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).
28.6 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.0 spg, 4.0 bpg, .551 FG%, .775 FT%, .599 TS% - NBA All-Star - All-NBA First Team
PF - Jaren Jackson Jr. (2022-23)
Spoiler:
18.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 3.0 bpg, .506 FG%, .355 3P%, .788 FT%, 100 3P (1.6 pg), .613 TS% - Led the NBA in bpg, BLK% (9.6) - Defensive Player of the Year - NBA All-Star - All-Defensive First Team
SF - Julius Erving (1981-82)
Spoiler:
24.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.0 spg, 1.7 bpg, .546 FG%, .763 FT%, .593 TS% - Led in the NBA in WS/48 (.229), BPM (7.7) - NBA All-Star - All-NBA First Team
Rotations C - Ewing (40), Jackson (8) PF - Jackson (30), Erving (18) SF - Erving (22), Miller (14), Battier (12) SG - Battier (26), Ward (12), Mathews (10) PG - Thomas (40), Ward (8)
FGA Per Player
Spoiler:
Julius Erving - 17.6 Jaren Jackson Jr. - 13.0 Shane Battier - 5.9 Isiah Thomas - 16.2 Patrick Ewing - 20.4 Charlie Ward - 6.1 Mike Miller - 5.4 Garrison Mathews - 3.4
Total: 88.0/88.0
Plan A for my team is to run off makes, misses, and turnovers to generate easy transition buckets or early offense while the opposing defense is still out of position. Not only do we have Isiah at the controls and Doc on the wing, but our 4-5 combo of JJJ and peak Ewing is probably the most athletic in the draft and should be able to outrun opposing bigs. Additionally, with Isiah and Doc as ballhawks (2.2 and 2.0 spg respectively) and the insane shotblocking frontcourt of Ewing, JJJ, and Doc, we will be able create a lot of those fast breaks ourselves. When the game slows down, we have the three-pronged attack of Ewing in the mid-to-low post, Doc on the wing, and Isiah creating from the top of the key, with JJJ an overqualified fourth option who also spaces the floor. All our role players are excellent three-point shooters who take advantage of the attention drawn by our stars.
Matchup - Defensive assignments are Battier-Oscar, Isiah-Jrue, Doc-Tatum, JJJ-Horford, Ewing-Reed. With Oscar not being a major outside shooter and preferring to use his size and strength in the midrange, Battier is an excellent fit to guard him. Two mobile, athletic bigs allow us to contain the pick-and-roll effectively. - Both teams are strong defensively across the board, but I think our incredible rim protection gives us the edge. We can completely take away the rim and force flaco's group to rely more on jumpshooting, where guys like Tatum and Jrue in particular are pretty inconsistent. On the other end, the Ewing-Doc-Isiah trio puts a lot more pressure on the rim. - We have more juice in transition with Isiah pushing the ball and our uber-athletic frontcourt trio running the lanes.
Rotations PG: Oscar Robertson (38) / Jrue Holiday (10) SG: Jrue Holiday (28) / Thabo Sefolosha (20) SF: Jayson Tatum (33) Jared Dudley (15) PF: Al Horford (28) / Nic Batum (15) / Jayson Tatum (5) C: Willis Reed (38) / Al Horford (10)
Offense We run a PnR/PnP-heavy offense forcing Ewing to defend in space. Oscar and Tatum are the ball handlers. Willis Reed is one of the best undersized Centers ever. He'd thrive as a roll man thanks to his mobility and physicality. Horford can either roll or pop from 3. Jrue may provide occasional shot creation, if necessary. All my starters but Horford were key players on championship teams in their selected season.
For the record, Oscar was by all accounts a terrific shooter. Not his fault his was playing prior to the introduction of the 3pt line. He's also a career 83.8% shooter from the FT line. Led the league in FT% in 2 seasons. More often than not, FT percentage is indicative of shooting ability. I'd argue he's a rich man's Luka: Heliocentric ball handler who relied on BBIQ rather than athleticism. Always played at his own pace. Could not speed him up or slow him down, just like Luka. Was still highly effective in Milwaukee. If anything, he relied a bit more on his outside game allowing Kareem to dominate the paint. Finished 5th in the MVP voting in his selected season.
Defense All players on the roster are switchable defenders. We have the option to switch everything, but I don't see the point tbh. Switching is all about denying the 3. Fade's spacing leaves a lot to be desired with only two 3pt shooters in his starting lineup. We go under the pick against Isiah and Erving whom I expect to spend plenty of time on the ball as well. Reed drops back to protect the rim. He comfortably led the league in DWS in his selected season. Would have likely won DPOY, but the award didn't exist at the time.
FGA 1971 Oscar Robertson 12.5 2021 Jrue Holiday 13.9 2024 Jayson Tatum 19.3 2016 Al Horford 12.8 1970 Willis Reed 14.5 2015 Thabo Sefolosha 4.8 2015 Jared Dudley 5.9 2024 Nicolas Batum 4.3
