Opening Day Pairs Draft - R1 - Laimbeer* vs Jon_3232

[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).

[Jon_3232]

PG - Kobe Bryant (24) / Mike Conley (24)
SG - OG Anunoby (22) / Kobe Bryant (16) / Eric Snow (10)
SF - Jayson Tatum (30) / OG Anunoby (18)
PF - Draymond Green (38) / Jayson Tatum (10)
C - Pau Gasol (38) / Dikembe Mutombo (10)


2023/24 Mike Conley - 8.5 fga
2007/08 Kobe Bryant - 20.6 fga
2023/24 Jayson Tatum - 19.3 fga
2024/25 OG Anunoby - 13.9 fga
2009/10 Pau Gasol - 13 fga
2021/22 Draymond Green - 5.6 fga
1996/97 Eric Snow - 3 fga
2004/05 Dikembe Mutombo - 3 fga

86.9/88 fga


GL Laimbeer

Tough matchup but I’ll give er a whirl. I’ve got a squad that has a combination of elite defense, balanced scoring, and I believe would be great chemistry. Kobe and Conley off the bench will control the tempo on both ends of the court and with OG on Luka, we should be able to prevent him from dictating the rhythm of the game. Kobe can rest on Smith which helps here and Green should be able to stick to Bird and match his physicality.
Overall I think I have all the pieces defensively to frustrate a slow paced team lead by Luka and Bird while offensively I don’t think they have the guys to slow down Kobe/Tatum

[Laimbeer]

Patrick Ewing ( 1988 ) 14.4 - DPOY (5); All-NBA
Larry Bird ( 1986 ) 19.6 - Peak Season (RealGM)
Paul Pierce ( 2008 ) 13.7 - Finals MVP; All-NBA
Dorian Finney-Smith ( 2025 ) 6.9 - 41.1% on 5.0 3PA
Luka Dončić ( 2025 ) 20.5 - PER (6); BPM (4)

Kevon Looney ( 2018 ) 3 - Rotation player on NBA Champ
Anthony Mason ( 1995 ) 6.6 - 6MOY (1)
Shaun Livingston ( 2019 ) 3.3 - Rotation player on NBA Finalist

88.0

Patrick Ewing (38) / Kevon Looney (10)
Larry Bird (34) / Anthony Mason (14)
Dorian Finney-Smith (26) / Anthony Mason (16) / Larry Bird (6)
Paul Pierce (38) / Dorian Finney-Smith (10)
Luka Dončić (38) / Shaun Livingston (10)

Good luck Jon.

Luka's will run high pick-and-rolls with Ewing to create rim pressure or open kick-out passes. Bird facilitates from the wing with his GOAT level passing and shooting to stretch defenses. Pierce spreads the floor and provides still another offensive option. DFS provides spacing. Ewing’s low-post dominance with Dončić and Bird’s playmaking and Pierce and Finney-Smith’s perimeter scoring is nearly impossible to stop. Pau isn't nearly the type of defensive anchor needed.

Defensively, we're a very intelligent team that thrives on playing roles and helping out. Ewing/Gasol, DFS/Tatum, Bird/Green, Luka/OG and Pierce/Kobe is pretty solid. Pierce was in his KG-era and played big game defense against LeBron and Kobe among others.

Mason (6MOY) is a great bench anchor along with two rotation players, LIvingston and Looney, from the great Warrior teams. Their's isn't great either and there doesn't seem to be much of an edge.

Our superiority in star power takes this one.

[durantbird]

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Voting is open. Team owners please vote for yourselves

[durantbird]

Laimbeer advances