Put Them Over the Top Draft Round 1: Snakebites vs Dr Positivity

[Snakebites]

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**

...

[Dr Positivity]

I'll wait to see your starting lineup (I'll be going small if you do)

[Snakebites]

Core:

2004 Kevin Garnett 19.6 FGA- MVP, All NBA First, All Defensive First, 10.0 VORP
2004 Sam Cassell 15.7 FGA- All NBA Second
2004 Trenton Hassell 4.7 FGA
2004 Ervin Johnson 3.0 FGA

Wildcards:

1998 Reggie Miller 13.3 FGA- All NBA Third
2021 OG Anunoby 12.1 FGA
2013 George Hill 11.5 FGA
2008 Marcus Camby 8.0 FGA- All Defensive First

Camby 38/Johnson 10
KG 39/OG 9
OG 30/Hassell 10/Miller 8
Miller 30/Hill (18)
Cassell (37)/Hill (11)

Alrighty, let’s do this.

Let’s not beat around the bush here. 2004 Kevin Garnett is the best player in this competition. It’s one of the greatest individual seasons in NBA history in terms of both personal output accomplishment and team impact. He was good at everything. And despite limited depth he lead his team to 58 wins. What was he missing? WINGS who could shoot. Even with limited spacing he formed an elite two man combo with Sam Cassell and lead them to a top 5 offense in the league. With the space I provide them with here they’re going to be deadly.

Oh, and 2004 was also one of the best defensive campaigns for him in league history, with Trenton Hassell being the only other solid defender on the team they still were top 6 defensively.

And now he’s got help. Reggie Miller has a legacy of his own here. The 1998 Pacers were a top 4 offense with Reggie as the best player- he slides in perfectly alongside the KG/Cassell p/r and gives me someone who can take that final shot. OG Anunoby by the chosen season had also expanded beyond the basic 3 and D role to become a legit offensive option who slides in perfectly as a fourth option.

As to the matchup- older Karl Malone was a good post defender but against a hyper-athletic young KG who didn’t need to operate in the low post to be effective offensive KG he’ll face challenges. My offense also has terrific overall spacing and synergy.

Defensively, we match up fairly well overall. While Dr P has a solid overall talent level he doesn’t have a single volume three point shooter on his team. Hornacek has only a couple of seasons where he topped one make per game and this wasn’t one of them. Stock was also a low volume shooter, and so is Turner. Wing shooting in particular will limit the effectiveness of the P/R in a modern setting. This is not a problem my team has. The three most prolific 3 point seasons are all on my team.

I also think KG/Camby gives me a sizable rebounding advantage.

I love Jimmy Butler and don’t doubt he can do his thing here, but he’ll sort of be taking turns with Stockton while not offering as much off-ball value when Stock is running the show.

I do like Dr P’s bench but do believe 2014 George Hill is the most valuable bench piece on either team- this version had a VORP over 4 and average 14 ppg on higher volume three point shooting than anybody on the other team.

Other odds and ends: defensive matchups are position by position straight up. Hornacek has to guard either really good Reggie or far too big OG- neither is ideal.

[Dr Positivity]

PG: John Stockton (1997: 9.3 FGA)
SG: Jeff Hornacek (1997: 10.4 FGA)
SF: Jimmy Butler (2023: 13.9 FGA)
PF: Karl Malone (1997: 19.2 FGA)
C: Myles Turner (2023: 11.8 FGA)

PG/SG: Charlie Ward (2001: 6.1 FGA)
SG/SF: Bryon Russell (1997: 7.7 FGA)
SF/PF: Tayshaun Prince (2004: 8.8 FGA)

87.2 / 88

PG: John Stockton (36) / Charlie Ward (12)
SG: Jeff Hornacek (30) / Charlie Ward (12) / Bryon Russell (6)
SF: Jimmy Butler (38) / Bryon Russell (10)
PF: Karl Malone (20) / Tayshaun Prince (28)
C: Myles Turner (30) / Karl Malone (18)

GL Snakebites

Defensive matchups: Stockton on Cassell, Hornacek on Anunoby, Butler on Miller, Malone on KG, Turner on Camby

We improved two of the Jazz main weaknesses by giving them a closer to help Malone and a great perimeter defender. You can say a ballhandler is not the smoothest fit in the world with Stockton and Malone game, but these guys have high IQ can can play with each other and it makes them a bit less predictable, plus at least 20 minutes of the game will either be Stockton and Malone without Jimmy or Jimmy without Stockton and Malone. The Jazz may have underutilized the 3 but we trust Hornacek (2x 3pt contest winner for what it's worth), Stockton and Russell's range. I’d also point out that Cassell’s 3pt volume also suffers compared to his talent from the system he plays in.

The C spot is a good match up for us here as Camby's shotblocking strengths are nullified guarding Turner at 3pt line, and he's pretty weak imo on D at everything except jumping for blocked shots. On a team with Stockton and with Turner being credible on offense by this point, we can especially take advantage of him by putting him in pick and rolls. Turner can also have a good defensive series not having to leave the rim too much and if Camby wants to take jumpshots we'll let him.

Overall I think Stockton, Butler and Malone can play KG, Cassell and Miller close enough when considering we have a stronger 3rd guy, and then I liked the rest of our team better. In addition to the previously mentioned Turner/Camby matchup and Hornacek's offense being traded for OG's D, the difference is really the bench where Snake had to eat a few 2004 Wolves in Hassell and 36 year old Ervin no Magic Johnson, in particular with Hassell being a non 3pt shooter I don't really see his role on offense here. Our team goes 8th deep as our worst player Russell is still a credible pro as the Jazz starting SF this year and hitting 40% from 3, while Prince and Ward is a nice 3 and D combo. Prince gives us the versatility to guard PFs while Malone plays minutes at C.

[Fadeaway_J]

These teams are well matched and I actually prefer how Snake's offensive core fits together, but Dr P gains some real separation at the 5. Not only am I low on Camby in general relative to his reputation, I think he struggles to deal with Turner as an outside threat given his notorious reluctance to leave the paint. Meanwhile, Johnson is kind of a stiff who I don't see having much success against Malone. Being forced to take him and Hassell isn't great in a draft where pretty much every team has seven or eight good rotation players.

Vote: Dr Positivity

[flaco]

Totally agree with Snake that prime KG is the best player in the draft. Unfortunately, the supporting cast form the Wolves core leaves a lot to be desired. Ervin Johnson is a traffic cone on offense. Trenton Hassell is a SG who can't shoot. It's one thing to have uninspiring role players, it's another thing to have unserviceable players. Snake is basically left with a 6-man roster. At the same time, KG is more of a 2nd option rather than a go-to scorer. As great as he was, the Wolves never had a championship run with KG. He immediately transformed the Celtics into a championship team as soon as he played alongside a reliable 1st option in Pierce. Reggie isn't an ideal go-to scorer either cause he's at his best running off screens. It seems like Snake asks too much from KG. When it comes to shot creation ability, I think Dr P has a clear advantage. Butler is a reliable on-ball creator. Stockton is one of the best facilitators in NBA history. Malone is as good a finisher as KG, if not better. Agreed with Fade that Camby is effective only in a drop scheme. He'd likely be exposed by Turner.

Vote: Dr Positivity

[Snakebites]

Taking OG over Turner in round 2 will haunt me in this one.

I guess I was a little too in love with the idea of getting the best player in the last round, too. It overcame my intial apprehensions about that supporting cast that have proven to be non-starters too.

Yeah, I know it technically isn’t over, but those first two votes felt pretty definitive.

[Square]

I don't disagree much with what Fade and flaco said, and am voting Dr. P here.

Random other comments:

I don't usually love when teams try to add a star wing to the Stockton/Malone combo. Stockton didn't take a lot of shots, but he was very ball-dominant in his own way; he wasn't Lowry or Billups. But Butler is kind of a unique player and it might work out.

I'll also add that even in his last year in the league Malone did a pretty serviceable job guarding peak KG in the playoffs.

[Snakebites]

Dr Positivity Advances