Expanding Era Draft R1 - Dr Positivity vs. flaco*

[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.**

[Dr Positivity]

PG: Lebron James (2017: 18.2 FGA)
SG: Ray Allen (2008: 13.5 FGA)
SF: Andrew Wiggins (2022: 14.0 FGA)
PF: Lamarcus Aldridge (2016: 14.1 FGA)
C: Steven Adams (2016: 5.3 FGA)

PG/SG: George Hill (2011: 8.3 FGA)
SG: Jason Terry (2017: 3.3 FGA)
PF/C: Bobby Portis (2021: 9.1 FGA)

85.8 / 88

PG: Lebron James (28) / George Hill (20)
SG: Ray Allen (36) / Jason Terry (8) / George Hill (4)
SF: Andrew Wiggins (38) / Lebron James (10)
PF: Lamarcus Aldridge (20) / Bobby Portis (28)
C: Steven Adams (30) / Lamarcus Aldrdige (18)

GL flaco

Defensive matchups: Lebron on Mavs Nash, Wiggins on Kobe, Allen on Bowen, Aldridge on Gallinari, Adams on Robinson.

We have a pretty solid mix around Lebron with Allen shooting 3s, Wiggins shooting and cutting and Aldridge playing PNR with him and spacing the floor, while Adams can play a Tristan Thompson/Varejao type role. We'll live with Lebron on less elite version of Nash as I think he has some issues as well like guarding LMA and there is no great option to hide Nash on as Wiggins would still score on him. We have the bench advantage as Spurs Hill isn't far off from Bucks Brogdon and Portis is better than Dudley or McGee. Old Terry can hit open 3s and fits well with Lebron. Overall while has a great top 3 the rest of our team is stronger to make up for it and we have the best player in the series in Lebron.

[flaco]

Best of luck, Dr P!

Rotations
PG: Steve Nash (36) / Malcolm Brogdon (12)
SG: Kobe Bryant (36) / Malcolm Brogdon (12)
SF: Bruce Bowen (36) / Jared Dudley (12)
PF: Danilo Gallinari (36) / Jared Dudley (12)
C: David Robinson (36) / JaVale McGee (12)

Offense
The big 3 of Nash - Kobe - Robinson should provide more than enough firepower. Gallo and Brogdon provide additional shot creation. All players on the roster but D-Rob and McGee are volume 3pt shooters. Even Kobe averaged 36.1% from 3 on 5.1 attempts per game. D-Rob had a lethal face-up game from mid range. He should have great synergy with both Kobe and Nash in the PnP/PnR. We know for a fact Kobe excelled alongside dominant big men. Nash is an elite floor general. He keeps everyone involved, hence he keeps everyone happy. Fwiw, Brogdon made the 50-40-90 club in his selected season. Only 9 players throughout NBA history have made the club, one of them being Steve Nash. Bowen led the league in 3P% in his selected season at 44.1%.

Defense
Bowen and to a lesser extent Kobe share POA duties. I'd argue Bowen is a terrific cover for LeBron, especially on the perimeter. LeBron averaged 25.9% (=15/58) from 3 in the 16 games vs Bowen throughout his career. LeBron was barely a net positive in the 12 regular season games vs Bowen at +0.1. They faced each other in the 2007 Finals. LeBron was a net negative at -1 and finished the series with a TS of 42.8%. Bowen / Kobe fight through the pick. If LeBron forces his way to the basket, Robinson got their back in the paint. Since Adams is a limited scoring threat, Robinson may thrive as a help defender around the basket. He should be able to slow down LeBron's slashing game or LMA's postups. Gallo has the size to contest LMA's mid-range 2. Nash pre-switches and peels off to the corners. All teams have a shooter lurking in the corners. Nash's job is to contest the corner 3. If his opponent attacks him off the dribble, Robinson got his back in the paint.

FGA
2008 Kobe Bryant 20.6
1998 David Robinson 14.6
2003 Steve Nash 13.6
2003 Bruce Bowen 5.8
2017 Danilo Gallinari 11.9
2019 Malcolm Brogdon 11.7
2015 Jared Dudley 5.9
2018 JaVale McGee 3.4

Total: 87.5

[Fadeaway_J]

Hmmm. I probably prefer flaco's team in a vacuum, but this isn't the best matchup for him. Bowen is just too light in the shorts for this interation of LeBron (what happened in 2007 against a faaaaar less polished version isn't relevant here), and there isn't anywhere to hide Nash either. I'm not a massive LMA fan, but Gallo can't handle him at all. A lot of these issues are mitigated by Robinson as a rim protector, but he can't everywhere at once. While I'm not sure how much I buy LeBron chasing a pick-and-roll PG around for a full series, I feel like 20-something minutes of that is more viable than the Nash and Gallo matchups. Even Kobe chasing Allen is suboptimal as he isn't always the most diligent off-ball.

The question then becomes whether flaco's Kobe-Nash-Robinson trio can simply outgun Dr P. He certainly has more perimeter creators, but 2017 LeBron is the best of the lot. Allen, Wiggins, and LMA is a solid supporting cast, and for whatever reservations I have about Portis in general (especially in this large of a role), the man can certainly put the ball in the basket. More than anything though, this comes down to the matchups as I just feel Dr P's strengths align perfectly with flaco's defensive weaknesses.

Vote: Dr Positivity

[Square]

Two good teams. I don't disagree much with Fade's analysis here. I'm skeptical of Bowen slowing Lebron much, but I'm also skeptical of 2017 Lebron guarding Nash full time. Normally you'd expect the team with DRob vs. Aldridge/Adams to have a sizable defensive advantage, but it's difficult to argue that with Nash and Gallo in the starting lineup. I guess I also give a small edge to Dr. P here.

[lilroddyb]

I like the fit on both teams but I think I like the fit slightly more on flaco's team. I think Lamarcus and steven Adams will be in each other way a bit while Kobe and David Robinson should be really dangerous with the spacing around them. Dr P has better depth but not by much but Flaco has more star power

Vote Flaco

[MadNESS]

flaco smokes this Lebron team. Not enough spacing around Lebron, even with Ray Ray. Sorry Dr. P. And I hate Gallo on this team.
flaco is my vote.

[Fadeaway_J]

2-2

[Snakebites]

I prefer Flaco’s team offensively. I don’t think Bowen is a perfect cover for Lebron, but I think that’s an issue of prime Lebron being unguardable and not really an issue with Bowen. He’ll do a decent job relatively speaking- there is no ideal Lebron cover.

Lebron can be beaten by superior talent, and Flaco has that. I don’t love Lebron guarding Nash either. Not having an optimal POA defender to at least spell Lebron there means Lebron has the Herculean task of guarding Nash and carrying the offensive load. It’s a bit much.

Vote Flaco

[Fadeaway_J]

Flaco advances