Team ONE LOVE:
PG - Kyrie Irving / Reggie Jackson
SG - Andrew Wiggins / Jordan Clarkson
SF - Rudy Gay / Marcus Morris
PF - Anthony Davis / Ersan Ilyasova
C - Brook Lopez / Tyson Chandler
Team Saint Cy of JFC:
PG - George Hill / Lonzo Ball
SG - James Harden / JR Smith
SF - Nicolas Batum / Andre Iguodala
PF - James Johnson / Al-Farouq Aminu
C - DeAndre Jordan / Jusuf Nurkic
ONE LOVE's Case:
Offensive Philosophy
This team will play inside-out basketball and that starts with the twin towers of Anthony Davis and Brook Lopez, 2 of the most accomplished and best scoring big men in the NBA today (28ppg and 20.5ppg respectively in 2017). Both can score with ease be it posting up, backing down, shooting midrange, taking the ball to the hole or shooting 3's, these 2 can do it all. Lopez is an improving 3pt shooter with 34.6% on 134 3pt made last year will provide valuable spacing.
Playing the point is Kyrie, a proven clutch scorer (25.2ppg) and a Championship winner, will be money with his near perfect clutch 3pt shooting (40.1%) also providing space inside for Davis and Lopez to operate. Wiggins (23.6ppg) and Rudy Gay (18.7ppg) are great scorers once Davis/Lopez/Kyrie are double teamed, they will be open for easy dunks all game long. Gay also is a solid 3pt shooter at 37.3% will also provide more spacing.
The 2nd unit is full of young & talented scorers to provide sparks off the bench: Reggie Jackson (14.5ppg), Jordan Clarkson (14.7ppg) and Marcus Morris (14ppg), all can score at will. The ever reliable Ilyasova will provide 3pt shooting and spacing.
Defensive Philosophy
Defensively, Anthony Davis and Brook Lopez are 2 of the best defensive bigs in the NBA with 2.2 blocks per game, and 1.7 blocks per game respectively. Anthony Davis was also named in the NBA 2nd All Defensive team in 2015 and 2017. These 2 will form our defensive identity and will clog up the paint and will ensure nothing easy gets past them.
Gay and Wiggins are also solid defensive players with good length for their positions as well as being very athletic and will be more than up to the task in the wings.
Match-up with Saint Cy of JFC
Post: Davis/Lopez >> Johnson/DeAndre
Wing: Wiggins/Gay = Batum/Harden
Point: Irving >> Hill
Bench: Jackson/Clarkson/Morris/Ilyasova/Chandler = Ball/Smith/Iguadala/Aminu/Nurkic
This match-up will begin and ends with the dominance of the front court of Davis/Lopez over Johnson/DeAndre.
Anthony Davis will be DOMINATING Johnson all game long. Over 2016-2017 Davis averaged 27.5 points per game against Johnson, and will do so again here.
The same can be said about Brook Lopez DOMINATING DeAndre, as in their previous 2 encounters, Lopez averaged a whopping 26 points per game against the 'defensive' DeAndre.
Add to that the fact that Kyrie will DOMINATE Hill and it's game over before it even began. Kyrie averaged 22.8 points per game against Hill over 2016-17 while Hill only averaged 13 points.
Harden VS Wiggins: It's much closer a match-up than you might think. In a head-to-head match-up in 2017, Harden averaged 28 points while Wiggins averaged 26.3 points.
In summary, the DOMINANT post play, the BALANCED scoring, and a SOLID post defense will translate to a 4-2 series win.
Saint Cy of JFC's Case:
Play Style:
Team will play similar to how Harden is used to playing w/ Houston, but w/ less playmaking pressure due to Hill/Batum/Johnson being good secondary creators. Think something in-between what Houston ran last year and what Houston will run this year w/ Chris Paul. Team is very athletic 1-5, even on the bench (save for Nurkic) so we will try to run w/ Jordan being able to control the glass. His shaky perimeter defense will make it easy to get penetration (either straight up iso, PNR, or through back-door cuts on clueless defenders like Wiggins/Irving), forcing over help from his 1 good defensive player and from there my playmakers will either find shooters, cutters, or Jordan for lobs.
Matchups:
Irving is an impossible individual guard, but luckily Andrew Wiggins sucks and Rudy Gay is coming off an achilles injury. I can help off both of them. George Hill would really the only person I want to put on him. On the other end I can exploit Irving and he can't hide on any of my starters.
Wiggins is a highly athletic scorer, but I'm not worried about him offensively as most of his damage is done in the mid-range. Even then, he is someone that has to be covered, at least when he steps within the 3pt line. I would put Batum as my primary defender on him and would have a lot of options on him as my team has many other athletic defenders such as Johnson, Iggy, and Aminu. He, like Irving, is also someone that can be exploited defensively. Irving and Wiggins might be the worst defensive back court in this competition.
Gay. I have no idea why he got drafted and is even starting. Players are usually pretty terrible their first year after an achilles injury. I would put Harden on him and let him rest on defense. I'm not worried about anything he does. Same kind of goes for Morris when OL inevitably just says he will play Morris. Skilled scorer, but guy who lives off midrange pull ups and fadeaways.
Davis. Obviously he is one of the best players and is super tough to guard. I would probably mix up the D on him, showing him Johnson and Jordan. Johnson is one of the toughest players in the NBA and rated as a top 5 defender at PF this year w/ a 2.0 DBPM. Jordan is one of the more mobile centers in the NBA. I'm guessing he will try to use Lopez to space for Davis, so I could put Johnson on Lopez without the fear of his post-ups. On the other end I'd use Johnson to space out AD a bit and use his dribble drive and playmaking game to make AD defend in space.
Lopez. Interesting matchup wrinkle as he can space the floor. Could make things difficult but like I said earlier, switching Johnson onto him would probably be an option. Jordan is also very mobile and can get out and contest shots better than anyone his size. On offense Jordan is going to dominate Lopez in the PNR game w/ Harden and probably be effective on the glass vs Lopez.
Bench:
I think my bench dominates his tbh. Nurkic is a starting caliber center, Igoudala is 2 years removed from a Finals MVP performance and is one of the best defensive/glue players in the NBA, Aminu is a versatile defender who has developed a respectable 3 point shot, JR Smith is a flamethrower from deep and starter on a perennial NBA finals team, and I think Lonzo Ball is going to add an element of unselfish team basketball that will permeate throughout my roster.
His bench is kind of trash outside of Reggie Jackson, who is potentially a starting caliber PG. Clarkson/Morris/Illaysova/Chandler, these are all role players for bad teams. Maybe I'm underselling Chandler a bit because I havent watched him play in over a year as he only played half the season for the Suns. Morris/Clarkson continue his theme of midrange-centric wing scorers who arent known for defense or 3pt shooting and Illaysova has played for 6 NBA teams in the last 3 years.
Closing remarks:
My team is better.
PG - Kyrie Irving / Reggie Jackson
SG - Andrew Wiggins / Jordan Clarkson
SF - Rudy Gay / Marcus Morris
PF - Anthony Davis / Ersan Ilyasova
C - Brook Lopez / Tyson Chandler
Team Saint Cy of JFC:
PG - George Hill / Lonzo Ball
SG - James Harden / JR Smith
SF - Nicolas Batum / Andre Iguodala
PF - James Johnson / Al-Farouq Aminu
C - DeAndre Jordan / Jusuf Nurkic
ONE LOVE's Case:
Offensive Philosophy
This team will play inside-out basketball and that starts with the twin towers of Anthony Davis and Brook Lopez, 2 of the most accomplished and best scoring big men in the NBA today (28ppg and 20.5ppg respectively in 2017). Both can score with ease be it posting up, backing down, shooting midrange, taking the ball to the hole or shooting 3's, these 2 can do it all. Lopez is an improving 3pt shooter with 34.6% on 134 3pt made last year will provide valuable spacing.
Playing the point is Kyrie, a proven clutch scorer (25.2ppg) and a Championship winner, will be money with his near perfect clutch 3pt shooting (40.1%) also providing space inside for Davis and Lopez to operate. Wiggins (23.6ppg) and Rudy Gay (18.7ppg) are great scorers once Davis/Lopez/Kyrie are double teamed, they will be open for easy dunks all game long. Gay also is a solid 3pt shooter at 37.3% will also provide more spacing.
The 2nd unit is full of young & talented scorers to provide sparks off the bench: Reggie Jackson (14.5ppg), Jordan Clarkson (14.7ppg) and Marcus Morris (14ppg), all can score at will. The ever reliable Ilyasova will provide 3pt shooting and spacing.
Defensive Philosophy
Defensively, Anthony Davis and Brook Lopez are 2 of the best defensive bigs in the NBA with 2.2 blocks per game, and 1.7 blocks per game respectively. Anthony Davis was also named in the NBA 2nd All Defensive team in 2015 and 2017. These 2 will form our defensive identity and will clog up the paint and will ensure nothing easy gets past them.
Gay and Wiggins are also solid defensive players with good length for their positions as well as being very athletic and will be more than up to the task in the wings.
Match-up with Saint Cy of JFC
Post: Davis/Lopez >> Johnson/DeAndre
Wing: Wiggins/Gay = Batum/Harden
Point: Irving >> Hill
Bench: Jackson/Clarkson/Morris/Ilyasova/Chandler = Ball/Smith/Iguadala/Aminu/Nurkic
This match-up will begin and ends with the dominance of the front court of Davis/Lopez over Johnson/DeAndre.
Anthony Davis will be DOMINATING Johnson all game long. Over 2016-2017 Davis averaged 27.5 points per game against Johnson, and will do so again here.
The same can be said about Brook Lopez DOMINATING DeAndre, as in their previous 2 encounters, Lopez averaged a whopping 26 points per game against the 'defensive' DeAndre.
Add to that the fact that Kyrie will DOMINATE Hill and it's game over before it even began. Kyrie averaged 22.8 points per game against Hill over 2016-17 while Hill only averaged 13 points.
Harden VS Wiggins: It's much closer a match-up than you might think. In a head-to-head match-up in 2017, Harden averaged 28 points while Wiggins averaged 26.3 points.
In summary, the DOMINANT post play, the BALANCED scoring, and a SOLID post defense will translate to a 4-2 series win.
Saint Cy of JFC's Case:
Play Style:
Team will play similar to how Harden is used to playing w/ Houston, but w/ less playmaking pressure due to Hill/Batum/Johnson being good secondary creators. Think something in-between what Houston ran last year and what Houston will run this year w/ Chris Paul. Team is very athletic 1-5, even on the bench (save for Nurkic) so we will try to run w/ Jordan being able to control the glass. His shaky perimeter defense will make it easy to get penetration (either straight up iso, PNR, or through back-door cuts on clueless defenders like Wiggins/Irving), forcing over help from his 1 good defensive player and from there my playmakers will either find shooters, cutters, or Jordan for lobs.
Matchups:
Irving is an impossible individual guard, but luckily Andrew Wiggins sucks and Rudy Gay is coming off an achilles injury. I can help off both of them. George Hill would really the only person I want to put on him. On the other end I can exploit Irving and he can't hide on any of my starters.
Wiggins is a highly athletic scorer, but I'm not worried about him offensively as most of his damage is done in the mid-range. Even then, he is someone that has to be covered, at least when he steps within the 3pt line. I would put Batum as my primary defender on him and would have a lot of options on him as my team has many other athletic defenders such as Johnson, Iggy, and Aminu. He, like Irving, is also someone that can be exploited defensively. Irving and Wiggins might be the worst defensive back court in this competition.
Gay. I have no idea why he got drafted and is even starting. Players are usually pretty terrible their first year after an achilles injury. I would put Harden on him and let him rest on defense. I'm not worried about anything he does. Same kind of goes for Morris when OL inevitably just says he will play Morris. Skilled scorer, but guy who lives off midrange pull ups and fadeaways.
Davis. Obviously he is one of the best players and is super tough to guard. I would probably mix up the D on him, showing him Johnson and Jordan. Johnson is one of the toughest players in the NBA and rated as a top 5 defender at PF this year w/ a 2.0 DBPM. Jordan is one of the more mobile centers in the NBA. I'm guessing he will try to use Lopez to space for Davis, so I could put Johnson on Lopez without the fear of his post-ups. On the other end I'd use Johnson to space out AD a bit and use his dribble drive and playmaking game to make AD defend in space.
Lopez. Interesting matchup wrinkle as he can space the floor. Could make things difficult but like I said earlier, switching Johnson onto him would probably be an option. Jordan is also very mobile and can get out and contest shots better than anyone his size. On offense Jordan is going to dominate Lopez in the PNR game w/ Harden and probably be effective on the glass vs Lopez.
Bench:
I think my bench dominates his tbh. Nurkic is a starting caliber center, Igoudala is 2 years removed from a Finals MVP performance and is one of the best defensive/glue players in the NBA, Aminu is a versatile defender who has developed a respectable 3 point shot, JR Smith is a flamethrower from deep and starter on a perennial NBA finals team, and I think Lonzo Ball is going to add an element of unselfish team basketball that will permeate throughout my roster.
His bench is kind of trash outside of Reggie Jackson, who is potentially a starting caliber PG. Clarkson/Morris/Illaysova/Chandler, these are all role players for bad teams. Maybe I'm underselling Chandler a bit because I havent watched him play in over a year as he only played half the season for the Suns. Morris/Clarkson continue his theme of midrange-centric wing scorers who arent known for defense or 3pt shooting and Illaysova has played for 6 NBA teams in the last 3 years.
Closing remarks:
My team is better.
