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).
I will defend straight up on this one and I actually like how I matchup here. Wemby is about as good as anyone at defending Jokic, Horford matches Mobley very well, Durant has an easier assignment on OG, Curry on Lowry is the same and White takes on Edwards.
Offensively I really click
Curry has a bunch of guys who can move the ball, maximizing his ability to shoot his shot. Durant is still an elite scorer even at this age. White, Horford are ideal role players both capable of passing and handling the ball and making shots. Wemby is a bit of a wildcard offensively with his unicorn skills.
24.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 9.8 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.7 bpg, .623 FG%, .383 3P%, .822 FT%, 57 3P (0.8 pg), .701 TS% - Led the NBA in PER (31.5), TS%, OWS (11.2), WS (14.9), WS/48 (.308), OBPM (8.5), DBPM (4.5), BPM (13.0), VORP (8.8) - NBA Champion - NBA Finals MVP - All-NBA Second Team
PF - Evan Mobley (2024-25)
Spoiler:
18.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 0.9 spg, 1.6 bpg, .557 FG%, .370 3P%, .725 FT%, 85 3P (1.2 pg), .633 TS% - Defensive Player of the Year - NBA All-Star - All-NBA Second Team - All-Defensive First Team
27.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.6 bpg, .447 FG%, .395 3P%, .837 FT%, 320 3P (4.1 pg), .595 TS% - Led the NBA in 3P - NBA All-Star - All-NBA Second Team
FGA Per Player Nikola Jokic - 14.8 Evan Mobley - 12.8 Anthony Edwards - 20.4 OG Anunoby - 8.2 Kyle Lowry - 13.8 Nickeil Alexander-Walker - 6.6 Grant Williams - 5.6 Keon Ellis - 5.8
Total: 88.0/88.0
Our approach is built around positional size and physicality on both ends of the court. Jokic/Mobley/OG is a massive frontcourt, and our only "small" guard is Lowry who is famous for playing bigger than his height. Needless to say, everything revolves around Jokic's all-court dominance, and he can run two-man game with the explosive Ant and a still highly effective Lowry, both of whom can weaponise the pullup three to deadly effect. Mobley is a nice complement for Jokic as he can space the floor a bit and pass from the high post, but also benefit from Jokic's incredible interior passing to do damage in the paint. The spacing is elite with everyone on the roster being at least a good outside shooter. Defensively, we have plenty of athleticism and versatility to complement the more ground-bound Jokic, led by DPOY Mobley and excellent wings like OG, Ant, NAW, and Ellis.
Matchup - We'll start out with Lowry on Steph, Ant on White, OG on KD, Mobley on Wemby, and Jokic on Horford. Our defensive versatility is pretty useful here as we can switch 2 through 4 pretty comfortably, and even Lowry can handle bigger players in a pinch. Wemby will have a hard time getting good post position against anyone in our starting five; he's definitely a threat from outside, but we view that as the lesser of two evils. Lowry/Ant/Ellis/NAW/OG/Mobley is a murderer's row of defenders to throw at the KD/Steph combo. - On the other end, Wemby has yet to show he can do anything much to slow down Jokic, who has averaged 36.8 ppg in their six head-to-head matchups. He just doesn't have the heft to prevent Jokic from getting where he wants to go. Additionally, Jokic's perimeter game will keep him from playing free safety in the paint defensively. - I think we have a decided edge in energy and athleticism with Larry relying on mid-30s versions of KD, Steph, Horford, Batum, and Iguodala. We can really put them under pressure with the likes of Ant, OG, Ellis, and NAW flying all over the court. - KD has seen a pretty clear decline in his playoff effectiveness starting in 2021-22, and I think OG and Co. can hound him into another difficult series.
