Team prodigy:
PG - Damian Lillard / Tony Parker
SG - Evan Fournier / Tony Allen
SF - Chandler Parsons / Brandon Ingram
PF - Al Horford / Ed Davis
C - Hassan Whiteside / Nikola Vucevic
Team ONE LOVE:
PG - Kyrie Irving / Isaiah Thomas
SG - Wesley Matthews / Dwyane Wade
SF - DeMar DeRozan / Joe Johnson
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge / David West
C - Andrew Bogut / Tyson Chandler
prodigy's Case:
My strategy remains the same: attack from the inside this is where my advantage is. At the center position we have Whiteside go against Bogut.
While Bogut remains a good rim protector this isn't the same guy that was a dominant force for the Utes in college, his best is far far behind him offensively.
Meanwhile Whiteside is 26 going to be 27 and entering his prime basketball years. The two only matched up once last season but it shows you the gap between the two:
Whiteside in 32 minutes went 8 of 11 from the field for 21 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blks
Bogut in 30 minutes went 1 of 3 from the field for 2 pts, 9 rebounds, 0 blks, fouled out
I understand that in the talent filled GS lineup Bogut wasn't used as much as he could have but the production difference is so significant that it must be stated. He has Tyson chandler coming off the bench, who's basically another Bogut, a aging rim protector who's best is far behind him .
Meanwhile I have arguably the best bench player in this matchup backing up Whiteside in Nikola Vucevic. I would take Vucevic over both Bogut and Chandler at this point in their careers.
So if I'm going to win this matchup I feel it'll be because of the big advantage at the center position, two young prime players going against old vets. At PF it's a pretty good matchup of all star talent in Al Horford and Lamarcus Aldridge. While Aldridge scoring average is higher, Horford is more defensive minded and efficient on offense.
Horford is also more team oriented, setting up his teammates. So I'd give the slight edge to Horford in this matchup. Backing up both guys we have David West and Ed Davis. Both do what they do well off the bench - West is a nice scoring option while Davis is a great rebounder/rim protector.
At SF I have Chandler Parsons going against DeMar Derozan. Like the starting PF matchup this is a case of higher scoring output vs. someone who is overall a more efficient offensive player. For his career Parsons is shooting 47.4% from the field and 38 % from 3. Meanwhile DeRozan has shot 44.2% from the field and 28% from 3. Neither guy is great defensively, Derozan is the more athletic of the two but playing him at he 3 gives Parsons a height advantage and Parsons is a great shooter.
Backing them up is Iso Joe and Brandon Ingram. Youth vs experience. Offensively Joe brings a lot, but defensively I think Ingram has a ton of potential, while joe is a really poor defender at this point. How good will Ingram be? well he is being called ROY by some.
SG- Evan Fournier vs Dwyane Wade. I considered drafting Wade, he has name recognition for sure. But taking a closer look at his stats and he has dropped off quite a bit offensively. The 3 point shot now is non-existent in Wade's game. Fournier is one of the best 3 point shooters in the league. Wade's FG% has dropped off lately.Wade has championship experience while Fournier's best years are ahead of him.So give OL the advantage here but keep in mind Wade isn't the same player he used to be.
Backups Allen vs Matthews. Matthews hasn't looked the same since he tore his achilles. Allen is getting up there in age but is still one of the better defenders at his position.
PG - Lillard vs. Irving. Both are studs willing to take and make the big shots. Consider it even.
Backups: Parker vs Thomas. I felt landing Parker has a backup PG was quite a get. Yeah he's getting up there in age but he is still a pretty solid PG that brings championship experience to my team. Thomas is also a really solid PG who has surpassed expectations of him being one of the smaller guys in the league.
Let's just call this position even.
So who wins? I feel like this would be a pretty close series. My team has better shooters. His team is more athletic.
Interior I feel the combo of Whiteside/Horford>Bogut/Aldridge. While on the wings his combo of Wade/Derozan>Parsons/Fournier
PG's are very close
I do feel like I have the slight edge in bench play, best bench player in Vucevic, and that may ultimately make the difference.
ONE LOVE's Case:
Offensive Philosophy
This team is a well-balanced offensive team. Starting with Kyrie Irving at the Point, fresh off the Championship run with the Cavs averaging: 25 points, 4.7assists and shooting 44% from 3's during the 2016 playoffs.
In the wings, we have a well balanced dynamic duo of DeRozan (23.5 points, 4 assists) and Wesley Matthews career 38.7% shooter from 3's.
In the middle, the ever reliable scoring machine LaMarcus Aldridge is paired with the experience of Andrew Bogut who is probably the best passing big man in the NBA today passing to Kyrie and DeRozan cutting to the basket is deadly and to Matthews knocking down 3's.
In the 2nd unit, scorers galore starting with the dynamic Isaiah Thomas (22.2 points, 6.2 assists) running the point, flanked with proven scorers in Dwayne Wade (19 points) and Joe Johnson.
Defensive Philosophy
Defensively this team is anchored by Andrew Bogut who in 2016 was the 3rd Best Post Defender in the NBA (DFG%, 50 games or more). Rudy Gobert ranked #1
Bogut, Aldridge, West and Chandler form a core of tough, experience post players who would not budge against anyone.
DeMar DeRozan, Wesley Matthews, Dwayne Wade, and Joe Johnson are all solid wing defenders as well.
Match-up With prodigy
- PG: Kyrie Irving = Damian Lillard
- Wings: Matthews/DeRozan >> Fournier/Parsons
- Post: Aldridge/Bogut = Horford/Whiteside
- 2nd Unit: Thomas/Matthews/Johnson/West/Chandler > Parker/Allen/Ingram/Davis/Vucevic
prodigy has put together a solid team. In the post, the Aldridge/Bogut combination is equal to the Horford/Whiteside combination, so that match-up is a wash.
At the point Kyrie/Isaiah pair is superior to Lillard/Parker, and will dominate the match-up.
The tipping point in this series will be the dominance of the experienced and dynamic Matthews/DeRozan combo offensively in the playoff situation over Fournier/Parsons
In summary, the front court is pretty equal, but the experience of Matthews/DeRozan over Fournier/Parsons as well as my more experience bench will likely push my team over the top, translating to a 4-3 series win.
PG - Damian Lillard / Tony Parker
SG - Evan Fournier / Tony Allen
SF - Chandler Parsons / Brandon Ingram
PF - Al Horford / Ed Davis
C - Hassan Whiteside / Nikola Vucevic
Team ONE LOVE:
PG - Kyrie Irving / Isaiah Thomas
SG - Wesley Matthews / Dwyane Wade
SF - DeMar DeRozan / Joe Johnson
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge / David West
C - Andrew Bogut / Tyson Chandler
prodigy's Case:
My strategy remains the same: attack from the inside this is where my advantage is. At the center position we have Whiteside go against Bogut.
While Bogut remains a good rim protector this isn't the same guy that was a dominant force for the Utes in college, his best is far far behind him offensively.
Meanwhile Whiteside is 26 going to be 27 and entering his prime basketball years. The two only matched up once last season but it shows you the gap between the two:
Whiteside in 32 minutes went 8 of 11 from the field for 21 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blks
Bogut in 30 minutes went 1 of 3 from the field for 2 pts, 9 rebounds, 0 blks, fouled out
I understand that in the talent filled GS lineup Bogut wasn't used as much as he could have but the production difference is so significant that it must be stated. He has Tyson chandler coming off the bench, who's basically another Bogut, a aging rim protector who's best is far behind him .
Meanwhile I have arguably the best bench player in this matchup backing up Whiteside in Nikola Vucevic. I would take Vucevic over both Bogut and Chandler at this point in their careers.
So if I'm going to win this matchup I feel it'll be because of the big advantage at the center position, two young prime players going against old vets. At PF it's a pretty good matchup of all star talent in Al Horford and Lamarcus Aldridge. While Aldridge scoring average is higher, Horford is more defensive minded and efficient on offense.
Horford is also more team oriented, setting up his teammates. So I'd give the slight edge to Horford in this matchup. Backing up both guys we have David West and Ed Davis. Both do what they do well off the bench - West is a nice scoring option while Davis is a great rebounder/rim protector.
At SF I have Chandler Parsons going against DeMar Derozan. Like the starting PF matchup this is a case of higher scoring output vs. someone who is overall a more efficient offensive player. For his career Parsons is shooting 47.4% from the field and 38 % from 3. Meanwhile DeRozan has shot 44.2% from the field and 28% from 3. Neither guy is great defensively, Derozan is the more athletic of the two but playing him at he 3 gives Parsons a height advantage and Parsons is a great shooter.
Backing them up is Iso Joe and Brandon Ingram. Youth vs experience. Offensively Joe brings a lot, but defensively I think Ingram has a ton of potential, while joe is a really poor defender at this point. How good will Ingram be? well he is being called ROY by some.
SG- Evan Fournier vs Dwyane Wade. I considered drafting Wade, he has name recognition for sure. But taking a closer look at his stats and he has dropped off quite a bit offensively. The 3 point shot now is non-existent in Wade's game. Fournier is one of the best 3 point shooters in the league. Wade's FG% has dropped off lately.Wade has championship experience while Fournier's best years are ahead of him.So give OL the advantage here but keep in mind Wade isn't the same player he used to be.
Backups Allen vs Matthews. Matthews hasn't looked the same since he tore his achilles. Allen is getting up there in age but is still one of the better defenders at his position.
PG - Lillard vs. Irving. Both are studs willing to take and make the big shots. Consider it even.
Backups: Parker vs Thomas. I felt landing Parker has a backup PG was quite a get. Yeah he's getting up there in age but he is still a pretty solid PG that brings championship experience to my team. Thomas is also a really solid PG who has surpassed expectations of him being one of the smaller guys in the league.
Let's just call this position even.
So who wins? I feel like this would be a pretty close series. My team has better shooters. His team is more athletic.
Interior I feel the combo of Whiteside/Horford>Bogut/Aldridge. While on the wings his combo of Wade/Derozan>Parsons/Fournier
PG's are very close
I do feel like I have the slight edge in bench play, best bench player in Vucevic, and that may ultimately make the difference.
ONE LOVE's Case:
Offensive Philosophy
This team is a well-balanced offensive team. Starting with Kyrie Irving at the Point, fresh off the Championship run with the Cavs averaging: 25 points, 4.7assists and shooting 44% from 3's during the 2016 playoffs.
In the wings, we have a well balanced dynamic duo of DeRozan (23.5 points, 4 assists) and Wesley Matthews career 38.7% shooter from 3's.
In the middle, the ever reliable scoring machine LaMarcus Aldridge is paired with the experience of Andrew Bogut who is probably the best passing big man in the NBA today passing to Kyrie and DeRozan cutting to the basket is deadly and to Matthews knocking down 3's.
In the 2nd unit, scorers galore starting with the dynamic Isaiah Thomas (22.2 points, 6.2 assists) running the point, flanked with proven scorers in Dwayne Wade (19 points) and Joe Johnson.
Defensive Philosophy
Defensively this team is anchored by Andrew Bogut who in 2016 was the 3rd Best Post Defender in the NBA (DFG%, 50 games or more). Rudy Gobert ranked #1
Bogut, Aldridge, West and Chandler form a core of tough, experience post players who would not budge against anyone.
DeMar DeRozan, Wesley Matthews, Dwayne Wade, and Joe Johnson are all solid wing defenders as well.
Match-up With prodigy
- PG: Kyrie Irving = Damian Lillard
- Wings: Matthews/DeRozan >> Fournier/Parsons
- Post: Aldridge/Bogut = Horford/Whiteside
- 2nd Unit: Thomas/Matthews/Johnson/West/Chandler > Parker/Allen/Ingram/Davis/Vucevic
prodigy has put together a solid team. In the post, the Aldridge/Bogut combination is equal to the Horford/Whiteside combination, so that match-up is a wash.
At the point Kyrie/Isaiah pair is superior to Lillard/Parker, and will dominate the match-up.
The tipping point in this series will be the dominance of the experienced and dynamic Matthews/DeRozan combo offensively in the playoff situation over Fournier/Parsons
In summary, the front court is pretty equal, but the experience of Matthews/DeRozan over Fournier/Parsons as well as my more experience bench will likely push my team over the top, translating to a 4-3 series win.
