Non-Dynastic Vintage Champions - CHAMPIONSHIP - durantbird vs wackbone**

[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: Chris Paul 20' - 12.7
SG: Chris Mullin 90' - 16.3
SF: Scottie Pippen 01' - 9.3
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo 21' - 18.0
C: Brook Lopez 19' - 9.7

G: James Harden 12' - 10.1
F: Jared Dudley 15' - 5.9
F/C: Ben Wallace 03' - 6.0

88/88

CP3 (37) | Harden (11) | Pippen
Mullin (30) | Harden (18) | Dudley
Pippen (35) | Mullin (8) | Dudley (5)
Giannis (39) | Dudley (9) | Pippen
Lopez (30) | Wallace (18) | Giannis

vs
Steph Curry (38) / Walt Frazier (10)
Walt Frazier (28) / Doug Christie (20)
Trevor Ariza (26) / Harrison Barnes (16) / Doug Christie (6)
Charles Barkley (38) / Harrison Barnes (10)
Jack Sikma (38) / Jaylin Williams (10)

Matchup
- Defensive assignments: Paul vs Curry, Pippen vs Frazier, Mullin vs Ariza, Giannis vs Barkley, Lopez vs Sikma.
- We match up great. Giannis versus Barkley is a huge plus for us, Paul and Pippen are two tenacious defenders against his perimeter duo, while Dudley can also help with his minutes off the bench.
- On the other hand I don't think they are in a great position to handle Giannis - Barkley can't guard him, while Ariza might be a bit skinny for the task. I also think Curry cannot really be hidden in this matchup - if wack uses Barkley on Pippen, then Curry needs to guard either Paul or Mullin. Even if he takes Pippen, even older Pippen will be tough for him.
- Curry Frazier Barkley Sikma versus Paul Mullin Giannis Lopez is comparable, but I think even older Pippen is a significant upgrade as fifth man, while our bench is where we really shine with 6MOY All Star level offense Harden, and peak Big Ben.

[wackbone]

Steph Curry - 2015 - 16.8 FGA - MVP, All-NBA 1st, All-Star, 44.3 3P% on 8.1 att, NBA Champ
Charles Barkley - 1990 - 14.9 FGA - 2nd in MVP, All-NBA 1st, All-Star, Highest WS & WS/48 of career
Jack Sikma - 1983 - 13.9 FGA - 11th in MVP, All-Star, Was All-Def 2nd the previous season
Walt Frazier - 1970 - (15.0x0.85) 12.8 FGA - 4th in MVP, All-NBA 1st, All-Star, All-Def 1st, Led League in All-Def voting (DPOY didn't exist yet), Led League in WS/48, Known Shooter, NBA Champ
Trevor Ariza - 2014 - 11.1 FGA - 40.7 3P% on 5.7 att, Known Defender
Harrison Barnes - 2015 - 8.0 FGA - 40.5 3P% on 2.6 att, NBA Champ
Doug Christie - 2003 - 7.0 FGA - 39.5 3P% on 2.3 att, 5th in DPOY, All-Def 1st
Jaylin Williams - 2024 - 3.3 FGA - 36.8 3P% on 2.1 att, Massive Cranium
Total: 87.8/88 FGA

Rotations:
Steph Curry (38) / Walt Frazier (10)
Walt Frazier (28) / Doug Christie (20)
Trevor Ariza (26) / Harrison Barnes (16) / Doug Christie (6)
Charles Barkley (38) / Harrison Barnes (10)
Jack Sikma (38) / Jaylin Williams (10)

Writeup:

Helluva team as always db, best of luck.

Defensively we will start with Curry on CP3, Frazier/Christie on Mullin, Barkley on Pippen, Ariza/Barnes/Barkley on Giannis, and Sikma on Lopez. All-Def 1st Christie is playing heavy minutes off of the bench as is Harrison Barnes.

We have two elite defenders for Mullin in Frazier and Christie. We have three capable bodies to defend Giannis in Ariza/Barnes/Barkley. Pippen is a shell of his former self, 1990 Barkley will be fine on him. CP3 and Harden are both either a bit older or younger than their true prime. Lopez and Dudley provide 3 point shooting and little else offensively.

Offensively Curry and Frazier split ball-handling duties - Curry is as effective on or off-ball, and Frazier was highly effective next to Earl Monroe so I don't see this pairing being an issue. Quite frankly I think they fit very well together. 2nd in MVP Barkley is the main threat down low, but don't sleep on Sikma. Ariza, Christie, and Barnes are the 3&D glue guys.

db matches up well from a glance but when you consider it's 2020 CP3 and 2001 Pippen I don't think they're going to be quick enough to match up with Curry and Frazier as their primary assignments. The combined impact of that is similar to Barkley on 2001 Pippen and Ariza/Barnes on Giannis, if not more glaring.

Ultimately I think we have a significantly more high-powered offense with Curry/Frazier/Barkley/Sikma as compared to 2020 CP3, 2012 Harden, Mullin, and Giannis. Any minutes with Giannis+Ben on the court together does not seem ideal for Giannis's offensive production.

[durantbird]

Matchup is open. wackbone please vote for yourself

[durantbird]

wackbone wins!

Gg

[wackbone]

Sweet! Not an easy path, but happy to get the win.