Shaq Franchises Draft - R2 - durantbird vs Larry_Russell*

[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]

PG: Magic Johnson 86' - 12.8 - MVP (3), All NBA First
SG: Devin Booker 23' - 20.1 - 60% TS, 35% 3, highest playoff ppg
SF: PJ Tucker 22' - 6.0 - 41% 3, East Finalist
PF: Kevin McHale 87' - 17.0 - MVP (5), All NBA First, All Defense First
C: Brook Lopez 18' - 10.7 - 35% 3

Bench: Malcolm Brogdon 23' - 10.9 - 6MOY, 61% TS, 44% 3
Bench: Trevor Ariza 09' - 7.3 - NBA Champ, 48% 3 playoffs
Bench: Chris Andersen 13' - 3.0 - NBA Champ

Rotation:
PG: Magic Johnson 32 / Malcolm Brogdon 16
SG: Devin Booker 38 / Malcolm Brogdon 10
SF: PJ Tucker 16 / Trevor Ariza 25 / Magic Johnson 7
PF: Kevin McHale 32 / PJ Tucker 16
C: Brook Lopez 32 / Chris Andersen 10 / Kevin McHale 6

87.8/88

vs

PG: Hardaway (38) / Shaw (10)
SG: Kobe (38) / Korver (7.5) / Shaw (2.5)
SF: Battier (26) / Odom (14) / Korver (8)
PF: Bosh (28) / Odom (20)
C: Howard (38) / Bosh (10)

Matchup:
- Defensive assignments: Tucker/Ariza vs Kobe, Booker/Brogdon vs Hardaway, Magic vs Battier, McHale vs Bosh, Lopez vs Howard.
- We match up well here. We've got PJ Tucker and Trevor Ariza to disturb Kobe, and Booker/Brogdon/Magic can give him some different looks as well. Booker is a solid enough defender to hold his own against Hardaway, and Brogdon is also a good option to help from the bench. On the other hand, I think Bosh might struggle against peak McHale while Lopez drags Howard out of the paint and out of his comfort zone.
- Our leading trio of Magic, Booker and absolute-peak McHale should work very well together, with Booker and McHale thriving off Magic's passing. Lopez and Brogdon are two very capable fourth and fifth options, specifically with a more offensive oriented Lopez. I think McHale being a very good defender complements Lopez well and playing next to a top notch PF defender can help him thrive defensively as well, similarly to what happened with Giannis - this version of Lopez is also just a year short of his time in the Bucks.
- While Magic can rest in the series defensively against Battier, Kobe is set for a difficult series having to guard Booker while being guarded by Tucker/Ariza.
- Larry has nice depth, but I prefer our 8 men depth, as Shaw is a less than ideal piece with notably low offensive efficiency, this version of Battier also struggled mightly to score in the playoffs, with only 29.5% from 3 and playing limited time. I prefer our version of Ariza, who even though was only starting to develop his 3 form in the RS, boosted his shooting in the playoffs shooting with 48% 3pt shooting accuracy.

[Larry_Russell]

PG: Tim Hardaway (1996-97) 17.1
20.3ppg, 3.5rpg, 8.6apg, 2spg, 34.5% on 7.3-3pta
MVP-4, All NBA 1st, All Star

SG: Kobe Bryant (2007-08) 20.6
28.3ppg, 6.3rpg, 5.4apg, 1.8spg, 0.5bpg, 36% on 5.1-3pta
MVP, DPOY-5, All NBA 1st, All Defense 1st, #1 points, All Star

SF: Shane Battier (2012-13) 5
6.6ppg, 2.3rpg, 1apg, 0.6spg, 0.8spg 43% on 4-3pta

PF: Chris Bosh (2013-14) 12.1
16.2ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.1apg, 1spg, 1bpg, 34% on 3-3pta
All Star

C: Dwight Howard (2009-10) 10.2
18.3ppg, 13.2rpg, 1.8apg, 1spg, 2.8bpg
MVP-4, DPOY, All NBA 1st, All Defense 1st, #1 FG%, RPG, BPG, DWS, DBPM, All Star

PG: Brian Shaw (1999-00) 4.4
4ppg, 3rpg, 2.7apg, 0.5spg

SG/SF: Kyle Korver (2017-18) 6.6
9.2ppg, 2.3rpg, 1.2apg, 0.5spg, 0.5bpg, 43.6% on 5.2-3pta

PF/SF: Lamar Odom (2010-11) 10.9
14.5ppg, 8.7rpg, 3apg, 0.6spg, 0.7bpg, 38.2% on 2.2-3pta
6MOTY

PG: Hardaway (38) / Shaw (10)
SG: Kobe (38) / Korver (7.5) / Shaw (2.5)
SF: Battier (26) / Odom (14) / Korver (8)
PF: Bosh (28) / Odom (20)
C: Howard (38) / Bosh (10)

86.9/88

Lets go with
Hardaway on Tucker (Lets Timmy play the passing lanes which he excels at)

Kobe on Magic (Kobe would want this challenge without doubt. And it doesnt matter if Kobe works hard on both sides of the court or not, he wont give) Kobe is an elite defender and has the speed, size and athleticism to really hinder Magic here.

BAttier on Booker- putting a smart heady defender with great instincts and size on the best offensive weapon on the opposing team who loves to handle and shoot.

Bosh will take on McHale. Bosh in his miami days was a very sound defender who can match the size and speed of McHale down low.

Howard will take on Lopez, Lopez shoots some threes, but I am not too worried about that. 34.5% on 4 a game is not going to kill me here. Howard will stay a step or so back on him when he gets out there so that he can recover to the rim quickly and we are ok with that. Giving Brook some threes is less harmfull to our defensive strategy than leaving the paint unclogged. Howard with his ability to come from behind and protect the rim will be huge in anchoring an elite wing defense.

I think the team fit here isnt ideal offensively, so my defense should match up fantastically as I have a lot of defenders, and some fantastic size.

Offensively I have a team that should really cook.

I have great spacing around a dominate duo of Kobe and Howard. And Timmy and Bosh being my third and 4th guys is a luxury here. Odom as well gets to really be the unique player as my team should maximize those abilities as my 6th man logging minutes at both PF and SF.

Team will score quick off turnovers and misses with Timmy running the point, I have Kobe and Odom who can lead the break, I have an elite rebounder in Howard to secure the board and start it all.
In the half court I have the best scorer here for that in Kobe. I can run him Iso or have either Bosh or Howard run a pick and roll with him. Howard give me a kobe/shaq duo, and Bosh gives me a kobe/pau duo.

then my secondary plays are run off of Timmy and Howard/Bosh pick and rolls.

Battier - 43% 3pt
Korver - 43% 3pt
Odom - 38% 3pt
feast off spreading the floor for the other 4 guys.,

[Fadeaway_J]

Don't love a Magic build with no real POA defender, and Hardaway has the juice to exploit that weakness. Throw in Tucker at the 3 and Lopez at the 5, and the lack of athleticism and mobility seems quite problematic (not to mention pre-Bucks Lopez is not someone I want as my defensive anchor anyway). I also prefer Larry's offensive fit around Kobe.

Vote: Larry_Russell

[parsnips33]

Tend to agree with Fade on DB's lack of athleticism defensively being potentially problematic. I love PJ, but feels like he's being asked to do too much here. With a good build around Kobe, I think Larry's offense should be able to get the job done.

Vote: Larry_Russell

[flaco]

I think Magic is hands down the best player in the series. That said, 36-year-old Tucker being the best POA defender on db's team isn't viable, especially against an uber-explosive PG like Tim Hardaway. Starting 2 drop bigs against a stretch 4 in Bosh isn't helping either. I'd argue 2022 Tucker at SF is far from ideal regardless of matchups. At that point in his career, Tucker was more of a big rather than a wing. Per cleaningtheglass, he played 93% of his minutes at PF and 7% at Center that season.

Vote: Larry_Russell

[durantbird]

Larry advances