Multi Franchise States Draft - CHAMPIONSHIP - flaco** 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.

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: James Harden 18' - 20.1
SG: Eddie Jones 01' - 13.8
SF: James Posey 06' - 5.9
PF: Rashard Lewis 10' - 11.2
C: Tim Duncan 03' - 17.2

Bench: Hedo Turkoglu 06' - 11.2
Bench: Andrew Bogut 16' - 4.0
Bench: Shaun Livingston 17' - 4.2

Rotation:
PG: James Harden 39 / Shaun Livingston 9
SG: Eddie Jones 38 / James Posey 6 / Shaun Livingston 4
SF: James Posey 24 / Hedo Turkoglu 24
PF: Rashard Lewis 36 / Tim Duncan 7 / Hedo Turkoglu 5
C: Tim Duncan 32 / Andrew Bogut 16

87.6/88

vs

PG: Jason Kidd (36) - Alex Caruso (12)
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (24) / JJ Redick (24)
SF: Jimmy Butler (36) / Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (12)
PF: Kevin Durant (36) / Serge Ibaka (12)
C: Kristaps Porzingis (30) / Serge Ibaka (18)

Matchup:
- Defensive assignments: Harden vs Kidd, EJ vs Butler, Posey vs Durant, Lewis vs KCP, Duncan vs KP.
- We got good assignments here with great wing defenders in Jones and Posey to defend Butler and Durant. This version of Kidd is pretty limited offensively so he's a good matchup for Harden. While KP can space the floor, I'm not sure how well he handles an ATG big in Duncan, who is set to have a good series here. Lewis also has the size to match up and contest Porzingis, allowing to free up Duncan for help defense.
- Both teams have a leading two-man punch with two All-Star level players as complimentary guys. I believe the Harden-Duncan combo is more complimentary and should function pretty well, with KP in a down season at Dallas, while Lewis even though not being an All-Star - is simply the same guy as a year before with almost the same percentages, only taking a little less toll with the addition of Vince to Magic.
- flaco has nice depth, but we've got some good depth ourselves, and I think Hedo is the most impactful player off the bench.

[flaco]

Best of luck, durantbird!



Rotation
PG: Jason Kidd (36) / Alex Caruso (12)
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (24) / JJ Redick (24)
SF: Jimmy Butler (36) / Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (12)
PF: Kevin Durant (36) / Serge Ibaka (12)
C: Kristaps Porzingis (30) / Serge Ibaka (18)

Offense
Durant shoots over Posey all series long. Posey isn't tall/long enough to contest his shots. Porzingis operates almost exclusively behind the 3pt line. If Duncan steps out of his comfort zone to contest the 3, Durant/Butler have free rein to attack the paint. If Duncan drops, Porzingis shoots a wide-open 3. He was averaging 37.6% from 3 on 6.0 attempts per game in his selected season. Efficiency-wise, I'd be perfectly happy with that shot. Butler operates primarily as a slasher. He excels at absorbing contact as evidenced by his FTr of 62.5% in his selected season. With so much space in the paint, he should have a terrific series. Kidd spams the PnP. He keeps everyone involved, hence he keeps everyone happy. At that point in his career, he had become a reliable volume 3pt shooter averaging a 3PAr of 61.7%. JJ and Ibaka provide even more shooting ability off the bench.

Defense
Porzingis drops, but stays close enough to Duncan to deny the mid-range 2. No need to aggressively closeout on long 2s. Duncan averaged 40.4% from long 2 throughout his career. While Porzingis isn't an ideal cover for Duncan, he's still a plus defender thanks to his freakish height and length (7'2'' with a 7'6'' wingspan). KCP, Kidd and Caruso are my POA defenders. They go over the pick against Harden and dare him to either shoot the long 2 off the dribble (with the POA defender trying to contest the shot from behind) or attack the basket against Porzingis/Ibaka. Wing D should be strong with six switchable defenders on the roster including my Point Guards who are both oversized at their position. For instance, Kidd did a great job on LeBron in the 2011 Finals. I'd expect him to hold his own if switched on wings.

FGA
2017 Kevin Durant 16.5
2023 Jimmy Butler 13.9
2010 Jason Kidd 8.4
2020 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 7.3
2021 Kristaps Porzingis 15.9
2020 Alex Caruso 4.5
2017 Serge Ibaka 12.4
2012 JJ Redick 9.0

Total: 87.9

[Fadeaway_J]

Both teams have some defensive question marks here. Durantbird only has two good wing defenders, with one of them (Jones) operating at a size/strength disadvantage against either Butler or KD, while the other (Posey) is just solid rather than amazing and not playing big minutes. Any switch or crossmatch in transition and both flaco's big guns will be going to work. Duncan and Bogut also face a challenge against flaco's spaced-out frontcourt. On the other end, Duncan can really punish Porzingis in the low post, and I can see durantbird having some joy on the offensive glass. On balance, it seems like durantbird has to make more compromises defensively (Rashard chasing KCP around isn't ideal either), while flaco with his range of capable defenders one through four is better able to counter durantbird's Harden-centric gameplan.

Vote: flaco

[Dr Positivity]

I like the balance of a perimeter star and frontcourt star in Harden/Duncan a bit more, especially with Duncan having a favorable matchup on offense and being the best player in the series, although he'll be stretched out on the other end. Slight edge to flaco's bench but both are solid. Vote durantbird.

[Fadeaway_J]

[Laimbeer]

Echo Dr P here. Having probably the best player in TD complemented by a great offensive fit in Harden just makes more sense offensively

Vote -durantbird

[Fadeaway_J]

2-1 durantbird

[uberhikari]

Duncan is the best player here, but Porzingis considerably warps this matchup. Porzingis isn't an elite low-post defender he's 7'3" with a 7'6" wingspan, so he can pose some problems for Duncan. Not only does Porzingis drag Duncan out of the paint, allowing drives for Butler/KD, but if at any time Duncan is switched off Porzingis it's an easily exploitable mismatch. I'm also concerned about durantbird only having 2 elite offensive weapons since this puts a lot more pressure on Duncan to score than I'm comfortable with, especially if Harden pulls his disappearing act. I'm also suspicious of Posey and Jones being adequate defenders for Butler/Durant. Overall I like flaco's offensive synergy more and the matchup favors him. Voe: flaco

[Snakebites]

I’ve put off voting on this one because I think DurantBird’s team would have a better record against common opponents (IE, is a better overall team) while there are matchup factors that favor Flaco.

Both teams fit very well with each other in a vacuum, but I totally buy the open floor being a major advantage for Flaco’s team. I think the trouble that gives Duncan is enough to sway the matchup.

Vote flaco

[durantbird]

flaco wins. Congrats!

[flaco]

GG, durantbird! Thanks for taking the time to run the game.

[durantbird]

GG, durantbird! Thanks for taking the time to run the game.

This draft probably soldifies Porzingis as a regular in these drafts. flaco, you cannot expect to fetch him in round 8 anymore lol.

[Fadeaway_J]

GG, durantbird! Thanks for taking the time to run the game.

This draft probably soldifies Porzingis as a regular in these drafts. flaco, you cannot expect to fetch him in round 8 anymore lol.

What's really going to solidify him is this cheap-ass Boston season.

[Larry_Russell]

GG, durantbird! Thanks for taking the time to run the game.

This draft probably soldifies Porzingis as a regular in these drafts. flaco, you cannot expect to fetch him in round 8 anymore lol.

What's really going to solidify him is this cheap-ass Boston season.

KP Has been great.

White is another steady one I think too. well last season has been, but this year he has been even better at 11.2fga.
15ppg, 4rpg, 5apg, 1spg, 1bpg, 40% from 3 on 6.5 attempts

[Snakebites]

Argh. Lost in round one but went 3-2 vs the eventual winner.

Rough roll of the dice. I liked my team in this one.