Can An NBA Team Have Too Many Good Players?
Yes.
The Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks are two prime examples. A third example would be the Orlando Magic and its a primary reason Dwight Howard will not be winning a ring in the near future.
Magic GM Otis Smith's formula for success has been to stock his team with 12 guys deserving of at least twenty minutes of playing time each game. The math simply doesn't work and invariably certain players aren't going to get sufficient minutes or occasionally any minutes at all. This leads to dissatisfaction, discontent and chemistry issues.
Instead of learning from Smith's mistake, Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Bucks boss John Hammond sought to duplicate the failed strategy. As a result, both teams have struggled mightily out of the gate this season.
In Milwaukee, head coach Scott Skiles has regularly been playing all 12 guys on his active roster and nobody seems to know their role. One game Corey Maggette might play 32 minutes and the next it's a mere 13. Rookie Larry Sanders and banger John Brockman could conceivably get as many minutes as Luc Richard Mbah A Moute in certain games. This is a recipe for disaster. Unless Skiles shortens his rotation there is absolutely no reason to fear the deer this year. None.
The situation isn't much better in Houston as Brad Miller, Chase Budinger, Courtney Lee, Jordan Hill and others remain underutilized while watching the Rockets stumble to a 1-5 record. Daryl Morey is often lauded as one of the top GM's in the league (and deservedly so for uncovering gems like Ishmael Smith shown in the above video) but the overall construction of this season's roster is extremely problematic.
What's the solution? Building a team with two stars, a third very good player, two supporting/glue guys and four capable bench players. The remaining members of the roster should all be either young developmental players or 3rd tier veterans grateful to still be cashing an NBA paycheck.
That's the real formula for success and the sooner NBA GM's realize this, the better off their franchises will be.
Posted by San Diego Sports Guy at 11/9/2010 1:21 PM 
Categories: NBA
Tags: Houston Rockets Bucks Ishmael Smith Orlando Magic
Categories: NBA
Tags: Houston Rockets Bucks Ishmael Smith Orlando Magic
I agree. Was Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen (who obviously never would have had the same career without Michael), surrounded by guys like Kerr, Kukoc, Harper, Rodman, Longley, Grant, etc... a bad formula? None of these guys were more than good at a few things each - spotting up for shots, rebounding, setting picks, playing defense, managing the point, coloring hair and so forth. Solid role players and no more than two superstars and one above average player is the obvious common theme among a lot of winning teams (and franchises that may not win each year but stay consistent). Love your site guys - keep up the good work!
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