Biggest Draft Misses Draft - Semis - Larry_Russell* vs MadNess
Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2025 6:24 am
by 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).
This is a **tight and stylistically fascinating matchup**, but here’s a breakdown of how a 7-game series would likely go given full health:
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### **Offensive Matchups and Strengths**
**Larry\_Russell's Team:**
* **LeBron at SG** is unconventional but devastating. He will overpower Richmond/Christie off the dribble, and neither has the size or strength to contain him consistently. * **Tatum and Peja** as floor-spacers is deadly, especially with LeBron drawing attention. Peja’s 2004 season was elite (43.5% on high volume). * **Billups** provides stability, clutch play, and efficient shooting. Against Mitch or Harper, he has the edge in terms of poise and range. * **Chandler** is a low-usage, high-efficiency center who doesn't clog the lane and can clean up inside.
**MadNESS's Team:**
* **Bird and Dirk** create huge spacing issues and are both top-tier offensive engines. Tatum and LeBron have size but not the physicality to truly bother Dirk in his mid-post spots. * **Mourning** brings elite rim protection and strength, and this version was 2nd in MVP and DPOY voting. * **Christie and Rodman** give MadNESS defensive versatility. Rodman especially brings chaos and rebounding on both ends. * **Richmond** is a physical 2-guard, though his defense on Billups might be shaky.
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### **Defensive Matchups**
**MadNESS:**
* **Rodman on LeBron** (for 24 minutes) is smart. He’s one of the few who can physically battle him. * **Bird on Tatum** is *optimistic*. Tatum’s slashing and speed would likely get the better of Bird. * **Dirk on Peja** is dangerous. Peja can run Dirk ragged around screens, and Dirk isn’t agile enough laterally. * **Christie on LeBron early** will struggle — LeBron will punish him off screens and switches. * **Mourning can handle Chandler easily**, but he’ll be pulled into help constantly due to perimeter collapses.
**Larry\_Russell:**
* **Chandler on Mourning** is fine. Chandler won’t stop Zo one-on-one, but he can contest vertically. * **Tatum and LeBron split Bird/Dirk**, but neither matchup is easy. * **Peja on Christie** is okay — Christie’s not a scoring threat. * **Billups on Richmond** is physical but winnable — Richmond will get his, but not efficiently.
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### **Benches**
* **LR’s bench**: McMillan (DEF-2) and Ariza give solid perimeter defense and some 3\&D depth. * **MadNESS’s bench**: Rodman is a game-changer on D. Harper and J.O'Neal add physicality but minimal scoring.
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### X-Factors
* **Spacing favors LR**: Peja + Tatum + Billups + LeBron (at SG!) spreads the floor beautifully. * **Rodman’s impact** on defense and rebounding could tilt close games. * **Bird + Dirk’s clutch shotmaking** is a big threat if games are tight late.
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### Verdict: **Larry\_Russell in 7 games**
* **Why?** LeBron at SG surrounded by elite shooting is too much. Peja will feast off attention, Tatum is a mismatch for Bird, and Chandler anchors the defense enough to withstand the Bird/Dirk combo. * MadNESS’s defense is strong with Rodman and Mourning, but there are too many mismatches to cover — especially once Bird or Dirk are in motion on switches.
This goes deep and is competitive. But **Larry\_Russell’s team has just a bit more offensive dynamism and spacing to pull through in the end.**
