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).
Matchup: - Defensive assignments: Harden vs Beverley, EJ vs Doncic, Posey vs Peja, Rashard vs Battier, Duncan vs Davis. - We match up pretty nicely here. We have great answers for their team, with EJ as an ideal Luka defender with Posey/Livingston to give him different looks, and Duncan/Bogut for Davis. We have the tools to greatly disrupt their offensive flow. On the other hand, we have a pretty dangerous offensive group, and it'll be difficult to hide both Luka and Peja. We are pretty comfortable with Harden guarding either Beverley/Ariza/Reaves. - I really like our fit and chemistry with the two man game of Harden/Duncan as two reigning MVPs, and some serious depth alongside them. - Both builds are more or less similar, but I think Harden/Duncan > Luka/Davis, especially considering proven playoff success. While Peja is a good third option, we got the better depth with EJ/Lewis/Hedo as 3-5 offensive options, so this makes us much less stoppable. On the other hand, Fade is starting two 3 and Ds.
Anthony Davis - 17.7 Luka Doncic - 20.5 Shane Battier - 5.9 Peja Stojakovic - 17.1 Patrick Beverley - 6.1 Austin Reaves - 7.7 Trevor Ariza - 9.7 Marcin Gortat - 3.0
Total: 87.7/88.0
You know the drill by now: spread pick-and-roll with Luka-AD, shooting everywhere, yadda yadda yadda. Peja is the perfect third option. Strong perimeter defenders in Battier, Bev, and Ariza backed up by AD in the middle.
Matchup - We'll start off with Battier on Harden, Bev on Jones, Luka on Posey, Peja on Rashard, and AD on Duncan. Battier and AD should be able to handle the Harden-Duncan two-man game as well as can reasonably be expected. AD will show high to give Battier enough time to get around the screen and get back in contact with Harden. Ariza will also see time on Harden over the course of the series. - Luka vs. Harden is a worthwhile debate, but Luka has two major advantages here. First, Jones just doesn't have the size and strength that is absolutely necessary to stop Luka from getting where he wants to go, while Battier/Ariza is a more viable combo to throw at Harden. Second, Luka has proven time and again that he can get to a level that Harden rarely touches in the playoffs, even against elite defenders like PG and Mikal Bridges. - We will go at Duncan with spread pick-and-roll involving Luka and AD. Duncan is an amazing defender in a lot of ways, but as Nash and Amar'e showed in 2005, dealing with that kind of action is far from his speciality. Given that both teams are going to rely on this approach, AD's superiority over Duncan both as a roll man and defending in space is a key trump card for us. - Regarding the supporting casts, Peja is leaps and bounds ahead of Jones as a third option, and 2010 is when Rashard first dropped below All-Star level. Reaves and Turkoglu are comparable in the chosen seasons. In any case, I think having a third All-NBA level player who exerts his own considerable gravity is more valuable than the difference between Rashard and Battier or whoever.
I like both teams a lot. Spread PnR is the most efficient team play in the modern NBA.
Game plan is practically identical for both teams. It all comes down to talent. I think db has one more wing scorer in EJ+Lewis compared to Peja+3&D in Battier. I also like Timmy+Harden a bit more than Luka+AD, mostly because I'm sky high on Timmy.
03 Timmy should dominate both sides of his matchup with AD, especially since I don't like AD as a low-post defender. And while I don't think EJ is an ideal defender for Luka because of the size difference, he should be good enough. The problem I have is that I just don't trust Harden in these games, however, I think the offensive depth of EJ, Rashard, and Hedo is enough to squeak by. Vote: durantbird
Have to echo flaco here. Two teams very relaint on a big/point combination. Luka and Harden are close enough but I'd prefer this version of Duncan over AD. There's also a bit more juice on the balance of DB's starters.
