[dirno2000]

Out of that three only Bell is still a productive player. The league was so impressed with Walt's playoff performance that nobody bothered to pick him up.

The main problem with that team as I see it was the front line. I know you hate the “this type of team has never won argument” but I feel pretty safe when I say that a team with a front line of finesse players has never won and will never win a title. Raef actually called himself a finesse players that summer which, as far as I was concerned, was the last straw. Bradley is a 45% career shooter, he’s never managed to break the 50% barrier and his go to move is the 15-foot open jumper from the baseline…I think that qualifies him as a finesse center. Dirk is great but as power forwards go he can be pushed around (although he shows tremendous heart battling for defensive boards).

People point to Chicago as proof that you don’t need a good big man to win but if nothing else their centers were beefy and physical…plus they had Grant and Rodman at the 4. Same with Isiah’s Pistons. You can be a perimeter-oriented team but somebody has to do the dirty work…and it can’t just be Raja Bell.