Draft Pick Tournament Finals

Tonight is the NBA Draft, so we will be wrapping up our Draft Pick Tournament. We’ve spent a few weeks looking at the best picks over the last twenty years for the top 16 picks in the draft.  The first two round were covered here: Draft Pick Tournament Round 1 and Draft Pick Tournament Round 2.

In today’s matchups, we are looking at the 1-Seed against the 5-Seed and the 2-Seed against the 3-Seed. At the end, the winners will play each other, and we will determine the champion of this whole tournament.

5^th Pick vs. 1^st Pick

5^th Pick Roster

Center- Kevin Garnett, 1995, Minnesota Timberwolves

Power Forward- Kevin Love, 2008, UCLA, Memphis Grizzlies

Small Forward- Vince Carter, 1998, North Carolina, Golden State Warriors

Shooting Guard- Dwyane Wade, 2003, Marquette, Miami Heat

Point Guard- Ricky Rubio, 2009, Minnesota Timberwolves

Sixth Man- Ray Allen, 1996, Connecticut, Minnesota Timberwolves

1^st Pick Roster

Center- Shaquille O’Neal, 1992, LSU, Orlando Magic

Power Forward- Tim Duncan, 1997, Wake Forest, San Antonio Spurs

Small Forward- Lebron James, 2003, Cleveland Cavaliers

Shooting Guard- Allen Iverson, 1996, Georgetown, Philadelphia 76ers

Point Guard- Derrick Rose, 2008, Memphis, Chicago Bulls

Sixth Man- Dwight Howard, 2004, Orlando Magic

Winner: 1^st Pick in six games

Reason: It doesn’t look like anyone will be able to stop the team full of top draft picks, as everyone expected. The team full of 5^th Overall Picks has Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love inside to help combat the overall dominance of Shaq, Duncan, and Howard, but there is still overwhelming talent inside for the 1^st Overall Pick Team. Dwayne Wade and Vince Carter are able to create some offense for the 5^th Pick Team however, as Lebron is only able to shut one down at a time. The main problem, and the tipping point from the series comes in the backcourt, where the 5^th Pick Team has no chance of stopping the dribble penetration from the 1^st Pick Team, James, Iverson, and Rose will be able to get to the rim at will.

3^rd Pick Roster

Center- Al Horford, 2007, Florida, Atlanta Hawks

Power Forward- Pau Gasol, 2001, Atlanta Hawks

Small Forward- Grant Hill, 1994, Duke, Detroit Pistons

Shooting Guard- Anfernee Hardaway, 1993, Memphis, Golden State Warriors

Point Guard- Deron Williams, 2005, Illinois, Utah Jazz

Sixth Man- Carmelo Anthony, 2003, Syracuse, Denver Nuggets

2^nd Pick Roster

Center- Marcus Camby, 1996, Massachusetts, Toronto Raptors

Power Forward- Alonzo Mourning, 1992, Georgetown, Charlotte Hornets

Small Forward- Kevin Durant, 2007, Texas, Seattle Supersonics

Shooting Guard- Steve Francis, 1999, Maryland, Vancouver Grizzlies

Point Guard- Jason Kidd, 1994, California, Dallas Mavericks

Sixth Man- Tyson Chandler, 2001, Los Angeles Clippers

Winner: 3^rd Pick in seven games

Reason: This matchup has the potential to be the most entertaining of the whole tournament, as both teams styles match up well against each other. This matchup would feature the inside scoring of Al Horford and Pau Gasol against the superior interior defense of Marcus Camby, Alonzo Mourning, and Tyson Chandler. Scoring savant Kevin Durant would be matched up against do-it-all Grant Hill on the wing. At the point, two players who have played for the New Jeresey Nets would serve as the floor generals for their respective teams in Jason Kidd and Deron Williams. At shooting guard, Anfernee Hardaway and Steve Francis could provide an entertaining matchup that could potentially serve as the X-Factor in the series.

However, the tipping point in the series is Carmelo Anthony. While the 3^rd Pick Team is able to throw Grant Hill at Durant, the 2^nd Pick Roster has nobody to cover Anthony as long as Anthony stays on the perimeter. If Melo’s outside jumper is falling, it is incredibly likely he will dominate a game. In a seven game series, I would bet that Melo alone could win 2 or 3 games for his team, add that with some solid pick-and-roll offense from Williams and Gasol, and I think the 3^rd Pick Team comes out on top. However, there will likely be a few performances from Durant that make your jaw drop.

The Finals 3^rd Pick vs. 1^st Pick

3^rd Pick Roster

Center- Al Horford, 2007, Florida, Atlanta Hawks

Power Forward- Pau Gasol, 2001, Atlanta Hawks

Small Forward- Grant Hill, 1994, Duke, Detroit Pistons

Shooting Guard- Anfernee Hardaway, 1993, Memphis, Golden State Warriors

Point Guard- Deron Williams, 2005, Illinois, Utah Jazz

Sixth Man- Carmelo Anthony, 2003, Syracuse, Denver Nuggets

1^st Pick Roster

Center- Shaquille O’Neal, 1992, LSU, Orlando Magic

Power Forward- Tim Duncan, 1997, Wake Forest, San Antonio Spurs

Small Forward- Lebron James, 2003, Cleveland Cavaliers

Shooting Guard- Allen Iverson, 1996, Georgetown, Philadelphia 76ers

Point Guard- Derrick Rose, 2008, Memphis, Chicago Bulls

Sixth Man- Dwight Howard, 2004, Orlando Magic

Winner: 1^st Pick in four games

Reason: Unfortunately, based on the way the teams match up, this isn’t the 1^st Pick Team’s hardest challenge of the tournament. The 3^rd Pick Roster has nothing resembling an answer for the interior dominance that the 1^st Pick Team represents, as well as no defensive answer for the dribble penetration. Horford and Gasol are too finesse in the paint to be able to hold their own against the physical players like Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard. James, Iverson, and Rose will live in the paint, with their defenders a step behind them, and no threatening presence guarding the rim. 

 I began this prediction thinking that the series would last five games, but the more I thought about it, I can’t see a scenario that the 3^rd Pick Team gets hot enough to win the game. With LeBron on him, Carmelo can’t put up enough points to carry the rest of the team while they are shut down.

As expected, the team of 1^st Overall Picks dominates in the finals, but that isn’t to say that they didn’t have a few tough matchups along the way. That concludes our series on the best teams per draft pick of the last twenty years. What did you think of the tournament, were the teams constructed properly? Did the right teams end up advancing?

Enjoy the draft tonight.

Adam