PG: Magic Johnson 86' - 12.8 -
MVP (3),
All NBA FirstSG: Devin Booker 23' - 20.1 - 60% TS, 35% 3, highest playoff ppg
SF: PJ Tucker 22' - 6.0 - 41% 3, East Finalist
PF: Kevin McHale 87' - 17.0 -
MVP (5),
All NBA First,
All Defense FirstC: Brook Lopez 18' - 10.7 - 35% 3
Bench: Malcolm Brogdon 23' - 10.9 -
6MOY, 61% TS, 44% 3
Bench: Trevor Ariza 09' - 7.3 - NBA Champ, 48% 3 playoffs
Bench: Chris Andersen 13' - 3.0 - NBA Champ
Rotation:PG: Magic Johnson 32 / Malcolm Brogdon 16
SG: Devin Booker 38 / Malcolm Brogdon 10
SF: PJ Tucker 16 / Trevor Ariza 25 / Magic Johnson 7
PF: Kevin McHale 32 / PJ Tucker 16
C: Brook Lopez 32 / Chris Andersen 10 / Kevin McHale 6
87.8/88
vs
PG: Hardaway (38) / Shaw (10)
SG: Kobe (38) / Korver (7.5) / Shaw (2.5)
SF: Battier (26) / Odom (14) / Korver (8)
PF: Bosh (28) / Odom (20)
C: Howard (38) / Bosh (10)
Matchup:- Defensive assignments: Tucker/Ariza vs Kobe, Booker/Brogdon vs Hardaway, Magic vs Battier, McHale vs Bosh, Lopez vs Howard.
- We match up well here. We've got PJ Tucker and Trevor Ariza to disturb Kobe, and Booker/Brogdon/Magic can give him some different looks as well. Booker is a solid enough defender to hold his own against Hardaway, and Brogdon is also a good option to help from the bench. On the other hand, I think Bosh might struggle against peak McHale while Lopez drags Howard out of the paint and out of his comfort zone.
- Our leading trio of Magic, Booker and absolute-peak McHale should work very well together, with Booker and McHale thriving off Magic's passing. Lopez and Brogdon are two very capable fourth and fifth options, specifically with a more offensive oriented Lopez. I think McHale being a very good defender complements Lopez well and playing next to a top notch PF defender can help him thrive defensively as well, similarly to what happened with Giannis - this version of Lopez is also just a year short of his time in the Bucks.
- While Magic can rest in the series defensively against Battier, Kobe is set for a difficult series having to guard Booker while being guarded by Tucker/Ariza.
- Larry has nice depth, but I prefer our 8 men depth, as Shaw is a less than ideal piece with notably low offensive efficiency, this version of Battier also struggled mightly to score in the playoffs, with only 29.5% from 3 and playing limited time. I prefer our version of Ariza, who even though was only starting to develop his 3 form in the RS, boosted his shooting in the playoffs shooting with 48% 3pt shooting accuracy.