1995-2015 NBA Wildcard Playoff 3 : WLK vs Sushi

[Nosferatu]

WLK

FIRST HALF
PG - Stephen Curry
SG - Klay Thompson
SF - Elgin Baylor - WC
PF - Draymond Green
C - Marc Gasol

SECOND HALF
PG - Gary Payton - WC
SG - Jimmy Butler
SF - Kawhi Leonard
PF - Blake Griffin
C - Tyson Chandler

VS

SUSHI

FIRST HALF
PG - Mike Conley
SG - Paul George
SF - Dr. J - WC
PF - Paul Milsap
C - Shaquille O'Neal - WC

SECOND HALF
PG - Damian Lillard
SG - DeMar DeRozan
SF - Kevin Durant
PF - Chris Bosh
C - Andre Drummond

 

[Nosferatu]

WLK - 3
SUSHI - 4

VOTED - Nos, Meebs, Shane, WLK, Sushi, UK, 500

 

[Nosferatu]

I got WLK

 

[Mebert]

Sushi

 

[CitySushi]

@Nosferatu

I wanted a lineup change. I wanted to have Conley and George in the first half and Lillard and Derozan in the second half. Can you change this?

 

[Shanemansj13]

Sushi

 

[wlk3]

I got me... I can hack a Shaq and hack a Drummond if need be...

 

[CitySushi]

I have me in this one.

My first half lineup should be Conley, George, Dr. J, Millsap and Shaq. That lineup is build perfectly to go against WLK's first half. Conley is a great defender and George is also a very good one. George at 6'9" would be able to prevent any post play from Klay and would be one of the better players in this draft to guard him because of his height and athleticism. Conley is also the perfect PG to pair with Shaq because he's been in a system his entire career dedicated to getting big men in the post the ball. Dr. J and Baylor are probably a wash. Millsap is the perfect person to pair with Shaq. He's a stretch 4 who would bring Draymond away from the hoop from helping. So basically you have Shaq on Tyson Chandler who would dominate.

Having PG and Millsap(who is also an excellent defender) to switch on to Curry helps to slow him down. A large part of Curry's success is being able to run a P&R with Klay to have a defender switch on to him. In this case it doesn't work nearly as well because of George being able to sufficiently guard him with height, length and athletcism.

My second half lineup is built for a run and gun tempo. KD is the focal point of the team, but it's Lillard and Bosh who really make this effective. Lillard and KD would be a terrifying combo, most similar to what KD and Steph will be this year. Additionally, KD and Bosh will be able to run a secondary P&R. Since all 3 are great perimeter shooters, the defense cannot collapse and opens up the entire center of the court. Derozan is my slasher and has a deadly mid-range game. Drummond is the real underrated player in this lineup though. He's one of the best centers in the NBA right now and is the best rebounder in the league. His shot blocking and patrolling of the paint is essential to this team. But most importantly he's a freak athlete and a beast of a player. His strength and agility would allow him to match up well defensively against some of the all-time big men in this draft. He's not going to dominate them, but he's going to hold his own and that's all you can really ask. Defensively this team may not have any true standouts aside from Drummond and Bosh, but they more than make up for it with their height and length. Derozan is 6'7", KD is 6'11", Bosh is 6'11" and Drummond is 7'0". That's going to alleviate a lot of problems by being able to play a lot of help defense.

Also when you only have 5 designated players in a half, Hack-A-Whoever isn't nearly as effective unless you want to play 4 on 5. Also with not being able to foul in the last 2 minutes now of each half, makes this exponentially better for my team.

 

[wlk3]

I'll say I spent WAY too much time answering Milk... I would like to have changed some things like Gasol on Shaq, swapping halves but then we'd be going back and forth which I'm not against but I don't have the time to have a chess match with you lol, however it would have been fun...

 

[UK Cowboy]

The closest match-up to me. WLK very close

 

[Pack 500]

I have Sushi. That second half lineup is just electric offensively

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I got sushi... I think he has the best player on both lines... while his first line has the 2 best players...

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I'll say I spent WAY too much time answering Milk... I would like to have changed some things like Gasol on Shaq, swapping halves but then we'd be going back and forth which I'm not against but I don't have the time to have a chess match with you lol, however it would have been fun...

MY plan the WHOLE TIME!!!!

 

[wlk3]

MY plan the WHOLE TIME!!!!

Lol... What I ment was I should have waited to answer your post because I knew Nos would be setting the next round... It's not a huge deal but I would have liked to see who I matched up with and adjust... I like my lineups either way though...

 

[Nosferatu]

Congrats Sushi

 

[wlk3]

Thanks Nos for switching Gasol...

I don't see it... I know we're assuming offense trumps defense but my second unit has defensive guys who are offensive threats... I think Butler stops Derozan more than the other way around, same with GP/Lillard, Griffin/Bosh... KD has trouble with Kawhi as well... And I still think I'm going to pick up points in the first half...

 

[femurov]

WLK

 

[Shanemansj13]

Thanks Nos for switching Gasol...

I don't see it... I know we're assuming offense trumps defense but my second unit has defensive guys who are offensive threats... I think Butler stops Derozan more than the other way around, same with GP/Lillard, Griffin/Bosh... KD has trouble with Kawhi as well... And I still think I'm going to pick up points in the first half...

Kevin Durant vs. Kawhi Leonard | Basketball-Reference.com

Actually KD is pretty good against Leonard especially in the playoffs. Leonard is a great defender but a great scorer will score. KD averages 27, 7 and 6 against Leonard in their playoff matchups.