Post#2 » by uberhikari » Sat Feb 24, 2024 4:20 pm
PG: 2018 Kyle Lowry: 16-6-7, 7.6 3PA, 39.9 3P%; All-Star
SG: 1996 Penny Hardaway: 22-4-7; All-NBA 1st, MVP(3)
SF: 2020 OG Anunoby: 11 ppg, 3.3 3PA, 39 3P%, 60 TS%
PF: 2003 Rasheed Wallace: 18-7, 4.1 3PA, 35.8 3P%
C: 1993 Hakeem Olajuwon: 26-13-4; All-NBA 1st, All-Defense 1st, MVP(2), DPOY
Bench
SG/SF: 2015 Kyle Korver: 12 ppg, 6 3PA, 49.2 3P%; All-Star
SF/PF: 2021 Robert Covington: 9-7, 5.1 3PA, 37.9 3P%
C: 2014 Steven Adams: 3-4, 54 TS%
Rotations
PG: Kyle Lowry (38) / Penny Hardaway (10)
SG: Penny Hardaway (28) / Kyle Korver (20)
SF: OG Anunoby (34) / Kyle Korver (7) / Robert Covington (7)
PF: Rasheed Wallace (36) / Robert Covington (12)
C: Hakeem Olajuwon (39) / Steven Adams (9)
Matchups: Penny on Stockton; Lowry on Allen; Anunoby on Middleton; Wallace on Horford; Olajuwon on Jokic.
My biggest advantage in this series is Hakeem. If you were building a player to counter Jokic, you'd build Hakeem. On defense, Olajuwon's dynamic athleticism allows him to counter Jokic either in the post, man-to-man or to guard Jokic on the perimeter. Plus, Hakeem was a master at using his hands to clog passing lanes. And, on offense, Hakeem should overwhelm Jokic either in the post, off-the-dribble, or from mid-range. Jokic just doesn't have the physical tools to guard Olajuwon.
On defense, I have good defensive matchups across the board. I don't fear Jokic dragging Hakeem out of the paint because Allen & Middleton don't provide much rim pressure, and I also have Wallace as an additional backstop. Penny's length and athleticism should give Stockton significant problems trying to score or pass. And Lowry is a high IQ defender with great awareness who should stick to Allen as a movement shooter.
On offense, Penny, once again, presents a mismatch. Laimbeer's best bet is Middleton but he is not a great POA defender for an extremely quick, explosive PG. And Anunoby has the athleticism to attack Allen off-the-dribble or be a slasher vs Jokic in the paint.
My offensive strategy is to attack with Penny, OG, & Hakeem early and often on the fastbreak. Hakeem should beat Jokic down the floor fairly often and Allen shouldn't be able to offer much resistance against OG streaking to the basket. And in the halfcourt, it's Hakeem & Penny relentlessly attacking the basket and kicking it out to shooters to stretch the defense.