RealGM

Here are the playoff match-ups for Round 1. There are exactly 8 western and eastern conference teams and they in order of the picks will face off in a regular playoff format that the NBA currently uses.

East

1. Philadelphia 76ers vs. 8. Toronto Raptors
2. Detroit Pistons vs. 7. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Washington Wizards vs. 6. Boston Celtics
4. New York Knicks vs. 5. Miami Heat

West

1. Portland Trailblazers vs. 8. Seattle Supersonics
2. New Orleans Hornets vs. 7. Denver Nuggets
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Dallas Mavericks
4. Houston Rockets vs. 5. San Antonio Spurs

ALL THE LOWER SEEDED TEAMS WILL BE ASSUMED TO HAVE HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE IN THE PLAYOFF SERIES.

Judges
tkb
T-Mac_United
penbeast0
amb1ent
LBJ4MVP23

In this thread, you only post why you feel you should win in your first round match-up (Please assume you can win . There will be no limit to how much you can write ). You will have a week to do this, and nothing will be accepted after that.

GO!

This is the Eastern Confrence 3 vs. 6 matchup the Washington Wizards vs. the Boston Celtics (Celtics with home court advantage)

Boston Depth Chart

PG Miller/Jack
SG Pierce/Gordon/Barry
SF Jefferson/Harpring
PF Bosh/Milicic/Radmonovich
C Aldridge/Dampier




Hmm, there are definitely a lot of different match-ups to watch for in the series between me and Washington with him having the advantage at SF and me having IMO the advantage at the PF position.

Obviously I'm a running team, Miller has ran some great Denver teams in the past (offensively) and been one of the top play-makers/assist man in the league with a career assists average of just over 7.5 assists with once nearly averaging 11 assists per game. Also an efficient scorer that's one of the strongest guards in the league. With a guy like Pierce that can thrive off easy buckets around the basket with his attacking nature and the same with Jefferson on the other wing. Both players thrive off playing off the ball and would flourish and punish in my opinion the Wizards with their ability to get to the free throw line (Jefferson over 10 FT attempts per game this season).

Then pair that up with two fantastic mid-range/post options that are athletic and can run the floor and rebound, it's literally nearly unstoppable to stop the team on the offensive end. Especially with the fact that Washington is generally small and forcing Gerald Wallace to be either be guarding Bosh or Aldridge which I feel is a definite advantage for me.

Not to mention, I'd have home-court advantage in the series and in this case which is generally a close series between two teams, could be the deciding advantage.

I also feel efficiency as a team and how they fit together could take a huge part in this series. Though LeBron and Ginobili are efficient, Bibby last season had career low percentages in terms of shooting and guys like Rasheed and Boris Diaw this season aren't really noted for the efficiency while guys like Miller, Jefferson, Bosh, Aldridge, Gordon, Harpring and others are considered above average efficient players.

It's definitely a close series, with some nice match-ups and can literally go either way, but due to me having home-court advantage and IMO being a more efficient team that fits together better in the end gives me the slight advantage.

Roster:

Chauncey Billups/Stephon Marbury/Delonte West/ Brevin Knight
Kobe Bryant/James Posey/Delonte West
Andres Nocioni/James Posey/Paul Millsap
Zach Randolph/Paul Millsap/Tyrus Thomas
Chris Kaman/Greg Oden

Lineup notes: (Greg Oden and Chris Kaman will play together in big lineups, and Oden is the primary big off the bench, spelling both Randolph and Kaman.Posey will play a lot of 3, and a little 2/4, Kobe and Chauncey won't be coming out much in a playoff setting, playing well into 40 minutes, but I have a PG for any type of matchup to spell Chauncey, and Posey and Nocioni would make a good defensive backcourt when Kobe sits.)

The New Orleans Vs. Denver Nuggets match has a lot of matchups that fit together in terms of style of play, but not in effectiveness.

Looking over Denver's lineup, it's clear that like my own team, the strength of the team is in the backcourt, and on the wing, but Allen Iverson/J-Rich/Mcgrady can't match my backcourt in either defense or efficiency, and also doesn't have a true PG that can run a variety of sets and offenses.

In the front court, they have the ever efficient Shaq, and a nice complimentary piece in Jamison, but lack rebounding and defense, and my front court is built for D and rebounding the ball, and scoring efficiently, while not making many mistakes.

David Lee is a great rebounder, but Millsap can match him perfectly, and abuse him on the other end, while slowing his scoring down a lot.

Kenyon Martin is playing solid ball again, but if Shaq gets in foul trouble, he will get dominated by my twin 7 footers.

Shaq should get in foul trouble quickly with the variety of big men I have, and their isn't another C on the roster to be able to deal with Kaman/Oden.

Randolph will have a little trouble guarding Jamison, but the team defense can help out, and he can abuse him on the glass, and dominate him on the other end. Millsap, and even at times Posey will give great defense against Jamison.

McGrady will have Kobe(who's playing DPOY level D) Nocioni, and Posey in his face at all times, and J-Rich will get whatever is left on the floor.

AI might be tougher to contain, but posting him up with bigger guards, and trying to get him in foul trouble should help disrupt his game.

Overall, I don't think this team team has the front court to rebound or defend with Kaman/Oden/Millsap and can't score with Kaman/Randolph.

The Backcourt can't score as efficiently, and they can't come close to defending at the same level, and I'm much deeper at the PG position, and having a more explosive and versatile bench.

I wouldn't expect this series to last long in any case, with no one to contain Kobe and Chauncey, and the stellar D dominating.

This is the Eastern Confrence 3 vs. 6 matchup the Washington Wizards vs. the Boston Celtics (Celtics with home court advantage)

this of course, is my roster

PG:Mike Bibby/Antonio Daniels/Rajon Rando
SG:Manu Ginoboli/Josh Childress
SF:Lebron James/Renaldo Balkman
PF:Gerald Wallace/Boris Diaw/Craig Smith
C:Rasheed Wallace/Brandon Haywood

The Wizards lack home court advantage, but IMO have the upper hand in this contest.

My team is going to RUN, RUN, RUN.

The Celtics, after their starting 5, dont scare me much, so in this series I will tire them out.

They really dont have an answer for Lebron, as Pierce isn't a good enough defender and RJ will get out muscled. Ginoboli, Rasheed,and Bibby give me reliable options for 3pt range and creating their own offense, so that ALL the attention cannot be on Lebron.

Since I am playing a team with two capable Post scorers, I will send Gerald Wallace to the bench in favor of a bigger lineup.

Bibby
Ginoboli
James
Rasheed
Haywood

James can more than contain RJ, and with two extremely good bigmen in Haywood and Rasheed, I will run a Triangle and 2 setup. I will have Lebron and Ginoboli man up on RJ and Pierce, putting pressure on them the entire time. Meanwhile, Rasheed,Bibby and Haywood will pack the post in, daring Aldridge,Bosh or Andre Miller to hit anything from the outside, I will give those 3 any shot outside of 17 feet. Bosh of the 3 will most likely catch the ball high and try to iso, and I am perfectly fine with Bibby guarding him there, as Haywood and Rasheed can watch his back and play the body guard roles. Bosh may have an outside shot, but I don't think it can hurt me the entire series. I wont let Pierce or RJ(who is having a career year) beat me.

Another important thing to note is the lack of depth on this Celtics team.

With capable Slashers like Bibby,Manu, Lebron, and Gerald Wallace, I will penetrate the lane, and ravage their team. Nobody on their team is particularly known for playing Great Defense, and I will attempt to expose that.

If I can get their intial frontcourt starters into foul trouble, the talent drop off is substantial.

Darko,Vlad and Dampier dont scare me much at all.

Andre Miller may be able to get his fellow celtics involved, but by packing the lane, Rasheed,Haywood and even Bibby can help contain the Celtics Offense.Im hoping to take their 2 and 3 out of the game completely, depending on whos playing.

Gordon,Barry,Pierce and RJ are the only guys on the roster than can hit a solid outside shot. I will hope to contain them and collapse on their bigmen, forcing them to take hard shots.

Chris Bosh, although very talented, isn't much of an enforcer, nor is Aldridge a defensive anchor either. Knowing this, Manu and Lebron will have the green light to penetrate, opening up shots for Bibby and Rasheed.

Craig Smith and Renaldo Balkman are energy guys that in my fast breaking mentality, will hopefully nab me extra possessions and 2nd chances.

If I can take their 2s and 3s out of the game, and get their bigmen in foul trouble,(one may lead to the other) I feel confident that I can win this series.

IF Need be, Josh Childress can come in and provide offense for my squad, and is also a decent defender I can throw at Pierce and RJ.

AND lets not forget about Gerald Wallace, who is a GREAT defender, and will also be put in there to contain RJ and Pierce, Let me reiterate, I WILL NOT let Pierce or RJ beat me. I just don't feel that Bosh and Aldridge will be able to score enough, with my two post men guarding them, to keep up with my shooters. I have my doubts that Pierce, a natural SF, can keep up with the quickness of Manu at the Shooting Guard. I want this game to be a shoot out, because I have the perimeter defenders to contain shooters, and a solid outside shooter from ever position but center, in other words, HUGE mismatch issues. I will contest any shot from Bosh or Aldridge from 17 ft and in, but any further, and I'll let them take it, since they will be too far away from the basket to make a difference down low, I want it to be a shoot out, and I also want to keep my post defenders fresh, so if Bosh takes his game outside, I accomplish both.

Miami Heat Roster:
Baron Davis/Marko Jaric
Micheal Redd/Marquis Daniels
John Salmons/Peja/Matt Barnes
Shawn Marion/Al Harrington/Channing Frye
Ben Wallace/Brad Miller

The Miami Heat # 5 seed vs. New York Knicks # 4 seed....

The Miami Heat have home court advantage in this series, and IMO have the upper hand in match ups. New York is a very strong team, but I think I have the advantage lineup wise, I think I have the upper hand at PG, Parker is a great PG, but he is no Baron Davis, Redd and Roy canceling out, Prince, Id have to give the upper hand with the way he complies as an all around complete player as he can handle Salmons and Peja, although both of my SF's have played great this season shooting very high percentages. I think at PF I have the upper hand line in many situations were Marion does with his quickness, stellar defense, and ability to grab rebounds. The Center position is hard to handle with him starting Yao Ming, and me starting Ben Wallace and switching out with Brad Milller. BUT I am a Rockets fan, and I have seen first hand experience of Yao's weakness. My first option will be to put Wallace on Yao, but if Yao starts to work his way into the game, then I will play Al Harrington. Al Harrington has given Yao problems in the past 2 meetings with the Warriors. Al does a great job of fronting Yao and not getting him the ball, actually just recently the Rockets lost the the Warriors on New Years Eve, the Rockets were up as many as 11, but lost the game by 17pts. The reason was because the Rockets kept going towards Yao in the final minutes, but Harrington did an excellent job containing him, and on the offensive end Harrington kept stretching the floor with his 3 pt shooting ability that Yao just couldn't handle as Harrington was just to quick. It will be hard to stop Yao, but he has weaknesses, and Harrington is one, I think the Judge T-Mac United can back me up with this statement as he is to a Houston Rockets fan, and has seen the treatment Yao has had to go through. Before the Warriors got Harrington, Yao was dominating the Warriors as he put up a 38pt, 18 rebound the previous game. After the Warriors got Harrington, Yao averaged a horrible 11.6 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game, 3.3 turnovers 45% shooting.

Strategy wise IMO I think my team fits better all around as its known to run in the open court with players like Baron Davis, Shawn Marion, Al Harrington, Micheal Redd, and John Salmons. My team also has the better 3 point shooters with Baron Davis, Micheal Redd, Peja, John Salmons (who is shooting 46% from the 3pt line and 50% from the field), and Al Harrington (shooting 40% from the 3 pt line, and 45% from the field).

Bench wise I also think I have the advantage as I have Al Harrington as my 6th man coming in at either SF, PF, or C. Harrington in the past has lived up to the 6th man role with the Pacers and has put up double digits coming in for Jermaine Oneal. I also have Peja coming off the bench in for John Salmons, both are shooting great his season, but I think Peja has more experience, and knows how to run and shoot in the open court on a fast break team as he did with the Kings under Rick Adelman. I also have Brad Miller coming off the bench, Brad is a great player, he is an example of a consistent Center who can give you 14pts, and 8 rebounds night in and night out. Also when Brad Miller got traded to the Kings he was playing under Rick Adelman and the fast break Kings, under Rick he averaged 15pts, 9reb. and 4ast, as he became a vital part of their offense.
At Point Guard I have Marko Jaric coming off the bench, Marko this season has played very good with the Wolves as he is a great penetrator and defender. If I decide to go small I also have Matt Barnes and Channing Frye.

Defense wise I have the 3 time defensive player of the year Ben Wallce, and the two time steals champion Baron Davis who this season is 2nd in SPG. I also have John Salmons who is playing excellent defense, and Marquis Daniels who is known to guard PG, SG, and SFs.

Overall I think I have the advantage and the reason I think my team should win is because I create a lot of mis-matches for him. And I have the right shooters and right players set up to run my offensive system.


EDIT: Using Salmons on Roy, and Redd on Prince...
Lineup going to start out with:
Davis
Salmons
Redd
Marion
Wallace

1st Unit Bench:
Jaric
Marquis
Peja
Frye
Harrington

2nd Unit Bench:
Jaric
Marquis
Peja
Harrington
Miller

This is a reply to the Boston Celtics vs. Washington Wiazards matchup

Pierce has been a great defender this year, i have no doubt he can prevent Lebron fromhaving a big game during this series, now im not saying Pierce will completly shut him down, but he will get the job done.

The Wizards GM has also talked about leaving Bosh and Aldrige alone from 17 ft or ferther. Bosh and Aldrige are two of the best mid range shooters in the league, i will run the pick and role with both of them and Bosh and Aldrige can drain some long range two's.

If he wants Bibby to guard Bosh off the pick im fine with that, i will spread alridge to the 17 ft line where if Haywood and Sheed stay in the lane Bosh can dish the ball to Aldrige, if they go with their man, Bosh will take it to the house with a game changing energy dunk. If we run the pick with Aldrige Hayward will not be able to get out of far enough to guard Alridge.

Finally if the Wizards GM wants to run with his small lineup for offence, i will abuse them on Defence. If he wants to run with Hayward... Hayward may be able to only play 25-28 min a game which could decrease throught a long series

First off....I'd like to say good luck to mudyez and the San Antonio Spurs and may the best team win.

Roster

PG-Harris/Cassel
SG-Wade/McCants
SF-Deng/Lewis/Outlaw
PF-O'neal/Haslem
C-Gasol/Bargnani/Perkins

Lot of interesting, frankly weird match-ups to watch for with how's he going guard Jermaine with an apparent lack of size or how I'm going to guard Melo with him playing that PF position. Lot of mis-matches to watch for.

Despite him having home-court advantage in the series, IMO it's useless or at least less effective when you don't have players with experience and have been through the battles of the playoffs. Okafor and Gay, two of his starters have never experienced the playoffs as well with Yi. Granger has once been there along with Ellis and Bogans. Carmelo has never advanced past the first round and Duhon has advanced only one time in his career. The only players with experience on the roster is Nash, Walton and obviously Horry, but I don't know if that's enough to overcome all the other young guns and players he has.

As to my team, I have Harris who's been to the finals, Cassell a two time NBA Championship winner, Wade an NBA Champion/Finals MVP, O'neal who's been to the ECF, Haslem a NBA Champion, and guys like Lewis and Deng who have advanced further into the playoffs.

I also feel I have the edge on the defensive end with Harris who's one of the best PG defenders in the league, Wade who in the past has made All-NBA defensive teams and one of the better weak-side/team defenders in the league. Deng is widely regarded as one of the better defending swingman in the league, Gasol who has anchored some fantastic defensive teams in Memphis in the past and generally near 2 blocks per game for his career, Haslem again one of the better defenders/role players in the league and athletic players like Outlaw that can get in the passing lanes and block shots. And finally my anchor in O'neal who's one of the top 5 post defenders in the league IMO. Has a very high Dtrg and arguably the best shot-blocker in the NBA. Anchored with Artest excellent defensive teams. I feel I have the quickness to stop dribble penetration and and have the shot-blockers inside in case anything slips. While Okafor and Dalembert are superb defenders, Gay, Nash, Melo, Walton, Granger, Yi and a few others aren't really known for their great defensive play.

I noticed on your roster page, you had said you'd play a zone for my team, but I could easily counter with guys like Lewis, Bargnani, McCants (all of whom are 40% three point shooters) and even a guy like Cassell that shot a high percentage two years ago.

I'd primarily put Deng on Carmelo as he has the strength to take him the post where Melo likes to operate and though he has a definite advantage in terms of Gay or Granger being guarded by O'neal, I'd much rather have those two players that have virtually no experience to beat me rather than Melo. Then I'd put Harris on Nash, who has the definite quickness to guard him and definitely won't shut him down but make him work and also work on the other end as Nash is a reluctant defender and a similar type player in Parker in the past couple years has killed Nash. Gasol should hold his ground against Okafor, or if it becomes a problem then I could easily switch off and put O'neal on him, where Okafor has very little post moves to score on him one on one.

Also don't forget Wade is arguably the best play-off performer in the league, and IMO no less than #2 behind Duncan.

In the end, it should be a close series with a lot of interesting match-ups to look for but the fact that I feel I'm a more sound defensive team and have much more experience with more players that have been through the battles to his relatively young team gives me the advantage in the end.

EDIT-Not to mention with the lack of size of SA, I feel with Wade, O'neal, Gasol, Harris and others, that it should be easier to get his bigs in foul trouble and this beat him with my bigs.

As a judge, I'd love it if everyone who posts a writeup could start off by listing their roster. Makes everything a lot easier for us.

tkb wrote:As a judge, I'd love it if everyone who posts a writeup could start off by listing their roster. Makes everything a lot easier for us.

Seconded.

will post somethin up tomarrow.

and good length on writeups so far, thanks posters. When I saw our glorious leader encouraging people to write as much as they wanted I remembered TKB's 35 page writeup in the first All Time League and shuddered (this from me, not known for short posts either).

I haven't been posting, but I just want to let you guys know that I will be around for judging.

wow just got back will get something up soon

Matchup: SAS vs. HOU

First off

My lineup:
PG- Tony Parker 35 /Derek Fisher 13/Randy Foye
SG- Brandon Roy 35 /Randy Foye 13/Matt Carroll
SF- Tayshaun Prince 34 /Shane Battier 13 /Matt Carroll 1
PF- David West 30 /Shane Battier 15/ Troy Murphy 3/Eddy Curry
C- Yao Ming 38 /Sean Williams 10 /Eddy Curry

Ok. First off my defense will start off with a 3-2 zone, because I feel they really don't have any adaquate inside threat. They only really have Marion and Harrington. But both can be neutralized when we slow down the game.

Our offense will be very similar to the offense ran by the Spurs. The focal point of our offense will be Yao Ming. If they keep him man-to-man, Ben Wallace CANNOT stop Ming. He is getting old and is a lot shorter than him. We will always have either Prince or Battier on Ming's side, so if they do double, he can kick it out to one of them for a open three. Both are very efficent three point shooters and high basketball IQ guys so they will know how to get themselves open.

The other main mis-match I see is Roy vs. Redd/Marquis. Redd is never intrested in playing defense. We will use multple screens to get Roy open. He is a very good mid-range shooter (not so much a 3pt%). We will use our forwards to get him open and he will be able to penetrate and/or shoot a accurate jumpshot. If he gets fouled, he's a pretty decent FT% (along with everyone else on my team) and will make them..

I will use David West as my garbage man. He will always be around the basket and will be looked to get our second chance points. West is a very very tough player and is in the top 20 in rebounding and extremely underrated. Marion won't be as effective as people think.

Parker vs. Davis will be a tough matchup because Davis is bigger. I feel Parker has more speed though. If he blows by him (like i'll call him to do), he's an extremely efficent finisher around the basket and can kick it out to the open man. On defense, we will try to have one of our corner defenders (either Prince or Roy) to help shade over (but won't keep their man wide open)

I feel my team defintely as the advantage. My bench is a lot more expericenced and skilled. Fisher vs. Jaric is a complete mismatch in my favor, Foye vs. Marquis I also feel is in my favor. Foye is a lot more explosive, Peja vs. Battier Battier is A LOT more of a complete player/great defender/very high bball iq. peja can only shoot.., Battier/Murphy vs Harrington/Frye is only in their favor if it's Harrington vs Murphy. Battier/Harrington is a lil towards my way but not a huge adavantage. Murphy over Frye is def a msmiatch, Williams vs Harrington they got the advantage but Sean is a very very very good defender and will be key to my team (i have enough scoring as is).

My team is going to slow down this team. We are an extremely smart team and have lots of vets. We are going to play a half court offense, and not give them easy turnovers. Our zone will stop them from spreading the floor. And if Prince and Battier are in the game at the same time, we can have a man-to-man defense of matchups of:

Fisher vs. Davis
Roy vs. Redd
Prince vs. Salmons
Battier vs. Harrington
Ming vs. Miller.

I feel although they are a good team my team has a clear advantage. We can run, play smart, and do more then just shoot the 3 point ball.

Good post...but I have a couple of responses

Our offense will be very similar to the offense ran by the Spurs. The focal point of our offense will be Yao Ming. If they keep him man-to-man, Ben Wallace CANNOT stop Ming. He is getting old and is a lot shorter than him.

This is a response to saying that Wallace CANNOT Guard Yao....well heres a stat:
Yao for his career against Ben Wallace averaged 14 ppg and 10 rpg on 44% and 3.6 turnovers, which is not good at all, Yao is a career 50% shooter, this season he held Yao to 18pts, 8 reb, 6-14 shooting, and 3TOs. Plus Yao this season is averaging 3.6 turnovers, which is not good AT ALL when playing a fast break team like mine.

Again Harrington WILL be on Yao if Wallace cannot handle him, Yao against the Warriors fast break offense and Harrington has averaged 11.6 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game, 3.3 turnovers 45% shooting, again another horrible stat. And again with me being a Rockets fan I think this is team that Yao WOULD not be looking to face, Tmac United can back me up on this factor

The other main mis-match I see is Roy vs. Redd/Marquis. Redd is never intrested in playing defense. We will use multple screens to get Roy open. He is a very good mid-range shooter (not so much a 3pt%). We will use our forwards to get him open and he will be able to penetrate and/or shoot a accurate jumpshot. If he gets fouled, he's a pretty decent FT% (along with everyone else on my team) and will make them..

How is that mis-match? Well Redd is averaging 23.4 pts, 4.9 reb, 3.8 ast, and 1.1 stl, on 44% shooting, 37% from behind the arc. While Roy is averaging 19.0pts, 4.5 reb, 5.6ast, and 0.9stl, on 45% shooting, 31% behind the arc. If anything I think they are about equal on defense. Roy is also not a scorer, he creates and penetrates more then he scores. Redd is also a player that can get very hot in a hurry as he is a quick catch and release guy. But I've also decided im going to change my match-up and play John Salmons on Brandon Roy, Salmons this season has been one of the best defensive players this season. Salmons is also single handedly carrying the injured Kings this season as he is having a career year. Since Salmons will be on Roy to I'm going to play Redd on Prince. Id also say that the Point Guard spot is a mis-match. Baron Davis vs. Tony Parker, don't get me wrong Parker is a great PG, but Baron Davis is a better penetrator, shot creator, shooter, and attacker, and rebounder. Davis also has a history of taking over ball games, he single handedly took care of the MVP Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks last season in the playoffs. Tony Parkers main game is to attack the hole, besides that he has no shooting ability what so ever....as he is a 31% 3 point shooter. Davis is a two time steals champ, and currently number 2 in the NBA in steals, if Parker were facing him he WOULD be forced to take the outside shot, and you know what the result would be with his shooting percentage.

I will use David West as my garbage man. He will always be around the basket and will be looked to get our second chance points. West is a very very tough player and is in the top 20 in rebounding and extremely underrated. Marion won't be as effective as people think.

Your right West is a good player. But theres no big man out there that can handle Marion's quickness. Marion is considered one of the quickest players in the league, players like Duncan, Brand, and Nowitzki couldn't keep up with him. Marion is a CAREER top 10 rebounder, stealer, and in the past couple of years, blocker. Since Marion made the shift to PF he is averaging over 50% shooting, and he is highly capable of stretching the floor and causing a big mis-match for opponents.

And for judges again this is how im going to match everything up:
Baron Davis vs. Tony Parker
John Salmons vs. Brandon Roy
Micheal Redd vs. Prince
Shawn Marion vs. David West
Ben Wallece and Al Harrington vs. Yao Ming

Bench:
Marko Jaric vs. Fisher
Marquis Daniels vs. Randy Foye

^ Oh ya, Randy Foye hasn't played a single game this season, and both Daniels and Foye have currently the same career stats, 10pts, 2reb, and 2ast. Defensive edge goes to Daniels

Peja vs. Battier
Brad Miller vs. Murphy or Curry
Harrington vs. Yao/Curry/Murphy

Philadelphia 76ers

GM - Myth_Breaker

I. Players drafted (2007/08 averages through December 13):

Round 1 (pick #1) - 6-11, 260 PF/C Tim Duncan
17,6 ppg/8,9 rpg/2,6 apg/0,9 spg/1,8 bpg in 32,3 mpg.

Round 2 (#32) - 6-5, 210 SF/SG Josh Howard
22,2 ppg/7,1 rpg/2,2 apg/0,8 spg/0,5 bpg in 36,3 mpg.

Round 3 (#4 - 6-3, 190 PG Kirk Hinrich
10,6 ppg/3,0 rpg/5,5 apg/1,0 spg/0,2 bpg in 31,6 mpg.

Round 4 (#49) - 6-7, 200 SF/SG Bruce Bowen
5,6 ppg/3,1 rpg/1,3 apg/0,9 spg/0,2 bpg in 29,5 mpg.

Round 5 (#80) - 7-0, 285 C Andrew Bynum
10,9 ppg/9,7 rpg/1,5 apg/0,5 spg/2,0 bpg in 26,1 mpg.

Round 6 (#81) - 6-9, 245 PF/C Antonio McDyess
10,8 ppg/7,3 rpg/1,2 apg/0,8 spg/0,6 bpg in 29,7 mpg.

Round 7 (#97) - 6-3, 185 PG Jamaal Tinsley
14,7 ppg/4,5 rpg/8,6 apg/2,0 spg/0,2 bpg in 35,3 mpg.

Round 8 (#129)- 6-7, 205 SG/SF Ricky Davis
15,3 ppg/4,4 rpg/2,3 apg/0,9 spg/0,1 bpg in 35,8 mpg.

Round 9 (#130)- 6-7, 245 SF/SG Wally Szczerbiak
11,2 ppg/2,0 rbg/1,3 apg/0,3 spg/0,0 bpg in 21,0 mpg.

Round 10 (#162)- 6-11, 270 PF/C Kwame Brown
4,3 ppg/5,0 rbg/1,1 apg/0,9 spg/0,9 bpg in 21,0 mpg.

Round 11 (#176)- 6-3, 170 SG/PG Juan Carlos Navarro
10,9 ppg/2,0 rpg/2,0 apg/0,7 spg/0,0 bpg in 23,3 mpg

Round 12 (#177)- 6-10, 235 C/PF Theo Ratliff
8,2 ppg/4,5 rpg/0,8 apg/0,5 spg/2,8 bpg in 26,8 mpg.


II. Rotations:

A. Basic rotation
(you may call it offensive rotation, though I don't see any other roster better than it in defense )

PG - Jamaal Tinsley/Kirk Hinrich/J.C. Navarro
SG - Bruce Bowen/Ricky Davis/J.C. Navarro
SF - Josh Howard/Wally Szczerbiak
PF - Tim Duncan/Antonio McDyess/Kwame Brown
C - Andrew Bynum/Theo Ratliff, Kwame Brown

B. Defensive rotation

PG - Kirk Hinrich/Jamaal Tinsley
SG - Bruce Bowen/Ricky Davis
SF - Josh Howard/Wally Szczerbiak
PF - Tim Duncan/Antonio McDyess/Kwame Brown
C - Andrew Bynum/Theo Ratliff, Kwame Brown

C. Examples of veteran lineups for deciding stretches of games

PG - Jamaal Tinsley
SG - Bruce Bowen
SF - Josh Howard
PF - Antonio McDyess
C - Tim Duncan

or

PG - J.C. Navarro
SG - Bruce Bowen
SF - Josh Howard
PF - Antonio McDyess
C - Tim Duncan.

1st round opponent - Raptors rotation:

PG - Jason Terry/Jordan Farmar/Darrell Armstrong
SG - Gilbert Arenas/Ronnie Brewer
SF - Josh Smith/Jason Kapono
PF - Carlos Boozer/Chris Webber
C - Andris Biedrins/Kurt Thomas/Nenad Krstic

III. General makeup of my team:

Despite run and gun style being so popular in this league, I went with approach that has been most successful historically, constructing defense-oriented team with offense based on halfcourt sets and run by real PGs, similar to real Duncan's team in Spurs (though with enough firepower and athleticism to speed up the pace if needed, again like real Spurs were able to do in Suns series). Tim is obviously our leader and 1st option in both offense and defense. Josh - 2nd option, like he is to Dirk and overall 2nd most important player as just like TD he's great at both sides of the ball. Emerging dominant bigman in Bynum will be our 3rd option - similarly to his role in the Lakers. Tinsley and Hinrich are unselfish playmakers, able to fulfill role of 4th options: the former also excels at steals, while the latter - in guarding both PGs and SGs, so will anchor perimeter defense of my bench. Bowen - again, just like in real life - won't be obliged to do much in offense - basically just sink his patented 3s from the corner - but instead will be our designated defensive stopper (duh! He's the only guy that consistently gives trouble to even Kobe!). Kwame will perform the same role as to bigmen defense (don't laugh, he's on of the best man-to-man defensive bigs in the league) - it's good to have such stoppers since even if they foul out, my team offense will barely take a note. Ricky Davis - a do-it-all guy who registered like 20-5-5 season when starting - will be my scoring spark off the bench, while Szczerbiak - another designated shooter able to utilize outside-inside tactic, shooting open 3s when opposing defenses collapse on Duncan and/or Bynum. Navarro is less known in the NBA, but he's great and experienced clutch shooter (like when he co-lead with Gasol Spanish NT to Worlds gold/defeating US Dream Team), able to play both backcourt positions. Read e.g. this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/r ... od=1&set=0

McDyess will be my most important reserve big, with his tough defense, smarts, ability to play both at PF and C, and this midrange jumper that makes him perfect complement to Duncan's/Bynum's dominant post game. I envision playing him next to Duncan in deciding moments of the games (like Spurs usually do with Horry at PF and Tim at C), but also next to Andrew in other quarters (remember that though I listed Bynum as a starter, he's going to spend a huge chunk of his PT with a second unit, being 1st offensive option then).
BTW, Dice's playing great this season and constitutes main reason why Pistons don't want Webber back:

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=746143

I'll be the first to admit that I did NOT expect Dice to be able to play this many minutes or be playing this well this early. Usually it takes him about 6-8 weeks to play himself into shape, but knowing he'd be a starter this year he worked out over the Summer for the first time since joining the Pistons. And it clearly shows. Not only is he FAR more productive than Nazr was, but he's even making CWebbs short stint as a starter look pale by comparison. Better rebounder, better fg% & better
defense.
(Cowology)

And, finally, Ratliff: you could call him just another experienced vet, giving me 6 fouls a game: with that little difference he can give me like 3 blocks a game as well: he's timing for blocks is unbelievable.

I must say that my squad has virtually no weak points. Name any aspect of the game and I've got at least 1-2 players excelling at that:

Rebounding? First of all Bynum and Duncan (who in meantime upped his rebounding average, relatively poor at the beginning of the season, to >9 rpg).

Scoring in the post? Again: Duncan and Bynum.

Man-to-man defense against bigmen? Duncan and Kwame, aided by McDyess.

Shotblocking? Duncan, Bynum, Ratliff...

Slashers? Josh Howard and Ricky Davis immediately come to mind.

Long range bombers? Szczerbiak, Bowen, Navarro, also Josh Howard this season improved his 3P% to almost 39%!

Creating/playmaking? I don't see many other teams with 2 PGs of starting caliber in a contending team like my Tinsley and Hinrich.

Stealing the ball? Tinsley is my most accomplished ball-thief, with J-Ho and Bowen complementing him.

Man-to-man perimeter defense? With Bowen, Hinrich and Josh Howard I feel I can stop anyone, anytime.

Veteran experience? Duncan and Bowen are obvious. Josh went to the Finals, while Tinsley - to ECF. The only starter which is relatively unexperienced is Bynum, but even he's in his 3rd year in the league and has already been to the playoffs. Furthermore, I've got experienced vets on the bench like McDyess or Hinrich to counterbalance his youth.

But having veterans doesn't mean my team is unathletic: Josh, Ricky Davis, Kwame or Bynum prove otherwise.

It is also worth noting that I can put on the floor a team which is very big and imposing physically. Rotating 3 7-footers, 260-285 pounds each, plus tough McDyess, always physical Bowen, and even Tinsley and Hinrich being one of the stronger 1s here, gives me possibility of beating opposing team to a pulp.

In summary, I feel like I constructed a team that could win even with real Spurs. Duncan and Bowen? Check. Josh offsets one of Manu-Parker duo, and while I don't have 2nd player of that caliber, I have overall even more offensive firepower, even more suffocating defense and more potent bench. In addition, Bynum is better than any of Spurs centers since Admiral retired. These guys were basically garbage, yet Duncan was still able to win titles with them - now imagine how much easier his task will be with young beast in Bynum competing with him for focus of opposing defense!

So it looks like my Sixers > real Spurs, and as Spurs are defending champs/title favorites... you do the math.

IV. 1st round matchup vs. Raptors:

Wezbo constructed a nice team, but I don't think Raps may pose serious threat for my Sixers.
First, defense wins championships: and my team has the best defensive starting 5, prolly the best defensive bench, and of course the best defense overall.
Second, in the playoffs more experienced teams have an upper hand: and my team has clear edge in experience.
Third, when opponents are comparable, team featuring the best player almost always wins. Hey, it often happens even when opposing teams are more talented (think Jordan's Bulls over Suns or Shaq's/Kobe's Lakers over Kings and Blazers)! And I don't have to convince anyone that in TD I have the best player in this comparison, natural winner and leader, have I?
But - it will be point 4 - I don't even have necessarily to pull Duncan's card, since comparing across positions I think I have superior, more balanced team anyway.


Raptors rotation:

PG - Jason Terry/Jordan Farmar/Darrell Armstrong
SG - Gilbert Arenas/Ronnie Brewer
SF - Josh Smith/Jason Kapono
PF - Carlos Boozer/Chris Webber
C - Andris Biedrins/Kurt Thomas/Nenad Krstic

PG - Terry is having a down year, while Tinsley - a career year (he's 5th in the league in apg!), so I'd say it's even, but Hinrich and Navarro give my edge over Farmar - who's promising, but is not there yet, and lacks experience and Navarro, who constitutes reverse case: has great experience, but barely can play anymore. Advantage: Sixers.

SG - Well, it's quite obvious Agent Zero is going to outproduce Bowen head-to-head. But the question is different: to what extent Bruce is going to frustrate Gilbert, hack him and force to take tough shots. Since the former is able to contain even Kobe, being superior player to Arenas, I'm quite certain he'll achieve the same as to Gilbert, limiting the most dangerous offensive weapon of our opponents.
Brewer is another youngster who somewhat lacks experience: Ricky Davis is better than him in almost every facet of the game. But nevermind: advantage Raptors.

SF - J. Smith is a great talent, but Howard is registering better numbers in better team than Josh - in weaker team. 'Nuff said. J-Ho is just better 2-way player, is more experienced, etc. The only significant advantage of Atlanta's star lies in blocks, but then: he's registering so many of them playing at PF, so moving him farther from the basket should negatively affect these numbers.
Szczerbiak vs. Kapono: Kapono has higher 3P percentage, but is basically only catch-and-shoot player, while Wally just can do more on the court, like rebounding or creating his own shot. Advantage: Sixers.

PF - Boozer is a beast, but still Duncan can limit him at least a bit to greater extent than Boozer can contain him (remember TD has also significant height advantage). As I've already mentioned, Pistons fans themselves value McDyess higher than Webber: C-Webb remains crafty passer, but he's much slower than Dice and his defense is almost non-existant. Advantage: Sixers.

C - Bynum proved already twice during his current breakout season that destroys Biedrins head-to-head - I'm sure Wezbo az Lakers fan can confirm this - he's just much too big and strong for him. Krstic barely can play this season after not recovering from ACL surgery: even Kwame is more valuable than him. Kurt Thomas is clearly better than Ratliff.
Slight advantage: Sixers, especially considering that our PFs are better at sliding to C than Raptors guys (Duncan is just center playing mostly at PF anyway).

So I enjoy advantage at 4 out of 5 positions. Add the fact that Raptors have no true PG capable of starting - and I never trust such teams, unless in triangle offense - while I've got 2 of them, and I can't see any reason why my winning this series would last longer than 5, at most 6 games - even taking into account Wezbo's HC advantage (and Duncan's teams were beating opponents with HC advantage quite often).

Nonetheless, good luck, Wezbo!

Portland Traiblazers Depth Chart:

F - Andrei Kirilenko [36] - Jamario Moon [12]
F - Al Horford [34] - Fabricio Oberto [14]
C - Dwight Howard [38] - Fabricio Oberto [10]
G - Caron Butler [38] - Anthony Parker [10]
G - Jose Calderon [30] - Mo Williams [18]

R - Morris Peterson - Francisco Elson - Eddie House

Seattle Supersonics Depth Chart:

F - Grant Hill - Carlos Delfino - Marvin Williams
F - Elton Brand - Jason Maxiel
C - Zydrunas Ilgauskas - Nick Collison - Etan Thomas
G - Vince Carter - Hedo Turkoglu - Carlos Delfino
G - Deron Williams - Rafer Alston

Originally I had planned to draft a running team - I thought I had done it -, but now that I look closer at the team it's obvious that they're best as a half court team.

Offensively they will rely on the interior - somewhat garbage - scoring of Dwight Howard, Al Horford, and Fabricio Oberto, perimeter scoring of Caron Butler and Mo Williams, and the playmaking of Jose Calberon, Andrie Kirilenko, and Mo Williams.

Defensively they will be excellent in the painted area with fundamentally sound defense and spectacular defense - Howard, Horford, and Oberto providing the former, and Howard, Kirilenko, and Moon providing the latter.

Against the Sonics, well, they're a very nice team with no real weaknesses besides their back-up point guard - probably won't be a deciding factor.

Why would the Blazers win?

Well, I think they have a significant advantage defensively because of their interior, they'll shoot higher percentage shots and get to the line more often, and they won't be outrebounded to say the least.

BLAZERS VS SONICS

Portland Trail Blazers

PG-Calderon/Mo Williams
SG-Butler/Anthony Parker/House
SF-Kirlenko/Moon/Mo-Pete
PF-Horford/Elson
C-D-12/Oberto

Seattle Sonics

PG-Deron/Rafer Alston/Delfino
SG-V.C/Hedo/Delfino
SF-Hill/Hedo/Marvin/Maxiell
PF-Brand/Collison/Maxiell
C-Ilgauskas/Collison/Etan Thomas

Sonics have home court over the Blazers in the first round.

First thing that comes to mind about this match-up is how am I going to be able to contain Dwight Howard, I think if I'm able to slow D-12 down, then there's no reason I can't outright win this series handily. I do believe I have the bigs that can contain (not shutdown) Dwight and wear him out through a 7 game series. From Brand to Z, Nick Collison, Jason Maxiell and even throw in Etan Thomas playing the role of hack-a-Dwight. I'm going to punish Dwight defensively, have guys running at him constantly, make him work far from the basket, force him to make good passes out of doubles and make other guys step up and try to beat me from the outside rather than let him have his way in the paint. The Blazers have a bunch of guys who can shoot from the outside (Butler, Calderon, Mo Williams, Parker, House and Peterson). So it's obvious they've tried to surround Dwight with capable outside threats, but I'll take my chances with his guys settling for jumpers all game rather than Dwight man-handling me from 5 feet in.

Something about the Blazers line-up that jumps out at me is that there is plenty of shooters, but not many creators. For the exception of Caron Butler and to a lesser extent Mo Williams and Calderon, there's nobody else that can create their own shot. While his shooters will get their fair amount of jumpers, there'll be times, especially in late game situations where I'll force his guys to pull up and beat me off the dribble by denying Dwight the ball in the post.

The next thing I look at from my side of the match-up is the clear advantage I have at point guard. With Deron Williams I have a point guard who can really do it all, his explosive quickness and playmaking ability are going to allow me to penetrate over and over and find guys for wide open shots. Not only that but he'll be able to score at will and create havoc in the paint because Jose and Mo won't be able to stop him off the dribble. Honestly, they have ho shot at slowing him down offensively. He'll get what he wants, whenever he wants.

I look at the Brand vs Horford match-up, you have the seasoned vet vs the rookie here, this is a serious mismatch off experience alone. Horford is just learning the ins and outs of the game and now he's asked to guard and contain one of the premier power forwards in the game for an entire playoff series? That's asking a lot out of the young fella IMO. Brand will take him on the block and show him how it's done, inside/out, he'll take him on the perimeter and stick shots all day if Al doesn't get up on him. I believe Elton will get Al in foul trouble early and often. Same with guys like Oberto, Elson and Kirilenko. The Blazers really have no one who can guard him, unless they try throwing Howard at him all game. Since they can't afford Dwight to get in foul trouble, I don't see that happening, at least not for long stretches of the game.

I look at the V.C vs Butler match-up and I believe this one will be a good one. I think this is a fairly even match-up and both guys will probably cancel each other out. However, I do like Carter's playmaking abilities over Butler's, also Carter provides more veteran leadership and experience. He's more proven and if we're talking a 7 game series here, I'd take him over Butler.

The Hill vs Kirilenko match-up is interesting. AK-47 is probably his best defender, so I'm assuming he'd rather have him try and guard a more dangerous offensive option like Vince. He'll create some trouble defensively for me, when Kirilenko is on his game it seems like he's all over the floor. Grant can do it all and I believe his game speaks for itself this season. He's even added an outside shot to his arsenal, he can take you off the dribble, get to the line, hit the jumper, he's such a smart player on both sides of the floor.

The Big Z vs Dwight match-up. Well I already went over Dwight to begin my post. Obviously Portland has the clear advantage at C. But Big Z is no slouch, this guy can get the job done man. He's been to the finals before and he has the experience. He really will also create some problems for Dwight because he can step out 16-18 feet from the bucket and drain jumpers all game if you don't get up on him. Dwight won't be able to patrol the paint all game if Z is stepping out and nailing that shot. Zydrunas is a horse and he'll definitely be able to hold his own down low.

I look at the quality of the benches and the depth both teams possess and I feel my team has the edge there. Briefly through the match-ups at each position off the bench.

PG-Mo vs Rafer-I'll give the Blazers the edge there, Mo is a good scorer has improved getting his teammates more involved in the game. It should be noted that Rafer won't be getting too much playing time behind Deron anyways. If I need somebody else to bring the ball up the floor for me when Deron is getting a little rest, Delfino is another guy that can create and set-up the offense. He's proven this season he can excel in that role with his great ball handling skills and court vision. He can definitely fill that emergency 3rd string point guard role.

SG-Hedo/Delfino vs Parker/House-Give me the edge here, Hedo is the superior player of the 4 and has been having a breakout season all around. He can shoot, take you to the hole, create for his teammates. He's really a complete offensive player. Delfino is a solid defender, who can stroke the 3 and can come in and provide me with some toughness. Parker and House are both great outside shooters. Parker is also a good defender. But neither can create their own shot offensively and House is undersized at the defensive end.

SF-Hedo/Marvin vs Moon/Mo-Pete-Already went over Hedo's strengths. Marvin Williams is turning into a special player, he's really coming into this own this season. He's automatic from mid-range, he's a guy who can get to the line and rack up some free throws. I really like his game and think he can give me some nice minutes in a limited role off the bench. Moon is a solid defender, his game is based around his athleticism. He can rebound, use his athleticism to get up, block and alter a lot of shots. He can create havoc defensively. However, he hasn't developed anything resembling a mediocre offensive game. Mo-Pete is a nice role player, nothing against him. he can get the job done. He's an outside shooter, he can't create his own shot though and he relies on other guys getting to get him open looks.

Bench bigs-Elson/Oberto vs Collison/Maxiell/Etan Thomas-I like this in my favor, I think Nick Collison is head and shoulders above any of the bigs listed and is a legit starter in the NBA. He's the hustle-do-it-all-guy, he gives me tough D, rebounding, mixed in with some inside scoring and he can even hit the mid-range jumper. I'd even take Maxiell/Thomas over Oberto/Elson, just my preference.

When it comes down to it I believe the mismatches at PG/PF will prove to be much too much for the Blazers.