Tom Gantert's 1999-2000 Basketball Card Set Review

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTA HAWKS Dikembe Mutombo is still the best defensive center in the league and is a good rebounder but is no threat offensively. Alan Henderson isn't sure what he wants to do _ score inside or outside. Jason Terry is a very good passer and great on the fast break but only plays 23 minutes. Starter Bimbo Coles is adequate. Isaiah Rider is the top offensive threat (3-rated shooter) but Jim Jackson doesn't offer much as the team's only other rated shooter. Not enough quality players to get far in the playoffs.

BOSTON CELTICS Kenny Anderson has lost all his dazzlers and his shooting columns are horrid for someone who shot 44 percent. Antoine Walker is a good passer for a power forward but is really only effective outside shooting. Danny Fortson is a great rebounder and has a great inside column. But he only played 16 minutes and will get in foul trouble. This team will have problems scoring.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS The Hornets who have several very effective role players in Baron Davis, Eddie Robinson and Brad Miller. The Hornets 32-plus minute players Elden Campbell, Derrick Coleman, Anthony Mason, Eddie Jones and David Wesley are well balanced but no great cards among them. One of the stronger teams in the East.

CHICAGO BULLS Elton Brand had a good rookie card. He can score from outside or inside and is a good rebounder who doesn't foul a lot. But the Bulls offer little else. Chris Carr is the only other rated shooter and he shot 39.5 percent. A tough team to like.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Andre Miller has an excellent passing card and can score while penetrating and Brevin Knight has one of the best passing card filled with dazzlers making a great point guard duo. But the team's star Shawn Kemp has a card similar to his early years. Good rebounding, high turnover, foul plagued, and inconsistent scoring. A team with great fastbreak guards but no one to run with them.

DETROIT PISTONS Christian Laettner has a very good inside scoring column but is foul plagued and isn't a rated shooter anymore. Lindsey Hunter should just shoot 3s. Grant Hill and Jerry Stackhouse are a good 1-2 scoring punch. The Pistons are one of the better fastbreaking teams but are terrible on defense. Will be one of the higher scoring teams but don't have any inside presence to carry them very far into the playoffs.

INDIANA PACERS This team can advance to the NBA Finals out of the East based on Rik Smits' inside scoring and the excellent 3-point shooting of Sam Perkins, Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin. Although Mullin was seldom used in the real playoffs, get him in and have him shoot the 3. Jalen Rose is another good outside shooter. Dale Davis is the team's enforcer.

MIAMI HEAT Alonzo Mourning has the best card in the set. He is dominating defensively and just as good scoring inside. But he will get in foul trouble and that is where the Heat will die. Otis Thorpe and Clarence Weatherspoon are two veterans that would have helped Miami immensely if they had their cards from five years ago. But they don't. Tim Hardaway has his worst card ever and Anthony Carter has a good passing card. But the Heat have little to offer after Mourning's dominating card.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS Sam Cassell is one of the top point guards in the league. Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson are effective. All three are rated shooters, which makes the Bucks a good team. Danny Manning is no longer effective and Tim Thomas is OK. The Bucks stall if the Big Three don't produce.

NEW JERSEY NETS Stephon Marbury and Keith Van Horn are a good 1-2 punch. But the Nets offer little else with Kerry Kittles again having a very mediocre card and Jamie Feick losing some rebounding. The Nets are also horrible on defense.

NEW YORK KNICKS For the first time since his rookie year in 1985, Patrick Ewing is no longer a rated shooter.Larry Johnson is a shadow of his former self. This team revolves around Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell and Sprewell is not that good to carry a team. Both average 39 plus minutes. The Knicks will struggle to score with below average point guards.

ORLANDO MAGIC The Magic have three rated shooters in Ron Mercer, Chucky Atkins and John Amaechi. You want Amaechi to be the first option. Orlando should fastbreak as much as possible. A team without enough quality players to compete with the top teams.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS Matt Geiger is no longer the effective scoring center he once was. Eric Snow is a great passing point guard who seldom shoots which allows Allen Iverson his touches. Iverson is not the great shooter we'd hope he'd be. His fastbreak scoring is mediocre as are most of his shooting columns. Toni Kukoc has always been a great complementary player to have on a team and his passing and versatility are excellent. He's has better scoring columns but stick him outside. Not good enough to challenge the top teams in the East but will handle most other teams.

TORONTO RAPTORS Vince Carter is best at shooting outside. Tracy McGrady has mediocre scoring columns. Charles Oakley, once one of the best offensive rebounders, lost it all in his first year with the Raptors. And Toronto has no center as Kevin Willis is ineffective. Del Curry, the other fossil on the team, is still a very good outside shooter. Carter will make this team .500.

WASHINGTON WIZARDS Juwan Howard is okay shooting outside but is no longer near superstar status. Mitch Richmond may have had his last good card and Rod Strickland is a great passer who needs to fastbreak to score. Jahidi White and Aaron Williams are good part-time big men. Tracy Murray is one of the best 3-point shooters around.

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

DALLAS MAVERICKS Dirk Nowitzki is a great outside shooter and good inside scorer although he doesn't rebound much. The team's rated shooters _ Michael Finley and Cedric Ceballos _ are very similar in that they can shoot outside but do little else. Shawn Bradley has had the same card for the last six years. The Mavs are hurt by not having an adequate point guard.

DENVER NUGGETS Chris Gatling does what he has been doing for the past 10 years _ offensive punch, some rebounding and limited playing time. Raef LaFrentz is an OK rebounder, who can block shots. Many teams do worse at center. Nick Van Exel has a great card at point guard and Antonio McDyess has real strong scoring columns for a superb 1-2 punch. A .500 team.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Jason Caffey gets a good card as he emerges from the Bulls' shadow. Donyell Marshall also seems to become a usable player. Mookie Blaylock is a good passer but horrible shooting. Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison are the two rated shooters and are best used outside. Tony Farmer should be used as much as possible at center but only averages 16 minutes a game. Team is killed with no inside game.

HOUSTON ROCKETS Hakeem Olajuwon has his worst card ever as he loses a lot of offense inside. Steve Francis is now the go-to player on this team and he has an excellent card. With Matt Bullard, this is a good 3-point shooting team and needs to run the fastbreak to be effective. A transition period as Francis becomes a star. This team becomes 50 percent better if extras Moochie Norris and Charles Barkley play. Both have excellent cards.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS Lamar Odom has an above average card as a rookie. Michael Olowokandi is a huge bust as his offense gets worse and his defense is mediocre. Odom, Maurice Taylor and Derek Anderson are the rated shooters but won't be enough for a team that lacks rebounding and defense.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS The weakness is power forward _ where A.C. Green is below average and Robert Horry has little to excite you _ and point guard _ where Brian Shaw and Derek Fisher at least don't turn the ball over. This team revolves around Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Bryant has his best card ever and O'Neal also is great, especially on the fastbreak where his column is better than Kobe's. Glen Rice can pick up the offense when Bryant and O'Neal are on the bench but the Lakers.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES Joe Smith is a dog. He doesn't have one strong scoring column in which to focus. Terrell Brandon is awesome at point guard but keep him outside at shooting. Kevin Garnett has reached superstardom but his card hasn't yet. His earlier cards had strong outside shooting columns and weak inside columns. Garnett has reversed that but he is just good inside. Sam Mitchell, who has always had great Strat cards, but now is horrible. The Timberwolves rely way too much on Brandon and Garnett, who can't compare to the Lakers' Bryant and O'Neal.

PHOENIX SUNS Penny Hardaway's slide continues. His rookie card is much better than this year's version which is only above average if he penetrates. Rodney Rogers is a good inside scorer but is hurt that he isn't a rated shooter. Hardaway and Cliff Robinson are the rated shooters and neither have great columns. The Suns don't offer much variety offensively filled with outside shooters.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS Rasheed Wallace has the best card on the team and is very strong inside. Steve Smith is also strong shooting. It is good for Portland that both are the rated shooters. Scottie Pippen has a good passing column and is good shooting outside. This team should beat the Lakers because of its depth. Portland's Detlef Schrempf, Brian Grant and Bonzi Wells are heads and tails above any other team's bench and the starting five is as good as any in the league. In a replay, this team should win it all.

SACRAMENTO KINGS Vlade Divac has a very good card, but his minutes are dwindling. Predrag Stojakovic is a rated shooter and has a good outside scoring column. This is a team much like those Strat put out in the 1980s with four rated shooters. The problem with the Kings is their defense is bad. A fun team to coach and one of the top five in the league.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS Tim Duncan and David Robinson are the team's rated shooters and both are very strong inside scoring. It's always better in Strat to excel inside than outside. Terry Porter is all that the Spurs have to offer outside of the dynamic duo. Fastbreak this team to death with Avery Johnson at point guard and get the ball inside whenever possible.

SEATTLE SUPERSONICS Gary Payton is great at point guard as usual and Vin Baker is now better outside shooting than inside, which hurts Seattle. Vernon Maxwell a 3-rated shooter also hurts since he doesn't have a good offensive card and shot just 34 percent. Horace Grant is the most overrated player in the set. His card is so generic there is no strength. A below average team in the West.

UTAH JAZZ John Stockton has the best passing card in the set and Jeff Hornacek is still very good offensively in his last year. Karl Malone has his usual outstanding inside scoring. The problem with the Jazz? Bryon Russell emerges as a good player with a good card. But Armen Gilliam, Howard Eisley, Jacque Vaughn and Quincy Lewis offer nothing offensively.

VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES Mike Bibby is a good point guard passing and shooting. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Michael Dickerson are the team's rated shooters and are above average offensively. Bryant Reeves is no longer an effective center. Defense and rebounding will drag this team down.