LeBron James Playoff Opponents Draft Play-In #2 - MadNESS* 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 advances.**

[MadNESS]

PG: Jamal Murray (39) | Antonio Daniels (9)
SG: Jimmy Butler (39) | Tony Snell (9)
SF: Kevin Durant (38) | Peja Stojaković (10)
PF: Peja Stojaković (26) | Amaré Stoudemire (22)
Cc: Draymond Green (34) | Amaré Stoudemire (14)

16’-17’ Kevin Durant - 16.5 FGA
19’-20’ Jimmy Butler - 13.1 FGA
16’-17’ Draymond Green - 8.6 FGA
03’-04’ Peja Stojaković - 14.4 FGA
22’-23’ Jamal Murray - 16.0 FGA
06’-07’ Amaré Stoudemire - 12.9 FGA
08’-09’ Antonio Daniels - 3.2 FGA
21’-22’ Tony Snell - 3.2 FGA

Total: 87.9 | 88.0



Write up:

My team has a ton of guys who can do it all. We are stacked in the top 6. We will always have 4 studs on the floor. Elite spacing with Murray, KD, Peja, Green. Elite defense with Butler, KD, Green, Daniels, Snell. Elite shot making ability. We can half court, we can fast break. Plan to pick apart the mis matches where ever they show up with pick and rolls and pick and pops. This series and anny series. All depends on match up’s.

In this match up we would look for Peja to dominate the most. With Posey and Diaw on him, we think we can take advantage of that matchup. Murray should also favor well against Lowry, and should Jimmy Buckets with Harden on him (most likely).

GL Snake, feel like we’ve been matching up more and more

Plan to play straight up on defense.

Butler will check Harden, keep him under wraps.
KD will guard Kawhi
Peja on Posey, Green on JJJ, Murray on Lowry

I feel like with Harden being guarded by Butler that takes away a lot of what Snake wants to do.

Amare off the bench is just plain nasty.

Feel like Kawhi will be forced to stay glued to KD freeing up others to contribute.

Vote Ness because this team is just too loaded.

[Snakebites]

Kawhi Leonard 16-17 17.7 FGA
James Harden 17-18 20.1 FGA
Kyle Lowry 17-18 12.1 FGA
Jaren Jackson 22-23 13.0 FGA
James Posey 03-04 9.4 FGA
Andrew Bogut 15-16 4.0 FGA
JJ Redick 09-10 6.7 FGA
Boris Diaw 12-13 4.4 FGA

Total: 87.4/88 FGA

Lowry (37)/Harden (11)
Harden (27)/Redick (21)
Leonard (38)/Posey (10)
Posey (24)/Diaw (24)
JJJ (30)/Bogut (18)

Alrighty, lets do this.

These teams have a lot of similarities. Both tend to run more small ball offenses with great perimeters. I think my team is just a bit more well spaced, and I've got better high end talent that should carry me here.

My team runs a true 5 out offense- everyone starting has 3 point shooting ability. While Ness's team has a similar "small ball" feel to it he's also got Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green- two non-shooters from three point range, and I think this makes his team slightly easier to guard. This plays well into my team, which despite its size has terrific rim protection on the floor at all times between JJJ and Bogut. Meanwhile my team has shooters at every starting position (indeed, everyone on my team but Bogut is a three point shooter) which makes doubling anyone a punishing proposition, which is rough given I've got Kawhi and Harden. I also think asking KD to guard Kawhi AND be the number one option in this offense is asking a lot.

Amare off the bench is an interesting card to play but those versions of Snell and Daniels shouldn't be rotation players at this level. I greatly prefer a balanced bench that includes strong role players. Redick, Diaw and Bogut all warrant the minutes they're getting on my team IMO.

Defensive assignments: We boast an extremely switchable team. Posey, Kawhi, and Lowry are all strong and versatile on the perimeter, Harden has size working in his favor, and JJJ is a terrific modern big man. But those initial matchups are Lowry on Murray, Harden on Jimmy, Kawhi on Durant, Posey on Peja, and of course JJJ on Dray. Dray's offensive role is dubious here given all three of Ness's perimeter guys like the ball in their hands.

[Dr Positivity]

I feel Peja, Draymond and Amare vs JJJ, Posey, Diaw Bogut is a pretty significant talent advantage in the frontcourt that I don't know if the perimeters make up for, and ultimately while Murray/Butler/Durant could be a bit stagnant so could Harden and Kawhi. The 7th and 8th man is an advantage for Snake but I think I'll go with MadNESS overall. Vote MadNESS.

[Fadeaway_J]

While Ness has more star power, Snake's group is greater than the sum of its parts due to coherent team theory with everyone slotted into the right roles. With Ness, there are elements I think work well (Murray/Peja playing off of Draymond chief among them) and others I'm not so sure about (how well Murray complements KD and Jimmy, Amar'e without a great pick-and-roll operator). Also seems like having that many weak defenders playing big minutes is something a Harden team can definitely exploit. Even at 9 minutes apiece, Snell and old Daniels as rotation players is pretty damaging.

Vote: Snakebites

[wackbone]

Snake's offense makes a bit more sense to me, I think he has fewer defensive concerns, better spacing, and Ness's 7th and 8th guys aren't great.

Vote: Snake

[Larry_Russell]

I agree with Dr P here.

I think there is a pretty great fitting team here.

Vote Ness

[uberhikari]

This is actually a situation where I can Harden going off. With JJJ being a legitimate 3pt option and Draymond being the only rim protector on the whole team, Harden should feast in the paint. The problem is that I think MadNESS just has too much firepower even with Snell and Daniels. MadNESS has no less than 4 players who could just go supernova at any time. I don't see how Snake can keep up on offense with Posey and Diaw playing significant minutes. Plus, Draymond is an elite passer with Butler/KD being competent so the offense should be fairly fluid. Vote: MadNESS

[Snakebites]

Bah. Liked this team. Thought I did a good job with it.

Oh well.

[Fadeaway_J]

Ness advances