Team t.work:
PG - Markelle Fultz / Ben Simmons
SG - DeMar DeRozan / Tim Hardaway Jr
SF - Kawhi Leonard / Dion Waiters
PF - Kevin Love / Zach Randolph
C - Steven Adams / Nikola Vucevic
Team JustTheTip:
PG - Jeff Teague / Milos Teodosic
SG - Otto Porter / Dante Exum
SF - Kevin Durant / Malcom Brogdon
PF - Tobias Harris / Jayson Tatum
C - Nikola Jokic / Bismack Biyombo
t.work's Case:
n/a
JustTheTip's Case:
Reasoning:
I’m starting Porter at the 2 because I think he’s my best option to realistically guard DeRozan. His length, quick feet, and athleticism will make DeRozan work for everything he gets. It also allows me to enable the epic matchup of Durant/Leonard. It’ll be a great matchup on both ends from those two. Teague will quite literally eat Fultz up, Harris is a good matchup with Love, and Jokic is significantly better than Adams, although Adams is a pest.
Starters:
Jeff Teague: Had a really nice year last year putting up 15/4/7 on a 44/36/87 shooting split. He’s not a great defender, but he’s not bad either. Pretty much right in the middle. He’s a guy who isn’t going to make a lot of mistakes, and just be a solid floor general. With Durant and Jokic around him, it lessens his playmaking role a touch, and should enable him to get more open shots as well. Teague is an experienced guard that has been on some really good teams. He’s going to school a rookie in Fultz. Fultz may be talented, but he couldn’t even get his NCAA team to the tournament. He’s not going to be able to lead an NBA team either. Maybe in a couple years, but not right now. I have the easy advantage here.
Otto Porter: Porter had the best year of his career last year, and it resulted in him signing a max contract with the Wizards. I realize it seems odd that he’s playing the 2 guard here, but it’s not that crazy. Porter is 6’8 and 200 lbs, he’s agile, quick, and has great length. Porter is a legitimate great defender…one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He’s going to give DeRozan a tough game. Porter is also good offensively. He put up a 14/6/2 line on a 52/43/83 shooting split. He’s a great defender who shot 43% from 3 on over 4 attempts a game! Add in that he’s surrounded by good passers in Teague, Jokic and Durant, and he’s going to get some wide open attempts, especially since DeRozan is not much of a defender.
Kevin Durant: What more really needs to be said about Durant? He’s a top 3 player in the league. He’s 7’0 and 240, and plays like a guard offensively, he’s a great perimeter defender, and he’s a great rim protector. STUD. Durant averaged 25/8/4 on a 54/38/88 shooting split while sharing a primary role with Steph Curry. That’s right, 54% overall shooting percentage. Durant is going to run the PnR with Jokic, and it’s gonna be naaaaasty. Leonard is obviously a great player, but Durant is better, and he has the better supporting cast here.
Tobias Harris: Harris has played out of position at SF for a lot of his career, but is getting a solid opportunity at the 4, where he belongs, with me. Harris is a potent offensive player…think Carmelo light, but more active on the defensive end. Him and Love are actually fairly similar, although Love is a better rebounder. As a 4/5th option, Harris will be getting a lot of open looks. Harris averaged 16/5/2 on a 48/35/84 shooting split. I think it’s important to note that his rebounding numbers are low because he plays next to Andre Drummond. Back when Harris was with Orlando, he typically averaged anywhere from 7-8 boards a game, which is a solid number. At 6’9 and 240 he’s a bit smaller than Love, but I don’t think Love will be able to defend Harris.
Nikola Jokic: Hopefully all of you have seen him play by now. He’s the most exciting post player in the league, offensively. He’s the best offensive post player in the league if you ask me. As a starter, Jokic averaged 18/10/5 in 29 minutes a game. He had a 58/33/82 shooting percentage. He’s 6’11 and he had a 63% TS%. That’s unreal. Incredible. He shot over 55% from mid range. DeRozan, who is known for his midrange prowess, had a career high of 47% from mid range. So Jokic is 6’11, and shoots better than DeRozan. Have fun defending that. He’s also the best post passer in the league. Once he became a starter, Denver’s offense instantly became one of the best in the league. DENVER! He did that to Denver! Now imagine what he’ll do with my lineup. Now, I’m planning on playing Jokic more than 29 minutes a game. So how did he do when averaging 30+ minutes? 23/13/6…and that’s a 31 game sample size. Oh, and he did that while shooting 57%. Good luck guarding him and Durant.
Bench:
Milos Teodosic: Probably one of the best passers in the NBA, as a rookie. Long known as the best player not playing in the NBA, he finally made the move over. He’s a good shooter, a great passer, and has good size. He’ll struggle a bit with some things, but he’ll be fine. I’ll have him guarding Hardaway or Waiters when they’re in, or Fultz when he’s in.
Dante Exum: He had a great summer league, showing the ability to drive, but most importantly, showing the ability to hit open 3’s. That’s huge, especially when he’s playing with a great passer in Teodosic. We already know he’s a good defender, and I’m not going to waste a lot of time talking about a player most people here know. He’ll be guarding Fultz/DeRozan/Simmons/Hardaway/Waiters.
Malcolm Brogdon: The reigning ROY will be coming off the bench for me. As a starter, he averaged 12/4/5 while shooting 47/40 from the field and deep, respectively. He can create, he can shoot, and he can defend. He’s 6’5 with a 6’10 wingspan, so he will be primarily matched up with Simmons when the bench is in, but also has the capability to defend any guard. Simmons will have a hard time guarding Brogdon, he’s just able to do too much. Brogdon is also a very smart defender, he was a great defender for a rookie, and I just see him improving. He’s arguably better than Rodney Hood.
Jayson Tatum: Offensive dynamite as a rookie. I like him at the 4 because I can hide him a little bit. He’ll have a hard time defending Randolph, but Randolph will have no chance at guarding him. Too big, too old, too slow.
Bismack Biyombo: He’s really good on defense, and pretty good at rebounding. That’s about it. I have need of a rim protector, and he is it. Plus he has a really cool name.
t.work assembled a nice team, but I have too much firepower for him. Vote for justice, vote for truth, vote for triumph. Vote JTT!
PG - Markelle Fultz / Ben Simmons
SG - DeMar DeRozan / Tim Hardaway Jr
SF - Kawhi Leonard / Dion Waiters
PF - Kevin Love / Zach Randolph
C - Steven Adams / Nikola Vucevic
Team JustTheTip:
PG - Jeff Teague / Milos Teodosic
SG - Otto Porter / Dante Exum
SF - Kevin Durant / Malcom Brogdon
PF - Tobias Harris / Jayson Tatum
C - Nikola Jokic / Bismack Biyombo
t.work's Case:
n/a
JustTheTip's Case:
Reasoning:
I’m starting Porter at the 2 because I think he’s my best option to realistically guard DeRozan. His length, quick feet, and athleticism will make DeRozan work for everything he gets. It also allows me to enable the epic matchup of Durant/Leonard. It’ll be a great matchup on both ends from those two. Teague will quite literally eat Fultz up, Harris is a good matchup with Love, and Jokic is significantly better than Adams, although Adams is a pest.
Starters:
Jeff Teague: Had a really nice year last year putting up 15/4/7 on a 44/36/87 shooting split. He’s not a great defender, but he’s not bad either. Pretty much right in the middle. He’s a guy who isn’t going to make a lot of mistakes, and just be a solid floor general. With Durant and Jokic around him, it lessens his playmaking role a touch, and should enable him to get more open shots as well. Teague is an experienced guard that has been on some really good teams. He’s going to school a rookie in Fultz. Fultz may be talented, but he couldn’t even get his NCAA team to the tournament. He’s not going to be able to lead an NBA team either. Maybe in a couple years, but not right now. I have the easy advantage here.
Otto Porter: Porter had the best year of his career last year, and it resulted in him signing a max contract with the Wizards. I realize it seems odd that he’s playing the 2 guard here, but it’s not that crazy. Porter is 6’8 and 200 lbs, he’s agile, quick, and has great length. Porter is a legitimate great defender…one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. He’s going to give DeRozan a tough game. Porter is also good offensively. He put up a 14/6/2 line on a 52/43/83 shooting split. He’s a great defender who shot 43% from 3 on over 4 attempts a game! Add in that he’s surrounded by good passers in Teague, Jokic and Durant, and he’s going to get some wide open attempts, especially since DeRozan is not much of a defender.
Kevin Durant: What more really needs to be said about Durant? He’s a top 3 player in the league. He’s 7’0 and 240, and plays like a guard offensively, he’s a great perimeter defender, and he’s a great rim protector. STUD. Durant averaged 25/8/4 on a 54/38/88 shooting split while sharing a primary role with Steph Curry. That’s right, 54% overall shooting percentage. Durant is going to run the PnR with Jokic, and it’s gonna be naaaaasty. Leonard is obviously a great player, but Durant is better, and he has the better supporting cast here.
Tobias Harris: Harris has played out of position at SF for a lot of his career, but is getting a solid opportunity at the 4, where he belongs, with me. Harris is a potent offensive player…think Carmelo light, but more active on the defensive end. Him and Love are actually fairly similar, although Love is a better rebounder. As a 4/5th option, Harris will be getting a lot of open looks. Harris averaged 16/5/2 on a 48/35/84 shooting split. I think it’s important to note that his rebounding numbers are low because he plays next to Andre Drummond. Back when Harris was with Orlando, he typically averaged anywhere from 7-8 boards a game, which is a solid number. At 6’9 and 240 he’s a bit smaller than Love, but I don’t think Love will be able to defend Harris.
Nikola Jokic: Hopefully all of you have seen him play by now. He’s the most exciting post player in the league, offensively. He’s the best offensive post player in the league if you ask me. As a starter, Jokic averaged 18/10/5 in 29 minutes a game. He had a 58/33/82 shooting percentage. He’s 6’11 and he had a 63% TS%. That’s unreal. Incredible. He shot over 55% from mid range. DeRozan, who is known for his midrange prowess, had a career high of 47% from mid range. So Jokic is 6’11, and shoots better than DeRozan. Have fun defending that. He’s also the best post passer in the league. Once he became a starter, Denver’s offense instantly became one of the best in the league. DENVER! He did that to Denver! Now imagine what he’ll do with my lineup. Now, I’m planning on playing Jokic more than 29 minutes a game. So how did he do when averaging 30+ minutes? 23/13/6…and that’s a 31 game sample size. Oh, and he did that while shooting 57%. Good luck guarding him and Durant.
Bench:
Milos Teodosic: Probably one of the best passers in the NBA, as a rookie. Long known as the best player not playing in the NBA, he finally made the move over. He’s a good shooter, a great passer, and has good size. He’ll struggle a bit with some things, but he’ll be fine. I’ll have him guarding Hardaway or Waiters when they’re in, or Fultz when he’s in.
Dante Exum: He had a great summer league, showing the ability to drive, but most importantly, showing the ability to hit open 3’s. That’s huge, especially when he’s playing with a great passer in Teodosic. We already know he’s a good defender, and I’m not going to waste a lot of time talking about a player most people here know. He’ll be guarding Fultz/DeRozan/Simmons/Hardaway/Waiters.
Malcolm Brogdon: The reigning ROY will be coming off the bench for me. As a starter, he averaged 12/4/5 while shooting 47/40 from the field and deep, respectively. He can create, he can shoot, and he can defend. He’s 6’5 with a 6’10 wingspan, so he will be primarily matched up with Simmons when the bench is in, but also has the capability to defend any guard. Simmons will have a hard time guarding Brogdon, he’s just able to do too much. Brogdon is also a very smart defender, he was a great defender for a rookie, and I just see him improving. He’s arguably better than Rodney Hood.
Jayson Tatum: Offensive dynamite as a rookie. I like him at the 4 because I can hide him a little bit. He’ll have a hard time defending Randolph, but Randolph will have no chance at guarding him. Too big, too old, too slow.
Bismack Biyombo: He’s really good on defense, and pretty good at rebounding. That’s about it. I have need of a rim protector, and he is it. Plus he has a really cool name.
t.work assembled a nice team, but I have too much firepower for him. Vote for justice, vote for truth, vote for triumph. Vote JTT!
