East Cross Era Duos - R2 - uberhikari vs durantbird*

[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: James Harden 21' - 16.7
SG: Danny Green 21' - 7.9
SF: Julius Erving 82' - 17.6
PF: Kevin Garnett 08' - 13.9
C: Al Horford 18' - 10.5

Bench: Mo Cheeks 81' - 7.2
Bench: Robert Covington 18' - 10.5
Bench: Rick Mahorn 93' - 3.0

Rotation:
PG: James Harden 24 / Mo Cheeks 24
SG: Danny Green 24 / James Harden 14 / Robert Covington 10
SF: Julius Erving 38 / Robert Covington 10
PF: Kevin Garnett 36 / Robert Covington 12
C: Al Horford 38 / Rick Mahorn 8 / Kevin Garnett 2

87.3/88

vs

PG: Jason Kidd (39) / Spencer Dinwiddie (9)
SG: Sidney Moncrief (39) / Spencer Dinwiddie (9)
SF: Jayson Tatum (38) / Toni Kukoc (10)
PF: Kevin McHale (32) / Toni Kukoc (16)
C: Brook Lopez (34) / Kevin McHale (6) / Andre Drummond (8)

Matchup:
- Defensive assignments: Harden/Cheeks vs Kidd, Erving vs Moncrief, Green/RoCo vs Tatum, Garnett vs McHale, Horford vs Lopez.
- We match up pretty well here. We got a pretty well rounded set of wing defenders in Green/RoCo/Erving to put up fight defensively against Tatum. Garnett is being tasked with guarding McHale which allows him to stay closer to the basket and be effective against Kidd/Moncreif/Tatum's slashing. Our frontcourt duo operates very much further from the basket, which will force Lopez out of his comfort zone, and out center is even more of a reliable shooter than theirs.
- Our clear advantage here is having better top end talent and more reliable offensive producers. Harden/Erving/Garnett is a superb leading trio who all complement each other very well, with Horford as a great fourth option. On the other side Tatum is their best offensive option, but using Tatum 20' hurts as he's not the same level of player as he became afterwards. Tatum is also their best defender against Erving, which will take its toll. Our supporting cast also provides better spacing to keep our offense flowing.
- While they have nice depth with Kukoc as 6th guy, we have a great bench as well with the Cheeks-Covington combo, and we have better overall depth 1 to 7, combined with better top end talent, plus Mahorn who brings hustle and assertive defense.

[uberhikari]

PG: 2005 Jason Kidd: 14-7-8, 5.4 3PA, 36 3P%; All-Defense 2nd
SG: 1984 Sidney Moncrief: 21-5-7; All-NBA 2nd, All-Defense 1st, DPOY
SF: 2020 Jayson Tatum: 23 ppg, 7.1 3PA, 40.3 3P%; All-NBA 3rd
PF: 1988 Kevin McHale: 23-8, 65.6 TS%; All-Defense 1st
C: 2021 Brook Lopez: 12 ppg, 4 3PA, 33.8 3P%

Bench
PG/SG: 2017 Spencer Dinwiddie: 7-3-3, 1.7 3PA, 37.6 3P%
SF/PF: 1996 Toni Kukoc: 13-4-4, 2.7 3PA, 40.3 3P%; 6MOY
C: 2023 Andre Drummond: 6-7, 60.6 TS%

Rotations
PG: Jason Kidd (39) / Spencer Dinwiddie (9)
SG: Sidney Moncrief (39) / Spencer Dinwiddie (9)
SF: Jayson Tatum (38) / Toni Kukoc (10)
PF: Kevin McHale (32) / Toni Kukoc (16)
C: Brook Lopez (34) / Kevin McHale (6) / Andre Drummond (8)

Matchups: Kidd on Harden; Moncrief on Green; Tatum on Erving; McHale on Garnett; Lopez on Horford.

On defense, my job is made much easier because of the version of the players on durantbird's team. Despite the names, the disparity in top-end talent isn't as big as it first appears. Hamstring Harden and '08 KG, whose primary value comes from defense rather than offense, are not potent offensive threats.

21 Harden was injured in the post-season and has continued to disappear in the playoffs every year since he left Houston. When KG went up against the Pau/Odom frontline in the NBA Finals vs the Lakers he averaged 18 ppg on 47 TS%; here he's facing McHale/Lopez. Tatum should also be able to handle Erving given that he has to carry the scoring burden while having to chase around Squid on defense.

On offense, I don't buy Green and Erving as great defenders in this specific matchup. By the 2020 playoffs with the Lakers it was clear that Green was cooked as an elite defender. He got obliterated by Butler and was useless against Murray (LeBron had to switch onto him in the critical moments). And 31 y/o Erving doesn't have the lateral quickness or footspeed to stay with a speedster like Moncrief.

Overall, the strategy is simple: push the pace. Kidd w/ weapons should always be deadly in transition and on the break.

[Fadeaway_J]

I prefer Doc/KG/Harden as lead scorers compared to Tatum/McHale/Moncrief. While I feel like current Tatum's flaws can be overblown, the 2020 iteration is a meaningful step down as a #1 option, and it's not like there's incredible spacing around him to compensate. Also think the passing and shooting from the big positions is a nice bonus that can help grease the wheels in the halfcourt for durantbird.

Vote: durantbird

[Larry_Russell]

I agree with Fade here, but will also add that with Tatum being pre-prime, imo, and also Kidd on the trend of a decline in skill it gets shown the gap in talent a bit more.

Kidd on decline
Tatum Close to peak, but not there
McHale peak

versus

HArden - close to peak
Dr J - peak, top 3 mvp, mvp season prior
KG - Peak

Vote durantbird

[Dr Positivity]

I agree the Tatum downgrade is hard to get away with when he's already overcast in this pool as a lead guy, and Kidd will have to play a halfcourt game with McHale/Lopez. KG/Erving/Harden is pretty solid big 3. Vote durantbird.

[durantbird]

durantbird advances