92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

[The 24th Letter]

By '92 Magic & Bird might have still had the mentality but they didn't have anything else. Lifetime achievement awards got them on the team.

They were retired for a reason...

You can have all the mentality, desire, IQ, heart any other mental quality in the world....but at this point they weren't the same players...nobody beats father time...

[DLaker]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

Considerably late to the party. But the 92 team would win quite easily. 4-1 in a series.

The 08 team would be much more debatable.

[bkrich83]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

By '92 Magic & Bird might have still had the mentality but they didn't have anything else. Lifetime achievement awards got them on the team.

Shenanigans. Bird had back problems but could still play, just not for 82 games. . Magic was still great, we all know why he was retired.

[TheShizNo1]

I don't see LBJ, Westbrook, AI, etc dunking over the likes of Barkley, Admiral, and Ewing.

I also don't know who would guard these guys in the post.

Dream team keeps it to a half court game and walks away pretty easily.

[KG]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

Shenanigans. Bird had back problems but could still play, just not for 82 games. . Magic was still great, we all know why he was retired.

Larry was only there because he was "Larry Legend". He could barely stand that year. Nique was a better player but that achilles injury ruled hom out. They needed Magic so the pieces would fall in place even though he was retired. Like 24 said, father time had caught them.

I don't see LBJ, Westbrook, AI, etc dunking over the likes of Barkley, Admiral, and Ewing.

I also don't know who would guard these guys in the post.

Dream team keeps it to a half court game and walks away pretty easily.

Really? The admiral and Ewing were posterized many times in their career.

[23]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

Im not sure of your point though

I dont think you're saying this team is better than the Dream Team

[slimm44]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

Magic retired due to the uncertainty of playing with HIV. He was 32 years old and he was a year removed from a 19 point 12.5 assist per game season where he played 37 minutes a game. Remember, he came back for half a season when he was 36 and still averaged 14 and 7 in 30 minutes per game. He could have easily played several more seasons at a very high level but the HIV thing scared everybody. At the time, a lot of people still thought you could get it by drinking after somebody else.

Bird wasn't much more than a spot-up shooter anymore, though. His back had a very large fork coming out of it. I've heard it's hard to play ball with that condition.

[PrettyT11]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

Magic retired due to the uncertainty of playing with HIV. He was 32 years old and he was a year removed from a 19 point 12.5 assist per game season where he played 37 minutes a game. Remember, he came back for half a season when he was 36 and still averaged 14 and 7 in 30 minutes per game. He could have easily played several more seasons at a very high level but the HIV thing scared everybody. At the time, a lot of people still thought you could get it by drinking after somebody else.

Thank you. Some guys are talking like Magic was a shell of himself or something. Magic never had a downside to his career. He was still easily the best PG in the world at the time of the dream team and would dominate the PG's on this 2012 team.

[The 24th Letter]

Magic retired due to the uncertainty of playing with HIV. He was 32 years old and he was a year removed from a 19 point 12.5 assist per game season where he played 37 minutes a game. Remember, he came back for half a season when he was 36 and still averaged 14 and 7 in 30 minutes per game. He could have easily played several more seasons at a very high level but the HIV thing scared everybody. At the time, a lot of people still thought you could get it by drinking after somebody else..

While he was a year away from those numbers, he was also a year away from the game and out of shape...he only started what, 4 games with the team? I just don't think he was the same Magic that was going to be dominating his matchup offensively...

I still think of course that '92 wins the matchup, I just don't think Magic and Bird are your deciding factors..

[2phatshakur]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

While he was a year away from those numbers, he was also a year away from the game and out of shape...he only started what, 4 games with the team? I just don't think he was the same Magic that was going to be dominating his matchup offensively...

I still think of course that '92 wins the matchup, I just don't think Magic and Bird are your deciding factors..

I mean in that era, Magic was a freak. A 6'8" guard? Is he from Mars? Nowadays, if you are 6'8 and can't bring the ball up the court or regularly hit an open 3...you are the freak. Magic is an HOF'r. But he never had to go up against a Lebron James. At the end of his career, the floodgates opened up on big guys that could handle the pill. Pippen, Hardaway, Spreewell, Grant Hill, Shawn Kemp, et. al....I mean, I never bring up Bill Russell's or Wilt Chamberlains...but they played against a bunch of stiff white guys. Would Wilt score 100 points in a game against todays' NBA? Not counting the Bobcats or Wizards...

[VDusen04]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

I mean in that era, Magic was a freak. A 6'8" guard? Is he from Mars? Nowadays, if you are 6'8 and can't bring the ball up the court or regularly hit an open 3...you are the freak. Magic is an HOF'r. But he never had to go up against a Lebron James. At the end of his career, the floodgates opened up on big guys that could handle the pill. Pippen, Hardaway, Spreewell, Grant Hill, Shawn Kemp, et. al....I mean, I never bring up Bill Russell's or Wilt Chamberlains...but they played against a bunch of stiff white guys. Would Wilt score 100 points in a game against todays' NBA? Not counting the Bobcats or Wizards...

[slimm44]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

While he was a year away from those numbers, he was also a year away from the game and out of shape...he only started what, 4 games with the team? I just don't think he was the same Magic that was going to be dominating his matchup offensively...

I still think of course that '92 wins the matchup, I just don't think Magic and Bird are your deciding factors..

I wasn't making the argument that he would have been a deciding factor, but there were posts saying he was basically done as a player. I know it's a what-if scenario because he didn't play that season and conditioning would obviously be a factor, but it wasn't that he COULDN'T play. He sat because people were absolutely ignorant toward and scared of HIV. He could definitely still play.

[TheBadazz]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

After watching the gold metal game. The Dream team would have mopped the floor with this team. Big men would have made a big difference.

[Jasong7777]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

After watching the gold metal game. The Dream team would have mopped the floor with this team. Big men would have made a big difference.

They would have won, but they wouldn't have mopped the floor with them.

[ehh]

Re: 92' Dream team vs 2012 USA team

Doc made a good point after the game, in addition to the size advantage '92 had they also wouldn't succumb to the ball pressure that '12 would apply.

'12 also wouldn't get so many easy and open walk-up threes that Durant and Melo lived on. I said it earlier but Pippen vs Durant would have been the most important matchup in this game. Durant would have to use screens to get open like he does in the NBA and work a lot harder to get his looks, not just camp out behind the arc like he did in London.