Infrequent Finalist Franchises - CHAMPIONSHIP - flaco vs durantbird**

[durantbird]

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. Once the writeups are posted, I will add a poll, and the team with the most votes after 24 hours will advance. EACH MANAGER SHOULD ALSO VOTE FOR THEIR OWN TEAM IN THE POLL - IF YOU FAIL TO DO THIS, YOU ARE SIMPLY GIVING AWAY A VOTE. If the votes are tied, we will decide the matchup via AI vote.

You are not required to state or explain your vote, but you are free to comment in the thread if you want to.

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).

[durantbird]

PG: Oscar Robertson 63' - 16.9 with multiplier
SG: Jrue Holiday 21' - 13.9
SF: Rashard Lewis 09' - 13.8
PF: Scottie Pippen 01' - 9.3
C: Shaquille O'Neal 95' - 20.2

Bench: Royce O'Neale 19' - 4.2
Bench: Jared Dudley 10' - 6.0
Bench: Bismack Biyombo 16' - 3.5

Rotation:
PG: Oscar Robertson 38 / Jrue Holiday 10
SG: Jrue Holiday 28 / Royce O'Neale 20
SF: Rashard Lewis 28 / Jared Dudley 20
PF: Scottie Pippen 38 / Rashard Lewis 10
C: Shaquille O'Neal 38 / Bismack Biyombo 10

87.8/88

Matchup
- Defensive assignments: Holiday vs Paul, Oscar vs Green, Lewis vs George, Pippen vs Giannis, Shaq vs Porzingis.
- We've got several good options to throw at Giannis, like Pippen, Lewis who can guard him on occasions having Pippen available for George, Dudley and Shaq/Biyombo protecting the rim. Portland Pippen is bulkier than earlier versions, and I think his quickness, versatility and size can make Giannis work hard. I consider Dallas Porzingis as a significant downgrade, and I think Giannis/Porzi is a bit of small frontcourt against Shaq, making the task of containing him for flaco the biggest mismatch in the series. Holiday is as good as you get for guarding Paul, and we'll also try him on George for stretches.
- We've got prime Oscar and peak Orlando Shaq, thus having at least two of the three best players in the series, if not the two best players. With nice and fitting supporting cast, good defensive versatility, their defense against Shaq, this will be enough to get the W.

[flaco]

Best of luck, db!



Rotations
PG: Chris Paul (36) / Antonio Daniels (12)
SG: Danny Green (24) / Mario Elie (24)
SF: Paul George (36) / Danny Green (12)
PF: Giannis (24) / P.J. Tucker (24)
C: Kristaps Porzingis (36) / Giannis (12)

Offense
Giannis surrounded by 4 volume 3pt shooters is unguardable. If the defense collapses, Giannis finds the open shooter on the perimeter. If they close out on Zinger, Giannis wreaks havoc 1-on-1 in the paint. CP3-Zinger running the PnP are equally unstoppable, especially since Shaq is effective only in a drop scheme. Porzingis would be shooting uncontested 3s all series long. PG13 is the ultimate complementary star. Fits with everybody without needing the ball in his hands to maximize his effectiveness. Would expect him to have a big impact attacking the Rashard Lewis mismatch. This is peak George in terms of athleticism, right before he broke his leg in the offseason with team USA. Pre-injury George was an uber explosive wing and a legit 3 level scorer. Led the Pacers to back-to-back ECF losing to peak LeBron. It's a massive luxury to use him in a complementary role on offense.



Defense
All players on the roster are plus defenders, at the very least. Giannis-Zinger complement each other in the front court. Giannis is a mobile defender while Zinger is a terrific rim protector. They should give Shaq a run for his money. Zinger drops. Shaq cannot force him to step outside his comfort zone. The presence of Pippen allows us to risk the 3 in order to double on Shaq. Giannis and PG13 were all-D 1st teamers in their selected season. Tucker is a defensive specialist. I'd expect them to at least slow Shaq down in double teams. Giannis in particular is an elite help defender thanks to his mobility and length. Danny Green /Mario Elie share POA duties vs Oscar. At 6'5''/6'6'' they have the size to constest shots and the strength to fight through picks. Wing D should be strong with plenty of versatile defenders.

FGA
2019 Giannis 17.3
2014 Paul George 17.0
2021 Chris Paul 12.6
2019 Danny Green 7.9
2021 Kristaps Porzingis 15.9
2014 P.J. Tucker 7.6
1993 Mario Elie 6.4
2003 Antonio Daniels 3.0

Total: 87.7

[durantbird]

Ready for votes. flaco, please vote for yourself

[wackbone]

These were the teams I had as the top two going into the playoffs, with DB as the overall favorite. Of course I had to face him in the first round lol

[durantbird]

My team wins. Been a while.

GG flaco

[flaco]

Congrats, db! Well deserved win!

[JimmyPlopper]

Congrats db