Billups Carter Draft - R2 - wackbone vs durantbird*

[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: Derrick White 24' - 11.5
SG: James Harden 21' - 16.7
SF: OG Anunoby 20' - 8.2
PF: Paul Millsap 15' - 12.7
C: Nikola Jokic 23' - 14.8

Bench: Kyle Korver 15' - 8.0
Bench: Aaron Gordon 24' - 9.8
Bench: Reggie Bullock 23' - 6.0

Rotation:
PG: Derrick White 36 / James Harden 12
SG: James Harden 24 / Kyle Korver 24
SF: OG Anunoby 30 / Reggie Bullock 12 / Aaron Gordon 6
PF: Paul Millsap 24 / Aaron Gordon 24
C: Nikola Jokic 38 / Paul Millsap 10

87.7/88

Vs

Kyrie Irving (38) / Miles McBride (10)
Doug Christie (32) / Jared Dudley (8) / Miles McBride (8)
Peja Stojakovic (38) / Jared Dudley (10)
Pascal Siakam (32) / Kevin Garnett (16)
Kevin Garnett (22) / DeAndre Jordan (26)

Matchup:
- Defensive assignments straight up. Gordon plays defensive minutes on both Peja and Siakam, with Millsap guarding Garnett for some of the game.
- We got great defensive guys to throw at their offensive stars, with White, Anunoby, Millsap and Gordon having good matchups and important roles in the series. The White Harden backcourt combo makes us hard to guard especially with this year's offensive improvement from White, and Kyrie may struggle.
- We built a team that should fit very well around Jokic. Spacing all around with Harden, White, Korver, Anunoby, Millsap, Bullock and reliable lob threats like Gordon. We also got some nice playmakers in White and Harden to set Jokic up.
- With Garnett having his hands full with Jokic, he'll struggle to serve as an help defender. DAJ minutes against Jokic will be great for us.

[wackbone]

Kyrie Irving - 2018 - 18.1 FGA
Peja Stojakovic - 2004 - 17.1 FGA
Kevin Garnett - 2008 - 13.9 FGA
Pascal Siakam - 2019 - 11.8 FGA
Doug Christie - 2003 - 7.0 FGA
Miles McBride - 2024 - 6.7 FGA
DeAndre Jordan - 2016 - 6.6 FGA
Jared Dudley - 2010 - 6.0 FGA
Total: 87.2/88 FGA

Rotation:
Kyrie Irving (38) / Miles McBride (10)
Doug Christie (32) / Jared Dudley (8) / Miles McBride (8)
Peja Stojakovic (38) / Jared Dudley (10)
Kevin Garnett (16) / Pascal Siakam (32)
DeAndre Jordan (26) / Kevin Garnett (22)

Writeup:

Jokic in back to back games, fun. GL DB

I am going to switch up my rotation from my roster page a little bit. Same minutes, just switching around who is starting.

Defensively we are going to start with Kyrie on White, Christie on Harden, Peja on OG, KG on Millsap, and Jordan on Jokic.

Our defensive gameplan is fairly simple. We are putting a big body (All-Def 1st DeAndre) on Jokic. We are going to be extra physical with him. KG is on Millsap but is going to help off to help with Jokic's passing lanes quite frequently and recover as needed. Millsap is a solid player but not a guy who will kill us with a little extra space. KG will largely act as a Free Safety. White and OG are both great role players, but neither are going to be able to take advantage of Kyrie nor Peja. Importantly this is 2021 Harden, not Rockets Harden. Christie and Deuce will be hounding him all game. db has a very deep team but no real second fiddle that we are all that scared of. 2021 Harden is not at the same level as 2018 Kyrie nor 2004 Peja.

TLDR: All-Def 1st Big Body (Jordan) on Jokic, KG largely plays free safety, Christie and Deuce hound 2021 Harden.

Offensively we have a legit big 3 of Kyrie, Peja, and KG. They all operate in their own space and have very little overlap. Kyrie is obviously are primary ball handler. Christie/McBride provide additional playmaking and spacing. Dudley also provides spacing. All-NBA 1st Jordan is our lob threat down low. Siakam off the bench is a huge factor as well.

Both teams are extremely deep without a doubt. Jokic is obviously the best player. But I would argue I have the clear next 3 best players (Kyrie/Peja/KG), especially when considering this is 2021 Harden. We are going to look to be extra physical with Jokic.

[Fadeaway_J]

I'm always a bit uncertain about Jokic-Harden as a pairing - they can obviously run some pick-and-roll but it's limited by Harden's lack of an off-ball game. Wack's stars probably do more to amplify each other, although none of them is in the Jokic/Harden class individually. With that said, Kyrie as the unquestioned lead playmaker makes me nervous, as does the prospect of relying on Peja and Christie in a tight playoff series. In theory DAJ as the primary defender plus KG helping seems like a good counter to Jokic, but again, I'm a bit iffy on DAJ's post defense or defensive intelligence in general. Just feel more comfortable with Jokic as the #1 considering both teams are pretty strong defensively, and White playing like a fringe All-Star (a notch or two above that in the playoffs) nudges durantbird over the top.

Vote: durantbird

[Dr Positivity]

Deandre is getting killed here and db really nasty bench helps put him over the line. Vote durantbird.

[durantbird]

[Larry_Russell]

Im with Fade and DrPs assessment, not really anything else to add to it.

Vote Durantbird

[durantbird]

durantbird advances