1980s All-stars Draft R1 - durantbird vs Laimbeer

[Dr Positivity]

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: Isiah Thomas 89' - 15.3
SG: Michael Cooper 86' - 7.4
SF: James Worthy 86' - 14.5
PF: Larry Bird 86' - 19.6
C: Artis Gilmore 81' - 10.0

Bench: Reggie Miller 89' - 11.2
Bench: Danny Green 17' - 6.6
Bench: George Johnson 82' - 3.0

87.6/88

PG: Isiah Thomas 38 / Michael Cooper 10
SG: Michael Cooper 24 / Reggie Miller 24
SF: James Worthy 28 / Danny Green 20
PF: Larry Bird 38 / James Worthy 10
C: Artis Gilmore 38 / George Johnson 10

Vs

Patrick Ewing (38) / Isaiah Hartenstein (10)
Chet Holmgren (36) / Toni Kukoc (12)
Shane Battier (36) / Toni Kukoc (12)
Michael Jordan (38) / Brent Barry (10)
Paul Pressey (38) / Brent Barry (10)

Matchup
- Defensive assignments Cooper/Green vs MJ, Thomas vs Battier, Worthy vs Pressey, Bird vs Holmgren, Gilmore vs Ewing.
- Great defensive assignments for us. We've got Cooper and Green to guard MJ, in addition to some Worthy/Bird. Gilmore is great against Ewing.
- Isiah Cooper Bird form a better playmaking unit, and we've got a more diverse offensive unit - versus MJ/Ewing as his main offense generators (and only All Stars) who face significant challenges with their defenders, we got better depth with Bird Worthy Isiah Gilmore Reggie. Reggie Miller was already an elite spacer and efficient scorer in 89' and he's the best bench piece.

[Laimbeer]

Patrick Ewing ( 1989 ) 16.0
Chet Holmgren ( 2024 ) 11.6
Shane Battier ( 2009 ) 5.9
Michael Jordan ( 1989 ) 22.2
Paul Pressey ( 1986 ) 10.5

Isaiah Hartenstein ( 2024 ) 4.9
Toni Kukoc ( 1996 ) 9.7
Brent Barry ( 2001 ) 6.0

86.8

Patrick Ewing (38) / Isaiah Hartenstein (10)
Chet Holmgren (36) / Toni Kukoc (12)
Shane Battier (36) / Toni Kukoc (12)
Michael Jordan (38) / Brent Barry (10)
Paul Pressey (38) / Brent Barry (10)


Mike has an elite big man with a varied offensive game, his Pippen in Pressey, floor spacers in Battier and Holmgren, and a killer bench led by 6MOY Toni Kukoc. There are no standout defensive players across their front line. In fact, Cooper is the only one with a defensive reputation. Gilmore was a step slower in his NBA days and we'll put him in space with Ewing's face-up game.

Gilmore, Worthy, and Isiah is a really rough fit around Bird - NO three point shooting from them. Cooper didn't do it in volume, so the defense will be pretty compressed. None are great spacers for Bird when he does his thing. Gilmore will be a roadblock at the hoop and will have Ewing in tow. This is a case of grabbing names over a coherent offense. Ewing/Gilmore, Battier/Bird, Holmgren/Worthy, Pressey/Cooper and Mike/Isiah. I have painful memories of Mike making Isiah pretty much useless whenever the Bulls decided to shut him off.

I like 6MOY Kukoc as the best bench piece. Barry is a productive offensive players and IHart the best backup center in the game. George Johnson playing nearly a quarter gives them 48 minutes of a very crowded paint.

[Dr Positivity]

Voting is open, durantbird and Laimbeer please vote for yourselves