Great Lakes Fantasy League Semi-Finals: BdeRegt* v. RexRyan

[Laimbeer]

Do NOT vote or discuss in this thread until BdeRegt and RexRyan have posted their writeups.

The coaches will have 48 hours to post their rotations and write ups. When the write ups are posted. [s]or 48 hours have passed, a 24 hour poll will be posted to determine the winner.

Voting is closed.

[Laimbeer]

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[BdeRegt]

Good luck to RexRyan.

Magic Johnson 38 / Reggie Jackson 10
Jerry Stackhouse 36 / Reggie Jackson 6 / Adrian Dantley 6
Glen Rice 30 / Adrian Dantley 18
Chris Webber 24 / Spencer Haywood 24
Bill Laimbeer 36 / Chris Webber 12

Team Summary:
I have built an absolute offensive juggernaut. It starts with by far the best player available in this draft with the #1 pick in Magic. He will be running the show, getting the team out on the break, setting up for the other scores, and scoring his own. I don't think any other team has close to the offensive potential of my team. Surrounding Magic in the starting line up, I have assembled an elite group of shooters. I can surround a Magic/Webber pick and roll or pop with great shooters in Stackhouse, Glen Rice, and Laimbeer. Webber himself can't extend to the the 3 but has a great mid-range game. This frees up Magic to attack the paint.

My spacing also helps when I go to the bench. Reggie Jackson will mainly be used as a spot up shooter but my 6th and 7th men should never be on anyone's bench. First, Adrian Dantley is one of the most natural scorers basketball has ever seen. He led the league in scoring multiple seasons averaging over 30 a game. Spacing will allow him to attack at his best getting to the basket and FT line. He is coming off the bench to space minutes with Magic so one of them is always on the floor. Spencer Haywood was the MVP and scoring/rebound champ of the ABA as a rookie. He continued this strong performance in the NBA as an All-NBA performer.

Now, I am sure people are going to point to 2 weaknesses on my team, intangibles and defense. For intangibles, I trust any locker room with Magic and Laimbeer that there will be no locker room issues. For defense, Laimbeer was an amazing defensive rebounder which I think is one of the biggest things to cover for a bad defense. Ultimately, we will play match ups and out score everyone else we play.

Match up specific:
I think my team has built a similar team in that it is focused on scoring and not defense. This plays into my strengths especially with Hunter being his only Point Guard. Hunter was a solid player but he can not guard Magic. I am guessing this might force my opponent play Prince with Hill and Gervin. I am still ok with any of them guarding Magic as Magic will get his. Down low, I think Drummond will struggle on the perimeter with Laimbeer and Webber. On the other end, Laimbeer is strong enough to hang in the post. Finally, Gervin and Hill are great players but both have very similar skill sets wanting the ball on offense as slashers and not shooters. I think this is a Wade/LeBron situation where one watches while the other has the ball not adding to each other.

I think I will be able to outscore his team to make up for my defensive deficiencies and take this match up behind Magic.

[RexRyan]

Best of luck to BdeRegt, I think you have a very good team.

George Gervin 32/Lindsay Hunter 18
Dan Majerle 28/George Gervin 6/Grant Hill 14
Grant Hill 24/Tayshaun Prince 24
Rasheed Wallace 20/Zach Randolph 20/Tayshaun Prince 8
Andre Drummond 32/Rasheed Wallace 16

Team Summary:

My team was built to handle every situation and every opponent.

I'll start with defense, as it's needed the most against this opponent. I have Hill, Prince, and Majerle, who first made a name for himself with his defense back in the Olympics, to throw at Magic. All have the size, and considering there's a lot of overlap in their minutes, can switch easily. Hunter guards Jackson. Giving Prince some minutes at the 4 helps the team's athleticism, and Rasheed has guarded everyone 6'6" and up throughout his career. If Laimbeer and Webber turn into spot up shooters, which they would with Magic, it's one and done for their offense. They better make their first shot!

Offense - Hill runs from the point forward position, and Gervin is free to do what he does best - score - when the shot clock runs low. For those who don't know, Gervin was a 4 time NBA scoring champion and a first ballot Hall of Famer. I'll take some Hill/Drummond pick and rolls anyday, and Rasheed's offensive versatility makes the machine run even smoother. Majerle is a 3 point shooting legend, and Hunter's best years were with Hill as point forward. And here's another key - Zach Randolph down low with the second unit. Having a 20/10 guy to anchor the second unit is an added bonus......

This opponent isn't getting easy baskets on the break against my team's athleticism. And when the game slows down, you need defense. I would argue that the top six defensive players out of the sixteen are Hunter, Hill, Majerle, Prince, Wallace, and Laimbeer. Five of them are on my team. As the game slows, I think that's the difference.

[Laimbeer]

Thanks for the write ups.

We'll open it up for discussion and a 24 hour poll to determine the winner.

[Laimbeer]

Wow, tough one. Two loaded teams. I agree that BdeRegt has some defensive shortcomings and Rex has a very solid squad. But Magic and the offensive ability around him tip this to BdeRegt.

[tmorgan]

This would be a fun matchup to watch -- of course, given the player pool, that's not surprising.

Magic is an ideal fit with Webber and Stack and Rice. Laimbeer feels shoehorned it there to cover the defense. Dantley is an odd fit, too... I'm not sure anyone has ever gotten an assist on a Dantley bucket. This team will score like crazy and get abused on the other end in return.

I like the Hill/Gervin squad better, except that they're probably giving minutes to the two worst players in the matchup in Hunter and Prince. I don't much care for Majerle as a starter, either, although Stack is a sieve so he'll score a lot.

I know it's a wasted write up, but I call this a draw. Magic's team has more talent but needs more balance. Ice Man and Hill's team is well built but plays some (relatively speaking) stiffs.

[Pharaoh]

I'll vote Rex because I think Sheed is the difference.

Gervin, Hill, Sheed beat Magic, Webber & Laimbeer IMO

IF BdeRegt had made his line up Magic, Rice, Dantley, Webber, Laimbeer he might have got my vote since you've got bigs spacing the floor for Dantley to pound Hill down low, Rice dropping bombs to space the floor even more and then Magic just picking them apart...

But with my boy Stack at SG for 36 minutes I just don't see the fit since in order to be effective he's gotta take ball outta Magic's hands

[Laimbeer]

BdeRegt advances to the finals.