Doc Rivers Draft CHAMPIONSHIP - durantbird vs. Snakebites**

[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 wins the championship.**

[durantbird]

PG: Damian Lillard 19' - 19.2
SG: Reggie Bullock 23' - 6.0
SF: Paul George 14' - 17.0
PF: Horace Grant 92' - 9.8
C: Joel Embiid 21' - 17.6

Bench: Ron Harper 97' - 5.3
Bench: Paul Millsap 20' - 8.6
Bench: Keith Bogans 11' - 3.7

Rotation:
PG: Damian Lillard 38 / Ron Harper 10
SG: Reggie Bullock 28 / Ron Harper 18 / Paul George 2
SF: Paul George 37 / Keith Bogans 11
PF: Horace Grant 22 / Paul Millsap 26
C: Joel Embiid 38 / Horace Grant 10

87.2/88

vs

Beverley (32)/Harden (16)
Harden (23)/Redick (25)
Leonard (39)/Posey (9)
Posey (25)/Oakley (23)
Moses (39)/Dedmon (9)

Matchup:
- Defensive assignments straight up. We benefit from the fact that Moses might struggle to defend in space against Embiid, and Posey having to guard a big player like Grant and not being to help on the perimeter.
- We match up well here. Embiid, George and Bullock are good answers to Moses, Kawhi and Harden, and Harper-Bogans are gonna have important minutes on Harden as well.
- Top trio is pretty comparable, but I think our total deepness is better. While Snake has a respectable bench, I think Horace Grant is the more fitting option for a fourth guy after the leading trio, as he played the role of a third guy successfully in several seasons and PS, while Posey was a role player most of his career. Horace-Millsap might actually be the best two options after the trios, even with Denver Millsap who was highly effective. I also like the fit of our leading trio a little bit more.

[Snakebites]

PG: Patrick Beverley 16-17 (All Defensive 2nd) 8.1 FGA
SG: James Harden 17-18 (MVP) 20.1 FGA
SF: Kawhi Leonard 16-17 (All NBA, Defensive First) 17.7 FGA
PF: James Posey 03-04 9.4 FGA
C: Moses Malone 82-83 (MVP, Finals MVP) 16.7 FGA

B: JJ Reddick 09-10 6.7 FGA
B: Charles Oakley 91-92 4.9 FGA
B: Dewayne Dedmon 21-22 4.3 FGA

Beverley (32)/Harden (16)
Harden (23)/Reddick (25)
Leonard (39)/Posey (9)
Posey (25)/Oakley (23)
Moses (39)/Dedmon (9)

Just a few points here:

1) Durantbird does not have a defender for my primary ball handler. Reggie Bullock is not an elite defender nor is he really a guy you put on your primary ball handler. To me this is the most stand-out matchup of the series.
2) By contrast we can put prime Pat Bev on Damian Lillard and Kawhi on Paul George (they guard each other, but Kawhi is better).

We have the best ball handler in the series in Harden and the best go-to scorer in the series in Kawhi Leonard.

I agree that Moses will have trouble defending in space, but this is undermined slightly by the fact that Embiid is paired with a guy who focuses his scoring in the paint in Horace Grant- it isn't THAT much space. I think that once again Embiid is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting here as the first option scorer and the primary defender to a guy in Moses who will be very active, has great spacing around him, and was notoriously good at drawing fouls. Joel Embiid will have trouble playing 38 minutes as well.

I think my big three is preferable- I don't think there is really large gap between Harden/Moses and Lillard/Embiid, and I vastly prefer Kawhi Leonard to 2014 Paul George (who isn't a go-to scorer- only time he was close to that would be in OKC), and I don't think there's enough separation in the supporting cast- his bench isn't remarkable either and the 4/5 starters are pretty comparable with Bullock being the worst starter on either team by a decent margin.

[Dr Positivity]

I like Snake's big 3 more as I see the gap between Embiid and Moses as quite a bit less than Harden/Kawhi vs Lillard/George with some of Embiid's playoff struggles so far as a top guy. Grant is the best 4th guy but having to guard Posey at 3pt line is not best matchup for him. I like durantbird's bench more but not by enough. Vote Snakebites.

[Fadeaway_J]

Another clash of elite big threes. I agree that Snake's is stronger in a vacuum, and I'm not sure how much better durantbird's fit is considering Embiid's style of play (he's more skilled than Moses but also more of ball-pounder). I like Grant as a fourth option, but Bullock still sticks out to me as a pretty weak starter. I just don't think durantbird's starting lineup has enough defensive horses to deal with the dual threat of Kawhi and Harden, and his better options off the bench are too offensively limited.

Vote: Snakebites

[Larry_Russell]

Great matchup for Snake here with the str and weaknesses in the right spot.

Much better wing rotation and a greqat bigman down low forcing Embiid to bang a bunch.

Vote Snakebites.

[durantbird]

GG Snakebites.

I almost took Moses in PF alongside Lillard, George and Embiid. Probably should have. The fact that Moses kept falling sealed it.

[Snakebites]

I sorta lucked into Moses- he wasn’t part of the initial plan. Passing on him in rounds 3/4 wasn’t some 4D chess move- I wasn’t planning on picking him- he’s someone I usually avoid. Waiting on a center in general was deliberate (I was pretty sure nobody else needed one) I just didn’t know at the time it would be Moses. Posey and Pat Bev were necessary role players for a Harden team and I knew the 3/D pool wouldn’t last until my next pick.

I was speaking to someone who mentioned him to me though, and I realized that

A) I’d need a third star to compete
B) Moses fit decently with what I had actually

Harden was also something of a drop- you pick Kawhi because he fits with everyone so you can snag those drops. The winner of these pretty much always gets a drop or two.

Glad to get a win here.

GG