Derrick Rose Draft R1 - durantbird* vs ardee

[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. Please ensure you give a rationale for your vote; votes with no explanation will not be counted.

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).

**First to 3 votes advances.**

[durantbird]

PG: Jrue Holiday 16' - 14.4 (Sixth Man)
SG: Anthony Edwards 24' - 19.7 (Wolves)
SF: Grant Hill 96' - 15.3 (Pistons)
PF: Dirk Nowitzki 11' - 16.2 (One Time MVP)
C: Tyson Chandler 12' - 5.7 (Knicks)

Bench: Alex Caruso 24' - 7.6 (Bulls)
Bench: Mike Miller 14' - 5.4 (Grizzlies)
Bench: Nate Thurmond 76' - 3.7 with multiplier (Cavs)

Rotation:
PG: Jrue Holiday 38 / Alex Caruso 10
SG: Anthony Edwards 32 / Alex Caruso 16
SF: Grant Hill 28 / Mike Miller 14 / Anthony Edwards 6
PF: Dirk Nowitzki 38 / Grant Hill 10
C: Tyson Chandler 38 / Nate Thurmond 10

88/88

Vs

Thomas (36)/Kerr (12)
Kukoc (20)/Allen (20)/Kerr (8)
Durant (30)/Kukoc (18)
Reid (30)/Durant (10)/Thompson (8)
Ewing (40)/Thompson (8)

Matchup
- Defensive assignments straight up: Holiday vs Thomas, Edwards vs Kukoc, Hill vs Durant, Dirk vs Reid, Chandler vs Ewing.
- ardee's team is kinda unusual with Kukoc at SG, but I don't think it works in his favor here. There isn't really a way for him to guard either Edwards not Dirk, both are up for a superb series. While Hill is only solid against Durant, I don't see his potential Hill cover as any better, and we backline our defense by Chandler/Thurmond. Edwards might be smaller to guard Kukoc but he is built strongly and has a significant weight advantage.
- I think our fit of Edwards Hill Dirk is impeccable, and Holiday Chandler just round out that lineup perfectly, whereas ardee's group seems clunky and either slow footed or small (Thomas).
- I also like our bench better, preferring our guys in any position here, with Caruso/Kerr - Miller/Grayson - Thurmond/Tristan. Interesting to note though, that we used the exact same franchises for our bench and with the same roles

[ardee]

1989 Patrick Ewing: 16.0 FGA (Knicks)
2017 Kevin Durant: 16.5 FGA (MVP)
1986 Isiah Thomas: 16.2 FGA (Pistons)
1996 Toni Kukoc: 9.7 FGA (6MOY)
2024 Naz Reid: 10.5 FGA (Timberwolves)
1996 Steve Kerr: 5.9 FGA (Bulls)
2018 Tristan Thompson: 4.4 FGA (Cavs)
2021 Grayson Allen: 8.3 FGA (Grizzlies)

Total: 87.5/88.0 FGA

Thomas (36)/Kerr (12)
Kukoc (20)/Allen (20)/Kerr (8)
Durant (30)/Kukoc (18)
Reid (30)/Durant (10)/Thompson (8)
Ewing (40)/Thompson (8)

Good luck DB, great team!

-Our big 3 of Isiah, Durant and Ewing have great fit, each with clearly defined roles. Isiah is an elite playmaker, Durant is Durant, and Ewing is a hyper-efficient no. 2 scorer who will dominate the paint on both ends in this particular matchup.

-Kukoc at SG is unorthodox but he did still shoot 40% from 3. Reid shot 42%, so my big 3 will have plenty of space to go to work with the supporting cast spreading the floor. Isiah averaged 11 apg that year and will make sure everyone gets their shots and the offense runs smoothly.

-I actually like our defensive matchups, we'll go straight man-to-man by position. Reid did a pretty good job on Jokic so I expect he can handle Dirk fine too. Chandler isn't a major offensive threat so Ewing will be able to do what he does best and help where needed. And Kukoc is an underrated man defender, I think Edwards will have trouble with his size.

-I think I have two of the three best players in this matchup with a very solid supporting cast that have clearly defined roles. With the exception of Isiah my starting 5 is full of crazy wingspans that will cover a lot of court, while not sacrificing in the shooting department. Should put me just over the top.

[Fadeaway_J]

Ardee's inability to find a 3-and-D wing proves fatal here. I already don't like Reid guarding Dirk (I don't find the Jokic matchup particularly relevant here, they are two unique players who require quite different approaches), but Kukoc on Ant is just untenable. While I do have some questions about durantbird's spacing with Jrue and Hill around Dirk and Ant, there is at least Dirk's gravity to mitigate that somewhat, and he matches up much better defensively with ardee than vice versa.

Vote: durantbird

[Jon_3232]

Basically agree with fade on this one. Straight up is bad matchups that Dirk and Ant will exploit. Birds got a nice bench
Vote Bird

[Laimbeer]

The structure of DB's offense makes more sense to me. Kukoc on ANT is trouble.

Vote - DB

[ardee]

Yeah I almost wanted to throw this one, thought I had built a great foundation with my first two picks but then when all the PGs I wanted were gone and I had to take Isiah things started to go south for me.

[MadNESS]

Going DB here as well.

Ant / Grant / Dirk is too much to overcome

[durantbird]

Durantbird advances