Two Rings or Less Draft : FINALS uberhikari* vs Laimbeer

[Laimbeer]

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.

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**

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[uberhikari]

PG: 2018 Kyle Lowry: 16-6-7, 7.6 3PA, 39.9 3P%; All-Star
SG: 1996 Penny Hardaway: 22-4-7; All-NBA 1st, MVP(3)
SF: 2020 OG Anunoby: 11 ppg, 3.3 3PA, 39 3P%, 60 TS%
PF: 2003 Rasheed Wallace: 18-7, 4.1 3PA, 35.8 3P%
C: 1993 Hakeem Olajuwon: 26-13-4; All-NBA 1st, All-Defense 1st, MVP(2), DPOY

Bench
SG/SF: 2015 Kyle Korver: 12 ppg, 6 3PA, 49.2 3P%; All-Star
SF/PF: 2021 Robert Covington: 9-7, 5.1 3PA, 37.9 3P%
C: 2014 Steven Adams: 3-4, 54 TS%

Rotations
PG: Kyle Lowry (38) / Penny Hardaway (10)
SG: Penny Hardaway (28) / Kyle Korver (20)
SF: OG Anunoby (34) / Kyle Korver (7) / Robert Covington (7)
PF: Rasheed Wallace (36) / Robert Covington (12)
C: Hakeem Olajuwon (39) / Steven Adams (9)

Matchups: Penny on Stockton; Lowry on Allen; Anunoby on Middleton; Wallace on Horford; Olajuwon on Jokic.

My biggest advantage in this series is Hakeem. If you were building a player to counter Jokic, you'd build Hakeem. On defense, Olajuwon's dynamic athleticism allows him to counter Jokic either in the post, man-to-man or to guard Jokic on the perimeter. Plus, Hakeem was a master at using his hands to clog passing lanes. And, on offense, Hakeem should overwhelm Jokic either in the post, off-the-dribble, or from mid-range. Jokic just doesn't have the physical tools to guard Olajuwon.

On defense, I have good defensive matchups across the board. I don't fear Jokic dragging Hakeem out of the paint because Allen & Middleton don't provide much rim pressure, and I also have Wallace as an additional backstop. Penny's length and athleticism should give Stockton significant problems trying to score or pass. And Lowry is a high IQ defender with great awareness who should stick to Allen as a movement shooter.

On offense, Penny, once again, presents a mismatch. Laimbeer's best bet is Middleton but he is not a great POA defender for an extremely quick, explosive PG. And Anunoby has the athleticism to attack Allen off-the-dribble or be a slasher vs Jokic in the paint.

My offensive strategy is to attack with Penny, OG, & Hakeem early and often on the fastbreak. Hakeem should beat Jokic down the floor fairly often and Allen shouldn't be able to offer much resistance against OG streaking to the basket. And in the halfcourt, it's Hakeem & Penny relentlessly attacking the basket and kicking it out to shooters to stretch the defense.

[Laimbeer]

Nikola Jokic ( 2023 ) 14.8 - Second in MVP; Finals MVP
Al Horford ( 2016 ) 12.8 - All-star; all-NBA votes; all-D votes
Khris Middleton ( 2020 ) 15.5 - All-star; all-NBA votes; all-D votes
Ray Allen ( 2001 ) 16.0 - All-NBA; MVP votes; led league in OWS
John Stockton ( 1995 ) 9.6 - All-NBA; MVP votes; all-D

Mitchell Robinson ( 2023 ) 4.7 - Led league in ORB%; 12.6 rebs & 2.5 blks per 36
Jared Dudley ( 2011 ) 7.7 - Excellent defender, 41.5% on 3.1 3PA
Brent Barry ( 2001 ) 6.0 - Led league with 47.6% on 3.4 3PA

87.9 / 88.0 87.1

Nikola Jokic (38) / Mitchell Robinson (10)
Al Horford (36) / Jared Dudley (12)
Khris Middleton (36) / Brent Barry (4) / Jared Dudley (6)
Ray Allen (38) / Brent Barry (10)
John Stockton (38) / Brent Barry (10)

Good luck, uber

Our offense will hum around Joker. The surrounding cast all provide space (Horford established himself as a three point shooter that season). Allen and Mids are great secondary scoring options and will thrive off that passing. Each of our starters got all-NBA votes. These are prime versions of Allen and Horford, not always seen. Penny will have some trouble with Stockton's quickness and prime Allen has a smaller defender to shoot over in Lowry.

Horford in his athletic prime is a good cover for Hakeem. He's smart and disciplined, less likely to go for the fakes and spins. Smaller, smart defenders like Rodman and Mason often gave him problems. Joker has Wallace, Stockton on Lowry, Allen on OG and Mids on Penny. Mids is a long, mobile defender who should slow Penny. The Penny/Hakeem synergy is not great. Penny isn't a great floor spacer needs the ball to be more effective. I'm also not seeing how he and Lowry, basically two point guards, bring out the best in one another.

Bottom line, their offense makes less sense, their fit is not quite as good, and Hakeem is carrying a load on both ends.

[Fadeaway_J]

Uber's writeup mirrors a lot of my thoughts. I've often said Hakeem is probably the best guy I could conceive of to defend Jokic; by no means do I view Jokic as someone you can shut down, but Hakeem should be able to deal with his varied arsenal without being dragged out of his comfort zone and forcing the rest of the team into scramble mode. I also don't see the required athleticism among Laimbeer's perimeter group to contain Penny. While I certainly see the reasoning in switching Jokic off Hakeem, Sheed presents his own set of problems as a willing and able outside shooter who can also do some damage in the post. Penny/Lowry seems like a perfectly good fit to me as well given their respective skill sets; in fact, Jokic/Stockton (essentially both PGs as well) are more redundant.

Vote: uberhikari

[Laimbeer]

Votes please.

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[Snakebites]

This one is tough. I actually think Laimbeer’s team would a better record against common opponents- he’s got a better offense that hums around Jokic as he puts it.

I think I buy Ubers argument though. Hakeem is probably the best possible cover to Jokic, and Stock can’t guard Penny. I’m, to be honest, less worried about Stockton being a threat the other way- I want the offense running through Jokic, not Stock, and Stock isn’t enough of a scoring threat to concern me in that way.

Vote Uber

[Square]

I vote Uber as well, without much more to add. Just think defensively he has enough answers, and even if the offense is not quite as high-level there are some solid matchups.

[Laimbeer]

Congrats, Uber!

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