On August 17, 2016, sports journalist Nick Wright conducted an interesting exercise: if we were in a real-life Space Jam situation with one basketball game against super-powered aliens to save the Planet Earth, what squad do you go with? As much as I love the fabled Toon Squad, this might be a tough pick here. Remember, it’s not just great individual players who we are looking for, but the world needs a team that can win. For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that we’re playing in today’s moderately paced (compared to the slow ‘90s and fast ‘60s) NBA, with similar positional values and the rules of today’s basketball games. Let’s evaluate Wright’s picks.

PG: Russell Westbrook
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Lebron James
C: Anthony Davis

Let’s go through the evaluations, starting with the point guard position. Wright’s a big Brodie fan (as is this writer), but his logic was also fairly sound. Westbrook has the speed, athleticism, and dynamic ability that’s needed against an alien squad. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s probably not human either. In this offense, Westbrook would be able to slash and kick, probably racking up nearly 15 assists a game given the ability of his teammates on this team to actually hit a corner a three. Speaking of threes…

Klay Thompson was Wright’s pick at SG. Thompson’s a great choice because of his ability to shoot threes and defend. Remember, playing in an NBA game styled as it would be today, three and D players are incredibly valuable. You could put Thompson on the other teams’ best backcourt player, but honestly, why would you when you have…

Kawhi Leonard. One of the best basketball players in the NBA, period. Leonard is currently carrying a relatively underwhelming Spurs team to the 2^nd seed in the West. Leonard has also cemented himself as a  great three-point shooter and playmaker, with excellent off-ball abilities and IQ, and of course, with tremendous defending. On this team, he can catch-and-shoot, set up motion plays and will likely anchor the defensive end with a fantastic attitude. He has already defended the best player in the world with relative success, bringing us to….

LeBron James. LeBron is the best player in the world, indubitably. A true sheriff, he’ll be the anchor for this team doing what he always does: facilitating like no other. He’ll likely be team captain on the court and off the court, despite his previous run-ins with Klay and his father. He’s also likely the only player in the league who Russell Westbrook might defer to: I would not be surprised if LeBron got the maximized potential from Westbrook. Of course, with setting LeBron up next to Kawhi, the two of them would be the most dominant wing pairing on both sides of the ball, with LeBron getting Kawhi open looks and Kawhi feeding LeBron in the post. Of course, the team does need a great rebounder with scoring ability, which brings us to…

Anthony Davis. Davis is phenomenal on the defensive end, the offensive end, and at the end of games (The OKC Thunder know this all too well). A clutch athlete with good fundamental skills, the Brow is likely to be the final piece to an excellent team. He’ll mesh well with LeBron, be able to play pick and roll with Westbrook, and shoot the ball himself with efficiency.

For this theoretical team, let’s also throw in a coach. This answer is obvious: Gregg Popovich. No explanation necessary. GOAT team deserves GOAT coach.

Obviously, the aliens would need to have quite some talent to beat a team like this. So, let’s turn the exercise on its head: whose talents would the aliens steal in order to beat this team? After careful evaluation, it’s likely the aliens would pick some team that looks somewhat like this:

PG: Steph Curry
SG: John Wall
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Draymond Green
C: Rudy Gobert

Steph Curry. This dude is incredible. He can pull up from anywhere on the court and pull defenses 30 feet from the basket. I do happen to think that Steph doesn’t show up in big games, including most of the 13 NBA finals games he’s played in. However, a healthy Stephen Curry is near unbeatable, and besides, who knows if the alien who’s stealing his powers is clutch or not? Defense is a concern, given that there is exactly 0 chance Steph can put the brakes on Westbrook, which means that his alien host would likely guard the taller but less explosive Klay Thompson (who’ll probably guard him back given that Westbrook would be better off guarding the Alien with Wall’s powers). This means that Curry will be helped by…

John Wall. Wall’s an interesting pick, but as far as this writer is concerned, he’s been the best two-way PG in the East and is very deserving of a spot on this team. The biggest worry the Alien team would have to consider would be a soaring Westbrook, who can offensively dominate the game by beating his man off the dribble. My two other contenders, DeMar DeRozan and Chris Paul would both have trouble stopping Westbrook, given DeRozan’s continuous defensive inconsistency, CP3’s size. Since Steph isn’t going to be stopping Brodie, Wall can do that, while playing off of the ball and relying on other assets to contribute to his team. If the Aliens steal Wall’s powers, their defense just improved incredibly. However, they’ll need a little offensive spark, which brings us to….

Kevin Durant. For the last 5 years, it’s safe to say that Durant has been the second best player in the NBA, behind LeBron James (though I would say both Russell Westbrook and James Harden are more valuable as players this season). Durant’s shooting and scoring ability would work perfectly in this system, and the team’s spacing would greatly improve. Durant’s skillset should provide a huge variety of offensive and defensive weapons to the alien host, save a big body. Speaking of big bodies….

Draymond Green. Unequivocally, I personally think Draymond is one of the dirtiest, whiniest, and most unsportsmanlike players in the NBA. But he’s also a great player, and he’s not afraid of anything. These attributes are important in defending LeBron James, who strikes fear deep into the hearts of most of his opponents. Draymond is also an excellent passer and a loyal teammate, making his host someone who will likely hold this alien squad together through his vocal attributes. As aggressive as Draymond is, he doesn’t have much size, which fortunately can be provided by…

Rudy Gobert. The Stifle Tower is without a doubt the biggest all-star snub of the season, and deserves respect for his incredible defensive presence. His talent will allow him to protect the rim against drivers like Westbrook, Kawhi and Lebron. The aliens will also have an excellent height advantage with this addition, given Gobert’s 7’1 frame.

As for Coach, given the three Warriors on this team already, let’s have Steve Kerr’s talents come to the sideline. Again, no explanation really necessary.

Both teams have excellent skill and talent, and it’s fair to say both have an excellent shot at winning if they play the game well. So, I’ll leave it up to you. Who wins the game?

 

 

And then there were sixteen. The first weekend of march madness did not disappoint. We can expect more thrillers in the second weekend, as the next round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament tips off this Thursday.

The exciting weekend was highlighted by the number one overall seed Villanova being upset by Wisconsin. Wisconsin played with a chip on their shoulder after receiving a lower seed than expected. The 2^nd seed in the East, the Duke Blue Devils, were upended by the 7^th seeded South Carolina Gamecocks. Coach Chris Mack led 11 seed Xavier into the Sweet Sixteen after upsets over Maryland and Florida State.

With the first and second seeds out of the picture, the question remains who will come out on top of the East region? Which teams from the other regions will make it to the Final Four? Which teams are most vulnerable to an upset, and which teams have the easiest route to the Final Four?

East Region

Duke and Villanova are out, making 3^rd seeded Baylor the highest ranked team in this region. Expect big man Johnathan Motley to perform well as Baylor handles South Carolina. The Florida and Wisconsin game in the top half of the East region should be a battle. Wisconsin is coming into the game with a lot of momentum after beating Villanova, while Florida shut down 5^th seeded Virginia to a tournament-low 39 points. Led by senior guard Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin will slip by Florida in a nail biter. Something about the Wisconsin Badgers and March go well together. I’d bet on Wisconsin making it on out of the East region.

Midwest Region

The top seeded Kansas Jayhawks are still the favorite in this region, but watch out for Michigan. The Wolverines beat Purdue and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten Championship and won two games this tournament over formidable teams in Oklahoma State and Louisville. Oregon should have lost in the round of 32, but Rhode Island blew a four-point lead in the last two minutes. Expect Michigan to continue their run as they take down Dillon Brooks and Oregon in a high scoring affair. Led by Wooden award nominee Frank Mason III, Kansas will take care of Caleb Swanigan and Purdue. Then, Kansas will dash Michigan’s Cinderella run when they take down the Wolverines in the Elite Eight.

South Region

Beware of Butler. The Bulldogs from Indiana have a history of carrying out Cinderella runs. This talented team had also beaten top ranked Villanova twice this year. However, Butler is a hit-or-miss team. Kennedy Meeks and UNC’s high powered offense will be too much for the Bulldogs in the Sweet Sixteen. Expect UCLA to keep on rolling and beat a Kentucky team that narrowly escaped Wichita State. For North Carolina, UCLA’s high powered offense will be too much to handle. Lonzo Ball will lead his UCLA squad to the final four.

West Region

The West was the weakest region when the bracket was announced, and still is. I am yet to be convinced that Gonzaga is as spectacular as they are made out to be given their weak conference. Gonzaga nearly lost to Northwestern in the round of 32, and West Virginia will be the toughest defense that Gonzaga will have faced all year. I predict West Virginia’s full court press will kill Gonzaga’s championship aspirations. Maryland has been mediocre all year, and Florida State didn’t deserve a three seed, so I am not impressed with Xavier’s two tournament wins. Allonzo Trier and Arizona will easily take out the last double digit seed in the tournament. Arizona will continue to roll when they beat West Virginia in the Elite Eight.

That leaves us with Wisconsin, Kansas, UNC, and Arizona in the final four. I wouldn’t take my word, because I did pick Duke to win the tournament. From how I saw teams play during the first weekend along with each team’s regular season and tournament history, those teams are in the best position to make it out of their respective regions. By Monday, we will know if I should ever predict a March Madness game again, as the Final Four will be set in stone by then.