The What If Draft - CHAMPIONSHIP - durantbird** vs GeorgeMarcus

[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]

C: Dwight Howard 10' - 10.2 (Magic)
PF: Rasheed Wallace 08' - 11.3 (Pistons)
SF: Kawhi Leonard 19' - 18.8 (Comeback)
SG: Devin Booker 24' - 19.2 (One Time NBA1)
PG: Chris Paul 18' - 13.8 (Rockets)

Bench: Detlef Schrempf 00' - 5.6 (Blazers)
Bench: Antonio Daniels 03' - 3.0 (Top 5 non All Star)
Bench: Steve Kerr 95' - 6.0 (Bulls)

87.9/88

Dwight Howard 38 / Rasheed Wallace 10
Rasheed Wallace 26 / Detlef Schrempf 20 / Kawhi Leonard 2
Kawhi Leonard 37 / Devin Booker 11
Devin Booker 27 / Steve Kerr 11 / Antonio Daniels 10
Chris Paul 38 / Steve Kerr 10

Vs

Embiid (36) / Jones (8) / Grant (4)
Grant (34) / Tucker (14)
MJ (34) / Tucker (14)
Dumars (38) / MJ (6) / Exum (4)
Price (38) / Exum (10)

Matchup
- Defensive assignments straight up Paul vs Price, Booker vs Dumars, Kawhi vs Jordan, Rasheed vs Horace, Howard vs Embiid.
- We have great matchups across the board. I think the biggest matchups here are no one to guard Kawhi - with respect to MJ, he's still giving up a lot of size. I guess Price is gonna guard Paul which is another significant one. Booker is solid enough to guard old Dumars.
- Embiid is only second year and doesn't have the same far range consistently he had later. Dwight is gonna doing a great job on him, with Kawhi as the perfect MJ counter.
- It's arguable whether second year Embiid is a better second option compared to Booker/Howard, but I think our leading four is better overall with great fit, Paul Booker Kawhi Howard.

[Snakebites]

I wasn’t in the top 2?

Defintely time to take a break. I’ve obviously lost the plot. I was stunned to see that this thread existed and I wasn’t quoted.

[Dr Positivity]

I'm pretty shocked Snake didn't make it

[GeorgeMarcus]

I wasn’t in the top 2?

Defintely time to take a break. I’ve obviously lost the plot. I was stunned to see that this thread existed and I wasn’t quoted.

I ranked you 3rd but FWIW these rankings were super difficult for me, especially at the top. I know this is nit-picky but 2 of my reasons were:
1) TMac wasn't quite in 02 form during his chosen season
2) As talented as TMac/PG are, I'm not entirely convinced they'd both be in their element playing in a Magic-led offense. I may have been a little biased with PG based on hist recent stint with the Clippers (Magic would generate a more free-flowing offense than Harden but it seemed PG struggled to find his rhythm in a more off-ball heavy role)

[Snakebites]

I wasn’t in the top 2?

Defintely time to take a break. I’ve obviously lost the plot. I was stunned to see that this thread existed and I wasn’t quoted.

I ranked you 3rd but FWIW these rankings were super difficult for me, especially at the top. I know this is nit-picky but 2 of my reasons were:
1) TMac wasn't quite in 02 form during his chosen season
2) As talented as TMac/PG are, I'm not entirely convinced they'd both be in their element playing in a Magic-led offense. I may have been a little biased with PG based on hist recent stint with the Clippers (Magic would generate a more free-flowing offense than Harden but it seemed PG struggled to find his rhythm in a more off-ball heavy role)

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but yeah, I absolutely don’t think it’s fair to penalize PG for his clipper years when I was using a season half a decade before that.

TMAC was still an MVP candidate and all NBA first teammer.

That said, everyone is absolutely free to vote how they choose. I’d never begrudge anyone their vote even if I disagree with it.

The facts remains my teams have consistently underperformed expectations for a long time now, and it’s clear that the way people are voting has simply moved away from how I build teams. And again, that’s fine. But I have to weigh whether these games are still enjoyable enough to devote time to. And I’m not sure they are.

I’m out for a while. These games have lost their luster for me. Maybe I’ve just been doing them too long.

[durantbird]

Starting Lineup
18 Joel Embiid ~ 16.8 FGA (Comeback) ~ NBA2, DEF2, MVP-8, DPOY-2
96 Horace Grant ~ 10.7 FGA (ORL) ~ DEF2, DPOY-8
96 Michael Jordan ~ 22.6 FGA (CHI) ~ MVP, Finals MVP, DEF1, DPOY-6
97 Joe Dumars ~ 11.1 FGA (DET) ~ AS, DPOY-6
93 Mark Price ~ 13.1 FGA (1x1st Team) ~ NBA1, MVP-8

Bench
86 Caldwell Jones ~ 3.2 FGA (POR)
18 PJ Tucker ~ 5.4 FGA (HOU)
24 Dante Exum ~ 5.5 FGA (Top 5 pick)

88/88 FGA

Rotation
Embiid (36) / Jones (8) / Grant (4)
Grant (34) / Tucker (14)
MJ (34) / Tucker (14)
Dumars (38) / MJ (6) / Exum (4)
Price (38) / Exum (10)

[durantbird]

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Voting started. GM please vote for yourself

[GeorgeMarcus]

Ugh, got locked out of my account last night...

Primary defensive assignments:
Embiid --> Dwight
Grant --> Sheed
MJ --> Kawhi
Dumars --> Booker
Price --> Paul

One thing I want to note is that Howard, as good as he was, is the exact type of C that Embiid has a lot of success against. Allowing him to stay close to the rim on defense is a big part of that, and his ability to draw Howard away from the rim a bit on the other end is an added bonus.

On the topic of Embiid, I think the most warranted criticism he receives is his lackluster ability to produce buckets in crunch time. He gets frustrated/in his own head at times. Enter MJ who is perhaps the best clutch shot maker of all time (and perhaps just the best player of all time depending on who you ask).

Good luck DB and great building!

[durantbird]

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Voting started. GM please vote for yourself

We need more votes here

[durantbird]

ChatGPT vote durantbird - durantbird wins

GG GeorgeMarcus

https://chatgpt.com/share/6862c103-0c64-800a-8b16-162886f6a549

Great matchup — let’s break it down with what you’ve given:


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durantbird’s team strengths:

Elite perimeter trio in Paul, Booker, Kawhi: high-end shooting, playmaking, and defense.

Kawhi as a direct counter to MJ: he’s the best modern perimeter defender you could realistically throw at peak Jordan.

Howard is a dominant defender and rebounder in 2010, with the mobility to contain early-career Embiid reasonably well.

Solid floor spacing with Booker and Kerr off the bench.

CP3 vs. Price is a clear advantage for durantbird: Paul’s defense and game management are superior.


GeorgeMarcus’s team strengths:

Michael Jordan: 1996 MJ is still an elite offensive/defensive force, clutch scorer, and proven champion.

Embiid: even second-year Embiid was a physical monster, able to draw fouls on Howard and stress him inside-out.

Strong defense across positions, with Dumars, MJ, and Grant all plus defenders.

Bench offers decent depth and versatility: Tucker can defend multiple positions, Exum provides a secondary ball-handler.



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Key matchup points:

MJ vs. Kawhi: Kawhi’s size/length bothers MJ more than most, but MJ has the footwork and midrange mastery to still get his shots. However, 1996 MJ isn’t quite peak athletic MJ; he’s a step slower but smarter. Kawhi will keep this from being a consistent mismatch.

Howard vs. Embiid: Second-year Embiid didn’t yet have his consistent outside shot and struggled more with turnovers and conditioning. Dwight is a DPOY-level anchor — he can limit Embiid better than most bigs.

Paul vs. Price: CP3 should control tempo and win this matchup, both as a scorer and defender.

Bench depth: Slight edge to GeorgeMarcus with PJ Tucker and Exum bringing more defensive versatility compared to Schrempf and Daniels.



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Fit & offense:

durantbird’s team looks smoother offensively: Paul + Booker + Kawhi create a modern, dynamic perimeter attack with spacing.

GeorgeMarcus’s offense runs through MJ + Embiid post-ups. Dumars/Price are reliable, but I see issues with ball movement if MJ is pressured.


Clutch factor:

GeorgeMarcus makes a good point: late game, MJ is the best clutch weapon in history.

But durantbird has multiple clutch scorers (Booker, Kawhi, even CP3) — they’re less iconic, but the depth of options is real.



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Final take:

Series likely goes 6 or 7 games.

While MJ’s presence always tilts things, I lean durantbird’s team wins in 7 — they have better perimeter creators, superior fit for modern spacing, and enough defense (Kawhi/Howard) to contain the two stars. MJ can’t win it alone if Embiid is kept from dominating, and Paul/Kawhi/Booker’s collective scoring options should wear down GeorgeMarcus’s defense over a series.


Would you like a more detailed game-by-game projection?

[Larry_Russell]

Going to post the voting?