Shaq Franchises Draft - Playin #1 - flaco* vs Laimbeer

[durantbird]

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 wins the championship**

[durantbird]

Please make sure to fix your lineup before the matchup starts

[Laimbeer]

Shaquille O'Neal ( 2000 ) 21.1 - Voted peak season (RealGM PC forum)
Jonathan Isaac ( 2019 ) 8.1 - Elite D, 32.3% on 3.5 3PA
Jaylen Brown ( 2018 ) 11.5 - DPOY (10), 39.5% on 4.4 3PA
Raja Bell ( 2008 ) 10.0 - All-D, 40.1% on 5.9 3PA
Anfernee Hardaway ( 1996 ) 14.8 - Third in MVP

Kelly Olynyk ( 2020 ) 5.9 - 40.6% on 3.5 3PA. .135 WS/48
James Posey ( 2008 ) 5.6 - 43.5% on 3.0 3PA, World Champ
Terry Porter ( 1999 ) 7.4 - 41.1% on 2.8 3PA, .178 WS/48

84.4 / 88.0

Shaquille O'Neal (38) / Kelly Olynyk (10)
Jonathan Isaac (36) / Kelly Olynyk (6) / James Posey (6)
Jaylen Brown (36) / James Posey (12)
Raja Bell (36) / James Posey (12)
Anfernee Hardaway (38) / Terry Porter (10)

Good luck, flaco.

Shaq and Penny are surrounded by a ton of shooting here. Amare is really not the guy to be matching up with Shaq and we'll be taking advantage of Nash no matter where he lands. Bell was more than a spot of shooter.

We've got pretty good answers on D - Shaq/Amare, Isaac/Cliffy, Brown/TMac, Penny/Bridges, Bell/Nash. Bell is skilled enough to help puch back against the P&R while Shaq (All-D second team) was probably as his peak defensively.

Our bench probably has a bit of an edge with their having watered-down versions of Wallace and Bowen.

[flaco]

Best of luck, Laimbeer!



Rotation
PG: Steve Nash (36) / Alex Caruso (12)
SG: Mikal Bridges (36) / Alex Caruso (12)
SF: Tracy McGrady (24) / Bruce Bowen (24)
PF: Clifford Robinson (36) / Tracy McGrady (12)
C: Amar'e Stoudemire (36) / Ben Wallace (12)

Offense
We play at breakneck pace. The plan is to run Shaq off the floor by a) initiating offense before the D is set around him and b) forcing him to defend in space. Shaq was a reliable rim protector, but was never asked to defend in space. Option #1 is the Nash-Amar'e PnR. Option #2 is T-Mac creating shots either for himself or for his teammates. He was an underrated passer, especially for a 6'8'' Forward. MVP Nash and prime Amar'e should be unguardable. We know for a fact they had perfect synergy. I'd argue Nash is the best PnR ball handler of all time. He was a truly elite shooter, facilitator and ball handler. No other player in the modern era has ever reached elite level at all these 3 skills. Cliffy and Bridges are mostly used as floor spacers, but can put the ball on the floor and create their own shot if necessary. Cliffy is a former all-star who averaged 18.5 points/game in his selected season on 56.4 TS%.

Defense
Amar'e drops. Cliffy risks the 3 from Isaac (32.3%) to double on Shaq. He made the all-defensive 2nd team in his selected season and ranked 8th in the DPOY voting. At 6'10'', he had the size to provide cover against Centers. Nash pre-switches and peels off to the corner. All teams have an off-ball specialist lurking in the corners. I'd expect Bell to be that guy on Laimbeer's team. Bridges and Caruso are my POA defenders. They go under the pick against Penny since he was an unreliable 3pt shooter. Wing D should be strong with 6 switchable defenders on the roster including 6'5'' Caruso and 6'9'' Ben Wallace who can comfortably switch ball screens on the perimeter. Having 3 defensive specialists coming off the bench should provide extra defensive toughness.

The Amar'e-Shaq mismatch works both ways cause Shaq isn't mobile enough to defend in space. The advanced stats suggest they were equally efficient. Shaq is a monster 1-on-1, but PnR is hands down the most lethal team move in basketball. With the right players, it becomes an unstoppable move. I'd argue I have exactly the type of players to attack Shaq's defensive weakness.




FGA
2005 Steve Nash 11.4
2003 Tracy McGrady 24.2
2021 Mikal Bridges 9.3
2020 Alex Caruso 4.5
2007 Amar'e Stoudemire 12.9
2000 Clifford Robinson 14.3
2001 Bruce Bowen 7.1
2000 Ben Wallace 4.1

Total: 87.8

[Fadeaway_J]

Both teams have some defensive matchup issues with Shaq defending the Nash-Amar'e spread pick-and-roll and Amar'e guarding Shaq in the post. However, flaco has much stronger supporting pieces around his stars; in particular, second-year Isaac was not yet an elite defender, and definitely not good enough to offset his offensive limitations. Without another quality creator to supplement Penny, I don't see that starting five keeping pace with flaco's. I prefer Laimbeer's bench but not by enough to change the outcome.

Vote: flaco

[Larry_Russell]

Both teams have matchup problems, question is which one causes more harm to the opposing team?

Penny and Shaq will abuse Nash and Amare defensively, but I think that Nash and Amare will be tough the other way too.

I thinkt he real difference his is with the surrounding pieces.
Brown and Isaac are not at peak levels here (to date in their careers) Brown was starting there, but wasnt a complete playerr yet and had some pretty big holes and I think that McGrady exposes that bigtime here.

Vote Flaco

[durantbird]

I like Issac but I don't like using him for 36 minutes. I also think his best seasons are the ones he missed too many games to be eligible.

The Amar'e-Shaq matchup seems pretty obviously favored for Laimbeer, but having Cliffy being able to help mitigates the Shaq concern.

Overall flaco has the deeper and more well rounded team.

Vote flaco

[durantbird]

flaco advances