West Cross-Era Duos R1 - flaco vs. Larry_Russell*

[Fadeaway_J]

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. Please ensure you give a rationale for your vote; votes with no explanation will not be counted.

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.**

[Larry_Russell]

PG: Steph Curry (2014-15) 16.8
24ppg, 4.3rpg, 7.7apg, 2spg, 44.5% on 8.1-3pta
MVP, NBA-1st, AS

SG: Chris Mullin (1989-90) 16.3
25ppg, 6rpg, 4apg, 1.6spg, 0.6bpg, 37.5% on 3-3pta
NBP-3rd, AS

SF: Scottie Pippen (1998-99) 12.1
14.5ppg, 6.55rpg, 6apg, 2spg, 0.7bpg, 34% on 4.2-3pta
Defense-1st, DPOY-7

PF: Karl Malone (1998-99) 16.3
24ppg, 9.5rpg, 4apg, 1.3spg, 0.6bpg
MVP, NBA-1st, Defense-1st,

C: Rudy Gobert (2020-21) 8.2
14.5ppg, 13.5rpg, 1.5apg, 0.6spg, 2.7bpg
DPOY, MVP-10, NBA-3rd, Defense-1st

PG/SG: Brent Barry (2003-04) 7.2
10.8ppg, 3.5rpg, 5.8apg, 1.4spg, 45.5% on 4.3-3pta

SF/PF: PJ Tucker (2017-18) 5.4
6ppg, 5.6rpg, 1apg, 1spg, 37% on 3.8-3pta

C: Steven Adams (2015-16) 5.3
8ppg, 6.7rpg, 0.8apg, 0.5spg, 1bpg


PG: Curry(38) / Barry (10)
SG: Mullin (38) / Barry (10)
SF: Pippen (38) / Tucker (10)
PF: Malone (38) / Tucker (10)
C: Gobert (40) / Adams (8)

87.6/88

We will defend straight up.
Curry on Payton
Mullin on Klay
Pippen on George
Malone on Batum
Gobert on Shaq

I have a pretty darn good defensive team him with a team changing man in the middle who is perfectly suited to defend shaq. An elite defender with size, mobility and height to contest and make him work

Malone will have Batum, we know batum likes to play outside here, but Karl stay that close. 6 fga from Nic is not going to kill my team here and I would rather have Malone a step away from both nic and the paint so that he can come over to help at times if needed.

Pippen is still a phenominal defender in Houston, and he is tasked with the biggest offfensive threat on their team outside of Shaq.

Mullin plays similar to Klay and will take him on. This is younger, before alcohol and injuries Mullin who was very stout defensively.

Curry will take on Payton.

Tucker, adams and Barry give me great size, power and speed off the bench defensively as well.

Offensively I should really cook. I have Curry both on and off ball scoring with his elite efficiency and spacing. Gobert will run pick and roll with him.

Malone is elite midrange scorer and MVP who can also isolate

Pippen is my secondary playmaker that lets Curry play off the ball.

Mullin is my 3rd/2nd scorer who is also rediculously efficient working off the catch, or in isolation.

We will look to push the pace and run teams into the ground.

[flaco]

Best of luck, Larry!



Rotations
PG: Gary Payton (38) / Alex Caruso (10)
SG: Klay Thompson (38) / Alex Caruso (10)
SF: Paul George (28) / Mario Elie (20)
PF: Nicolas Batum (38) / Paul George (10)
C: Shaquille O'Neal (38) / Bo Outlaw (10)

Offense
The big 4 of Payton-Klay-George-Shaq should complement each other well. Shaq surrounded by 3 lethal shooters should be unguardable. All he needs is an entry pass. Payton and George provide shot creation on the perimeter. Klay and Batum are perfectly happy to play off the ball. I'd argue Larry lacks a POA defender to slow Payton down. If Malone doubles on Shaq, Batum takes the open 3.

Defense
Shaq drops. Gobert cannot force him to step out of his comfort zone, allowing Shaq to provide cover against Malone when rolling to the basket. Payton/Caruso are my POA defenders. They go over / fight through the pick to deny Steph the 3. Wing D should be strong with 7 switchable defenders on the roster. No weak links to attack. All players are plus defenders, to say the least.

FGA
1996 Gary Payton 15.8
2018 Paul George 17.0
2001 Shaquille O'Neal 19.2
2020 Alex Caruso 4.5
2015 Klay Thompson 16.9
1992 Mario Elie 5.4
2021 Nicolas Batum 6.1
1996 Bo Outlaw 3.0

Total: 87.9

[Fadeaway_J]

Flaco's gameplan plan should be simple but effective. Shaq is one of the very rare bigs who can overpower Gobert, so he'll need help which will open things up for the shooters. He also has a considerably stronger defensive perimeter, whereas Pippen will have to do a lot of heavy lifting for Larry. On the other hand, Batum is playing much heavier minutes than I'd like, and he'll be taking a physical battering from Malone. The bench is also quite limited offensively, while Larry's is rock solid all round. Malone, Mullin, and Pippen are all good passers to weaponise Steph's off-ball game. Ultimately, while I love flaco's core four and overall team concept, their combined cost did leave the back half of his roster a bit light in certain areas where Larry is stronger.

Vote: Larry_Russell

[Snakebites]

I’m torn on this one. Pippen is a great defender but he can’t be everywhere, and Mullin and Steph having to guard Klay and Payton is rough.

On the other hand I prefer the overall talent level top to bottom for LR, and the offensive synergy is on point with Steph surrounded by plus playmakers just as he is on successful Warrior teams.

At the end of the day I think the Batum/Malone matchup kind of clinches it for me. Shaq might be able to provide some help but Batum provides so little resistance to Malone that I’m not sure it matters. And Malone’s midrange game remains a threat too.

Tough call, but vote

LR

[durantbird]

I really like flaco's core here. Even if Batum is overused and some downgrades like 20 minutes for this version of Elie, the core is still very good. Shaq will feast with this much spacing, and Larry has some tough matchups.

Vote flaco

[uberhikari]

Shaq + shooting is usually gg's but this is not a good matchup for flaco. 38 minutes for Batum is tough to swallow but Batum on Malone is unconscionable. Shaq is also put in an ironically uncomfortable defensive position considering that Gobert really isn't an offensive threat. Shaq didn't have the highest motor, especially on defense, but here he has to expend energy constantly covering for Batum and he's getting cooked in any Curry/Gobert P&R. I don't see how Shaq can score as much as he needs to and perform all his defensive responsibilities. I also don't think Payton is the best cover for Steph because he was a POA specialist, not an elite off-ball defender. Vote: Larry_Russell

[Fadeaway_J]

Larry advances

[Snakebites]

This is why Shaq is a bit tricky.

Under modern rules what you’d ideally want with him is the type of 4-out setup he’s got here.

But in this games (unlike the real modern NBA) you need to worry about running into Malone/Barkley etc.

There’s a small list of power forwards that fit well with Shaq and don’t leave you vulnerable to that.