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).
Rotations PG: Luka Doncic (36) / Jrue Holiday (12) SG: Jrue Holiday (24) / Thabo Sefolosha (24) SF: Kawhi Leonard (36) / Nicolas Batum (12) PF: Kevin Garnett (36) / Nicolas Batum (12) C: Jaren Jackson Jr. (36) / Tyson Chandler (12)
Offense We run a 5-out PnR/PnP-heavy motion offense forcing Dirk to defend in space. Option A is Luka spamming the spread PnR/PnP with KG or JJJ. Option B is Kawhi either creating shots himself or utilizing the Luka PnR. Luka's presence opens up space for Kawhi to attack the closeout with a shot fake or a drive, and also creates opportunities for him to spot up for open three-pointers. Jrue is my 5th option. Was the 3rd and 5th option in two championship teams. Should absolutely thrive in a supportive offensive role.
Defense We always contest Dirk's PnP actions. We drop back to protect the rim vs Dwight. KG and JJJ have both the mobility to closeout on Dirk and the size to wall the paint vs Dwight. We go under vs Payton who's an unreliable 3pt shooter. Dwight is a non-shooter, hence at least one of my bigs will always be protecting the rim. Luka pre-switches and peels off to the corners. His job is to contest the corner 3. If he's beaten off the dribble, JJJ and KG got his back in the paint. We have 4 DPOY winners, plus Jrue who's arguably the best POA defender in the modern era. I'd go as far as to say this is the best defensive team Luka has ever had in our games.
FGA 2021 Luka Doncic 20.5 2017 Jrue Holiday 13.3 2021 Kawhi Leonard 17.5 2010 Kevin Garnett 11.2 2023 Jaren Jackson Jr. 13.0 2012 Thabo Sefolosha 3.7 2023 Nicolas Batum 4.9 2006 Tyson Chandler 3.6
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 - Defensive assignments are Bridges-Luka, Payton-Jrue, Pierce-Kawhi, Dirk-JJJ, Dwight-KG. Payton sloughs off of Jrue who isn't a reliable three-point threat, and is a solidly below-average scorer in general at this point in his career, digging down to help on Luka's drives. - There isn't anyone on this team that allows Luka to simply "peel off to the corners". All three of our perimeter players can attack him off the dribble, which will force him to do far more defensive work than he's accustomed to; Boston in the 2024 Finals showed how he can be exploited when he isn't allowed to rest on the defensive end. - I would say we have a clear edge in overall offensive depth beyond the primary scorers. 2010 KG is still solid, but Jrue is notoriously unreliable as a postseason scorer (and this is a level below his offensive prime), and JJJ's efficiency also plummets consistently in the playoffs. Dirk-Pierce-Dwight-Payton-Bridges doesn't really give you anyone to comfortable help off of. A bench of old Batum, Thabo, and 2006 Chandler is also pretty low-usage and piles more pressure on Kawhi and Luka to carry the load. - JJJ is very foul-prone for this level of defensive player, and I think both Dwight and Dirk can take advantage of that in different ways (Dwight with sheer physicality, Dirk with his off-the-dribble game).
