Gregg Popovich Draft - Semi - Laimbeer vs MadNess*

[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).

[MadNESS]

PG: LeBron James (33) | Chris Paul (15)
SG: Bruce Brown (35) | Chris Paul (13)
SF: Eddie Jones (38) | Richard Jefferson (10)
PF: Jayson Tatum (40) | LeBron James (8)
Cc: Patrick Ewing (40) | Kwame Brown (8)



Total: 87.5 | 88.0 FGA

12’-13’ LeBron James 17.8 FGA
23’-24’ Jayson Tatum 19.3 FGA
96’-97’ Patrick Ewing 17.2 FGA
98’-99’ Eddie Jones 11.9 FGA
21’-22’ Bruce Brown 7.0 FGA
24’-25’ Chris Paul 7.1 FGA
15’-16’ Richard Jefferson 4.2 FGA
08’-09’ Kwame Brown 3.0 FGA

GL Laimbeer.
Defense:
Ewing on Shaq. Got 6 hard fouls coming from Kwame. Eddie on Mitchell. Brown on Kidd. Tatum on Posey. This keeps him fresh for offense. LeBron on Giannis. Plan on packing the paint for the most part. Spacing is sparce on Laimbeer team. Giannis and Shaq are a terrible fit, and the pieces around them don't help.

Offense:
He doesn't have the wings to defend LeBron and Tatum for 40 minutes. Giannis cannot defend them both. Ewing will keep Shaq honest as well so he can't defend the paint only. Plan to pick apart Posey on defense with Tatum or LeBron.

vote ness

[Laimbeer]

Shaquille O'Neal ( 1999 ) 18.1 - 1999
Giannis Antetokounmpo ( 2019 ) 17.3 - One
James Posey ( 2006 ) 5.9 - MIA
Donovan Mitchell ( 2025 ) 18.6 - CLE
Jason Kidd ( 2006 ) 11.3 - BRK

Isaiah Hartenstein ( 2023 ) 4 - NYK
Harrison Barnes ( 2025 ) 8.3 - SAS
Damon Jones ( 2002 ) 4.2 - DET

87.7

Shaquille O'Neal (38) / Isaiah Hartenstein (10)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (38) / Harrison Barnes (10)
James Posey (26) / Harrison Barnes (20)
Donovan Mitchell (38) / James Posey (10)
Jason Kidd (38) / Damon Jones (10)

Good luck, Ness. Really nice team.

Shaq is going to have a field day against 34-year-old Ewing. He and Giannis are the most physically imposing inside/outside combination we've seen. The Giannis led break with this group will be scary. In the half-court, Shaq and Mitchell take the pressure off and create problems of their own. Our talent is exceptional - Kidd is the perfect floor general bringing it together.

Shaq/Ewing, Giannis/Brown, Kidd/LeBron, Posey/Tatum, and Mitchell/Jones are pretty solid covers. Brown is a non-factor offensively and having Giannis able to roam and play help defense is huge.

LeBron is in a very tough spot, having to guard Giannis and run the offense without a secondary ball handler. We have a younger version of the older Kidd who helped lock LeBron up in his mediocre 2011 finals. Barnes is an excellent wing defender playing 30 minutes off the bench. Not to mention Shaq and Giannis lurking.

Our overall talent and match-ups carry this one.

[MadNESS]

Off peak Shaq and Kidd….

34 year old Ewing was MVP (8), All NBA 2 and still an All Star.

[durantbird]

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Voting is open, madness and beer please vote for yourselves

[durantbird]

MadNess advances