| RealGM All-Time Draft: Seattle Versus Minnesota Authored by Tyler Sherkin - June 7, 2006 - 8:09 pm
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Daughterty is a solid option as a starting center, though he lacks some luster stacked next to the starting fives in an all-time league and more notably, next to Bob McAdoo. Still, he had some skills on the glass, as a scorer and he could rebound. The real strength of Minnesota’s frontcourt is Wes Unseld, who was Elton Brand before Elton Brand, an undersized (though not so much so then as now) frontcourt player who could rebound, score and do all the little things. Havlicek is usually considered an off-guard but he had the strength and athleticism to play the three. There will be match ups that present Minnesota with problems later in the tournament but Billy Cunningham wouldn’t be too bad. JoJo White is an undersized shooting guard but Reggie Theus can sub in if the match up. Size will present an issue for Minnesota, though, even in this match up. With Unseld, White and Havlicek all undersized for their positions, Seattle will look to exploit these match ups with their greater size, likely through Derrick Coleman and Julius Keye. Minnesota does not have many similar advantages over Seattle in the backcourt, no special exploit of which they can take advantage.
Another major disadvantage for Minnesota is that it lacks offensive punch. Havlicek is by far the best scorer on the team but he doesn’t have a great second man with him and Bob McAdoo can outscore him in a straight-up shootout.
On the plus side, the Unseld Advantage is underrated. Against any of the fours that Seattle can trot out (Coleman, Gasol, Stepanovich), Unseld can use his strength and positioning skills to score. He won’t be a dominant scorer but he can exploit the match up enough to give Minnesota life.
In general, the Sonics look to be a finesse, perimeter-oriented team and Minnesota appears to be a team that will center on Daugherty as much as is possible while working the offense through Havlicek. They don’t have any really dominant outside scorers but Havlicek can shoot, Dell Curry is their best shooter and JoJo White had some range, especially if he was just catching and shooting. Coleman liked to drift outside, Redd is a shooter, Bob McAdoo was a shooting big man, Walt Frazier is a point guard. They cannot take advantage of Minnesota’s dearth of significant big men. They have two significant perimeter defenders in Billy Cunningham and Walt Frazier but unfortunately, Frazier isn’t going to be matched up with a key offensive threat from Minnesota’s team and Billy Cunningham couldn’t stop Havlicek cold.
Ultimately, Seattle is a more versatile offensive team and they also have better defense and would emerge the victors in 5 or 6 games. |
