Reading Kevin Pelton's take on the NBA all-name teams I couldn't help noticing that the Tims, while on the bottom of his list, had the highest average WARP per player of any of the names, even higher than the Kevins (who had the best five player unit). While I had no expectation that an all-Tim team could match the all-Kevin unit (Johnson, Martin, Durant, McHale, and Garnett), it would be interesting to see what the best five-man all-Tim unit would look like.
So using Kevin Pelton's ground rules (players since 77-78) and Basketball Reference as my data source, I looked first at the global advanced stats (PER, WS, WS/48, OBPM, DBPM, BPM, VORP) as well as the other stats to make my very subjective evaluations.
Point guard: As one might imagine this was no contest. Tim Hardaway (the Run-TMC member, not junior) was the clear choice. First among all of the Tims in OBPM, second in PER, WS, WS/48, BPM, and VORP, where third was usually some distance away.
Runner-up: Tim Frazier. He has done fine as a backup on some bad teams and he is still young, but there is no way he will ever be as good as Hardaway.
Shooting guard: This one was between Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tim Legler. And when you look at the advanced stats, Legler wins unanimously, beating Junior in PER, WS, WS/48, OBPM, DBPM, BPM, and VORP. He also is a better shooter, beating Junior in 3P% and TS%. The only thing Junior wins in are bulk stats starting with minutes played and usage rate (if that even is a good thing). So sorry Knicks fans, the all-Tim shooting guard is Tim Legler.
Runner-up: Tim Hardaway Jr. Obviously this could change depending on how things go for him in New York the second time around, but given the disastrophe that is the Knicks at the moment, I'm not optimistic about his future.
Small forward: Like point guard, this one was no contest. It was pretty much just Tim Thomas, not that that is a bad thing. Speaking of bad things...
Runner-up: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. He just finished his rookie season, so the jury is out on him. But considering the alternatives, he is probably the best choice.
Frontcourt anchor: There can only be one, and that is of course Tim Duncan. First among all of the Tims in PER, WS, WS/48, DBPM, BPM, and VORP, and second to Tim Hardaway in OBPM, he is truly not only the anchor of the frontcourt, but the entire team.
The other frontcourt starter: This is the most interesting battle, featuring Tim McCormick, Timofey Mozgov, and Tim Perry. It is also convenient in that the losers slot in as our backup frontcourt. McCormick has the best WS and OBPM, Mozgov has the best PER, WS/48, and DBPM (tie), and Perry has the best DBPM (tie), BPM, and VORP.
Looking beyond the global stats, Mozgov is the best rebounder and shot blocker and is the worst ball-handler of the three, while Perry is the worst rebounder and the best ball-handler. Perry is also the only one of the three who attempts a substantial number of three-pointers, but he shoots them at a low percentage (31.8%). For this reason he is the worst overall shooter of the three. McCormick doesn't do anything particularly well or badly. Mozgov is still playing so he could have some future upside, but he is coming off of his worst year since his rookie season. He just got traded to the Nets, which could be good (change of scenery) or bad (he's playing for the Nets!).
Of the three, I went for Mozgov. Having a decent rim protector is never a bad thing, and I can't stand guys (Perry) who chuck up lots of bad three pointers, particularly when he can't even hit his free throws (64.8%).
Runners-up: Tim Perry and Tim McCormick.
Overall evaluation: Having very few Tims to work with made some of the choices easy, and others least of evils. But the end product is solid, and probably could take on Kevin Pelton's Johns team (Stockton, Lucas, Starks, Drew, Williams (Hot Rod)), particularly given that that team has two point guards and only one frontcourt player. And with four Tims currently playing in the NBA the future is bright for Team Tim.
