Gregg Popovich Draft - R1 - Snakebites* vs Fadeaway_J

[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).

[Snakebites]

Only one team:
22-23 Nikola Jokic- 14.8 FGA
Lockout Season:
98-99 Karl Malone- 16.3 FGA
Spurs:
19-20 Derrick White 8.1 FGA
Knicks:
24-25 Jalen Brunson 18.8 FGA
Nets:
23-24 Mikal Bridges 15.8 FGA
Pistons:
24-25 Isaiah Stewart 4.4 FGA
Cavaliers:
23-24 Dean Wade 4.3 FGA
Heat:
12-13 Shane Battier 5.0 FGA

Brunson (37)/White (11)
White (22)/Bridges (26)
Bridges (11)/Battier (26)/Wade (11)
Malone (37)/Wade (11)
Jokic (37)/Stewart (11)

Alrighty, lets do this. I think I've built an extremely strong team around 3 offensive pillars. Jokic/Malone are an unguardable bigman pair. Jokic gets a lot of mileage out of the oversized pick and roll with Aaron Gordon, and swapping in MVP Karl Malone there puts that into overdrive- it will be an extremely difficult combination to stop, particularly without a big man who is a capable of playing effective defense on the perimeter. To compound this, I've also got the ability to run traditional two man games with Brunson paired with either Jokic or Malone. It's a team that has a lot of effective ways to beat you. Bridges, White, and Battier all serve their roles effectively as defenders and floor spacers.

Matchup specific- Bridges and Battier are both extremely effective larger wing defenders, and White (yes even the Spurs version) and Bridges are both effective POA defenders, so I think I'm well suited to guard against Fade's perimeter attack, while he will have a lot of difficulty defending Jokic/Malone with Mutombo/Dirk. That's an okay low post defensive combination but there's no credible contest to Jokic on the perimeter.

Overall I think I've got enough to carry the day here. Vote Snake!

[Fadeaway_J]

Starters
C - Dikembe Mutombo (1998-99)

Spoiler:

10.8 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.3 spg, 2.9 bpg, .512 FG%, .684 FT%, .584 TS%
- All-Defensive Second Team

PF - Dirk Nowitzki (2010-11)

Spoiler:

23.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.6 bpg, .517 FG%, .393 3P%, .892 FT%, 66 3P (0.9 pg), .612 TS%
- NBA Champion
- NBA Finals MVP
- NBA All-Star
- All-NBA Second Team

SF - Grant Hill (1996-97)

Spoiler:

21.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 7.3 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.6 bpg, .496 FG%, .303 3P%, .711 FT%, .556 TS%
- Led the NBA in DPBM (2.7)
- NBA All-Star
- All-NBA First Team

SG - OG Anunoby (2024-25)

Spoiler:

18.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.9 bpg, .476 FG%, .372 3P%, .810 FT%, 171 3P (2.3 pg), .591 TS%

PG - Darius Garland (2024-25)

Spoiler:

20.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.1 bpg, .472 FG%, .401 3P%, .878 FT%, 212 3P (2.8 pg), .600 TS%
- NBA All-Star

Bench
F - P.J. Tucker (2021-22)

Spoiler:

7.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.2 bpg, .484 FG%, .415 3P%, .738 FT%, 80 3P (1.1 pg), .593 TS%

F - Dorian Finney-Smith (2023-24)

Spoiler:

8.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg, .421 FG%, .348 3P%, .717 FT%, 117 3P (1.7 pg), .546 TS%

G - Brent Barry (2005-06)

Spoiler:

5.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.4 bpg, .452 FG%, .396 3P%, .661 FT%, 80 3P (1.1 pg), .581 TS%

Rotations
C - Mutombo (38), Tucker (10)
PF - Nowitzki (38), Tucker (10)
SF - Hill (30), Anunoby (10), DFS (8)
SG - Anunoby (28), DFS (12), Barry (8)
PG - Garland (36), Hill (8), Barry (4)

FGA Per Player

Spoiler:

Dirk Nowitzki - 16.2
Grant Hill - 15.7
OG Anunoby - 13.9
Dikembe Mutombo - 6.8
Darius Garland - 15.7
Brent Barry - 4.7
Dorian Finney-Smith - 7.5
P.J. Tucker - 6.0

Total: 86.5/88.0

Dirk is our primary offensive hub and, and his unique gravity opens things up for everyone else. The Dirk-Hill two-man game is damn near unstoppable with Dirk's lethal shooting and Hill's slashing. Garland is a dynamite third option who can drive, shoot, and pass at a high level. OG will focus on finishing plays off the attention drawn by our three stars. Defensively, Dikembe locks down the paint, and we have plenty of rangy wings to take on perimeter threats.

Matchup
- Matchups to start will be OG-Brunson, Garland-White, Hill-Bridges, Dirk-Malone, Deke-Jokic. OG's strength should be a big help against Brunson, who does a lot of damage by bullying smaller guards rather than blowing past people. Deke is a strong counter for Jokic's devastating post game.
- We continue to lean on the two-man game with Hill and Garland as ballhandlers playing off Dirk. Having two All-NBA level perimeter creators is an advantage for us compared Brunson shouldering most of that burden for Snake.
- Hill should be able to score efficiently at the basket here, with Malone having to stay glued to Dirk and Jokic not being much a factor as a rim protector.

Good luck Snake.

[durantbird]

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Voting is open, Snakebites and Fade please vote for yourselves

[durantbird]

Snakebites advances