BaNT: 2nd rnd bracket & votes (merged)

[dockingsched]

This matchup involves two winners of the 1st rnd of the BaNT tournament. The winner of this matchup advances in the winners bracket, the loser drops to the losers bracket. The two teams have until monday night to post a write up. When the clock strikes midnight and it officially becomes tuesday, all BaNT participants may vote.

* all times eastern

15. dcash4

Shane Battier
Mike Conley
Devin Harris
Allen Iverson
Andrei Kirilenko
Roger Mason
Andres Nocioni
Dirk Nowitzki
Greg Oden
Shaquille O'Neal
Michael Redd
Kurt Thomas

vs.

7. SportsFan215

Brandon Bass
Luol Deng
Monta Ellis
Derek Fisher
Kevin Garnett
Marc Gasol
Pau Gasol
Al Harrington
Courtney Lee
Tayshaun Prince
Derrick Rose
Sasha Vujacic

[dockingsched]

This matchup involves two winners of the 1st rnd of the BaNT tournament. The winner of this matchup advances in the winners bracket, the loser drops to the losers bracket. The two teams have until monday night to post a write up. When the clock strikes midnight and it officially becomes tuesday, all BaNT participants may vote.

* all times eastern

1. ShaqSux

LaMarcus Aldridge
Andrew Bynum
Erick Dampier
Boris Diaw
Ben Gordon
LeBron James
Jason Kidd
Mike Miller
Joakim Noah
Travis Outlaw
J.R. Smith
Maurice Williams

vs.

8. ballboy4life

Chris Andersen
Vince Carter
Baron Davis
T.J. Ford
Rudy Gay
Zydrunas Ilguaskas
Stephen Jackson
Chris Kaman
Kevin Love
Paul Millsap
Tyrus Thomas
Hedo Turkoglu

[dockingsched]

This matchup involves two winners of the 1st rnd of the BaNT tournament. The winner of this matchup advances in the winners bracket, the loser drops to the losers bracket. The two teams have until monday night to post a write up. When the clock strikes midnight and it officially becomes tuesday, all BaNT participants may vote.

* all times eastern

4. CellarDoor

Bruce Bowen
Caron Butler
Chris Duhon
Tim Duncan
Brendan Haywood
Amir Johnson
Kevin Martin
Steve Nash
Mehmet Okur
Mickael Pietrus

vs.

5. Mascot

Mike Bibby
Kobe Bryant
Tyson Chandler
Jordan Farmar
Richard Jefferson
Anthony Parker
Nate Robinson
Luis Scola
Peja Stojakovic
Anderson Varejao
Ben Wallace
David West

[dockingsched]

This matchup involves two winners of the 1st rnd of the BaNT tournament. The winner of this matchup advances in the winners bracket, the loser drops to the losers bracket. The two teams have until monday night to post a write up. When the clock strikes midnight and it officially becomes tuesday, all BaNT participants may vote.

* all times eastern

14. VintaGe36

Ray Allen
Andrea Bargnani
Chauncey Billups
Nick Collison
Antonio Daniels
Eric Gordon
Nene Hilario
Emeka Okafor
Paul Pierce
Joe Smith
Jason Terry
Gerald Wallace

6. sterncohen

Renaldo Balkman
Ronnie Brewer
Kevin Durant
Manu Ginobili
Dwight Howard
David Lee
Jameer Nelson
Zach Randolph
Rajon Rondo
Mareese Speights
Charlie Villanueva
Louis Williams

[Mascot]

Mike Bibby (35)/Jordan Farmar(8)/Nate Robinson (5)
Kobe Bryant (38)/Anthony Parker (10)
Richard Jefferson (35)/Peja Stojakovic (8)/Anthony Parker (5)
David West (32/Luis Scola (16)
Tyson Chandler (30)/Ben Wallace (10)/Anderson Varejao (8)



The Game Plan

The Team is built so that no one will question who is the centerpiece of this team. Its Kobe's team and everyone else are very capable Role Players or Role Player All Stars.

When the double comes on Kobe (who will control the ball) I have an outside shooter in Bibby who cannot be left open. Also have some 3pt depth that can come off the bench if needed.

As before Richard Jefferson doesn't need the ball since his off ball movement is great, he can cut inside and receive a dish from Kobe.

David west can move out off the block (15 feet) and draw Duncan out allowing room for Kobe's penetration. Tyson Chandler doesn't need the ball to be effective he will just get his garbage points around the basket, hes a defensive presence and rebounding Center which is all i ask of him.

I feel that i have a very solid bench

Farmar who play most of the backup minutes behind Bibby when Kobe is still on the floor is a very capable and controlled PG who will play out his minutes wisely. Nate will get on the court only when Kobe and Bibby are off together, this will be spot minutes where I will need someone who can penetrate well.

Anthony Parker is there for his average defense and spot up corner threes off the bench. As with Parker, Peja provides much outside range if its needed along with Bibbys.

Luis Scola is a very good player and dosent get the credit he deserves, hes pretty much an automatic double double every night so makes a great backup to west, also they have similar games so drawing out the PF/C whos defending them is a high priority to me.

Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao are there for the defense with Big Ben and the garbage baskets and energy from Varejao.

[sterncohen]

First: wouldn’t you love to watch this series for real? Three great veterans with championship rings (Billups, Pierce, Allen) go up against a three-time champion (Ginobili) and three of the best young players in the league (Howard, Durant, Rondo). With a matchup that good, you guys are going to have to plow through some stats as I make my case for my team. Thanks for your patience.

Rotation:
Howard 38 / Randolph 10
Villanueva 30 / Lee 18
Durant 34 / Balkman 14
Ginobili 32 / Brewer 16
Rondo 34 / Nelson 14

Game plan:
-- I’m going to change my starting lineup for this series, with Villanueva at PF and Lee coming off the bench. Neither Okafor nor Nene is going to do a good job stepping out to the three-point line to guard Villanueva, and I want to open up the paint for Rondo, Durant and Ginobili to penetrate. Any of them are capable of going to the rim, kicking out to an open 3-point shooter, or getting the ball to Howard near the basket.
-- We’re going to run. You’ll see below that we have a major rebounding advantage; we also have a starting lineup that is younger, faster, and more athletic than our opponents. So we’re going to push the pace and go for as many easy baskets in transition as possible.
-- Also, Balkman will get some time on the floor, assigned to glue himself to Pierce, just as Brewer is to stay all over Allen when he’s on the floor. With Howard in the paint, we can challenge my opponent’s scorers out at the 3-point line and try to disrupt the passing lanes.

Why we’ll win:
(1) We’re going to destroy them on the boards. Howard and Lee are first and second in the league as rebounding, but the difference between the teams is even greater than that. Here are the rebound rates (2/26, from Hollinger’s stats on ESPN) of the starting lineups, followed by the reserves.

Our guys: Howard 22.2, Villanueva 15.3, Durant 9.6, Ginobili 10.3, Rondo 9.8 (average = 13.4)
Their guys: Nene 14.3, Okafor 19.3, Pierce 9.4, Allen 5.6, Billups 4.4 (average = 10.6)
That’s 25% better .

Our guys: Randolph 16.3, Lee 18.1, Balkman 13.4, Brewer 6.8, Nelson 6.3 (average = 12.2)
Their guys: Bargnani 10.3, Collison 15.2, Wallace 12.1, Terry 4.2, Daniels 4.1 (average = 9.2)
And that’s 30% better.

To put these numbers in perspective, the difference between the best rebounding team in the NBA and the worst is a little less than 20%. We're going to have a bunch more shots at the basket in every game, and we have the scorers to convert those shots into points.

(2) Our bench is much stronger. Here’s a PER comparison of the key bench players (Hollinger again):
Randolph 20.1, Lee 18.8, Balkman 16.6, Brewer 16.1, Nelson 20.9 (average 18.5 – that’s an above average NBA starting lineup)
Bargnani 13.8, Collison 14.5, Wallace 17.8, Terry 20.7, Daniels 12.4 (average 15.8)
We have very large advantages at C, PF, and PG; when the second units are on the floor, we’re going to outscore Vintage substantially.

(3) All that’s left is a comparison of the starting lineups. I’ll do this one head-to-head:
Howard 26.1 vs. Nene 19.1 (+7.0)
Villanueva 20.6 vs. Okafor 18.7 (+1.9)
Durant 21.4 vs. Pierce 17.9 (+3.2)
Ginobili 23.3 vs. Allen 17.8 (+5.5)
Rondo 19.4 vs. Billups 19.5 (-0.1)

No, I don’t really think that Kevin Durant is going to outplay Paul Pierce in a playoff series. But we’ve got a huge advantage with Howard against Nene; as good as Allen is, Ginobili is better, on both ends of the floor; and we hold our own everywhere else. Put that together with the rebounding advantage and the bench advantage, and we’re going to win this series.

[CellarDoor]

Stern- how do you see Randolph dealing with only playing 10 minutes?
Vintage- Will you consider starting Crash at the 4 to counteract Charlie?

[SportsFan215]

This time my rotation will look a little different:

Rose(30)/Fisher(18)
Ellis(26)/Vujacic(18)/Lee(4)
Prince(34)/Harrington(14)
Garnett(34)/Bass(10)/Harrington(4)
P. Gasol(34)/M. Gasol(14)

Matchups:

PG:
I'm starting Derrick Rose, since he will matchup better with Devin Harris' quickness. Fish will bring his experience off the bench, and his clutch 3-point shooting. I have the proven vet and the young stud, but unfortunately for me Devin Harris is the best player at this position, and Rose will have to work hard to contain him.

SG:
Again I am now starting Monta Ellis, because I am guessing AI will be the other SG, so Ellis will actually have the slight advantage in size. I really like pairing Ellis with Rose, since they can get up and down the court unlike many others. I will also be looking for Ellis and Rose to drive and try to get Shaq into foul trouble. Sasha will backup Monta, and will probably be paired up against Roger Mason in a matchup of 3-point sharp shooters.

SF:
I am not playing Deng in this matchup since he is out for the season, and I'm guessing that Redd won't be playing either. That will hurt my depth at SF, but Prince will hold down the fort here, and Harrington will slide to SF to give Prince a breather occasionally. They will be up against Battier, AK47, and Nocioni in a bunch of very defensive-minded matchups.

PF:
This is the marquee matchup. KG vs. Dirk. I don't know where to start. They are 2 of the best players in the world. KG will remain the heart and soul of my team, and hopefully his defensive intensity will bother Dirk. Bass will move into the backup PF role with Deng's injury, and he has the athletic advantage over Kurt Thomas.

C:
This is another good matchup with Pau vs. Shaq. As I said before, one of my plans is to have Rose and Ellis drive often and try to get Shaq into foul trouble. Pau can still score on Shaq, but he will need help on the defensive end, so he will often get double-teamed, especially with Prince coming over to help, since the other SFs aren't big offensive threats. Marc Gasol will do a better job a banging down low with Shaq and Oden, but I have to admit, this is the matchup that I am most worried about.

Overall, I have to say dcash has an outstanding team, without many weaknesses. I will try and use the speed of my guards and the talent of my big man duo to overcome his talented squad, but I'll have to leave it up to the voters to see if that is enough.

[Sports Arsenal]

Bynum(33)/Dampier(15)
Aldridge(35)/Diaw(13)
Lebron(39)/Outlaw(9)
M.Miller(24)/B.Gordon(24)
Kidd(29)/M.Williams(19)
DNP-Noah/J.R. Smith

Offense-
I feel confident about this round, our team is full of proven shooters and my opposition is extremely weak on perimeter defense. I have a stellar distributor to find Lebron for the drive to the basket or to get Bynum involved down low. With this team you will see alot of pick and rolls. Lebron coming off Aldridges high pick and delivering excellence in the paint. You may see Miller or Gordon come off of a high pick and pull up the easy jumper.
Again this offense is very versatile. We can run with any team to play the up tempo run and gun style. Or we can slow it down and call a multitude of different styles of plays.

Defense-
This unit will be most effective in a rotating team style defense. You will see Lebron guarding the 2/3 sometimes, maybe Kidd guarding the 1/2 spot. The opposition may get to the paint but once inside the will be met with harsh defense of Bynum and Aldridge, a new era of twin towers.
My bigs will out match anything has to put on the floor.

To be continued...

[dockingsched]

will post write up soon, but redd/deng are perfectly fine to use in this competition. hope u have time to see this and change up your rotation a bit.

[dockingsched]

harris(36)/mason(12)/conley
redd(28)/iverson(20)
battier(34)/nocioni(14)
nowitzki(34)/kirilenko(14)
o'neal(34)/thomas(14)/oden

defense: my rotation is suited towards stopping my opponent's big men. at center, i have shaq that will not allow pau to get anything with his back to the basket, forcing him to shoot perimeter shots. my backup center in this matchup will be veteran kurt thomas, who is perfectly suited to making pau's job all that much harder. at power forward i have dirk who has the size to not let kg become a powerful force in the paint. as a backup i have an elite defender in kirilenko, who has the speed to also matchup with harrington on the perimeter. this combination of these 4 big men should give kg/pau a very difficult time all game. on the perimeter, rose will have a difficult time getting his game going against elite defender devin harris. ellis has been two steps slow this season, and will not be able to get out and run like my opponent wishes. prince or deng, will have to deal with elite defender battier and hard nosed nocioni. fisher is not an attacking pg, so mason can handle him, and vujacic, or ellis, cannot exploit iverson's size.

offense: if anyone saw the recent suns vs. lakers game, you saw exactly what shaq could do to a frontcourt without a legit center. kg and pau have no hope of keeping shaq from backing down at will. harris will attack rookie rose all game, and iverson will take injury affect ellis and sasha all game. redd will be able to use his size against any of the defenders too. getting back to shaq, when he's not dominating the paint, he'll be double/triple teamed and he'll use his superb passing skills to find harris/redd/battier/mason/nocioni/kirilenko/nowitzki for open shots all day.

[VintaGe36]

Game plan:
-- I’m going to change my starting lineup for this series, with Villanueva at PF and Lee coming off the bench. Neither Okafor nor Nene is going to do a good job stepping out to the three-point line to guard Villanueva, and I want to open up the paint for Rondo, Durant and Ginobili to penetrate. Any of them are capable of going to the rim, kicking out to an open 3-point shooter, or getting the ball to Howard near the basket.
-- We’re going to run. You’ll see below that we have a major rebounding advantage; we also have a starting lineup that is younger, faster, and more athletic than our opponents. So we’re going to push the pace and go for as many easy baskets in transition as possible.
-- Also, Balkman will get some time on the floor, assigned to glue himself to Pierce, just as Brewer is to stay all over Allen when he’s on the floor. With Howard in the paint, we can challenge my opponent’s scorers out at the 3-point line and try to disrupt the passing lanes.

Why we’ll win:
(1) We’re going to destroy them on the boards. Howard and Lee are first and second in the league as rebounding, but the difference between the teams is even greater than that. Here are the rebound rates (2/26, from Hollinger’s stats on ESPN) of the starting lineups, followed by the reserves.

Our guys: Howard 22.2, Villanueva 15.3, Durant 9.6, Ginobili 10.3, Rondo 9.8 (average = 13.4)
Their guys: Nene 14.3, Okafor 19.3, Pierce 9.4, Allen 5.6, Billups 4.4 (average = 10.6)
That’s 25% better .

Our guys: Randolph 16.3, Lee 18.1, Balkman 13.4, Brewer 6.8, Nelson 6.3 (average = 12.2)
Their guys: Bargnani 10.3, Collison 15.2, Wallace 12.1, Terry 4.2, Daniels 4.1 (average = 9.2)
And that’s 30% better.

Breaking down rebound rate like this is flawed logic if you ask me. Dwight gets all his rebounds cleaning up the boards pretty much on his own, same can be said for Lee. Lee play for pretty fast paced teams that shoot a lot of jump shots.(NY is 2nd in Pace in the entire league). NY is also 27th in terms of team rebounding ability, so it's not like Lee has a lot of competition for those boards. On a team with Dwight, I don't consider Lee a guy capable of getting those boards. I see him being redundant with Dwight on the court, as neither can stretch the D much, and don't exactly have a diversified offensive arsenal. Also, you can't play him with Z-Bo or CV, because the defensive short comings will be simply too much. In other words, if Lee's on the court, he won't be the perceived positive you think he is. In fact, I could argue that with Dwight on your team, and lack of quality defenders in your frontcourt, Lee in this series will be a nonfactor.

Our bench is much stronger. Here’s a PER comparison of the key bench players (Hollinger again):
Randolph 20.1, Lee 18.8, Balkman 16.6, Brewer 16.1, Nelson 20.9 (average 18.5 – that’s an above average NBA starting lineup)
Bargnani 13.8, Collison 14.5, Wallace 17.8, Terry 20.7, Daniels 12.4 (average 15.8)
We have very large advantages at C, PF, and PG; when the second units are on the floor, we’re going to outscore Vintage substantially.

Nelson trumps my backup PG in Daniels no doubt, however I'll take Wallace over Balkman with EASE, despite them having comparable PERs. Gerald Wallace is a superb starter in this league, Balkman is a borderline role player. They aren't close, which in itself show the flaw in using PER for this. what my bench offers, is a variety of skill sets. Bargnani stretches the D when I need to, Collison provides defensive hustle, and Daniels is simply a veteran "band-aide" when Billups needs to rest. Terry and Wallace highlight my bench. Both are efficient well rounded capable starters.

Another note about PER, is that a lot of your players need a lot of PT to acquire those numbers. You can't really expect Z-Bo to get those kind of numbers in 10 minutes, he'll be a virtual non-factor, and will probably gripe about a lack of playing time.

I don't see your "large" advantage at PF and C.

Neither Lee or Z-Bo are true defensive C, so i'll score at ease on them.(So your "huge bench" advantage here becomes a non-factor)

And I could argue that my advantage at SF and SG trump your advantage at PG.

Barnani and Okafor aren't as offensively or statistically flashy as Z-Bo and Lee, but they actually fit together, and don't necessarily need certain circumstances to produce what they are being asked to produce(Z-Bo with playing time, and Lee with a horrible rebounding team). Also, Okafor is a better rebounder than Z-Bo, and based on rebound pct, is also better than Lee.

All that’s left is a comparison of the starting lineups. I’ll do this one head-to-head:
Howard 26.1 vs. Nene 19.1 (+7.0)
Villanueva 20.6 vs. Okafor 18.7 (+1.9)
Durant 21.4 vs. Pierce 17.9 (+3.2)
Ginobili 23.3 vs. Allen 17.8 (+5.5)
Rondo 19.4 vs. Billups 19.5 (-0.1)

Again, you can see the flaw in using PER. Durant and Rondo are SUPERB young players, and they are the future, however for THIS year, for THIS series, would you even consider taking them over Pierce/Billups, which is what your PER argument is trying to say? Of course not. The way I see it, I have an advantage at PG,SG,SF and a better rounded player at PF. You have an advantage at C, as Dwight is well, Dwight, but Nene is nothing to scoff at, and at the very least will slow Dwight down.

as good as Allen is, Ginobili is better, on both ends of the floor; and we hold our own everywhere else

Based on PER? Sure, if you want to ignore that Ray Allen scores more Points, on better efficiency. Not to mention that Ray Allen plays against starters, while Manu gets the luxury of playing against 2nd units, which he DOESN'T get to do with your team...that is something that should be accounted for. Also that Manu is "better" but Ray has been healthier this year, and has scores without using the ball as much as Manu. Manu is 5th in Usage rate, while Allen isn't even in the top 20. Allen is also first in TS% FT% and 3pt% in the whole leagueI don't see this perceived obvious advantage Manu has over Ray Allen, care to enlighten me?

Put that together with the rebounding advantage and the bench advantage

Both advantages are merely large on paper. your team is a better rebounding team no doubt, but you overstate that having Lee and Dwight on the same team gives you some kind of mega advantage, since neither can play together, and any player you pair with Lee puts you at a disadvantage.

Now onto my gameplan.

This will be rotation for this match-up.

Billups(30)/Terry(8)/Daniels(10)
Ray Allen(33)/Tery(15)
Pierce(35)/Gerald Wallace(13)
Gerald Wallace(20)/Okafor(15)/Bargnani(13)
Nene(30)/Okafor(15)/

Game Plan:

I look at Stern's team, and see a lacking in defensive big men(besides Howard of course). I'll look to exploit this by running a slow, half court offense.

On defense, it's going to be rather difficult to stop that many offensive weapons, but it won't be the daunting task stats may lead you to believe.

I will be starting Gerald Wallace this series, and he will be a HUGE part of my game.

He is a superb defensive player, notably as a weakside helper, which will help when Dwight catches the ball down low. Now mind you, he won't stop Dwight, but he can aide in at least trying to contain him.

With Rondo not exactly lighting the world up from outside, and much better at slashing, I'm going to give him any outside shot he wants. I'm gonna play a triangle and two defense, with Pierce,Allen, and Gerald Wallace face guarding Durant, CV, and Manu, giving them absolutely no spacing for jump shots. Having Nene or Okafor(who ever is playing at the time) take on Dwight one on one is risky to say the least, but I think I have the overall team defense, and weak side defenders to compensate for that. Billups will zone, able to help should Dwight catch the ball down low, too far for Nene or Okafor to handle him. However both Nene and Okafor are superb defensive players, so I don't feel Dwight will completely take over.

If you figure that 4 out of 5 of Stern's starters have usage rates over 25, and not one of my starters has a usage over that number, Stern's going to have a lot of touches to compensate for, touches that simply won't be there If I slow the pace down.


Durant - 28.2
Howard -25.9
Ginoboli - 27.9
Villanueva - 28.7
Rondo -19.7
Billups - 23
Allen - 19
Pierce - 24.8
Gerald Wallace - 20.9
Emeka Okafor - 19.5
Nene - 18.2

Fast breaking hasn't never had success against a half court offense in the post season, and I'm hoping that trend continues.

I will rely on Billups and Pierce to take over this series, as though Stern's team is talented, they are young, and veteran savvy and championship experience trumps youth with one player with experience(manu).


Why I'll win:

Offensive fluidity - Nobody on my team necessarily needs a lot of touches to be effective, Billups and Pierce have the largest Usage rates, but given their roles on their teams, it's a given. the rest of my starting 5 don't have very high usage rates at all, and will run an offense together much better. I have my doubts about if Stern's team will get all the touches his team will undoubtly need.

defensive, or lack thereof - CV and Durant are hardly worldly defenders, and though Ginoboli is passable, it's not like he's elite in anyway. I'll look to exploit this, as though Dwight and Rondo are superb defenders, there's only so much they can do to make up for the shortcomings.



With all that said, I feel that my veteran intangibles, savvy and experience, coupled with more team chemistry, and a superior strategy that has shown better results in the post season ( defense and half court offense vs. a fast breaking team) I will win this series.

[sterncohen]

Nicely argued, VintaGe. A few responses below.

Rebounding: It's true that, when you put a bunch of excellent rebounders together, their individual rebound rates will drop. It's also true that VintaGe has just removed Okafor, his only good rebounder, from his starting lineup, so our advantage is even greater than I thought. And note that this isn't just about the big men - Ginobili and Rondo get many more boards than VintaGe's guards, and they do so while playing alongside Duncan and Garnett respectively. There's no way around the fact that we're going to get a bunch more boards, and those boards are going to translate into points.

Bench: No question that Wallace is better than Balkman, and Terry provides more offensive firepower than Brewer - and the PER figures show that. But Randolph, Lee, and Nelson are going to score a lot of points against this unt. Okafor is indeed a better rebounder than Randolph - but Randlph and Lee together are, again, significantly better than Okafor and Bargnani.

Starting lineup comparison - player quality: I didn't, and wouldn't, make the case that Rondo and Durant are better than Billups and Pierce. I made the case that they will hold their own, and that's all they have to do. Nene is a fine player, but Howard is a superstar; if we put up comparable numbers at the other positions, Howard's dominance, plus the bench and rebounding advantages, gives us the edge.

Manu Ginobili vs. Ray Allen: I don't think Ginobili has an "obvious advantage," but I do think it's a real one. Both players are excellent scorers, but look at the rest of their games. Assists/36, last three years (including this one): Ginobili 4.6, 5.2, 4.6; Allen 3.7, 3.1, 2.8. Rebounds/36: Ginobili 5.7, 5.5, 6.2; Allen 4.0, 3.7, 3.3. Defensive rating (lower numbers are better): Ginobili 98, 100, 100, Allen 112, 103, 105.

"Lacking defensive big men (besides Howard of course)": New Orleans lacks a good point guard, except for Chris Paul. Cleveland is lacking in superstars, except for LeBron James. And my team is lacking in defensive big men, except for Dwight Howard, who leads the league in rebounding and shotblocking, and who will play 38 minutes a game. My other three big men are certainly not great defenders - though Villanueva is actually playing quite well defensively this year under Scott Skiles. On the secod unit, Lee and Randolph will not be facing elite post scorers - they just have to handle Okafor and Collison.

Usage rates: It's true that there's a risk in putting together guys who are used to being their teams' primary offensive options. I do'nt think there's a huge risk here - Rondo slashes, Howard gets his points near the basket, and the primary overlap in skills is between Ginobili, who is a team player if ever there was one and an excellent passer, and Durant. And somehow I don't see Durant hogging the ball with these teammates. But suppose there really was a problem - then one of Ginobili and Durant moves to the second unit, replaced by Brewer or Balkman, which simultaneously improves our defense and solves the usage problem.

It's to you, judges.

[SportsFan215]

This time my rotation will look a little different:

Rose(30)/Fisher(18)
Ellis(26)/Vujacic(18)/Lee(4)
Prince(34)/Deng(14)
Garnett(34)/Harrington(10)/Bass(4)
P. Gasol(34)/M. Gasol(14)

Matchups:

PG:
I'm starting Derrick Rose, since he will matchup better with Devin Harris' quickness. Fish will bring his experience off the bench, and his clutch 3-point shooting. I have the proven vet and the young stud, but unfortunately for me Devin Harris is the best player at this position, and Rose will have to work hard to contain him.

SG:
Again I am now starting Monta Ellis, because I am guessing AI will be the other SG, so Ellis will actually have the slight advantage in size. I really like pairing Ellis with Rose, since they can get up and down the court unlike many others. I will also be looking for Ellis and Rose to drive and try to get Shaq into foul trouble. Sasha will backup Monta, and will probably be paired up against Roger Mason in a matchup of 3-point sharp shooters. EDIT I will matchup Vujacic with Redd and Ellis with AI as much as possible.

SF:
EDIT Prince and Deng will hold down the fort here. They will be up against Battier, AK47, and Nocioni in a bunch of very defensive-minded matchups.

PF:
This is the marquee matchup. KG vs. Dirk. I don't know where to start. They are 2 of the best players in the world. KG will remain the heart and soul of my team, and hopefully his defensive intensity will bother Dirk. EDIT Bass and Harrington will be the backup PFs and they have the athletic advantage over Kurt Thomas.

C:
This is another good matchup with Pau vs. Shaq. As I said before, one of my plans is to have Rose and Ellis drive often and try to get Shaq into foul trouble. Pau can still score on Shaq, but he will need help on the defensive end, so he will often get double-teamed, especially with Prince coming over to help, since the other SFs aren't big offensive threats. Marc Gasol will do a better job a banging down low with Shaq and Oden, but I have to admit, this is the matchup that I am most worried about.

Overall, I have to say dcash has an outstanding team, without many weaknesses. I will try and use the speed of my guards and the talent of my big man duo to overcome his talented squad, but I'll have to leave it up to the voters to see if that is enough.

[VintaGe36]

Bench: No question that Wallace is better than Balkman, and Terry provides more offensive firepower than Brewer - and the PER figures show that. But Randolph, Lee, and Nelson are going to score a lot of points against this unt. Okafor is indeed a better rebounder than Randolph - but Randlph and Lee together are, again, significantly better than Okafor and Bargnani.

Based on what? PER? Rebounding, sure Lee and Randolph may have an advantage, but I'll take Bargnani/Okafor tandem offensively, defensively and in terms of fit. You can't play Randolph and Lee together IMO, they don't compliment each other all that well. Okafor and Bargnani however, can play inside and out(bargs outside, Okafor inside), can both play PF/C at least decently.

PER is a horrible stat to use to compare players if you ask me. Carlos Boozer has a PER of 21.69. That's better than Kevin Garnett, David West, Paul Milsap, Lamarcus Aldridge and only ever so slightly worse than Chris Bosh. However I wouldn't hesitate to take ALL those players over Boozer, because Boozer simply cannot D up, and has been hurt all year.

Starting lineup comparison - player quality: I didn't, and wouldn't, make the case that Rondo and Durant are better than Billups and Pierce. I made the case that they will hold their own, and that's all they have to do. Nene is a fine player, but Howard is a superstar; if we put up comparable numbers at the other positions, Howard's dominance, plus the bench and rebounding advantages, gives us the edge.

Much like how Durant and Rondo are fine players, but Pierce and Billups are superstars who are Finals MVPs and have the experience that will be vital in a playoff series?

Again, i'll ask, what bench advantages?

Manu Ginobili vs. Ray Allen: I don't think Ginobili has an "obvious advantage," but I do think it's a real one. Both players are excellent scorers, but look at the rest of their games. Assists/36, last three years (including this one): Ginobili 4.6, 5.2, 4.6; Allen 3.7, 3.1, 2.8. Rebounds/36: Ginobili 5.7, 5.5, 6.2; Allen 4.0, 3.7, 3.3. Defensive rating (lower numbers are better): Ginobili 98, 100, 100, Allen 112, 103, 105.

These numbers aren't really all that fair, though they are telling. Ginoboli and Allen, though Allen has been worst in past years, are VERY comparable this year, and it should be accounted for that Manu comes off the bench, and plays against 2nd units, which is easier than starting.

"Lacking defensive big men (besides Howard of course)": New Orleans lacks a good point guard, except for Chris Paul. Cleveland is lacking in superstars, except for LeBron James. And my team is lacking in defensive big men, except for Dwight Howard, who leads the league in rebounding and shotblocking, and who will play 38 minutes a game.

That's all fine and dandy, however CP3 and Lebron don't anchor their team's defense. You are saying that having a complete LIABILITY at all times in the game with Dwight is "no big deal" But how can you expect Dwight to dominate a series on both ends of the court, having to deal with two elite post defenders,(and a superb Weakside help defender in Gerald Wallace) AND having to make up for his frontcourt teammate's defensive shortcomings every time. PLUS you want to run with your team? Dwight is a beast no doubt, but he is human...


Any difference you think Dwight has over Nene, can be said about Billups and Pierce. Durant is freak no doubt, but it is STILL only his 2nd year in the league, and he has yet to play in a playoff series, to expect him to continue his superb play in those situations, against players like Billups and Pierce is a bit of a reach no? Rondo is in his 3rd year, and has looked incredible, but he is still incredibly young, and I have my doubts that he'll be able to carry his team in the postseason like you'll need him to(If you remember, my gameplan is to make Rondo beat me.)

On the flipside, Billups and Pierce have the championship experience and "clutch" factor, and Ray Ray has been there and is a battle tested veteran. Nene doesn't have much experience, but IIRC, he was one of the reasons a few years back that a series between DEN and SAS was even competitive, he handled TD quite well. Okafor hasn't had much Playoff experience either (none IIRC) but he was a winner at UCONN FWIW.

Now, it's up to you judges.

[CellarDoor]

First of all I want to compliment Mascot on building a solid team around Kobe. May the best man win.

Nash(35)/Duhon(13)
KMart(35)/Pietrus(13)
Butler(35)/Bowen(13)
Duncan(35)/Okur(13)
Okur(20)/Haywood(28)

Offense: Think something to the effect of what the Suns have been doing under Gentry, but with Duncan. Each time down the court our team will look for Nash to create, if he can't get something going sooner rather than later? No problem. Throw it to Tim Duncan. The beauty of this team comes from Okur and our wings though. Okur forces the opposing team's second big away from the basket and away from helping onto Tim. Beyond him, we have two of the best shooters in the league in KMart and Nash for Duncan to kick out to as well. The main thing to remember here is that there are two good defenders on Mascot's team, and I've got four guys who can take over a game and get their own shot.

Defense: Any team with Kobe Bryant is automatically a team you don't look forward to guarding. Thankfully both of my back-up wings are very good defenders as is Caron Butler. We'll throw everything we've got at him, but for the most part we'll force him to beat us himself. Bibby is a mid-range and long-range player, negating Nash's "bad" defense as he is a very sound defender when he's not being outquicked or overpowered. David West will be trying to score on Tim Duncan, which isn't going to go well for him. And Tyson Chandler without a superstar PG like Paul will be even less of an offensive threat than he is now. RJeff is solid, but as a third option with Caron Butler and Bruce Bowen playing D usually, he's going to be hard pressed to make a real impact.

To put it bluntly, Tim and Kobe are going to get theirs. The key to this series is going to be limiting the rest of the options on the floor. At that point I'll take Nash, Butler, Martin and Okur.

[SportsFan215]

Good overall matchups, but Kobe is too much, plus Mascot has good depth on his team. Mascot in 7.

[SportsFan215]

I see CV as a weak spot in these matchups. Although sterncohen has a great big 3, I think VintaGe has a very well-rounded team without many holes. VintaGe in 7.

[SportsFan215]

Any team with LeBron and that much talent around him is going to be extremely hard to beat. Shaqsux in 5.

[SportsFan215]

I still am not sure if we can or can't vote for our own matchups, but I'll take myself in 7, because I think these matchups are really close, but KG will get my team fired up, and will lead them to victory!