3-1 Comebacks Pairs Draft - CHAMPIONSHIP - durantbird** vs iamgine

[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: James Harden 17' - 18.9
SG: Mikal Bridges 21' - 9.3
SF: Jimmy Butler 25' - 10.9
PF: Jalen Williams 25' - 16.9
C: Shaquille O'Neal 01' - 19.2

Bench: Patrick Beverley 19' - 6.1
Bench: Nicolas Batum 25' - 3.1
Bench: Dikembe Mutombo 05' - 3.0

87.4/88

PG: James Harden 39 | Patrick Beverley 9 | Jimmy Butler
SG: Mikal Bridges 34 | Patrick Beverley 14 | Jimmy Butler
SF: Jimmy Butler 38 | Jalen Williams 8 | Mikal Bridges 2 | Nicolas Batum
PF: Jalen Williams 32 | Nicolas Batum 16 | Jimmy Butler
C: Shaquille O'Neal 38 | Dikembe Mutombo 10

Vs

C Anthony Davis ( 28 ) / Marcus Camby ( 20 )
F Draymond Green ( 38 ) / Anthony Davis ( 10 )
F Gordon Hayward ( 28 ) / Brent Barry ( 20 )
G Raja Bell ( 38 ) / Gordon Hayward ( 10 )
G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ( 40 ) / Gary Payton II ( 8 )

Matchup
- Defensive assignments: Mikal on SGA, Harden on Bell, JDub on Hayward, Butler on Draymond, Shaq on Davis. Butler helps doubling Davis.
- We have great matchups. Our versatile defense enables us to provide very good answers to SGA Hayward Davis. On the other hand, Shaq night create issues to Davis who struggles against physical bigs.
- Prime Shaq and Harden form a very strong duo that is going to be a defense nightmare.
Our supporting cast is efficient and balanced. Mikal and Jalen space the floor, cut well, and don’t need the ball to be effective. Butler gives us a physical halfcourt scorer who thrives in playoff settings, and Batum/Beverley add versatile defense and smart play off the bench. Mutombo keeps the interior defense strong when Shaq rests.

[iamgine]

2024-25 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 21.8
2020-21 Draymond Green 6
2019-20 Anthony Davis 17.7
2007-08 Raja Bell 10
2014-15 Gordon Hayward 14.3
2007-08 Marcus Camby 8
2000-01 Brent Barry 6
2023-24 Gary Payton II 4.2

Total: 88

C Anthony Davis ( 28 ) / Marcus Camby ( 20 )
F Draymond Green ( 38 ) / Anthony Davis ( 10 )
F Gordon Hayward ( 28 ) / Brent Barry ( 20 )
G Raja Bell ( 38 ) / Gordon Hayward ( 10 )
G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ( 40 ) / Gary Payton II ( 8 )

We would play a smart, defense first game by using AD and Draymond to contain Shaq without full double teams, relying on Draymond's roaming help and AD's mobility to deny deep post position. Camby rotates in to maintain paint resistance. Offensively, we would relentlessly attack Harden and Shaq in PnR, with SGA as the primary initiator using high screens from AD or Draymond to exploit Harden and Shaq in space. Our team can switch nearly everything on defense, suffocating Butler, Jalen, and Bridges into isolation jumpers while selectively digging on Shaq from weaker shooters like Butler or Jalen. Hayward and Raja Bell provide spacing, while GPII and Brent Barry add pace and perimeter chaos off the bench. The goal is to make Harden and Shaq work on every possession, slow down their offensive rhythm, and forcing our opponent into contested shots and stagnant possessions.

[durantbird]

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Matchup is open, iamgine please vote for yourself

[durantbird]

durantbird wins!

GG iamgine