Only Finals Draft (90s to now) - SF1 - uberhikari* vs Laimbeer

[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. Please ensure you give a rationale for your vote; votes with no explanation will not be counted.

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).

**First to 3 votes wins the championship.**

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[Laimbeer]

Dwight Howard ( 2010 ) 10.2 - Defensive Player of the Year
Rasheed Wallace ( 2003 ) 14.8 - All-NBA votes, all-D votes, 35.8% on 4.1 3PA
Jimmy Butler ( 2018 ) 15.6 - All-NBA, all-D, 1.9 steals per game, 35.0% on 3.3 3PA
Mitch Richmond ( 1996 ) 16.9 - All-NBA, all-D votes, 43.7% on 6.4 3PA
Deron Williams ( 2010 ) 13.9 - MVP (9), all-NBA, all-D votes, 37.1% on 3.4 3PA

Taj Gibson ( 2021 ) 3.5 - 20.8 MPG, PER 16.0, W/S per 48 .195
Detlef Schrempf ( 1991 ) 10.1 - Sixth Man of the Year
Tyus Jones ( 2017 ) 3.0 - 7.3 ast / 2.2 stls per 36, 35.6% on 1.2 3PA

88.0 / 88.0

Dwight Howard (38) / Taj Gibson (8) / Rasheed Wallace (2)
Rasheed Wallace (36) / Detlef Schrempf (12)
Jimmy Butler (30) / Detlef Schrempf (18)
Mitch Richmond (38) / Jimmy Butler (10)
Deron Williams (38) / Tyus Jones (10)

Good luck, uber


On offense we have a high level, versatile talent at each position. Great balance and the fit is nice. The Deron/Dwight pick and roll is surrounded by good spacing and Butler is a top drawer scorer and closer. There are soft spots in their defense. Rasheed has a size advantage and Korver will get lit up by Richmond.

Similar to our offense, we're rock solid at each position defensively. Dwight/Gobert, Rasheed/Kawhi, Butler/McGrady, Richmond/Korver, Deron/Porter. This is Portland Rasheed and Clippers Kawhi, so any quickess advantage for Kawhi would be diminished. Kawhi also likes to bully his way closer to the basket, tougher against Sheed. Also DPOY Howard is lurking in the paint.

Detlef in a Sixth Man of the Year is the best bench piece here and will provide a lift.

In a close match-up, our balance, defense, and Detlef off the bench give us the edge.

[uberhikari]

PG: 1991 Terry Porter: 17-8, 3.9 3PA, 41.5 3P%; All-Star
SG: 2003 Tracy McGrady: 32-7-6, 6 3PA, 38.6 3P%; All-NBA 1st
SF: 2021 Kawhi Leonard: 25-7-5, 4.9 3PA, 39.8 3P%; All-NBA 1st, All-Defense 2nd
PF: 2014 PJ Tucker: 9-7, 2.4 3PA, 38.7 3P%
C: 2021 Rudy Gobert: 14-14, 2.7 blks; All-NBA 3rd, All-Defense 1st, DPOY

Bench
SG/SF: 2015 Kyle Korver: 12 ppg, 6 3PA, 49.2 3P%; All-Star
SF/PF: 2020 Joe Ingles: 10-4-5, 4.9 3PA, 39.9 3P%; 6MOY(2)
C: 2014 Steven Adams: 3-4, 54 TS%

Rotations
PG: Terry Porter (38) / Tracy McGrady (10)
SG: Tracy McGrady (28) / Kyle Korver (20)
SF: Kawhi Leonard (38) / Kyle Korver (5) / Joe Ingles (5)
PF: PJ Tucker (28) / Joe Ingles (20)
C: Rudy Gobert (36) / Steven Adams (12)

On defense: Porter on Williams; T-Mac on Richmond; Kawhi on Butler; Tucker on Wallace; Gobert on Howard.

Laimbeer's offense will be hampered by two things: Gobert on Howard and pre-peak 2018 Jimmy Butler.

Gobert blunts the offensive impact of Howard and provides backline help for Tucker. Plus, Porter at 6'3" and 200 lbs is both big enough and athletic enough to stay with Williams. The D-Will/Howard P&R will not be very effective against Porter/Gobert. And although Kawhi isn't at his defensive peak, he doesn't need to be to stymie this version of Butler w/ Gobert patrolling the paint.

Having Tucker on Wallace isn't ideal because of the height disparity but Laimbeer shouldn't be relying on Wallace as an offensive X-factor to win a series that includes Kawhi and T-Mac.

On offense, I have a 3-headed hydra on the perimeter that synergizes perfectly. Either one of Porter, T-Mac, or Kawhi can initiate the offense and attack until they get the matchup they want. And they're good enough passers to take advantage of 2-on-1 situations out of the P&R to attack the paint or throw the lob to Gobert. Even if people think Wallace on Kawhi is viable it won't matter. Having a defensive backcourt of D-Will/Richmond is gonna cost Laimbeer.

I have 2 of the 3 best players in this series, and based on Porter's ability to raise his game in the playoffs he's much more proven than Richmond which gives me 3 of the 4 best offensive players in the series as well.

Lastly, I even think I have a bench advantage. Laimbeer does have Detlef but I have prime Korver & Ingles without carrying around dead weight like Tyus Jones.

[Dr Positivity]

I think the decent but not elite shooting of Butler and Sheed is a tad short of the amount of spacing I'd want around at SF and PF for Deron and Howard pick and roll, and overall I'm not sure if Deron and Butler playing together is perfect, to go along with Richmond who also needs it to an extent. On the other hand Kawhi and Tmac are also two ball dominant alpha dogs, but the other three players should play off ball well. Howard's post game could be stifled a bit by Gobert. I think uber has the stronger bench as I prefer 15 Korver to Pacers Schrempf and Ingles and Adams to Jones and Gibson. Vote uberhikari.

[Fadeaway_J]

I'm assuming the Sheed-Kawhi assignment would have been changed if Laimbeer knew Tucker was starting. Nevertheless, I feel like uber's offensive theory is clearer with the perimeter stars doing all the heavy lifting, compared to Laimbeer running spread pick-and-roll with Jimmy off the ball. It can work OK, I just don't see it being as effective, especially against a guy like Kawhi who can cause some disruption if he doesn't have to stay glued to a shooter. Gobert takes away a lot of the athletic advantage Dwight normally enjoys, and I feel like he's underrated defending in space even though it's not his biggest strength. I also think the combined impact of Korver and Ingles easily outweighs that of Schrempf.

Vote: uberhikari

[wackbone]

Yeah I like uber's squad just a bit more, specifically because of the spacing.

Vote: uber

[durantbird]

uberhikari advances