The Dusty Banner Draft - R1 - wackbone* 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. 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).

[Laimbeer]

Hakeem Olajuwon ( 1993 ) 19.5
Harrison Barnes ( 2023 ) 9.6
Grant Hill ( 1997 ) 15.7
Clyde Drexler ( 1991 ) 16.3
Alex Caruso ( 2023 ) 7.6

Isaiah Hartenstein ( 2024 ) 4.9
Toni Kukoc ( 1996 ) 9.7
Thabo Sefolosha ( 2012 ) 3.7

87.0

Hakeem Olajuwon (38) / Isaiah Hartenstein (10)
Harrison Barnes (36) / Toni Kukoc (12)
Grant Hill (28) / Toni Kukoc (20)
Clyde Drexler (38) / Thabo Sefolosha (10)
Alex Caruso (36) / Grant Hill (12)

Good luck, wack

We have a potent big three offensively with the proven combo of Hakeem and (upgraded) Drexler joined by Grant Hill. Caruso and Barnes provide spacing with Kukoc a potent 6MOY off the bench.

Defensively Hakeem is perhaps the GOAT with the balance solid - Hakeem/Reed, Barnes/Durant, Hill/Tucker, Drexler/Dumars, and Caruso/Frazier. No real mismatches.

Benches are decent but I believe Kukoc is most likely to turn a game.

I like our talent level a bit more with our big three.

[wackbone]

Kevin Durant - 2013 - 17.7 FGA - 2nd in MVP, 50/40/90, 41.6 3P% on 4.1 att
Willis Reed - 1970 - (17.1x0.85) 14.5 FGA - MVP, All-Def 1st
Joe Dumars - 1990 - 14.1 FGA - All-NBA 3rd, 3rd in DPOY
Walt Frazier - 1970 - (15.0x0.85) 12.8 FGA - 4th in MVP, All-Def 1st
Lu Dort - 2025 - 8.4 FGA - 41.2 3P% on 5.8 att, Likely All-Def
Serge Ibaka - 2012 - 7.4 FGA - 2nd in DPOY, 3.7 bpg (led league)
PJ Tucker - 2019 - 6.4 FGA - 37.7 3P% on 4.7 att
Charlie Ward - 2000 - 6.2 FGA - 38.6 3P% on 3.7 att
Total: 87.5/88 FGA

Rotations:
Walt Frazier (38) / Charlie Ward (10)
Joe Dumars (36) / Charlie Ward (12)
Kevin Durant (28) / Lu Dort (20)
PJ Tucker (24) / Serge Ibaka (14) / Kevin Durant (10)
Willis Reed (38) / Serge Ibaka (10)

Writeup:

Helluva team as always, Laimbeer. Best of luck!

Defensively we will start with Frazier/Dumars on Drexler, Dumars/Frazier on Caruso, KD on Barnes, Tucker on Hill, and Reed on Hakeem. Dort will also see significant time on Hill, and Ibaka will also see significant time on Hakeem.

I think we match up amazingly well. Frazier and Dumars are an elite defensive backcourt that can split their time either guarding Drexler or resting on Caruso. This will keep both of them fresh when guarding Drexler. Tucker and Dort are two elite wing defenders to have on Hill. KD rests on Barnes. Reed and Ibaka are two elite post defenders to have on Hakeem. It seems a bit repetitive, but in this scenario I think that's a good thing. Drexler/Hill/Hakeem is a high-level big 3 to be sure, but we have 2 elite defenders for each of them.

Offensively we boast our own big 3 with MVP Reed, 2nd in MVP KD, and 4th in MVP Frazier, all of which operate in their own space. Dumars is by far the best 4th guy in this series. All of Ward/Dort/Tucker/Ibaka offer legit two way value. We have no bums on the roster.

I don't think Laimbeer matches up particularly well on the wings here. Drexler on Dumars and Barnes on KD are not ideal for him, and Kukoc is not providing any defensive support off of the bench. Thabo is an elite defender but is only playing 10 minutes. It's asking a lot of Hakeem to be the anchor down low to put out these fires when he is tasked with guarding an MVP in his own right.

[durantbird]

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Voting is open, wack and Laimbeer please vote for yourselves

[durantbird]

wackbone advances