Siro's Team
Chris Paul / Isaiah Thomas
Klay Thompson / Monta Ellis
Kyle Korver / Kobe Bryant
Tobias Harris / Ersan Ilyasova
Andrew Bogut / Timofey Mozgov
vs.
One Love's Team
Deron Williams / Dennis Schröder
Dwayne Wade / Eric Gordon
Kevin Durant / Paul Pierce
Dirk Nowitzki / Kenneth Faried
Roy Hibbert / Gorgui Dieng
Siro's Case:
I managed to build what is probably the best shooting starting 5 in the history of this competition. Here are the 3pt% of my starters:
Chris Paul 40%
Klay Thompson 44%
Kyle Korver 49%
Tobias Harris 36.5%
And those numbers aren't inflated by taking few attempts, like, say, Tony Parker. They are all volume 3 point shooters who make their living behind the line. On top of that, Chris Paul is the league's best floor general who will insure each of his teammates will get his due, in addition to being an elite defender. NBA Champion Klay Thompson is second best player on a historically great team, and is a tough defender and a versatile offensive player. All Star Kyle Korver is one of the greatest shooters of all time, and a greatly improved defensive player from his time with the Jazz. Finally in the middle, we have an elite passing big man Bogut, who is a defensive stud that will protect the rim on the defensive end, and draw defenders on the offense.
My bench unit can be summed up in fishonjazz's wise words, "this bench can beat some teams' starters". And Indeed it can. With Ellis, Thomas, and Kobe in the backcourt, other benches will simply collapse under such immense pressure. And in the middle, we have defensive juggernaut Mozgov to protect the rim and share time with Bogut.
My team would sweep One Love's sad team of the corpses of once-great players without even trying.
One Love's Case:
Offensive Philosophy
Offensively this team is loaded featuring 3 dynamic proven scorers in Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwayne Wade leading the charge. Deron Williams, an elite passer will be feeding our starters the ball where they needed to score with precision. Each player can create their own shot at a high level and will draw plenty of double teams, leading to easier basket for the other equally elite players.
While this team will play inside-out basketball, there will also be plenty of pick and roll action with Deron or Wade handling the ball, Durant & Dirk setting the screens, and stepping out and hitting 3's at a high percentage. On the perimeter there are plenty of clutch 3 point shooters to spread the floor (Durant 40%, Gordon 45%, Pierce 39%, Nowitzki 38%, Williams 37%).
Off the bench Eric Gordon can handle the ball, make plays (3.8 assists) and hit 3's (Gordon was the 2nd best 3 point shooter in the NBA last season at 45%), Paul Pierce is still a proven 3 point shooter as well as providing the 2nd unit with proven leadership. Kenneth Faried is used to carrying the Nuggets and will provide energy and plenty of offensive punch down low.
Defensive Philosophy
Roy Hibbert will anchor the defense with his 7-2 frame. Last season player tracking analysis shows that Hibbert was the 4th best player in the NBA last year in opponent's FG %. Hibbert singlehandedly turned the Pacers (who were without Paul George and George Hill for most of the season) into a top #7 defensive team in the NBA. Dirk, Durant, Wade and Williams are all solid defensive players as well as being long for their positions.
Match-up with Siro
- Deron Williams / Dennis Schröder < Chris Paul / Isiah Thomas
- Dwayne Wade / Eric Gordon = Klay Thompson / Monta Ellis
- Kevin Durant / Paul Pierce >>> Kyle Korver / Kobe Bryant
- Dirk Nowitzki / Kenneth Faried >>> Tobias Harris / Ersan Ilyasova
- Roy Hibbert / Gorgui Dieng = Andrew Bogut / Timofey Mozgov
In the backcourt, Chris Paul is obviously a very good player, but Deron Williams has always played very well against him defensively. Last time these 2 faced each other (Feb '15) Paul scored 20 points to Deron's 15 and LAC still lost. So this is an edge to Siro, but not as big an advantage as one may think.
At the SG position is a close match-up between Wade vs Klay, probably ended up being a pretty even match-up. Slight edge to Wade due to his playmaking (4.8 assists) and ability to get to the line.
At the SF position, Kevin Durant >>> Kyle Korver. Durant is too gifted offensively and Korver is challenged defensively. The 6'9 Durant can shoot over Korver, take it off the dribble and finish at the rim or draw fouls. This is clearly a mismatch which Durant will dominate.
Dirk and Faried >>> Harris and Ilyasova offensively. This is not a close contest with the 7'0 Dirk being too skilled a scorer for the 6'8 Harris to contain both down low and on the perimeter. Faried who is used to carrying the Nuggets offensively will be too strong and powerful for Ilyasova to contain. Clearly another mismatch here.
Conclusion
While Siro has an advantage at the PG position with Chris Paul, Siro just doesn't have enough talent at other positions to compete, especially at the SF and the PF positions where there are major mismatches. In the end this won't be a close contest and my team should take this series 4-1 in a 7 game series.
Chris Paul / Isaiah Thomas
Klay Thompson / Monta Ellis
Kyle Korver / Kobe Bryant
Tobias Harris / Ersan Ilyasova
Andrew Bogut / Timofey Mozgov
vs.
One Love's Team
Deron Williams / Dennis Schröder
Dwayne Wade / Eric Gordon
Kevin Durant / Paul Pierce
Dirk Nowitzki / Kenneth Faried
Roy Hibbert / Gorgui Dieng
Siro's Case:
I managed to build what is probably the best shooting starting 5 in the history of this competition. Here are the 3pt% of my starters:
Chris Paul 40%
Klay Thompson 44%
Kyle Korver 49%
Tobias Harris 36.5%
And those numbers aren't inflated by taking few attempts, like, say, Tony Parker. They are all volume 3 point shooters who make their living behind the line. On top of that, Chris Paul is the league's best floor general who will insure each of his teammates will get his due, in addition to being an elite defender. NBA Champion Klay Thompson is second best player on a historically great team, and is a tough defender and a versatile offensive player. All Star Kyle Korver is one of the greatest shooters of all time, and a greatly improved defensive player from his time with the Jazz. Finally in the middle, we have an elite passing big man Bogut, who is a defensive stud that will protect the rim on the defensive end, and draw defenders on the offense.
My bench unit can be summed up in fishonjazz's wise words, "this bench can beat some teams' starters". And Indeed it can. With Ellis, Thomas, and Kobe in the backcourt, other benches will simply collapse under such immense pressure. And in the middle, we have defensive juggernaut Mozgov to protect the rim and share time with Bogut.
My team would sweep One Love's sad team of the corpses of once-great players without even trying.
One Love's Case:
Offensive Philosophy
Offensively this team is loaded featuring 3 dynamic proven scorers in Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwayne Wade leading the charge. Deron Williams, an elite passer will be feeding our starters the ball where they needed to score with precision. Each player can create their own shot at a high level and will draw plenty of double teams, leading to easier basket for the other equally elite players.
While this team will play inside-out basketball, there will also be plenty of pick and roll action with Deron or Wade handling the ball, Durant & Dirk setting the screens, and stepping out and hitting 3's at a high percentage. On the perimeter there are plenty of clutch 3 point shooters to spread the floor (Durant 40%, Gordon 45%, Pierce 39%, Nowitzki 38%, Williams 37%).
Off the bench Eric Gordon can handle the ball, make plays (3.8 assists) and hit 3's (Gordon was the 2nd best 3 point shooter in the NBA last season at 45%), Paul Pierce is still a proven 3 point shooter as well as providing the 2nd unit with proven leadership. Kenneth Faried is used to carrying the Nuggets and will provide energy and plenty of offensive punch down low.
Defensive Philosophy
Roy Hibbert will anchor the defense with his 7-2 frame. Last season player tracking analysis shows that Hibbert was the 4th best player in the NBA last year in opponent's FG %. Hibbert singlehandedly turned the Pacers (who were without Paul George and George Hill for most of the season) into a top #7 defensive team in the NBA. Dirk, Durant, Wade and Williams are all solid defensive players as well as being long for their positions.
Match-up with Siro
- Deron Williams / Dennis Schröder < Chris Paul / Isiah Thomas
- Dwayne Wade / Eric Gordon = Klay Thompson / Monta Ellis
- Kevin Durant / Paul Pierce >>> Kyle Korver / Kobe Bryant
- Dirk Nowitzki / Kenneth Faried >>> Tobias Harris / Ersan Ilyasova
- Roy Hibbert / Gorgui Dieng = Andrew Bogut / Timofey Mozgov
In the backcourt, Chris Paul is obviously a very good player, but Deron Williams has always played very well against him defensively. Last time these 2 faced each other (Feb '15) Paul scored 20 points to Deron's 15 and LAC still lost. So this is an edge to Siro, but not as big an advantage as one may think.
At the SG position is a close match-up between Wade vs Klay, probably ended up being a pretty even match-up. Slight edge to Wade due to his playmaking (4.8 assists) and ability to get to the line.
At the SF position, Kevin Durant >>> Kyle Korver. Durant is too gifted offensively and Korver is challenged defensively. The 6'9 Durant can shoot over Korver, take it off the dribble and finish at the rim or draw fouls. This is clearly a mismatch which Durant will dominate.
Dirk and Faried >>> Harris and Ilyasova offensively. This is not a close contest with the 7'0 Dirk being too skilled a scorer for the 6'8 Harris to contain both down low and on the perimeter. Faried who is used to carrying the Nuggets offensively will be too strong and powerful for Ilyasova to contain. Clearly another mismatch here.
Conclusion
While Siro has an advantage at the PG position with Chris Paul, Siro just doesn't have enough talent at other positions to compete, especially at the SF and the PF positions where there are major mismatches. In the end this won't be a close contest and my team should take this series 4-1 in a 7 game series.
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