three guys who crave shots in Allen, Pierce and O'Neal and it works out decently with a dominant post player and two good perimeter shooters who can hit open J's (which would come with people crashing Shaq in the post) as well as provide the one-on-one sort of scoring the team needs. Ray Allen very successfully shared shots with Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson in his prime and he would respect and be less resentful of shots going to Shaq and PP over the two of them.

On defense, Rondo is a stud and the KG/Shaq frontcourt would be just outstanding - especially on the boards.

At the end of the day, I think the team would dominate with these guys in their primer physically and mentally -- especially in today's NBA where the "cool" thing is to team up with a bunch of other superstars. (See the comments from CP3, Carmelo, LBJ, Wade, Dwight, Bosh, etc.)

Would they be without drama? Of course not. But they would be the most successful group of any current rosters, IMO.

[frosgrim]

I still think that team would be workable because Rondo would clearly accept his place as an offensive role-player and KG would do the same (he never wanted to step up and dominate offensively in his prime). That would essentially leave you with three guys who crave shots in Allen, Pierce and O'Neal and it works out decently with a dominant post player and two good perimeter shooters who can hit open J's (which would come with people crashing Shaq in the post) as well as provide the one-on-one sort of scoring the team needs. Ray Allen very successfully shared shots with Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson in his prime and he would respect and be less resentful of shots going to Shaq and PP over the two of them.

On defense, Rondo is a stud and the KG/Shaq frontcourt would be just outstanding - especially on the boards.

At the end of the day, I think the team would dominate with these guys in their primer physically and mentally -- especially in today's NBA where the "cool" thing is to team up with a bunch of other superstars. (See the comments from CP3, Carmelo, LBJ, Wade, Dwight, Bosh, etc.)

Would they be without drama? Of course not. But they would be the most successful group of any current rosters, IMO.

That team would be insane. Shaq would have to be and frankly should be the focus of the offense. He was virtually unstoppable in his late 20s. When teams did double team him, he was very good at passing out of the post or hitting a cutter to the rim. This team would probably only loose 8 games during the whole season. Maybe one or two in the playoffs.

[Diesel]

Which NBA team would win it all if all it's players were restored to their primes?

-Scout

Either Boston or Orlando.

Vince in his Prime with Howard, Lewis, and the rest. vs. Shaq in his prime with Allen, KG, and Pierce..and Rondo...

Then there's Dallas....

Dirk, JT, Kidd, Marion, Heywood, and Butler....

[coachx]

This is a fun game !

The thought of the 80's Celtics with the 70's version of Bill Walton is just scary.

Same with the Lakers having Macadoo, Nixon, and Kareem in their primes in the 80's.

Think about the Pistons having Adreian Dantley and Mark Aguire in their primes in those "Bad Boys" days.

Heck, what about the Suns 2 years ago with Shaq, Nash, and G. Hill being a decade younger to join Stoudemire.

What if the Hawks had gotten Moses Malone and Reggie Theus in their late 20's instead of their 30's ?

What about the Spurs from seasons past with a younger Bowen, Duncan, Ginobli, Finley, & K. Thomas ?

or

The Spurs team that won it all with an aging David Robinson, Mario Ellie, and a Sean Elliot after losing a kidney ?

What about those Rockets teams with Barley, Hakeem, Drexler, ?

What about Portland with a younger Pippen, S. Smith, and Sabonis, and with a more mature R. Wallace ?

Could you imagine that Heat Championship team with G. Payton, A. Walker, A. Mourning, J Williams, and Shaq all in their primes to join Wade ?

What about the current Mavericks with a younger Kidd, Dirk, Terry, Marion, Chandler, Heywood, etc.

That Lakers team that had G Payton, K. Malone is worth a mention too.

In the end I will still take the Bulls with Pippen, Kukoc, and Rodman in their primes surrounded by elite 3 point shooters like Paxon, Kerr, and Hodges. They simply played together better then anyone.

Edited October 20, 2010 by coachx

[dlpin]

The 1980 celtics would have been awesome. They had already won 61 games. Now imagine if Tiny Archibald, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird and Pete Maravich were in their primes?

Now, of current teams the obvious choice is the celtics. And if Paul Pierce had no problems giving up shots to Antoine Walker, he'd be fine with Shaq and Ray Allen.