Team LogGrad98:
PG - Isiah Thomas / Damian Lillard
SG - Vince Carter / Jeff Hornacek
SF - LeBron James / Bruce Bowen / Detlef Schrempf
PF - Artis Gilmore / Kevin Love / Shawn Kemp
C - Mehmet Okur / Rudy Gobert
Team Hekate:
PG - Oscar Robertson / Mark Price / Gilbert Arenas
SG - Draymond Green / Rick Barry
SF - John Havlicek / Gordon Hayward / Peja Stojakovic
PF - Elvin Hayes / Serge Ibaka
C - Bill Russell / Arvydas Sabonis
Hekate's Case:
n/a
LogGrad98's Case:
Team philosophy:
I looked at my star player and thought, how can I let him shine. So I thought I needed to surround himn with people that could eliminate the biggest knocks against him: 1) Lack of a killer instinct, and 2) The perception that he just isn’t clutch.
Also, I knew that LeBron needed plenty of time with the ball in his hands, and needed to be surrounded both by players that can take over as needed, but that do not necessarily need the ball to do so.
Third, I wanted players that can play all over the floor. I needed scoring under the basket, I needed lights out shooting, I needed top notch athleticism, and most importantly I needed players that give my star as many targets as possible to get everyone involved.
Fourth, I needed intelligence at all spots, at every depth. Players with extremely high BBall IQ. I got that, in spades.
Lastly, I thought about chemistry. I wanted a group that cared only about winning and doing anything it took to win, and would gladly play off of each other. No fighting about who gets to be the star, just playing hard on each possession to get the job done.
I picked the team to fit this philosophy.
As to matchups. I think individual matchups are over-rated. It is a team game. At best you can look at back-court and front-court. But it is important to put your best team forward for each game.
Here is my rotation for today’s match:
PG – Isiah Thomas – Damian Lillard
SG – Vince Carter – Jeff Hornacek – Bruce Bowen
SF – LeBron James – Bruce Bowen – Detlef Schrempf
PF – Artis Gilmore – Kevin Love – Shawn Kemp – Detlef Schrempf
C – Mehmet Okur – Rudy Gobert – Artis Gilmore
Back-court:
Isiah Thomas – as clutch as they come. Top notch defender. One of the top warriors to ever play the game. Still holds the finals record for points in a quarter, and did it on a hobbled ankle. Played the game at his best in tandem with his partner, Joe Dumars, who did a fair share of handling the ball for the Pistons championship teams. Now that partner is LBJ. No better combo to be had.
Vince Carter – can take over games on both ends of the floor. Excellent perimeter defender and one of the top athletes in the game, even today. At his best a 40% 3 Pt shooter. Need him to hunker down and stop a top scorer? Check. Need him to go off for 40? Check.
So the back-court offsets Hekates size in Havlicek and Robertson with generational levels of athleticism and skills. Isiah/Vince will give any combination of Havlicek/Robertson/Arenas/Price/Green fits in the back-court.
Front-court
LBJ – not much needs to be said. Even on an individual level there is no one on the Hekate's team that can stand toe to toe with Bron. He can truly play 1-5 as needed. To help him not get tired, I have plenty of backup that can change the entire look of the game. This team can let LBJ do what he does best, dominate and rest. Hayward cannot do much against LBJ when the rest of the team is fully occupied.
LeBron to Carter in this one...heh.
Artis Gilmore/Mehmet Okur – I decided to throw a curve ball at the strong post defender Hekate has in Hayes and Russell by playing an inside/outside game and including one of the best post defenders the game has seen in Gilmore. At his best Gilmore averaged better than 5 blocks for an entire season. Okur is a big body, this gives me 2 in essence 7 footers, against 2 6’9” players in the post. Neither Russell nor Hayes were known as scoring machines, and now one of them at least will be pulled away from the basket chasing Okur on pick and pops. Okur has a high and quick release, look for him to get plenty of 3s at the start in this one. This will open up the floor for the wizardry of Isiah and LBJ.
Get used to this in this series. Gilmore over Hayes. There is no one to match Gilmore's length and athleticism on Hekate's team.
PG - Isiah Thomas / Damian Lillard
SG - Vince Carter / Jeff Hornacek
SF - LeBron James / Bruce Bowen / Detlef Schrempf
PF - Artis Gilmore / Kevin Love / Shawn Kemp
C - Mehmet Okur / Rudy Gobert
Team Hekate:
PG - Oscar Robertson / Mark Price / Gilbert Arenas
SG - Draymond Green / Rick Barry
SF - John Havlicek / Gordon Hayward / Peja Stojakovic
PF - Elvin Hayes / Serge Ibaka
C - Bill Russell / Arvydas Sabonis
Hekate's Case:
n/a
LogGrad98's Case:
Team philosophy:
I looked at my star player and thought, how can I let him shine. So I thought I needed to surround himn with people that could eliminate the biggest knocks against him: 1) Lack of a killer instinct, and 2) The perception that he just isn’t clutch.
Also, I knew that LeBron needed plenty of time with the ball in his hands, and needed to be surrounded both by players that can take over as needed, but that do not necessarily need the ball to do so.
Third, I wanted players that can play all over the floor. I needed scoring under the basket, I needed lights out shooting, I needed top notch athleticism, and most importantly I needed players that give my star as many targets as possible to get everyone involved.
Fourth, I needed intelligence at all spots, at every depth. Players with extremely high BBall IQ. I got that, in spades.
Lastly, I thought about chemistry. I wanted a group that cared only about winning and doing anything it took to win, and would gladly play off of each other. No fighting about who gets to be the star, just playing hard on each possession to get the job done.
I picked the team to fit this philosophy.
As to matchups. I think individual matchups are over-rated. It is a team game. At best you can look at back-court and front-court. But it is important to put your best team forward for each game.
Here is my rotation for today’s match:
PG – Isiah Thomas – Damian Lillard
SG – Vince Carter – Jeff Hornacek – Bruce Bowen
SF – LeBron James – Bruce Bowen – Detlef Schrempf
PF – Artis Gilmore – Kevin Love – Shawn Kemp – Detlef Schrempf
C – Mehmet Okur – Rudy Gobert – Artis Gilmore
Back-court:
Isiah Thomas – as clutch as they come. Top notch defender. One of the top warriors to ever play the game. Still holds the finals record for points in a quarter, and did it on a hobbled ankle. Played the game at his best in tandem with his partner, Joe Dumars, who did a fair share of handling the ball for the Pistons championship teams. Now that partner is LBJ. No better combo to be had.

Vince Carter – can take over games on both ends of the floor. Excellent perimeter defender and one of the top athletes in the game, even today. At his best a 40% 3 Pt shooter. Need him to hunker down and stop a top scorer? Check. Need him to go off for 40? Check.

So the back-court offsets Hekates size in Havlicek and Robertson with generational levels of athleticism and skills. Isiah/Vince will give any combination of Havlicek/Robertson/Arenas/Price/Green fits in the back-court.
Front-court
LBJ – not much needs to be said. Even on an individual level there is no one on the Hekate's team that can stand toe to toe with Bron. He can truly play 1-5 as needed. To help him not get tired, I have plenty of backup that can change the entire look of the game. This team can let LBJ do what he does best, dominate and rest. Hayward cannot do much against LBJ when the rest of the team is fully occupied.



LeBron to Carter in this one...heh.
Artis Gilmore/Mehmet Okur – I decided to throw a curve ball at the strong post defender Hekate has in Hayes and Russell by playing an inside/outside game and including one of the best post defenders the game has seen in Gilmore. At his best Gilmore averaged better than 5 blocks for an entire season. Okur is a big body, this gives me 2 in essence 7 footers, against 2 6’9” players in the post. Neither Russell nor Hayes were known as scoring machines, and now one of them at least will be pulled away from the basket chasing Okur on pick and pops. Okur has a high and quick release, look for him to get plenty of 3s at the start in this one. This will open up the floor for the wizardry of Isiah and LBJ.


Get used to this in this series. Gilmore over Hayes. There is no one to match Gilmore's length and athleticism on Hekate's team.
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