2023-24 Season Draft R1 - Snakebites* vs. MadNESS

Post #1 » by **Fadeaway_J** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 1:41 am

Here is a quick list of what you need in your writeup.

1. Specific years for each player on your team
2. Rotations and minutes for each player
3. Reasoning as to why your team will win and/or why people should vote for you.

Do not vote in this thread until both managers have submitted their writeups. Please ensure you give a rationale for your vote; votes with no explanation will not be counted.

If writeups aren't posted within 24 hours, we will vote solely based on the players they have drafted (and any rotations they have posted on their roster page).

**First to 3 votes advances.**

Post #2 » by **Snakebites** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 2:23 am

PG: Steph Curry 19.5 FGA
SG: Derrick White 11.5 FGA
SF: Jalen Williams 14.0 FGA
PF: Lebron James 17.9 FGA
C: Rudy Gobert 8.1 FGA

B: Nickeil Alexander-Walker 6.6 FGA
B: Dean Wade 4.3 FGA
B: Dereck Lively II 5.4 FGA

Curry (37)/White (11)
White (26)/Alexander-Walker (22)
Williams (36)/James (12)
James (27)/Wade (21)
Gobert (35)/Lively (13)

Alrighty, let’s do this.

I’m a big believer in the team I’ve got here. Even at an older age Lebron and Steph is a formidable duo. Lebron’s passing at this stage in his career is terrific, and Steph’s off ball ability plays off of him perfectly. That is the offensive foundation. The defensive foundation is Rudy Gobert- front runner for the DPOY and anchor of the best defense in the NBA this year. His rim protection will be extremely valuable.

My young wing group is terrific both as an offensive and defensive complement to those foundational pieces. Derrick White and NAW both provide defensive cover as wing and POA defenders, and Derrick White really solidified himself as a terrific third or fourth option to an offense here. He can provide supplemental playmaking and terrific shooting to pair extremely well with Steph. Jalen Williams is the x-factor here- he already had near all star level two way impact as a second year player this year, and he does a little bit of everything for this team.

In this matchup, Derrick takes Luka (though that’s a team effort as always). Steph takes KCP, Jalen takes Mikal, Lebron takes Hartenstein, and Rudy of course takes AD.

I like AD/Mikal/KCP with Luka. Where I think the team falls a bit is with Hartenstein as the 5th starter there. Luka functions best with 3 shooters and a roll man so he can spam the spread P/R. AD is a great roll man but has little to no range on his jump shot this season (and has been a far cry from 19-20 since that season in general) and pairing him with Hartenstein (a great hustle player but also a non-ranged one) feels like it’s not the best use of Luka. I get the appeal of Harden off the bench but Ness could have had a chef’s kiss starting lineup with Turner instead.

Overall I think my 5 pronged attack with the best outside shooting in this game (everyone not a center shoots- even Lebron shot 42% on 5 attempts per game) has enough to carry the day here.

Post #3 » by **MadNESS** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 2:37 pm

Write up:
GL Snake

We put spacing and defense around Luka. We’re going to let Luka cook. KCP and Mikal are perfect wings for Luka to work. They can both defend in the pick and roll situations and they can both shoot and play with out the ball. AD is the perfect compliment piece to Luka. A robin to his Batman. He has been a top 10 player all season as well. Watch a Clippers game. Hartenstein is the ultimate hustle glue Guy. He does all the small things. A perfect type of player for Luka. Doesn’t need the ball either. Off the bench we have the best 6th man in the draft. James Harden. He will murder every bench including Snakes. Looney and Connaughton provide rebounding, toughness and hustle off the bench as well.

Over all we let Luka cook with perfect complimentary pieces.

Vs. Snake we will match up like this:

KCP will guard Curry. He has the athleticism to chase him around. Luka will guard White. Luka has shown to be a much better defender when it matters. Look at what he’s done against the Clippers in this first round of the playoffs. Mikal on Jalen Williams and AD on Bron. AD on LeBron is actually a really good cover for him. IH will defend Gobert. I actually think with team defense and one on one match ups, we match up very well.

Who is guarding Harden?

Vote Ness.

Post #4 » by **Fadeaway_J** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 3:07 pm

I find the cores fairly comparable, but I much prefer Snake's fit and depth pieces. Much as AD's last couple of years have been underrated, I think the days of him being a legit PF on either end are over. He's more mobile than most 5s, but no longer the guy you want guarding a wing for extended periods, and his jumper has died a painful death. Connaughton and Looney have fallen off quite a bit over the last couple of years as well, and I don't think Harden meshes well with Luka at all (Kyrie is much better off ball). Conversely NAW, Lively, and Wade aren't big names but they've all been very effective in their roles this season (NAW in particular). White and J-Dub are perfect complements for the LeBron-Steph-Gobert trio.

Vote: Snakebites

Dr Positivity · Post #5 » by **Dr Positivity** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 4:47 pm

I think the advantage in the 3-5 guys for Snake are too much to handle here, and the bench talent advantage is weighed out by Harden/Doncic fit. Vote Snakebites.

wackbone · Post #6 » by **wackbone** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 6:47 pm

Simply put, Snake's starting group is too good. Curry+LeBron is a tremendous duo. Jalen Williams fell like crazy. White and Gobert are elite complimentary pieces.

Vote: Snakebites

Post #7 » by **MadNESS** » Mon Apr 29, 2024 3:41 pm

Good win Snake. Great team.

After I took Harden, I didn't leave myself room to add a quality 4 man and keep AD at the 5. I was hoping Hartenstien could pull me off some magic. Wasn't the case. In a draft like this you can't get cute not taking your starters. Lesson learned.