I'm sure you put a lot of time into this post. I think one of the differences with those teams that you mentioned in the early 90's, Buffalo's team's, the Chicgao Bulls, etc. was that they had a few superstars who could actually carry the team if the situation called for it. Depth is important no doubt, but unless you have some superstars who have proved it and can carry a team in tight games, I am not convinced that it matters too much.