My DJ initials are surprisingly bad in both baseball and hoops (with the notable exception of ... DJ). But I'm more interested in the question of whether any hoops initials team can beat the MJ team.
On the face of it, Jordan + Magic plus Marques Johnson plus
anyone should beat all comers. But after those three the MJ pickins get slim. The best remaining MJ is Mark Jackson, a fine player who's a poor fit with Magic and Jordan. And after that, there's no one of note; and they need a big. For lack of names, they get former Warrior mediocrity Marc Jackson.
So: Mark Jackson, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Marques Johnson, Marc Jackson. Can anyone take them?
Ten contenders:
- AD — Antonio Daniels, Adrian Dantley, Antonio Davis, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond. Way too big-man heavy. But it's not like the MJ team has great perimeter shooting; and the AD team would pummel them inside. Dantley and the Brow would be a killer scoring combo; and the Drummond/Antonio combo would beast on the glass.
- BR — Brandon Roy, Brandon Rush, Bill Robinzine, Bob Rule, Bill Russell. Makes no sense positionally, but they have Russell, and a big enough backcourt to at least not get totally steamrolled by Magic and Michael.
- CB — Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, Charles Barkley, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer. A pretty sensibly-constructed team, with a good balance of skills, and talent at every position. No way a Jordan team ever loses to Barkley team, but other than that, this might be my choice.
- DR — Derrick Rose, Duncan Robinson, Dennis Rodman, Dan Roundfield, David Robinson. Probably not enough overall talent, but I like this team's balance and fit.
- GA — Greg Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, Grayson Allen, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greg "Cadillac" Anderson. Meh. Interesting enough, but no real chance unless Grayson Allen succeeds in injuring Magic or Michael.
- JH — Jrue Holiday, Jeff Hornacek, James Harden, John Havlicek, Juwan Howard. I really like this team, possibly the best of the bunch. Shooting, scoring, defense, toughness. A bit small upfront, but then so is the MJ team.
- JS — John Stockton, Jerry Sloan, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Smith, Jack Sikma. Nice squad, and a white boy's dream team, with Jerry Sichting on the bench for good measure. (Note: could also switch out Josh Smith for Joe Smith).
- JW — Jerry West, JoJo White, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy, Jayson Williams. Lots of Celtics/Lakers championship pedigree, if not quite enough overall star power to take down the MJs.
- KM — Kyle Macy, Khris Middleton, Karl Malone, Kevin McHale, Kenyon Martin. Huge team that would beast inside v. the MJs but would ultimately be undone by having only one wing, plus Kyle Macy (or Kendall Marshall) at PG.
- WC — Wardell (Steph) Curry III, Wardell (Dell) Curry Jr., Wilson Chandler, Wendell Carter, Jr., Wilt Chamberlain. As long as Seth and Dell get to use their birth names, their shooting plus Wilt gives them a shot.
