Opening Day Pairs Draft - Semi - durantbird* 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).

[durantbird]

PG: Magic Johnson 85' - 11.7
SG: Klay Thompson 18' - 16.2
SF: Andre Iguodala 16' - 5.7
PF: Anthony Davis 20' - 17.7
C: Moses Malone 80' - 18.9

Bench: Jrue Holiday 24' - 10.0
Bench: Thabo Sefolosha 12' - 3.7
Bench: Isaiah Hartenstein 23' - 4.0

87.9/88

Rotation:
PG: Magic Johnson 38 / Jrue Holiday 10
SG: Klay Thompson 28 / Jrue Holiday 20
SF: Andre Iguodala 23 / Thabo Sefolosha 15 / Klay Thompson 10
PF: Anthony Davis 38 / Andre Iguodala 6 / Isaiah Hartenstein 4
C: Moses Malone 38 / Isaiah Hartenstein 10

Vs

Patrick Ewing (38) / Kevon Looney (10)
Larry Bird (34) / Anthony Mason (14)
Dorian Finney-Smith (26) / Anthony Mason (16) / Larry Bird (6)
Paul Pierce (38) / Dorian Finney-Smith (10)
Luka Dončić (38) / Shaun Livingston (10)

Matchup
- Defensive assignments: Klay/Holiday on Luka, Magic on Pierce, Iguodala on Bird, Davis on DFS, Moses on Ewing.
- We match up extremely well. Multiple elite POA defenders (Holiday, Klay, Iggy, Sefolosha) can be thrown at Luka, while Iggy, Davis, and Thabo can all spend time on Bird. Davis has the classic roamer role on 2025 DFS (stretched to 36 minutes) and will cause havoc defensively. Magic matches up well against Pierce — his size and strength neutralize Pierce’s post game while Pierce’s limited quickness keeps Magic comfortable laterally.
- Offensively, the Magic–Klay–Davis–Moses core provides a dominant inside-out balance, surrounded by shooting and elite defense.
- We’re deeper, with a strong bench of Holiday, Thabo, and Hartenstein, plus a far better connector in Iggy compared to an aging DFS.
- Note this is 2025 Luka (a relative down year) and a younger 1988 Ewing — both factors widening the overall gap in our favor.

[Laimbeer]

Patrick Ewing ( 1988 ) 14.4 - DPOY (5); All-NBA
Larry Bird ( 1986 ) 19.6 - Peak Season (RealGM)
Paul Pierce ( 2008 ) 13.7 - Finals MVP; All-NBA
Dorian Finney-Smith ( 2025 ) 6.9 - 41.1% on 5.0 3PA
Luka Dončić ( 2025 ) 20.5 - PER (6); BPM (4)

Kevon Looney ( 2018 ) 3 - Rotation player on NBA Champ
Anthony Mason ( 1995 ) 6.6 - 6MOY (1)
Shaun Livingston ( 2019 ) 3.3 - Rotation player on NBA Finalist

88.0

Patrick Ewing (38) / Kevon Looney (10)
Larry Bird (34) / Anthony Mason (14)
Dorian Finney-Smith (26) / Anthony Mason (16) / Larry Bird (6)
Paul Pierce (38) / Dorian Finney-Smith (10)
Luka Dončić (38) / Shaun Livingston (10)

Good luck DB.

Luka's will run high pick-and-rolls with Ewing to create rim pressure or open kick-out passes. Bird facilitates from the wing with his GOAT level passing and shooting to stretch defenses. Pierce spreads the floor and provides still another offensive option. DFS provides spacing. Ewing’s low-post dominance with Dončić and Bird’s playmaking and Pierce and Finney-Smith’s perimeter scoring is nearly impossible to stop. Davis tasked with a floor spacer in DFS negates much of his defensive contributions.

Defensively, we're a very intelligent team that should thrive on playing roles and helping out. This is a huge as they have **one reliable volume three point shooter** in the starting lineup. Our smarts and help defense will be maximized. Moses/AD is a bit clunky.

Ewing/Moses, DFS/Davis, Bird/Klay, Luka/Iggy and Pierce/Magic. Pierce was in his KG-era and played big game defense against LeBron and Kobe among others.

Mason is a 6MOY and a great bench anchor along with two rotation players, LIvingston and Looney, from the great Warrior teams. Their's gets a slight edge but doesn't match our superior fit.

[durantbird]

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Voting is open. Team owners please vote for yourselves

[durantbird]

durantbird advances