Team gandalfe:
PG - Russell Westbrook / Darren Collison
SG - JJ Redick / Alec Burks
SF - Carmelo Anthony / Wesley Matthews
PF - Tristan Thompson / Kyle Kuzma
C - DeMarcus Cousins / Pau Gasol
Team Thee jazz fan:
PG - Dennis Schroder / D'Angelo Russell
SG - Devin Booker / Dwyane Wade
SF - Paul George / TJ Warren
PF - Kristaps Porzingis / JaMychal Green
C - Clint Capela / Willie Cauley-Stein
gandalfe's Case:
In the back court, we start with the reigning MVP and points leader, only the 2nd person ever to average a triple double in a season, Russell Westbrook. Right beside him is a drop dead 3 point shooter who doesn't need the ball in his hands to make a difference, JJ Redick
The forwards consist of Carmelo Anthony, a 3 time Olympic gold medalist, 10 time all star, 6 time All-NBA, 24000 point scorer, the only person ever to score 62 pts with 0 turnovers; and Tristan Thompson, NBA Champion and rebounding machine, a true team player and glue guy.
The center is Demarcus Cousins, 3 time all-star, one of only 3 people ever to have back-to-back 20pt/20rb/10ast games, and absolute beast, and one of the best centers in the league, who has recently developed a 3pt shot that has to be respected (.375).
My starters alone averaged over 100 pts a game (101.5, to be precise), 31.3 rebounds, and nearly 20 assists (19.6).
The reserves are a mix of savvy veterans who can give you 20 minutes of power, wily scorers, and youth.
Westbrook is the undisputed leader of the team, setting the tempo (fast) and has enough determination to power their way thought anything that other team has to offer
Thee jazz fan's Case:
feel like I have three guys capable of being #1 options in Porzingis, George, and Booker with their own Rondo with a jump shot leading and directing the offense. You just can't key on one or two players on this team. How do u stop this kind of fire power while at the same time being able to score and keep up with the level of defense this team plays.
Let's also talk about team cohesiveness. My team has it in spades. We are young and exciting. Playing our brand of basketball will be fun, where as looking at gandalfe's team. First you have Cousins, probably the most talented center in the game, but who's personality and psyche gets in the way of team success and isn't cohesive with building team unity. Melo in my view is the opposite of team player. He stagnates an offense and doesn't elevate a team to win games. Westbrook isn't going to handle this at all well as he has a dominating personality with a passion for winning. There will be problems on court as well as in the locker room.
There are also lots of questions concerning Gandalf's bench. Is Alec healthy, or even the scorer he once was? Kyle Kuzma is a rookie who was picked with the 27th pick in this years draft. How much playing time can he handle? Will he even be very good? Where as my bench is proven with defenders and scorers who will bring it every night and not break down.
This is a team that will play to their strengths which is speed and shooting this will be a fast pace offense which will open up lots of easy shots while also play an aggressive style defense which will open up opportunities for extra fast break opportunities. Capela and Porzingis are a perfect match for each other as all of Capela's points come from the inside and Porzingis can score from anywhere on the court
We are basing these players off of what we think these players will do this coming year.
First off I think Porzingis will have a huge year. In his second season he has proven elite. He allowed 42% shooting at the rim, he's also the first player in NBA history to average two blocks and two made threes per game. Next season Porzingis could explode offensively as well. Last year he averaged 18 a game, he should average well north of that mark, as he can score from anywhere on the court and has an improving floor game as he develops his dribble drive game.
In just his second season Booker led his teams in scoring at 22 points per game. In just his third season he should improve this as well.
Capela in just three seasons is turning into a mini Gobert and is ready to step into a bigger roll and added minutes coming into his 4th season. He's got elite athleticism and defense. Adding extra possessions as he cleans up the offensive boards. A great deal of his offense will come by way of putbacks and hustle plays and will make a nice PnR partner. For lobs and easy layups.
Dennis Schroder has been in the league 4 years and in his last year the hawks chose to hand him the starting PG role over former allstar Jeff Teague who was outplayed in their last year together. Schroder has been compared to Rondo with a jump shot he should be even better his second year as a starting pg.
Then we have George the veteran leader of my starting 5. I think it's relevant to say he's fully recovered from his freak injury, as he had his best season to date great offensive player who is also an elite defender.
Four of my 5 players are great defenders while three of them are very good to elite two way players.
My bench is solid. Lots of youth, athleticism, and scoring. Stabilized by the veteran presence of DWade.
PG - Russell Westbrook / Darren Collison
SG - JJ Redick / Alec Burks
SF - Carmelo Anthony / Wesley Matthews
PF - Tristan Thompson / Kyle Kuzma
C - DeMarcus Cousins / Pau Gasol
Team Thee jazz fan:
PG - Dennis Schroder / D'Angelo Russell
SG - Devin Booker / Dwyane Wade
SF - Paul George / TJ Warren
PF - Kristaps Porzingis / JaMychal Green
C - Clint Capela / Willie Cauley-Stein
gandalfe's Case:
In the back court, we start with the reigning MVP and points leader, only the 2nd person ever to average a triple double in a season, Russell Westbrook. Right beside him is a drop dead 3 point shooter who doesn't need the ball in his hands to make a difference, JJ Redick
The forwards consist of Carmelo Anthony, a 3 time Olympic gold medalist, 10 time all star, 6 time All-NBA, 24000 point scorer, the only person ever to score 62 pts with 0 turnovers; and Tristan Thompson, NBA Champion and rebounding machine, a true team player and glue guy.
The center is Demarcus Cousins, 3 time all-star, one of only 3 people ever to have back-to-back 20pt/20rb/10ast games, and absolute beast, and one of the best centers in the league, who has recently developed a 3pt shot that has to be respected (.375).
My starters alone averaged over 100 pts a game (101.5, to be precise), 31.3 rebounds, and nearly 20 assists (19.6).
The reserves are a mix of savvy veterans who can give you 20 minutes of power, wily scorers, and youth.
Westbrook is the undisputed leader of the team, setting the tempo (fast) and has enough determination to power their way thought anything that other team has to offer
Thee jazz fan's Case:
feel like I have three guys capable of being #1 options in Porzingis, George, and Booker with their own Rondo with a jump shot leading and directing the offense. You just can't key on one or two players on this team. How do u stop this kind of fire power while at the same time being able to score and keep up with the level of defense this team plays.
Let's also talk about team cohesiveness. My team has it in spades. We are young and exciting. Playing our brand of basketball will be fun, where as looking at gandalfe's team. First you have Cousins, probably the most talented center in the game, but who's personality and psyche gets in the way of team success and isn't cohesive with building team unity. Melo in my view is the opposite of team player. He stagnates an offense and doesn't elevate a team to win games. Westbrook isn't going to handle this at all well as he has a dominating personality with a passion for winning. There will be problems on court as well as in the locker room.
There are also lots of questions concerning Gandalf's bench. Is Alec healthy, or even the scorer he once was? Kyle Kuzma is a rookie who was picked with the 27th pick in this years draft. How much playing time can he handle? Will he even be very good? Where as my bench is proven with defenders and scorers who will bring it every night and not break down.
This is a team that will play to their strengths which is speed and shooting this will be a fast pace offense which will open up lots of easy shots while also play an aggressive style defense which will open up opportunities for extra fast break opportunities. Capela and Porzingis are a perfect match for each other as all of Capela's points come from the inside and Porzingis can score from anywhere on the court
We are basing these players off of what we think these players will do this coming year.
First off I think Porzingis will have a huge year. In his second season he has proven elite. He allowed 42% shooting at the rim, he's also the first player in NBA history to average two blocks and two made threes per game. Next season Porzingis could explode offensively as well. Last year he averaged 18 a game, he should average well north of that mark, as he can score from anywhere on the court and has an improving floor game as he develops his dribble drive game.
In just his second season Booker led his teams in scoring at 22 points per game. In just his third season he should improve this as well.
Capela in just three seasons is turning into a mini Gobert and is ready to step into a bigger roll and added minutes coming into his 4th season. He's got elite athleticism and defense. Adding extra possessions as he cleans up the offensive boards. A great deal of his offense will come by way of putbacks and hustle plays and will make a nice PnR partner. For lobs and easy layups.
Dennis Schroder has been in the league 4 years and in his last year the hawks chose to hand him the starting PG role over former allstar Jeff Teague who was outplayed in their last year together. Schroder has been compared to Rondo with a jump shot he should be even better his second year as a starting pg.
Then we have George the veteran leader of my starting 5. I think it's relevant to say he's fully recovered from his freak injury, as he had his best season to date great offensive player who is also an elite defender.
Four of my 5 players are great defenders while three of them are very good to elite two way players.
My bench is solid. Lots of youth, athleticism, and scoring. Stabilized by the veteran presence of DWade.
