Dikembe Mutombo Draft - R1 - Snakebites* vs Dr Positivity

[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. Please ensure you give a rationale for your vote; votes with no explanation will not be counted.

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).

**First to 3 votes advances.**

[Dr Positivity]

PG: Deron Williams (2013: 14.4 FGA) - Nets
SG: Sidney Moncrief (1984: 14.2 FGA) - DPOY
SF: P.J. Tucker (2018: 5.4 FGA) - Rockets
PF: Karl Malone (1998: 18.2 FGA) - Finals with different teams
C: Nikola Jokic (2023: 14.8 FGA) - Nuggets

PG/SG: Charlie Ward (2001: 6.1 FGA) - Knicks
SF: Marvin Williams (2012: 8.2 FGA) - Hawks
PF: Bobby Jones (1983: 6.2 FGA) - 76ers

87.5 / 88

PG: Deron Williams (38) / Charlie Ward (10)
SG: Sidney Moncrief (34) / Charlie Ward (14)
SF: P.J. Tucker (32) / Marvin Williams (12) / Sidney Moncrief (4)
PF: Karl Malone (28) / Bobby Jones (20)
C: Nikola Jokic (38) / Karl Malone (10)

Defensive matchups: Moncrief on Maxey, Deron on KCP, Malone on Ariza, Tucker on Lebron, Jokic on Dwight.

- Both teams have a strong frontcourt in Malone/Jokic and Lebron/Howard however I believe Deron and Moncrief have the advantage over 2023 Maxey and Petro when considering both talent and fit. Both players should work well with our frontcourt with Deron being able to run pick and roll with either and Moncrief cutting off ball for their passing.

- The Maxey downgrade combined with the matchup looks large as DPOY Moncrief can own him on defense and leave him without strong secondary support behind Lebron. If he starts Petro we'll use Moncrief on him, but that also hurts him.

- Jones is still better than Hartenstein and the fit plays in our favor here as half his minutes are with Dwight, while Jones in the Gordon role is a flawless fit beside Jokic and we'll be riding them for 20 minutes. When Jokic sits we have Deron-Malone pick and roll while his non Lebron minutes could have issues. 16 Thabo shoots 34% from 3 and is the weakest player in the series I believe.

[Snakebites]

PG: Tyrese Maxey 22-23- 15.2 FGA (Sixers)
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 22-23 - 8.3 FGA (Nuggets)
SF: Trevor Ariza 17-18- 9.7 FGA (Rockets)
PF: Lebron James 12-13- 17.8 FGA (Multi-Team Finals)
C: Dwight Howard 09-10- 10.2 FGA (DPOY)

B: Drazen Petrovic 92-93- 16.2 FGA (Nets)
B: Thabo Sefolosha 15-16 5.0 FGA (Hawks)
B: Isaiah Hartenstein 23-24 4.9 FGA (Knicks)

Total: 87.3/88 FGA

Maxey (32)/KCP (16)
KCP (12)/Petrovic (36)
Ariza (35)/Thabo (13)
Lebron (39)/I Hart (9)
Dwight (38)/I Hart (10)

*These refer to defensive positions. One of Maxey and Lebron play at all times, and when only one is on the floor they are the primary ball handler).

Alrighty, let’s do this. KCP on Deron, Ariza on Moncrief, Maxey on Tucker, Lebron on Malone, Dwight on Joker.

I’ve got a trio of star players who fit extremely well. Lebron and Dwight form elite pillars on both ends of the floor, and Drazen is a crafty all round scorer who slides perfectly into the Ginobili role. Maxey is a secondary playmaker with terrific gravity, and KCP, Ariza, IHart, and Thabo are ideal supporting pieces.

Moncrief is a great defender but a non-shooter, which makes him a less than ideal fit alongside the bigman duo. PJ Tucker is also miscast as a full time small forward, and while he’s a nice defender Lebron is going to steamroll over him, particularly without good rim protection.

I think my offense has a clearer path to success and will produce more consistently across a 48 minute game, and that this should carry the day.

[Fadeaway_J]

Not too enamoured of the lack of spacing and defensive versatility Dr P has around Jokic. I guess the talent and IQ can overcome the former, but the latter is a major issue against a properly built LeBron+spacing unit. (Jones would actually be the perfect defensive fit for that starting five.) Snake's bench has some trouble spots with Hartenstein playing the 4 and the lead ballhandler potentially being Maxey, who to me was just OK at that role prior to 2023-24; however, those are somewhat mitigated by Petrovic as the super sixth man.

Vote: Snakebites

[durantbird]

I also think this isn't an ideal Jokic team. Deron Jokic is a nice fit, but otherwise the spacing is pretty low. Snake's team makes more sense to me.

Vote Snake

[wackbone]

Both great teams. Snake's team just makes a little more sense to me. Dr P has plenty of talent, I'm just not 100% sure how well they all coexist together.

Vote: Snake

[durantbird]

Snakebites advances