Atlanta Celtics (2002) vs. Spiece Indy Heat (2004)

Who would win?

As a fan, the high school summer basketball season is for hoop junkies. I love hoops but I've never followed the high school summer hoops season. However, two teams have received national recognition for their summer hoops dominance over the last 5 years: the 2002 Atlanta Celtics and the 2004/2005 Spiece Indy Heat. Both teams featured 4 NBA draft picks or potential NBA draft picks on their teams.

So I asked myself, "Who would win a 7-game NBA Championship-type series between the two?" Before moving to a breakdown, let's choose which Spiece Indy Heat team we'll use for the breakdown: 2004 or 2005? Because the Atlanta Celtics are so big-man oriented, the right choice is to go with the 2004 Spiece Indy Heat because Josh McRoberts (2004) would match up better against the Atlanta Celtics than would Eric Gordon (2005) (personally, being a graduate of Indiana University, I would take the Gordon team because Gordon is cool for going to IU and McRoberts is decidedly less cool for going to Duke). Therefore, it will be the 2004 Spiece Indy Heat vs. 2002 Atlanta Celtics. Here's a breakdown plus a prediction:

Dominant Big Men: Dwight Howard (Atlanta) vs. Greg Oden (Indy)

Can one really make the wrong choice between these two NBA franchise player-type big men? Because I'm forced to for this exercise, I'll choose Oden for his more advanced offensive game vs. Howard when both were in high school, but there is no doubt a serious battle would be going down in the paint.
Edge: Spiece Indy Heat (very slight edge)

2nd Big Men: Randolph Morris (Atlanta) vs. Josh McRoberts (Indy)

Despite the above comment on McRoberts and his perceived softness down low, he's a versatile and ambidextrous big man with NBA lottery-type talent. Morris went undrafted then signed with the Knicks after his junior season at Kentucky. He's an old-school big man who works in the post. McRoberts' modern game and pure talent gives him the edge over Morris because I don't feel Morris has a strong enough post game to take advantage of a potential wimpy McRoberts. I think McRoberts would be confident that his skills were just too much for Morris and not give in to him.
Edge: Spiece Indy Heat

2nd Scoring Option: Josh Smith (Atlanta) vs. Daequan Cook (Indy)

Smith is a high-flyer whose size and athleticism flourished in the wide open atmosphere of summer hoops (plus he was committed to go to Indiana University before opting for the pros so, therefore, I like him). Cook is a scoring guard of the Ben Gordon/Vinny Johnson variety. I give the edge to Smith because of his ability to fill the lane on the break and his ability to score without being the #1 option because of his unbelievable leaping ability (allows for many offensive rebounds/put backs).
Edge: Atlanta Celtics

Floor Leader: Javaris Crittenton (Atlanta) vs. Mike Conley (Indy)

This is a mismatch because in 2002 Crittenton was 15, two years behind the majority of the team. Conley is the best floor leader not in the NBA and has been for three years. This is no slam of Crittenton, who at 6'5", is his own kind of special point guard, but Conley is a winner.
Edge: Spiece Indy Heat

The Bench: Dwayne Day, Michael Walker, Boubacar Coly (Atlanta) vs. Curtis White, Donald Cloutier (Indy)

Day is a 6'6" forward at South Carolina; Walker is a 6'7" forward at Western Kentucky, Coly is a 6'9" forward at Xavier; White is a guard at Western Michigan while Cloutier is a space eating big man at Western Michigan.
Edge: Atlanta Celtics

Prediction: I think we can all agree that this would've been one hell of a match-up had we all been lucky enough to see it. I think both of these teams show the unbelievable quality of players in summer basketball. In the end, I give Spiece Indy Heat the edge in 6 games (4-2) over the Atlanta Celtics with Mike Conley (MVP) leading the way for the Heat. At all levels, high school, summer basketball, college, and, as we'll soon see in the NBA, Mike Conley is a winner.

* Rod is a contributing writer to GBOA who will share his rants and opinions about the world of basketball.