Hypothetical Sports Contest #2 - Page 6

TimTimSalabim · #51 12-09-2006, 03:53 PM

I don't know if the NBA team would win, but they'd have a much better shot than the Yankees would against a HS basketball team.

UMTerp · #52 12-09-2006, 04:00 PM

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I don't know if the NBA team would win, but they'd have a much better shot than the Yankees would against a HS basketball team.

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I disagree. Basketball's a lot easier to pick up in a few days than baseball. You don't think A-Rod, Jeter, Damon shoot around on occasion? We know Aaron Boone did. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] Baseball has (some) very good athletes too, and basketball's just an easier sport to pick up without much practice.

Keepitsimple · #53 12-09-2006, 04:10 PM

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A lot of these guys in the NBA are there mainly because they are abnormally tall.

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I dont think it would be close at all. The high school team would dominate. I mean a guy like Yao Ming would be laughed at.

TimTimSalabim · #54 12-09-2006, 04:40 PM

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I don't know if the NBA team would win, but they'd have a much better shot than the Yankees would against a HS basketball team.

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I disagree. Basketball's a lot easier to pick up in a few days than baseball. You don't think A-Rod, Jeter, Damon shoot around on occasion? We know Aaron Boone did. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] Baseball has (some) very good athletes too, and basketball's just an easier sport to pick up without much practice.

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How do you 'pick up' speed, stamina, size, strength, shooting accuracy, etc. in 3 days?

UMTerp · #55 12-09-2006, 04:47 PM

MLB players are probably a bit shorter than most players on a HS basketball team, but probably have superior speed, strength, and stamina to begin with. They're professional athletes remember.

And I'd say that shooting accuracy is a bit eaiser to "pick up" than most baseball mechanics. Everyone shoots around a basketball on occasion - most people don't hit a batting cage for fun.

DanS · #56 12-09-2006, 05:01 PM

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high school baseball players. this really isnt close.

a much better question would be versus a high school lacrosse team.

[/ QUOTE ]if it was lacrosse i think about 2% of people would bet on the high school team.

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Are you totally insane? Lax isn't about hitting, it's about throwing/catching, running schemes, passing off of slides. A high school team would [censored] obliterate NBA players and it's not close.

DanS · #57 12-09-2006, 05:06 PM

Just an FYI to everbody...

There *is* a very tall pitcher in the major leagues who played in the NBA for a few years first (I don't recall his name offhand), so it is viable that a tall guy could conceivably pitch against high school players.

TimTimSalabim · #58 12-09-2006, 05:12 PM

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so it is viable that a tall guy could conceivably pitch against high school players.

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Randy Johnson is 6' 10, so I don't think this is in dispute.

LooseCaller · #59 12-09-2006, 05:29 PM

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Three days to practice for an NBA team should be plenty to beat a HS team. Even if the guys can hardly hit they'll have a major speed advantage on defense and running the bases.

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i havent finished reading this and someone might have already said something about your comment, but speed and defense are absolutely nowhere near as important as hitting and pitching.

baseball is a skill game that doesnt rely purely on athleticism, with only 3 days to practice, assuming the average nba player barely ever plays baseball in his free time, the hs team is a huge favorite.

MicroBob · #60 12-09-2006, 05:29 PM

Of course a tall guy COULD pitch.
Randy Johnson is 6-10, right? So it's certainly possible.

The question is whether the tall guys would naturally be able to pick it up decently or whether they would have enough players with baseball in their background.

Thinking about some guys who would almost certainly be the authority for such a Q.

A guy like Danny Ainge who played minor-league baseball in the Blue Jays system prior to changing over to basketball.
Michael Jordan was pretty good at basball in high-school, right? So he should be familiar with the caliber of play there vs. the chances of the athletes on an NBA team.

Even a guy like Dick Vitale who previously coached high-school age baseball teams (some amateur all-star type stuff as well as high-school teams I think) and also coached in the NBA.

I believe David is correct btw that a .200 batter at the double-A level would have a very good chance to be the star of a high-school baseball team and I really don't think this is very close.

In fact, lots of high-school all-stars and MVP's end up hitting .200 or so even at the lowest levels of single-A (rookie-level or short-season A) which is definitely a much lower caliber of baseball than double-A.

Anyway, I suspect that the NBA team would just have too many holes on their baseball squad.
Infielders who struggle to field grounders. Outfielders who have trouble judging fly-balls.

Even if the NBA team had a decent pitcher, the catcher would most likely be pretty vulnerable to passed-balls and stolen-bases I suspect.

I think that a typical NBA team would have too many players with a significant lack of baseball experience to make up for the 3 or 4 guys who have a decent idea of what they're doing.