Rick Barry and Robert Parish lead a team packed with old school talent, but can Chris Mullin, Gil Arenas, and a dynamic modern-era squad break them down?
So in terms of projecting, is it just looking at their career stats and saying, "Well this person doesn't have a 3P shot, so they can't make 3 pointers." Or do we get to imagine how they'd fare in the modern game if they were raised in it.
Rick Barry pretty obviously would have been a high level 3P shooter, I think. World B Free was a good 3P shooter for the time even though it only came into existence midway through his career.
Because the Dick D'Oliva All Stars were collectively just WAY better NBA players. It's not very close.
Duby - nice write-up - looks like you had to really dig into the history books.
To continue the history lesson (and to shamelessly plug my own squad), here's a little perspective on Dick D'Oliva's All Stars:
Dick D'Oliva was the Warriors' Head Trainer from 1967-87.
The team constructed has an incredible pedigree. All six players were All-Stars, all played in the NBA Finals, and five won rings. Three are in the HOF. Basically, these guys were all winners.
They also stand out using more contemporary statistics of evaluation (Win Shares). Here's how their Win Shares compare with their talented opponents:
PG Gus Williams (68 WS) vs. Gilbert Arenas (51 WS)
SG World B. Free (68 WS) vs. Bernard King (74 WS)
SF Rick Barry (129 WS) vs. Chris Mullin (93 WS)
C Robert Parish (147 WS) vs. Al Harrington (43 WS)
PF Jerry Lucas (98 WS) vs. David Lee (76 WS)
Bench: Nick Van Exel (56 WS) vs. Tom Meschery (44)
OVERALL: Dick D'Oliva (566 WS) vs. Bobby Sura (382 WS)
So the Dick D'Oliva All Stars win five of the six matchups, including dominating the C, SF, and PF positions. The only position they don't win is a tight battle at SG against Bernard King, a great player but terribly miscast as a SG.
Duby contends that "there’s only so much damage you can do if your entire team can’t shoot threes." I strongly disagree with this. Rick Barry was actually the first great 3 point shooter in the NBA, setting a record of 8 in one game in 1980 which stood for the next 10 years. Very few people know that he also hit 8 3s in an ABA playoff game in 1971. He was the best long-range shooter in the NBA during his playing days and would have easily adapted to today's 3-ball craze. Nick Van Exel on the D'Oliva squad also hit 8 3s in one game. On the Bobby Sura side, only one player (Gilbert Arenas) ever made 8 3s in a game and the most Chris Mullin made in a game was 6. In this matchup, I'd give the edge in 3 point shooting to D'Oliva over Sura.
Finally, I think we can all agree that both teams bring a lot of firepower. In a head to head matchup, though, I think Barry and Company take their firepower to the court while Arenas' squad leaves its firepower in the locker room.
So in terms of projecting, is it just looking at their career stats and saying, "Well this person doesn't have a 3P shot, so they can't make 3 pointers." Or do we get to imagine how they'd fare in the modern game if they were raised in it.
Rick Barry pretty obviously would have been a high level 3P shooter, I think. World B Free was a good 3P shooter for the time even though it only came into existence midway through his career.
Because the Dick D'Oliva All Stars were collectively just WAY better NBA players. It's not very close.
Duby - nice write-up - looks like you had to really dig into the history books.
To continue the history lesson (and to shamelessly plug my own squad), here's a little perspective on Dick D'Oliva's All Stars:
Dick D'Oliva was the Warriors' Head Trainer from 1967-87.
The team constructed has an incredible pedigree. All six players were All-Stars, all played in the NBA Finals, and five won rings. Three are in the HOF. Basically, these guys were all winners.
They also stand out using more contemporary statistics of evaluation (Win Shares). Here's how their Win Shares compare with their talented opponents:
PG Gus Williams (68 WS) vs. Gilbert Arenas (51 WS)
SG World B. Free (68 WS) vs. Bernard King (74 WS)
SF Rick Barry (129 WS) vs. Chris Mullin (93 WS)
C Robert Parish (147 WS) vs. Al Harrington (43 WS)
PF Jerry Lucas (98 WS) vs. David Lee (76 WS)
Bench: Nick Van Exel (56 WS) vs. Tom Meschery (44)
OVERALL: Dick D'Oliva (566 WS) vs. Bobby Sura (382 WS)
So the Dick D'Oliva All Stars win five of the six matchups, including dominating the C, SF, and PF positions. The only position they don't win is a tight battle at SG against Bernard King, a great player but terribly miscast as a SG.
Duby contends that "there’s only so much damage you can do if your entire team can’t shoot threes." I strongly disagree with this. Rick Barry was actually the first great 3 point shooter in the NBA, setting a record of 8 in one game in 1980 which stood for the next 10 years. Very few people know that he also hit 8 3s in an ABA playoff game in 1971. He was the best long-range shooter in the NBA during his playing days and would have easily adapted to today's 3-ball craze. Nick Van Exel on the D'Oliva squad also hit 8 3s in one game. On the Bobby Sura side, only one player (Gilbert Arenas) ever made 8 3s in a game and the most Chris Mullin made in a game was 6. In this matchup, I'd give the edge in 3 point shooting to D'Oliva over Sura.
Finally, I think we can all agree that both teams bring a lot of firepower. In a head to head matchup, though, I think Barry and Company take their firepower to the court while Arenas' squad leaves its firepower in the locker room.