The Golden State Warriors proved that they were one of the best teams in NBA history in 2015.
They ranked first in the league in defense, second in offense and posted a +11.4 point differential throughout the regular season on their way to winning 67 games and the NBA title. The Warriors’ season-long dominance could be compared to another great team, the 2000 Lakers, who also won 67 regular season games.
Although those Lakers played a different kind of basketball due to the era they played in and their system, it’s fun to compare great NBA teams and how they’d possibly match up if they were able to play against each other in an alternate universe.
One of the reasons both of these teams were so dominant is because of their depth. The Lakers had some of the best role players in NBA history on their team, including 3-and-D point guard Derek Fisher, veteran champions Glen Rice and Ron Harper, enforcer Rick Fox, and of course “Big Shot Bob” aka Robert Horry.
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Rick Fox was their equivalent of Draymond Green — you love him if he’s on your team, but maybe not so much if he’s not. Fox took pride in doing the “dirty work”, much like Green, and he wasn’t afraid to get in the face of an opponent for the sake of a star on his team, similar to how Green will defend, say, Stephen Curry if the situation calls for it.
The 2015 Warriors had a handful of long, versatile defenders who Coach Steve Kerr could insert and ask to guard the better wing scorers in the game, including Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, Shaun Livingston, and Green to name a few. Unlike Warriors teams in previous seasons, Golden State wouldn’t skip a beat when the bench unit was asked to hold down the fort.
Both of these teams breezed through the regular season, but at times ran into problems in the playoffs. The Warriors were down 2-1 in the semi-final round vs. the Grizzlies, until the coaching staff figured out how to make Memphis’ defensive ace Tony Allen — who was making life miserable for Thompson miserable — obsolete. Golden State was also down in the NBA Finals 2-1 to LeBron James and the Cavaliers, but the exhausted Cavs didn’t have the fire power or depth to keep up with the Warriors.
The Lakers had a commanding 2-0 lead in the first round against the up and coming Kings (back when the first round was best of five), before losing two straight and winning the deciding Game 5. And who could forget that see-saw series against the Portland Trail Blazers that ended with Portland choking away a 15 point lead in Game 7, with a Kobe-to-Shaq one-handed alley-oop to put the cherry on top.
These teams’ potent offenses were the key to their respective successes. When Kerr replaced Mark Jackson, he implanted an offense that focused on ball movement, cutting, three-point shooting, and heavy screening and pick and rolls, similar to the “7 Seconds or Less” Suns that from the mid 2000s. With two great shooters (Curry and Thompson), and two capable shooters (Barnes and Green), the Warriors were able to space the floor unlike any team in NBA history.
The Lakers relied on a totally different approach to get their offense going. They ranked 14 out of 29 teams in pace, as their triangle offense centered around behemoth Shaquille O’Neal and his partner in crime, Kobe Bryant. This simple explanation of the triangle offense by Sports Science makes it clear how the Lakers were able to use their personnel to get the most of their offense.
So if these teams were to play in an alternate universe, who would win?
The “Frobe” vs. Klay matchup at shooting guard would be an excellent matchup, and the Warriors would have multiple defenders to throw at Kobe if need be. The Warriors would run screen after screen, so that Laker players would grow tired running into big bodies Andre wBogut and Green all game.
There would likely be some trash talk back and forth between Green and Fox and maybe even Green and Shaq.
Speaking of Shaq, how would the Warriors guard him? He would likely dominate Bogut just based off of brute strength, and he’s way too big and strong for Green, even though Green is an outstanding defender against bigger post players.
The best bet would probably be Festus Ezeli, who has a little more pep in his step than Bogut. The Kerr vs. Phil Jackson chess match would greatly complement the actual on court product as well. It’s fun to think about this imaginary scenario, but unfortunately we’ll never get to see this.
I guess we’ll just have to settle for a NBA 2K “Classic Teams” matchup a few years from now.