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).
18.3 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.9 spg, 2.8 bpg, .612 FG%, .592 FT%, .630 TS% - Led the NBA in rpg, bpg, FG%, DWS (7.1), DBPM (2.8) - Defensive Player of the Year - NBA All-Star - All-NBA First Team - All-Defensive First Team
PF - Dirk Nowitzki (2006-07)
Spoiler:
24.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.8 bpg, .502 FG%, .416 3P%, .904 FT%, 72 3P (0.9 pg), .605 TS% - Led the NBA in OWS (11.8), WS (16.3), WS/48 (.278), OBPM (7.2) - NBA MVP - NBA All-Star - All-NBA First Team
Dirk Nowitzki - 17.2 Dwight Howard - 10.2 Paul Pierce - 12.2 Mikal Bridges - 15.3 Gary Payton - 15.6 Charlie Ward - 6.2 Dorian Finney-Smith - 6.9 Bo Outlaw - 4.1
Total: 87.7/88.0
The opposing gravity of Dwight's rim pressure and Dirk's lethal all-court shooting will be a nightmare to deal with simultaneously. Dirk in particular is famous for opening up the floor for dynamic perimeter players, so Payton and Pierce should get plenty of runway going downhill by using Dirk as a screener. Bridges as a fifth option ensures there are no places for a defender to rest. Dirk and Pierce is a deadly combo for us to lean on at crunch time.
Defensively, we have 48 minutes of elite paint protection for Dwight and Outlaw, and a strong perimeter group of Payton, Bridges, Pierce, DFS, and Ward.
Matchup - Initial assignments Payton on CP3, Bridges on Ant, Pierce on OG, Dirk on Gobert, and Dwight on AD. Dwight's mobility and overall athleticism is the best fit to guard AD, especially with CP3 as the pick-and-roll ballhandler. - Both teams have some pretty potent pick-and-roll pairings to play through, but I think the gap between Dwight and Gobert as a roll threat is a key point in our favour. Additionally, Dirk's shooting at the 4 warps the defense in a way you don't really get from AD, who will be operating in a more crowded paint when he shares the floor with Gobert.
2017 Rudy Gobert 7.7 FGA- All NBA 2nd, All Def First 2018 Anthony Davis 19.5 FGA- All NBA First, All Def First 2020 OG Anunoby 8.2 FGA 2025 Anthony Edwards 20.4 FGA- All NBA 2nd 2014 Chris Paul 14.0 FGA- All NBA First, All Def First
B: 2012 James Harden 10.1 FGA- 6MOY B: 2020 Marc Gasol 3.7 FGA B: 2024 Dean Wade 4.3 FGA
Total: 87.9/88 FGA
Rotation:
Gobert (36)/Gasol (12) AD (37)/Wade (12) OG (34)/Harden (10)/Wade (4) Edwards (37)/Harden (11) Paul (37)/Harden (11)
Alrighty- let’s do this!
Why should my team win?
1) Offensive build. CP3 and AD is hands down the best two man combination in this game- they complement each others games perfectly and should be extreme effective in this matchup. Dwight is the only guy he has who can realistically match up to AD, but using Dwight in that way diminishes his rim protection. Antony Edwards, which shooting and slashing- is an ideal complement to CP3 in the backcourt- they’re a better version of CP/Booker in Phoenix.
2) No defensive weak spots- everyone who starts for us is a plus defender and all but Edwards are all-defensive level. AD in particular is the ideal cover for Dirk, and unlike Fade’s move to put Dwight on AD, it comes without sacrificing rim protection, as I’ve got Rudy down low still.
3) Harden off the bench as an X factor. I think these starting lineups are decently close, but things open up more when you look at the bench. Harden is an ideal third guard here who pairs with both Paul and Edwards, and I’ve got a pair of savy veterans who hit three point shots to open up the floor for him. He’s a star level performer in a bench role here, and Fade has little and less to match his production.
Fade’s team really doesn’t have much in the way of over weaknesses, but I think the fit and depth of my team is just a bit more crisp.
