PC Board Fantasy Draft-Judging Over...Congrats Myth-Breaker!

[Myth_Breaker]

OK, I won't try to influence the judges anymore. You want to ruin the life of a good man and waste months of his hard work by voting against Sixers? May it fall on your heads!

But to summarize: randomhero's team is very good, but it somehow lacks identity: we don't even know whether it's halfcourt-oriented (Yao) or more of a running team (West). (In case of my team all answers are obvious). I'd liken them to the Mavericks, who assembled superb talent and have had great success in recent years, yet always lacked this something to get over the top. If they are Mavs, my Sixers are Spurs of this league: the team with defined identity, knowing how to win and how to maximize its talent. Also the team with proven winner in Duncan.

Moreover, I'll remind that some posts here praised Knicks depth/suggested their offense is more potent than Sixers'. Yet their guys averaged only 10 ppg combined than mine (even not taking into account that after sharing the ball in the same team the overall numbers and this difference will be even lower). I'm quite sure my advantage in defense is bigger than such insignificant advantage in offense, and as my defense will impact Knicks far more than their defense will impact Phila's guys, the victory will be mine!

[NO-KG-AI]

West as in, David West as a running team guy? David West is a half court guy all the way....

[dunkonu21]

Not sure where anyone would get the idea that Earl Watson is a one dimensional scorer . . . or any kind of scorer. He's a good defender and a decent distributor (nothing special) but for his career he's averaging less than 12 pts/36 minutes with poor efficiency. I'm assuming a brain glitch; we all have them.

Ya I'll have to say it was that...but regardless he isn't going to be affecting the series all that much...sorry bout that

[dunkonu21]

Knicks vs. Sixers


Sixers have a great PG advantage here with three PGs who are better than the Knicks starter. It's not a skill issue with Tinsley, it's a putting it together issue, he can't get together. Hinrich is a good player, but I personally think his offensive game is a bit limited. Although he defense is pretty solid, he can't guard Parker. Bruce Bowen Vs. Brandon Roy is a great match-up, Bowen should be able to hold Roy under 20 most games, but Roy will still get his 15-19 ppg. Howard Vs. Prince is also a good match-up. I like Prince in this match-up, due to his experience and length. He is much longer than Howard and he is also a bit more athletic. West Vs. Duncan is a mis-match. Duncan kills all series. Bynum Vs. Yao is intreaging, but I expect very little defensive pressure on either centers. So that leads to the question who's better on offense Yao or Bynum, which is pretty obvious, Yao wins. The benches bring different things Knick's has a lot of defense, while Sixers bring a ton of athletism. Knicks you did construct a great defensive team, but I worry about your ability to score, I have a feeling that the Sixers are gonna out score you and I doubt this team can rebound. Don't you dare mention Ricky Davis either. Advantage Sixers.



Sonics vs. Rockets


Deron Vs. Harris is a pretty good match-up, but at this point Deron is a good amount better, but in the future I expect Harris to close the gap a bit. I'm not a big V.C. fan in general, because he doesn't do the little things. DWade is a great player and I think he dwarfs V.C. in this match-up. Grant Hill is so smart I think he is gonna bring the Deng match-up to a pretty close one. This def. hurts the Rockets. J O'Neal against Brand is a match-up of big men vets. I'm parcial to Mr. Brand, but these guys are both bringing a lot of the same thing. I like Brand's offense a lot more though. Gasol Vs. Z is a big advantage to Houston. Pau Gasol is a lot more athletic than Z, although Z's length will help him a lot. This match-up comes down to bench play IMO. Hedo and Lewis are about bringing the same impact and should be able to guard eachother relitively well, I like Lewis more, but it shouldn't make a big difference. Cassell and Harris is GREAT, they make a fantastic duo and it'd be hard for Deron to guard both of them the whole game, so Rafer has to come up big for the Sonics, but I doubt he can. Cassell is gonna hit big shots at the end of the game. I'm a huge fan of Haslem, he does all the things you could ask out of a role player and he will give the Rockets a slight edge over a formidable Collison. Marvin Vs. Outlaw is potential Vs. Potential, they should cancel out. Maxiel is good, but meh, I'll take the of Barg and Perkins over him. Also, I'll take McCants over Delfino. Rockets bench and DWade bring them the vic in this series.

[Kosta]

Well, I'm going to bow out with grace, I won't even bother trying to debate the votes. Not like it's going to change anything. I'll stick around just to see how everything plays out.

Good luck TMAC and Sal.

[randomhero423]

how is tinsley,hinrich and navvaro better then parker?!??!?!

i don't think i'd have a prob scoring with yao ming, west (a 18ppg by the way), roy (another 18 ppg), prince (around 15), parker (15-18) and fisher (around 14)...

[TMACFORMVP]

Well, I'm going to bow out with grace, I won't even bother trying to debate the votes. Not like it's going to change anything. I'll stick around just to see how everything plays out.

Good luck TMAC and Sal.

Thanks man, really could have gone either way. You have a great team.

Yeah please do stick around, we'll have another awards thread after this giving out awards for certain aspects of a game.

[NO-KG-AI]

I'd like to see the participants that are out weigh in on each match up, even if they don't have an official vote.

[penbeast0]

So, as far as I can tell, with 4 judges voting there are two series that are decided 3-1 (and I was the one in both series ) . . . .

Rockets over the Sonics
Hornets over the Lakers

Two that are tied 2-2
Knicks v. Sixers
Pistons v. Wizards

Let's find an eastern judge and get this decided.

[TMACFORMVP]

I'd like to announce dcash as our newest judge, happy to get him since he's one of the more active/knowledgeable posters on the board.

[dockingsched]

heres my votes. i spent about a little over an hour reading the arguments, nothing compared to the hours u guys have put in.

Sixers vs. Knicks

First thing i notice about the sixers is the absolute elite defense that team can put out at any given time. Hinrich/bowen are elite defenders with kirk being recognized as the best dwade stopper and bowen being known as the best kobe defender. Its basically the elite spurs defense with an elite pg defender, josh-manu wash, and elite bynum shot blocking. The defense will come in handy against a pretty strong backcourt of parker/roy. I think parker's penetrating would be significantly altered with elite defenders funneling him into elite shot blockers. I also like tinsley matched up against either parker/fisher. The knicks frontcourt is very impressive with a very diverse bench in curry's post offense, murphy's shooting, and williams' shot blocking. One big thing i didn't like was the knicks strategy of attacking duncan/bynum, or the idea of expecting the sixers' shooters to not come through. I think that strategy does a disservice to the well balanced roster. A clear advantage i give the knicks is late in the game the ability to give the ball to either parker or roy. Sixers don't really have that reliable swing man at the end of the game. Ultimately i think the sixers win out, no thanks to what i believe is a poor strategy from the knicks and the absolute grind that each basket is going to take against the sixers. Vote: sixers.

Wizards vs. Pistons

the wizards new line up of manu/lebron/wallace/wallace/haywood in all honesty won this for them in my eyes. Wallace/haywood will matchup much better with kg/camby, something i was weighing heavily when i saw a wallace/wallace frontcourt. The wizards made a great point in that the pistons don't really have a creator, just a bunch of finishers. The wizards throw out a couple of great playmakers/finishers in manu/lebron. I'm a big haywood fan and i believe he and the wallaces make a very good defensive frontcourt. I like the wiz bench better too since they can throughout some defense and some offense. No one on the pistons bench screams or backcourt, screams defensive stopper. Vote: wiz.

[TMACFORMVP]

Conference Finals arguments can being now.

East

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards

(Washington with home-court)

West

Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans Hornets

(Houston with home-court)

Good luck to all! But mainly to me !!

[mudyez]

I'd like to see the participants that are out weigh in on each match up, even if they don't have an official vote.

sorry, I'm just too busy right now as I have to write some tests. furthermore I wanted to avoid making cases for my assistant-gm mav or against some guys I was thinking, they wouldnt make it to round 2.

I know its a bad timing, but what are you guys thinking of starting a new round in about 3 or 4 weeks? I'd like to do it but I would have to start around that time...what do you think? is their need for a new draft and if yes: should/could I post an entry-list now? Its just, that I'd really like to start in mid-feb, as I will be away for a week come mid to late -march.

[Myth_Breaker]

Hooray, I'm in the Eastern Finals!

(More to be added later).

EDIT:

1) I'd like to thank again all active judges and participants for our joint fun, especially randomhero: you really gave me a fright here with your great team, man and maybe I should've predicted it goes 7 games! But then there was happy end: like in Lakers playoff series vs. Blazers in 2000 or Kings in 2002...

2) Though it's not so important anymore: randomhero - I think dunkonyou meant that my 3 PGs combined are better than TP.

3) NO-KG-AI, as to D. West I meant the same what I had written earlier: that his size deficiency can be masked only in running, uptempo game - which is in turn unsuitable for Yao.

4) Dcash: I may understand you consider Parker better closer than Josh Howard (though not by much), but Roy? J-Ho proved late in the games like 20 times as much as him...

[TMACFORMVP]

Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans Hornets

First off I'd like to say good luck to NO-KG-AI and the New Orleans Hornets and this frankly could go either way, may the best team win.

I feel the defense is a huge factor in this comparison. He definitely has the better defensive back-court with arguably the two most prototypical players at their respective positions, but I'm not that far behind with Harris who is widely regarded one of the best PG defenders in the NBA and Wade who has been named to All-NBA defensive teams in the past and is still a very good help/team defender. But where I feel I get the slight edge in overall defense is in my front-court. Nocioni is a good defender, definitely above average in terms of hustle and energy, but I feel Deng is a more all around defensive player in terms of man to man, strength, quickness and team defense.

Kaman is blocking shots at an incredible rate, but I'd really need to see it for a whole season to declare him a better shot-blocker than O'neal who's regarded as a Top 3 shot-blocker in the NBA, if not the best. Not to mention I feel O'neal has the edge in terms of man to man defense as well. Where the gap widens (and yes everybody knew it was coming) is Randolph. I think he does get hated a bit too much on that side of the ball, but in reality he's one of the worst defenders at his position, while Gasol for his career is a 2 bpg player, and has anchored some very good defensive Memphis teams.

Depth when a starting lineup is close is also a big factor. If one of the players is having an off game, who can come in and step into a hostile arena with experience and produce good numbers and impact? Marbury off the bench, I just don't feel is a good idea, and guys like Millsap and especially Oden who is an unknown at this point don't have much experience. Cassell would arguably be the best back-up point guard in the league, his leadership, shot-making ability in the 4th quarter is as good as anybody in the league. Haslem has the edge over Millsap IMO, mainly because of the defensive and experience factor and obviously my 6th man in Rashard Lewis that's a legit 20 ppg scorer and can get hot for any series from the outside.

Cassell/Lewis/Haslem/Bargnani>>Marbury/Posey/Millsap/Oden IMO.

I feel offensively, defensively and experience wise, have the slight advantage.

Offensively it's definitely close, both teams can execute on the offensive end and have closers to finish the game. I think Wade and Kobe will cancel out each other if not Wade having the advantage since he's been a better playoff performer in his career and IMO the more deadly 4th quarter player.

I can also roll with at times (or a lot of the game depending on how it works) a Wade/Deng/Lewis/O'neal/Gasol lineup. That has arguably all legit 18 point per game scorers and one 25+ scorer and that would cause too much of a problem for any team to match-up with offensively, while this lineup would be solid defensively as well.

Not to mention in a series, as matched as this, home-court meaning Game 7 is crucial. Home-court becomes more and more important as the rounds go on in such a close series. And I have it.

Overall, having the slight edge on the defensive end and just having too many weapons on the offensive end to keep up with and what I feel a better closer with home-court gives me the slight advantage over the New Orleans Hornets.

[Myth_Breaker]

Philadelphia 76ers

GM - Myth_Breaker

I. Players drafted (2007/08 averages through December 13):

Round 1 (pick #1) - 6-11, 260 PF/C Tim Duncan
17,6 ppg/8,9 rpg/2,6 apg/0,9 spg/1,8 bpg in 32,3 mpg.

Round 2 (#32) - 6-5, 210 SF/SG Josh Howard
22,2 ppg/7,1 rpg/2,2 apg/0,8 spg/0,5 bpg in 36,3 mpg.

Round 3 (#4 - 6-3, 190 PG Kirk Hinrich
10,6 ppg/3,0 rpg/5,5 apg/1,0 spg/0,2 bpg in 31,6 mpg.

Round 4 (#49) - 6-7, 200 SF/SG Bruce Bowen
5,6 ppg/3,1 rpg/1,3 apg/0,9 spg/0,2 bpg in 29,5 mpg.

Round 5 (#80) - 7-0, 285 C Andrew Bynum
10,9 ppg/9,7 rpg/1,5 apg/0,5 spg/2,0 bpg in 26,1 mpg.

Round 6 (#81) - 6-9, 245 PF/C Antonio McDyess
10,8 ppg/7,3 rpg/1,2 apg/0,8 spg/0,6 bpg in 29,7 mpg.

Round 7 (#97) - 6-3, 185 PG Jamaal Tinsley
14,7 ppg/4,5 rpg/8,6 apg/2,0 spg/0,2 bpg in 35,3 mpg.

Round 8 (#129)- 6-7, 205 SG/SF Ricky Davis
15,3 ppg/4,4 rpg/2,3 apg/0,9 spg/0,1 bpg in 35,8 mpg.

Round 9 (#130)- 6-7, 245 SF/SG Wally Szczerbiak
11,2 ppg/2,0 rbg/1,3 apg/0,3 spg/0,0 bpg in 21,0 mpg.

Round 10 (#162)- 6-11, 270 PF/C Kwame Brown
4,3 ppg/5,0 rbg/1,1 apg/0,9 spg/0,9 bpg in 21,0 mpg.

Round 11 (#176)- 6-3, 170 SG/PG Juan Carlos Navarro
10,9 ppg/2,0 rpg/2,0 apg/0,7 spg/0,0 bpg in 23,3 mpg

Round 12 (#177)- 6-10, 235 C/PF Theo Ratliff
8,2 ppg/4,5 rpg/0,8 apg/0,5 spg/2,8 bpg in 26,8 mpg.


II. Rotations:

A. Basic rotation
(you may call it offensive rotation, though I don't see any other roster better than it in defense )

PG - Jamaal Tinsley/Kirk Hinrich/J.C. Navarro
SG - Bruce Bowen/Ricky Davis/J.C. Navarro
SF - Josh Howard/Wally Szczerbiak
PF - Tim Duncan/Antonio McDyess/Kwame Brown
C - Andrew Bynum/Theo Ratliff, Kwame Brown

B. Defensive rotation

PG - Kirk Hinrich/Jamaal Tinsley
SG - Bruce Bowen/Ricky Davis
SF - Josh Howard/Wally Szczerbiak
PF - Tim Duncan/Antonio McDyess/Kwame Brown
C - Andrew Bynum/Theo Ratliff, Kwame Brown

C. Examples of veteran lineups for deciding stretches of games

PG - Jamaal Tinsley
SG - Bruce Bowen
SF - Josh Howard
PF - Antonio McDyess
C - Tim Duncan

or

PG - J.C. Navarro
SG - Bruce Bowen
SF - Josh Howard
PF - Antonio McDyess
C - Tim Duncan.

III. General makeup of my team:

Despite run and gun style being so popular in this league, I went with approach that has been most successful historically, constructing defense-oriented team with offense based on halfcourt sets and run by real PGs, similar to real Duncan's team in Spurs (though with enough firepower and athleticism to speed up the pace if needed, again like real Spurs were able to do in Suns series). Tim is obviously our leader and 1st option in both offense and defense. Josh - 2nd option, like he is to Dirk and overall 2nd most important player as just like TD he's great at both sides of the ball. Emerging dominant bigman in Bynum will be our 3rd option - similarly to his role in the Lakers. Tinsley and Hinrich are unselfish playmakers, able to fulfill role of 4th options: the former also excels at steals, while the latter - in guarding both PGs and SGs, so will anchor perimeter defense of my bench. Bowen - again, just like in real life - won't be obliged to do much in offense - basically just sink his patented 3s from the corner - but instead will be our designated defensive stopper (duh! He's the only guy that consistently gives trouble to even Kobe!). Kwame will perform the same role as to bigmen defense (don't laugh, he's on of the best man-to-man defensive bigs in the league) - it's good to have such stoppers since even if they foul out, my team offense will barely take a note. Ricky Davis - a do-it-all guy who registered like 20-5-5 season when starting - will be my scoring spark off the bench, while Szczerbiak - another designated shooter able to utilize outside-inside tactic, shooting open 3s when opposing defenses collapse on Duncan and/or Bynum. Navarro is less known in the NBA, but he's great and experienced clutch shooter (like when he co-lead with Gasol Spanish NT to Worlds gold/defeating US Dream Team), able to play both backcourt positions. Read e.g. this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/r ... od=1&set=0

McDyess will be my most important reserve big, with his tough defense, smarts, ability to play both at PF and C, and this midrange jumper that makes him perfect complement to Duncan's/Bynum's dominant post game. I envision playing him next to Duncan in deciding moments of the games (like Spurs usually do with Horry at PF and Tim at C), but also next to Andrew in other quarters (remember that though I listed Bynum as a starter, he's going to spend a huge chunk of his PT with a second unit, being 1st offensive option then).
BTW, Dice's playing great this season and constitutes main reason why Pistons don't want Webber back:

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=746143

I'll be the first to admit that I did NOT expect Dice to be able to play this many minutes or be playing this well this early. Usually it takes him about 6-8 weeks to play himself into shape, but knowing he'd be a starter this year he worked out over the Summer for the first time since joining the Pistons. And it clearly shows. Not only is he FAR more productive than Nazr was, but he's even making CWebbs short stint as a starter look pale by comparison. Better rebounder, better fg% & better
defense.
(Cowology)

And, finally, Ratliff: you could call him just another experienced vet, giving me 6 fouls a game: with that little difference he can give me like 3 blocks a game as well: he's timing for blocks is unbelievable.

I must say that my squad has virtually no weak points. Name any aspect of the game and I've got at least 1-2 players excelling at that:

Rebounding? First of all Bynum and Duncan (who in meantime upped his rebounding average, relatively poor at the beginning of the season, to >9 rpg).

Scoring in the post? Again: Duncan and Bynum.

Man-to-man defense against bigmen? Duncan and Kwame, aided by McDyess.

Shotblocking? Duncan, Bynum, Ratliff...

Slashers? Josh Howard and Ricky Davis immediately come to mind.

Long range bombers? Szczerbiak, Bowen, Navarro, also Josh Howard this season improved his 3P% to almost 39%!

Creating/playmaking? I don't see many other teams with 2 PGs of starting caliber in a contending team like my Tinsley and Hinrich.

Stealing the ball? Tinsley is my most accomplished ball-thief, with J-Ho and Bowen complementing him.

Man-to-man perimeter defense? With Bowen, Hinrich and Josh Howard I feel I can stop anyone, anytime.

Veteran experience? Duncan and Bowen are obvious. Josh went to the Finals, while Tinsley - to ECF. The only starter which is relatively unexperienced is Bynum, but even he's in his 3rd year in the league and has already been to the playoffs. Furthermore, I've got experienced vets on the bench like McDyess or Hinrich to counterbalance his youth.

But having veterans doesn't mean my team is unathletic: Josh, Ricky Davis, Kwame or Bynum prove otherwise.

It is also worth noting that I can put on the floor a team which is very big and imposing physically. Rotating 3 7-footers, 260-285 pounds each, plus tough McDyess, always physical Bowen, and even Tinsley and Hinrich being one of the stronger 1s here, gives me possibility of beating opposing team to a pulp.

In summary, I feel like I constructed a team that could win even with real Spurs. Duncan and Bowen? Check. Josh offsets one of Manu-Parker duo, and while I don't have 2nd player of that caliber, I have overall even more offensive firepower, even more suffocating defense and more potent bench. In addition, Bynum is better than any of Spurs centers since Admiral retired. These guys were basically garbage, yet Duncan was still able to win titles with them - now imagine how much easier his task will be with young beast in Bynum competing with him for focus of opposing defense!

So it looks like my Sixers > real Spurs, and as Spurs are defending champs/title favorites... you do the math.

IV. 1st round matchup vs. Raptors:
Judges' votes: Sixers 4 - Raptors 0.

V. 2nd round matchup vs. Knicks:
Judges' votes: Sixers 3 - Knicks 2.

VI. Eastern Conference Finals vs. Wizards:

My rotation for this matchup:

PG - Kirk Hinrich/Jamaal Tinsley/J.C. Navarro
SG - Bruce Bowen/Ricky Davis/J.C. Navarro
SF - Josh Howard/Wally Szczerbiak
PF - Tim Duncan/Antonio McDyess/Kwame Brown
C - Andrew Bynum/Theo Ratliff, Kwame Brown

Wizards rotations:

PG:Mike Bibby/Antonio Daniels/Rajon Rando
SG:Manu Ginoboli/Josh Childress
SF:Lebron James/Renaldo Balkman
PF:Gerald Wallace/Boris Diaw/Craig Smith
C:Rasheed Wallace/Brandon Haywood

PG:Manu Ginoboli
SG:Lebron James
SF:Gerald Wallace
PF:Rasheed Wallace
C:Brandon Haywood

OK, so let's start the Eastern Finals series AKA
LeBron-meets-Duncan and Bowen-again-in the playoffs-and-we-all-know-what-is-gonna-happen-to-him-again
or
Team with 2 best players being swingmen meets Team with best perimeter and help defense.

I'm glad that my general arguments apply to this series as well:

First, defense wins championships: and my team has the best defensive starting 5, prolly the best defensive bench, and of course the best defense overall.
Second, in the playoffs more experienced teams have an upper hand: and my team has clear edge in experience.
Third, when opponents are comparable, team featuring the best player almost always wins. Hey, it often happens even when opposing teams are more talented (think Jordan's Bulls over Suns or Shaq's/Kobe's Lakers over Kings and Blazers)! And I don't have to convince anyone that in TD I have the best player in this comparison, natural winner and leader, have I?
Fourth, even regardless of Duncan my squad is better and more balanced anyway.

But as to detailed comparing across positions... I won't do it this time, at least in this post. Why? I'm not sure yet which of the rotations above Vintage is going to choose, so I'd rather like to talk first about fundamental flaws of BOTH variants compared to my lineup (also that's more than enough material for the opening post).
Don't get me wrong, Vintage: I respect your squad and its reaching the ECF. But frankly speaking, I was more scared of the very talented and balanced Knicks squad and I'm also surprised you went past Warspite's Pistons. Because what we can see after the closer look at Wizards lineup?
You selected lineup that was very small even if adapting run-and-gun tactic and were criticized because of that (I reckon I had also posted this, before we were even matched, so you may believe my sincerity here). 3 guys 6-7 - 6-8 each and like 220 lbs each (save Smith) at PF AND 6-11, 220-230 Sheed as starting C? Even Suns have more size, while: a) you don't have playoff general able to orchestrate the offense masking size deficiencies who'd be even close to Nash's caliber: b) Phoenix didn't win the 'chip or even reach the Finals anyway.

So in the series vs. Pistons you went to bigger lineup (and I suppose you'll keep it against my team, since it's even bigger than Pistons):

PG:Manu Ginoboli
SG:Lebron James
SF:Gerald Wallace
PF:Rasheed Wallace
C:Brandon Haywood

And you succeeded. But it is worth noting that you didn't list the full changed lineup, just the starting five. I was clever from you - cause after listing the whole squad it would look like this:

PG: Manu/Bibby/A. Daniels/Rondo
SG: LeBron/Childress
SF: G. Wallace/Balkman
PF: Rasheed/Diaw/C. Smith
C: Haywood/Rasheed

Still not so balanced, right? In fact, only marginally better in overall defense and, considering offensive problems caused by putting Manu and LBJ at both guard spots (more about it later), I'd say that even LESS balanced than before!
At PF you've got Sheed now, good move: but he's still backed up by 2 smallish guys (3, if you count G-Will possibly switching from 3 spot). While at C: Haywood is also OK, but he's backed up by the same Sheed, out of necessity since you don't have anyone else even remotely capable of this task! Starter at 4 and the only backup at 5: not too much responsibility for a single player, additionally known from his erratic behaviour and propensity for technical fouls?! By going big you improved your defense at SF/PF/C, but at the same time worsened defense at PG/SG, so overall gain isn't as impressive as it'd look like. Moreover, once Haywood or Rasheed gets into foul trouble (and at least one of them is bound to do this), you're becoming extremely undersized again.

Not to mention that in this version Daniels and Rondo become completely useless cause there will be no PT for them...

What about offensive side of the ball? Manu is very versatile, but IMHO still incapable of playing regular PG and worse at this spot - unless in triangle offense, where it's NOT your typical regular PG anyway. OK, you may say that playing next to as gifted creator as LBJ is actually similar to playing in the triangles next to Kobe: you don't have to be real PG (though you're still worse in defense vs. smaller, quicker guys). But it means too much responsibility for even such a great player as LeBron (what Warspite's already mentioned): being BY FAR the team's main offensive threat and its main playmaker! That's exactly what Cavs fans are complaining about now: that doing so much by James without proper help hinders him and stop their team from being successful. And I know your squad is more talented than the real Cavs: but so what, if constructed like this, poses analogical problems for its leader?
(I also expect LBJ to register more TOs playing as off-guard).

In summary: you can put it and spin it as you want, but no lineup changes are going to hide the simple fact that you have 1 real center and 1 real PF, while I've got 2 real centers, 1 real PF and 2 PF/Cs, including my leader, capable of playing at both 4 and 5 on the same extremely high level. Foul trouble for Rasheed and you are doomed vs. Duncan (Haywood never noted any significant success against him) - foul trouble for Haywood and you are doomed against Bynum (Sheed's too light, Andrew's gonna owerpower him in the paint). THAT'S caliber of deficiencies that usually make teams losing in earlier rounds than Conference Finals - if they make the playoffs at all... and your great talent on perimeter can only partially make up for this.
While I have the luxury of being able to constantly rotate my bigs, keeping them fresh and out of foul trouble.

Looks like we've already established neither your defense or offense is going to hurt me seriously. But what about looking at this from perspective of my offense and defense?

Offense: we've kind of already covered bigmen; Duncan is going to shoot over all Wizards "bigs" except Sheed (and Haywood, but then it leaves Bynum open), while Bynum is going to do the same with his hooks to them all except Sheed/ Haywood and outmuscle them all apart from Haywood: he's gonna get even more dunks than on average, when he's 2nd in the league after Dwight! Hey, even McDyess is too big for Diaw or G-Will and will have a field day posting them up. As far as guards and swingmen are concerned: Manu is a quite good defensive player and ball-thief, but vs. off-guards, not PGs. LBJ doesn't excel at defense even at his favorite 3 spot (hence all trade rumors/attempts focus on finding him sidekick at SG, not SF) and against smaller, quicker players will be even worse. Though of course it's not important if going to guard marginal offensive player in Bowen: but becomes important against Ricky Davis, Szczerbiak and of course Josh Howard. In general, you have only 1 really good defensive perimeter player in G-Will (but only in help defense, not so much in man-to-man). You could debate Rondo: but you put him initially as 3rd string PG, so now I guess he's even more deeply buried on your bench and will have no impact for the series. Still, perimeter offense is less important for me than scoring in the post from bigmen anyway...

Defense: my great advantages at rebounding/shotblocking are rather obvious. Just like reminding that TD is better in all kinds of defense (perhaps save steals, which are least important anyway, especially for bigmen) than Rasheed, while Haywood is garbageman anyway and even freakin' Kwame is better man-to-man defender than Haywood - offensive player, so no worries from this part. You may of course put smaller guys here and try to outrun my bigs, but none of the former is offensive juggernaught anyway, while such move only makes your overall disadvantages in defense more dramatic.
But I'm not going to pretend that your LBJ-Manu perimeter duo isn't EXTREMELY dangerous. Fortunately, I have the best equipped squad in the league to deal with it (Warspite: "no team outside of Myths can play great outside D in this 16 team league" ). It will be even further accentuated by my decision to change starting PG from Tinsley to Hinrich (apart from being much better defender, the latter improved his numbers to 12 ppg/3,3 rpg/6,1 apg and beats Tin as to both FG%, FT% and 3P%). So the basic matchups would look like: Hinrich on Manu/Bowen on LeBron/Josh Howard on G-Will. But not necessarily, since Gerald isn't enough skilled/efficient scorer to worry about him so much, so I may also go with Bowen on Manu and Josh on LeBron - in this way my 2 top defenders guards Wizards 2 top offensive players, what is ideal matchup - or even often leave G-Will open (he's not much of a shooter anyway) and focus on double-teaming and trapping LeBron. And that's the tactic I envision to employ most often, considering that if we somehow manage to contain LBJ, no other Wizards player is able to carry them in offense. In case someone says it concerns also Sixers if TD is contained: a) I like better Josh as Duncan's second option, to whom TD may always pass the ball if double-teamed than Manu in the same role paired with LeBron, mainly since the latter two have too similar styles, not so much complementing (like in classic inside-outside TD-Josh duo), but rather interfering with each other; b) Sixers are much better equipped to deal with LBJ than Wizards - to deal with Duncan.

And this last argument decides the case, so I feel I don't have to write more for now. Sorry, Vintage, but your lack of size - especially compared to my squad, lead by Two Towers in TD and Bynum - is going to haunt you and HC advantage cannot offset this. Maybe somewhere happened a single upset like this, but I really can't remember any playoff series where team with better backcourt like yours defeated team with better whole frontcourt like mine: high percentage shots/rebounding/defense from bigmen are SO MUCH important. So Sixers in 5 - 6. But good luck anyway.

[TMACFORMVP]

You guys there?

How about today until 9:00 EST and then judging can begin.

[penbeast0]

I will wait until 9PM but 9PM Saturday night . . . let's get a posting from the Wiz and Hornets just for the fun of it.

Still no postings by them I'm afraid. Congrats to all the conference finalists.

[penbeast0]

ECF Judging -- Philladelphia v. Washington (HCA)

Inside play: Washington has a very weak inside game, whether they start Brendan Haywood or not. Philadephia has a great one. Edge Philly

Outside Play: Philly has outstanding wing defense in Bowen and Howard facing Washington's strength in Ginobili and LeBron, the point guard play from either team is mediocre. Edge: Washington

Playmaking: Tinsley may be a better playmaker than Bibby, but Washington has two great playmakers on the wing in LeBron and Ginobili. Edge: Washington

Rebounding: Great wing rebounding won't compensate for Philadelphia's massive edge inside. Edge: Philadelphia

Defense: Both teams have outstanding individual defenders but Duncan's anchor gives the edge to Philadelphia

Depth: Childress and Haywood are both solid, neither can take over a game. McDyess and Hinrich are the two best players off the bench in this series. Edge Philadelphia

Intangibles: Strong SA flavor here. Duncan is the biggest winner and best player of the decade; LeBron the rising star who may pass him by this year. Don't have a strong opinion one way or the other.

My choice: Philadelphia's inside game is just too strong. 76ers easily.

[penbeast0]

WCF JUDGING: New Orleans v. Houston (HCA)

Inside Play: Gasol and O'Neal are the steadier more experienced players though Gasol's playoff experience is mainly with Spain, not the Grizz. Kaman is having a great season, Randolph is still a big stat producer and Oden could be better than either but I just can't see counting on this front line to carry the team through the series. They could do it, or they could tank. Edge Houston.

Outside Play: On the other hand, while Wade is a proven big time performer, Kobe and Billups are the surest thing around. Deng would need to step up and dominate Nocioni for Houston to have the edge and I don't see that based on his play so far this year. Edge New Orleans.

Playmaking: Wade and Kobe cancel each other out. The two big edges here are Billups over Harris and Gasol being better than Zach Randolph. I don't see this being decisive. PUSH

Rebounding: Kaman, Randolph and Oden may not be consistent enough to trust for an interior scoring edge, but they are enough to give New Orleans an edge on the boards which is exacerbated by the big strong backcourt of the Hornets. Edge New Orleans

Defense: All the starting wings are terrific defensively and Posey, Millsap, and Haslem off the benches are nice too. Inside, Jermaine O'Neal is the best defender and Zach Randolph the worst so . . . Edge Houston

Depth: Good depth inside on both teams, Oden has the most talent but without ever having played an NBA game, not sure he can adapt it to playoff competition without playing himself in first. Outside, the keys are Rashard Lewis and Posey and Posey, solid as he is defensively, doesn't bring much at the other end. Edge Houston

Intangibles: Billups and Kobe v. Wade; nice. PUSH

Overall: Houston wins this if Deng and Lewis can step up and be dominant players. I don't have enough confidence in this to vote against Billups and Kobe . . . I think New Orleans takes a tight series.