ATFL Eastern: (2) Narigo vs. (6) Notanoob

[penbeast0]

Although voting against Jordan is tough, Notanoob just has too many weapons and Hakeem will get a little too much space to work in. Vote: Notanoob.

[Texas Chuck]

I agree with Narigo on his plan to play Dream straight up. Dream is a nightmare to see on the opponent period. He is an elite defensive anchor and offensively he is capable of destroying you. Let him get his, because he's going to get his and attempt to frustrate the other guys who are used to getting far more touches/shots and see if they will still compete in other areas of the game. Let's face it, Notanoob has a strong team, but I agree with Narigo's plan.

Im surprised to see him not put Jordan on Vince tho. I think with the Carolina connection plus every young wing wanting to be Jordan and certainly Vince did, I'd want to see if Jordan could bait Vince into trying to make it a game of 1v1, thus costing Dream/Truth shots/touches.

So I love the Dream decision but don't really like the Jordan one defensively. Jordan destroying Vince and Cooper hounding Mookie nonstop seems preferable.

On the other end, I like that Sikma and LMA means Dream has to guard somebody and isnt allowed to just roam free hampering Jordan and others. I think despite the presence of Dream, Narigo is going to be able to score.

Great matchup and its tough.

Vote: Narigo in 7

[therealbig3]

I'm sorry, I don't have time to really write out my rationale, so I'll just give my vote for now. I'll try and get around to my breakdown.

Vote: Notanoob

[ronnymac2]

PG: Mookie 25 minutes/Jason Terry 23 minutes
SG: Vince Carter 30 minutes/ Aaron Afflalo 18 minutes
SF: Paul Pierce 34 minutes/Rodman 7 minutes/Artest 7 minutes
PF: Chris Bosh 30 minutes/Rodman 28 minutes
C: Hakeem 38 minutes/Bosh 5 minutes/ Tree Rollins 5 minutes

PG: Cooper (30) Hinrich(18)
SG: Jordan(40) Scott(8)
SF: Johnson (34) Jones (10) Korver(4)
PF: Aldridge (33) Jones(10) Wallace(5)
C: Sikma(34) Wallace(14)

I like LMA over this version of Bosh, and because of that, this series is pretty damn close. Cooper at PG over Scott is an upgrade in terms of skillset needed and fit compared to last round.

I dislike helping off this version of Rodman. This version of Rodman was a bundle of energy who you needed to faceguard to keep off the glass. I honestly don't see Notanoob's team being a great OREB team because I think they favor a spread attack with Dream in the middle, meaning the floor will be balanced though not overly aggressive on the glass, but if you're leaving Rodman, he's going to get that already highly efficient team second opportunities to convert. This is dangerous.

Jordan on Blaylock isn't bad because he conserves energy. This version of Vince is running around screens at times, and PP draws fouls really well, so honestly, I don't mind MJ on Blaylock. He can pressure him and stall the offense from getting to Hakeem. Notanoob's team has plenty of pressure releases because they have smart guys, but any little bit helps.

Hakeem is going off though. Sikma/Wallace are great defenders, but...

On the other side, as I said, Aldridge has a very favorable matchup, and he's really effective in this type of league imo, especially with Jordan being the constant for the offense. Bobby Jones is also a great replacement for LMA.

That said, Notanoob's tough defense will be able to rotate over to Marques, Sikma, and Coop. Wallace out there for 19 minutes doesn't help matters. MJ and LMA are a formidable duo on offense, but I think the Rodman/Pierce/Bosh defensive trio at the forward positions is smart enough to rotate around and effectively defend the peripheral players on switches, especially with Olajuwon anchoring the D.

Going with Notanoob in six or seven games.

Vote: Notanoob

[john248]

Vote: Notanoob. much has already been said.

I also didn't like how the team was built around Jordan. Not so much that it wouldn't work, but more because we've seen it already.

[whitehops]

Jordan isn't an unstoppable force by himself, my vote is notanoob.

[Quotatious]

I have to admit that after reading Narigo's gameplan (in particular him playing Cooper so many minutes, and having him on Carter and Marques on Pierce for majority of the game - or perhaps MJ could switch on Paul or Vince for some streches), it got closer than I initially thought. Jordan would could give it all for 40 minutes on offense, like you said he'd play, if he didn't have to expend much energy chasing Carter or Pierce on defense. Like I said, he could switch on VC/PP at any given moment, if Marques/Cooper didn't do too good of a job on defense. Good coaching Narigo.

Anyway...Vote: Notanoob in 7 - by a slimmest of margins.

[MisterHibachi]

Most of the things have already been covered.

Vote: Notanoob

[MisterHibachi]

bastillon
TMACFORMVP
penbeast0: Notanoob
ronnymac2: Notanoob
Doctor MJ
SideshowBob
Texas Chuck: Narigo
therealbig3: Notanoob
whitehops: Notanoob
Quotatious: Notanoob
john248: Notanoob
MisterHibachi: Notanoob

Notanoob moves on.

[Notanoob]

Whew! I'm happy that I made it past Nagiro. His writeup was solid and got me believing that he could pull an upset off.

Now I'm facing Bruhman, right? I honestly thought he should have lost both of the last rounds. Really excellent team though. This matchup should be fun.