Playoff Upsets Draft - R1 - Stan vs durantbird*

[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: Jrue Holiday 21' - 13.9
SG: Michael Jordan 96' - 22.6
SF: Jimmy Butler 19' - 13.9
PF: Paul Millsap 19' - 9.5
C: Shaquille O'Neal 05' - 15.0

Bench: Delon Wright 22' - 3.5
Bench: Nate McMillan 96' - 4.3
Bench: Nicolas Batum 24' - 4.3

87/88

PG: Jrue Holiday 38 / Delon Wright 10
SG: Michael Jordan 20 / Nate McMillan 26 / Delon Wright 2
SF: Jimmy Butler 30 / Michael Jordan 18
PF: Paul Millsap 22 / Nicolas Batum 18 / Jimmy Butler 8
C: Shaquille O'Neal 38 / Paul Millsap 10

Vs

Wade (38) Brunson (10)
Manu (34) Brunson (14)
Posey (32) Schrempf (16)
Gordon (38) Schrempf (10)
Ewing (38) Looney (10)

Assignments
Holiday on Wade, MJ on Posey, Butler on Manu/Schrempf, Millsap on Gordon, Shaq on Ewing.

Great defensive assignments with no holes. Holiday MJ Butler can all rotate and help on Wade, Millsap can help on Ewing. Batum McMillan Wright are also great options for Wade Manu.

MJ Butler can have MJ Pippen like synergy, along with Shaq it's overwhelming.

MJ doesn't have a very tough assignment and can be a distruper on defense. I believe Wade will need to work harder on defense

[Stan]

2006 Dwyane Wade
1995 Patrick Ewing
2005 Manu Ginobili
1999 Detlef Schrempf
2025 Aaron Gordon
2021 Jalen Brunson
2005 James Posey
2024 Kevon Looney

Wade (38) Brunson (10)
Manu (34) Brunson (14)
Posey (32) Schrempf (16)
Gordon (38) Schrempf (10)
Ewing (38) Looney (10)

I don't have time for a lengthy writeup, I'll just provide quick points of where I think my team would have an advantage. His team frankly has very limited 3 point shooting in the starting lineup. Millsap & Butler both barely average a 3 a game on at best average efficiency, Jrue is the only true 3 point shooter in the lineup and he had instances of horrific efficiency against top competition in the playoffs. Surrounding Jordan and Miami Shaq with that level of outside shooting will provide limited spacing for the offense to operate.

This version of Shaq would be a legitimate liability in the PnR, good luck having him try to cover and stay with Manu & Wade on the perimeter.

His bench scoring is also non existent, my team will have a huge advantage in the minutes his starters are off the floor.

[durantbird]

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Voting is open. Team owners please vote for yourselves

[durantbird]

ChatGPT vote durantbird - durantbird advances

https://chatgpt.com/share/688f8724-86f0-800a-af23-19bd6ee95098

This is a tightly contested seven-game series, but a slight edge leans toward durantbird's team. Here's the breakdown:

Offense

durantbird relies on a core of 1996 Jordan, 2019 Butler, and 2005 Shaq, giving him a physical, high-IQ halfcourt offense. There’s legitimate concern about spacing, as only Jrue is a consistent 3PT threat in the starting five. But Jordan-Butler-Shaq offers overwhelming rim pressure, post-up gravity, and smart passing.

Stan’s team has more modern spacing with Manu, Posey, Gordon, and some help from Schrempf and Brunson off the bench. 2006 Wade is a downhill monster but operates best with spacing—which he has. Offensively, he offers a better 5-out and PnR attack, and he has multiple secondary creators.


Defense

durantbird has the edge defensively. Jrue, MJ, Butler is an elite perimeter trio, and Millsap + Shaq can hold their own. While 2005 Shaq isn’t prime Shaq, he’s still passable in the paint when not dragged out—plus Millsap and Butler can help hedge.

Stan’s team has solid defenders (Wade, Gordon, Posey), but there are more targets here: Brunson, Schrempf, and Ewing (later-career) might struggle with switches or contain. Looney offers help but plays limited minutes.


Benches

Stan has a real bench scoring edge with Schrempf, Brunson, and Looney for cleanup.

durantbird has defense-first subs: McMillan, Delon, and Batum—they help preserve his defensive identity, but scoring might dry up without the stars.


X-Factor

MJ and Shaq—especially if MJ plays off-ball and disrupts defensively while Shaq punishes mismatches.

Stan's spacing + Manu/Wade synergy—if Shaq is hunted relentlessly in PnR, that could swing things.


Verdict

durantbird in 7 games. His defensive ceiling and elite top-end talent (MJ-Shaq-Butler) carry the series. But Stan's spacing and scoring depth make it a war.