2024-25 East Cross Standings Draft - Semi - Laimbeer vs durantbird*

[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).

[durantbird]

Damian Lillard 25' - 17.1
Eddie Jones 01' - 13.8
LeBron James 13' - 17.8
Al Horford 16' - 12.8
Dwight Howard 10' - 10.2

Shane Battier 12' - 4.5
OG Anunoby 20' - 8.2
Chris Andersen 13' - 3.0

87.4/88

Damian Lillard 36 / LeBron James 12
Eddie Jones 36 / Shane Battier 12
LeBron James 26 / OG Anunoby 16 / Shane Battier 6
Al Horford 38 / OG Anunoby 10
Dwight Howard 38 / Chris Andersen 10

vs

Brook Lopez (36) / Isaiah Hartenstein (12)
Charles Barkley (38) / Anthony Mason (10)
Jimmy Butler (38) / Anthony Mason (10)
Dwyane Wade (30) / Norman Powell (18)
James Harden (38) / Dwyane Wade (10)

Matchup
- Defensive assignments: EJ vs Wade, Lillard vs Harden, LBJ vs Butler, Horford vs Barkley, Dwight vs Lopez.
- This is Philly Harden who has a down year and still trying to find his rhythm back.
- I don't like this choice of season for Norman Powell - he shot 28% from 3 (14% in the playoffs) and 49% TS. And he plays 18 minutes off the bench - and so-called only shooter from his bench.
- We match up well here. Horford, Anunoby, Battier, Howard and LeBron are all great options to throw at Barkley. EJ, Battier, LeBron, Anunoby are all great against Wade/Butler. Lopez might struggle with an athletic freak like prime Howard. Lillard's matchup is only ok, but again since this is Philly Harden we aren't that worried. When Powell/Mason are in the game, he can be well hidden. On the flip side, there's not much room for Harden to hide himself. Even if Dwight is pulled away from the rim occasionally, Horford's rim protection ensures our interior defense remains solid, and we will also try some Dwight on Barkley and Horford on Lopez at times.
- Our fit is much smoother. Their spacing needs to rely on 23' Harden and Brook Lopez (even considering benches!), and their leading stars don’t complement each other well, leading to a choppy offensive flow. Whereas we surrounded LeBron with shooters and great defenders, which should maximize his prime Miami version.
- In a playoff setting, their clunky offense and lack of spacing just can’t keep up with the defensive versatility and floor balance we bring.

[Laimbeer]

Brook Lopez ( 2020 ) 9.9
Charles Barkley ( 1992 ) 15.0
Jimmy Butler ( 2023 ) 13.9
Dwyane Wade ( 2006 ) 18.8
James Harden ( 2023 ) 14.5

Isaiah Hartenstein ( 2023 ) 4
Anthony Mason ( 1995 ) 6.6
Norman Powell ( 2018 ) 5.3

88.0

Brook Lopez (36) / Isaiah Hartenstein (12)
Charles Barkley (38) / Anthony Mason (10)
Jimmy Butler (38) / Anthony Mason (10)
Dwyane Wade (30) / Norman Powell (18)
James Harden (38) / Dwyane Wade (10)


We have a really potent offense featuring four stars with Harden running the show for Wade, Butler, and Barkley. Lopez is the perfect complement to provide space and screens. There's a ton of playmaking and scoring ability that puts great pressure on the defense. Dame will provide little resistance to Harden.

We match up pretty well defensively. Lopez/Howard, Barkley/Horford, Butler/James, Wade/Dame, and Harden/Johnson. With Howard's low post offense, Brook can provide some effective interior help.

The bottom line is we have somewhat more high level talent. We also have better defensive match-ups - Dame is exposed guarding Harden while Wade provides us with a superior point of attack defender.

[durantbird]

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Matchup is open. Laimbeer please vote for yourself

[durantbird]

durantbird advances