Franchise Draft Lockdown R1 - GeorgeMarcus vs. ReggiesKnicks*

[Fadeaway_J]

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).

[GeorgeMarcus]

Starting Lineup
21 Joel Embiid - 17.6 FGA - MVP-2, 2nd Team All-NBA, DPOY-7, 2nd Team All-Defense
91 Scottie Pippen - 14.1 FGA - NBA Champion, DPOY-7, 2nd Team All-Defense
98 Reggie Miller - 13.3 FGA - MVP-16, 3rd Team All NBA
97 Joe Dumars - 11.1 FGA - All-Star, DPOY-6
91 Magic Johnson - 12.4 FGA - MVP-2, 1st Team All-NBA

Bench
92 Charles Oakley - 4.9 FGA
94 Dennis Rodman - 3.7 FGA - Rebounding Champion, MVP-11, DPOY-6, 2nd Team All-Defense
96 Jeff Hornacek - 10.7 FGA

87.8/88 FGA

Rotation
Embiid (36) / Oakley (12)
Pippen (20)/ Rodman (24) / Oakley (4)
Miller (30) / Pippen (18)
Dumars (28) / Hornacek (14) / Miller (6)
Magic (38) / Hornacek (10)

Write-Up
This is one of the rare cases where depth is a major advantage for my team. We go 8 deep with players who perform a variety of roles at the highest level. All were major contributors to provenly winning formulas. The only one who didn't win more than 2/3 of games played (55 win pace) in the chosen season is Oakley who (a) is the last man off my bench and (b) still won 51 games on a Knicks team that took MJ's Bulls to 7 in the 2nd round. My "big 4" in Magic, Pippen, Embiid and Reggie all won more than 72% (59 win pace).

Offensively, Magic has the keys to be Magic alongside an elite scoring big (familiar territory) and potent outside threats in Reggie, Hornacek and Dumars at this point in his career. Pippen gets to focus a bit more on D while providing a healthy dose of secondary scoring/facilitating.

Defensively, we'll rely on Embiid to protect the rim while the likes of Rodman/Pippen/Dumars/Oakley wreak havoc on-ball and in the passing lanes. During Oakley's minutes at 5 we'll switch into a press and rely more on transition offense than half court sets.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Match-up:

First, awesome team RK! Always nice to see new players round these parts.

Rodman will be inserted into the starting lineup over Dumars. I should have adjusted my SL accordingly but my lazy ass simply copy and pasted from the roster page, so here we are.

Embiid --> D Rob
Rodman --> AD
Reggie --> Bowen
Pippen --> Doncic
Magic --> Kawhi

GL and may the best team win.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Rotation

Luka Doncic (40) / Pablo Prigioni (8)
Kawhi Leonard (40) / Bruce Bowen (8)
Bruce Bowen (26) / Robert Horry (22)
Anthony Davis (30) / Boris Diaw (18)
David Robinson (40) / Anthony Davis (8)

Roster
Kawhi Leonard (2016) 15.1
David Robinson (1996) 16.8
Anthony Davis (2020) 17.7
Bruce Bowen (2006) 6.5
Robert Horry (1999) 3.8
Luka Doncic (2021) 20.5
Boris Diaw (2013) 4.4
Pablo Prigioni (2013) 3

Total FGA 87.8/88.0

-We have a massive size advantage combined with an on-ball creator to go head-to-head with Magic
-AD gets to roam the dunkers spot while we spam P&R with Luka/Robinson, Bowen in the corner and Kawhi on the opposite wing.
-AD is going to roam off Rodman and be a lethal weapon defensively
-I'm not sure how Embiid is going to handle defending the P&R with Magic, neither are great defenders and Embiid can't defend in space.
-Size wins and we have Twin Towers who are athletic enough to defend in space while allowing our perimeter players to play into the opposing shooters and chase them off the 3P line
-We clearly have 4 of the Top 6 players in this series and they have natural synergy together
-Dennis Rodman isn't going to be able to dominate the glass against Robinson/AD/Luka, which is the only offensive value he provides, otherwise he completely kills spacing
-Ultimately a talent advantage with a clean fit, better defenders throughout the roster and significantly more size should give us an advantage here

If it matters for defensive assignments
Kawhi + Bowen split time > Magic
Luka > Pippen
Bowen + Kawhi > Reggie
AD > Roaming off Rodman as a help-defender
D Rob + AD split time > Embiid

[Fadeaway_J]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Ready for votes. GM and Reggie, please vote for yourselves as well.

[durantbird]

ReggiesKnicks team is one of the best I've seen from a rookie

[JimmyPlopper]

ReggiesKnicks team is one of the best I've seen from a rookie

I still remember mine which didn't go over well:

John Stockton
Allen Iverson
Andre Kirilenko
Chris Webber
Ben Wallace

[GeorgeMarcus]

My main rebuttal is the notion that Embiid isn't a good defender- there's a reason he got DPOY attention despite missing 30 games. The chosen season immediately followed one of the best defensive performances in playoff history in 2020. At his best, that's where Joel impacts the game most. Truly an incredible post protecting force and, in this case, surrounded by wings to press the perimeter.

[Fadeaway_J]

Match-up:

First, awesome team RK! Always nice to see new players round these parts.

Rodman will be inserted into the starting lineup over Dumars. I should have adjusted my SL accordingly but my lazy ass simply copy and pasted from the roster page, so here we are.

Embiid --> D Rob
Rodman --> AD
Reggie --> Bowen
Pippen --> Doncic
Magic --> Kawhi

GL and may the best team win.

Please adjust your rotations to reflect the change. I'm having a hard time entering the information for the Chat-GPT query.

[Fadeaway_J]

Chat-GPT vote: ReggiesKnicks

Spoiler:

This is a fascinating matchup between **GeorgeMarcus**, who boasts elite perimeter playmaking and depth, and **ReggiesKnicks**, who counters with size, defense, and star power. Let’s break it down:

---

### **Offensive Breakdown**
#### **GeorgeMarcus**
- **Magic Johnson (MVP runner-up) runs the show**, creating easy looks for Embiid inside and perimeter snipers like Reggie Miller, Hornacek, and Dumars.
- **Spacing is solid but not perfect**: Rodman and Oakley are non-threats offensively, which allows Anthony Davis to roam as a help defender.
- **Transition offense will be lethal**: Magic, Pippen, and Dumars thrive in the open court.
- **Pick-and-roll concerns:** Luka and Robinson will repeatedly attack Embiid in space, where he struggles against dynamic ball-handlers.

#### **ReggiesKnicks**
- **Luka + Robinson P&R is the offensive engine**, with AD lurking for lobs and putbacks.
- **Kawhi as a secondary scorer**: A reliable isolation option who can take pressure off Luka.
- **Bowen and Horry are lower-usage floor spacers**, making life easier for Luka and AD.
- **Size is a major advantage**: Luka, Kawhi, AD, and Robinson are all bigger than their matchups.

---

### **Defensive Breakdown**
#### **GeorgeMarcus**
- **Elite wing/perimeter defenders**: Pippen, Rodman, and Dumars are all top-tier stoppers.
- **Embiid as rim protector**: A strong interior presence but might struggle in space.
- **Magic as a weak link**: He’s guarding Kawhi, which is not ideal.

#### **ReggiesKnicks**
- **Bowen + Kawhi on Magic is huge**: They’ll make it difficult for him to get easy penetration.
- **AD as a roaming help defender**: A massive advantage, since he doesn’t have to respect Rodman.
- **Robinson as an elite rim protector**: Making things tough for Embiid inside.

---

### **Key Matchups**
- **Magic vs. Kawhi/Bowen** → A major challenge for GeorgeMarcus. Magic is still elite, but two DPOY-level defenders will make his life difficult.
- **Luka vs. Pippen** → Pippen is one of the best perimeter defenders ever, which will slow Luka down but not completely neutralize him.
- **Embiid vs. Robinson** → A battle of dominant two-way centers, but Robinson is more mobile and has help from AD.
- **Rodman vs. AD** → A tough matchup for Rodman, as he doesn’t have a real offensive role while AD will be a defensive game-changer.
- **Reggie Miller vs. Bowen/Kawhi** → Reggie’s shooting is critical, but facing two elite defenders will make it tough.

---

### **X-Factors**
- **Can GeorgeMarcus force Luka into inefficient games?** → If Pippen + a strong defensive scheme can slow Luka down, it swings things their way.
- **Can ReggiesKnicks punish Embiid in the P&R?** → Luka and Robinson spamming high screens could expose Embiid.
- **Can Magic still dominate despite elite defenders?** → If Magic finds a way to dictate the game against Kawhi/Bowen, GeorgeMarcus has a real shot.

---

### **Final Verdict**
- **ReggiesKnicks has the talent edge**: Four of the top six players, superior size, and a strong defensive scheme.
- **GeorgeMarcus has better depth and perimeter defense**: But Magic will be slowed, and Embiid will be uncomfortable defensively.

This likely goes **six or seven games**, but **ReggiesKnicks wins in 7** due to superior star power, defensive versatility, and Luka/Robinson attacking Embiid’s weaknesses in space.

[ReggiesKnicks]

And Microsoft said AI wasn't profitable...

GG GeorgeMarcus

[GeorgeMarcus]

Yeah my b about not adjusting my lineup in time. AI as spoken, GG RK