[ALL-NBA DRAFT] Elimination Round: Pool E (Bob MonkeySon, torque, fadeaway)

whoa this is a tight battle

 

I like all three of these teams. :/

 

This is a tight battle...good luck y'all, make a case for your team while you still can

 

I don't think these teams can keep up with how much I'm going to run run run. Rondo on the fast break with Odom, Johnson, Gallinari, Okafor, all athletic dudes...gonna be hard to stop. Also have very solid defense. I'll post more with some numbers when I have the chance.

 

Fadeaways team can't shoot

 

Fadeaway's backcourt is a little too weak.

The spacing for that team would be terrible

 

Luke Ridnour was in the top 10 in 3Pt. % last year.

 

That's your backup PG. How many minutes do you think he'll play?

 

Jennings, Ridnour and DeRozan will be playing in a 3-man back court rotation. All will end up with equal minutes.

Gasol, Boozer and Hayes will also split time in a similar rotation.

The SF position will be taken care of by Josh Smith and Shane Battier in a 60-40 split.

Generally, I envision my basic rotation like this:

C: Pau Gasol (32 mins) / Chuck Hayes (16 mins)
PF: Carlos Boozer (32 mins) / Chuck Hayes (16 mins)
SF: Josh Smith (29 mins) / Shane Battier (19 mins)
SG: DeMar DeRozan (32 mins) / Luke Ridnour (16 mins)
PG: Brandon Jennings (32 mins) / Luke Ridnour (16 mins)

Depending on game flow we could have several lineup possibilities:

Jennings, Ridnour, Battier, Boozer, Gasol (perimeter shooting lineup)
Jennings, Ridnour, Battier, Smith, Hayes (super lockdown defense lineup)
Ridnour, DeRozan, Battier, Hayes, Gasol (DeRozan drives the lane and kicks it out to Ridnour or Battier for an open 3)
Jennings, Ridnour, Battier, Boozer, Gasol (Jennings or Ridnour play the pick 'n' roll with Boozer or Gasol... Battier remains on perimeter ready to shoot the 3-ball)

 

In 3 out of the four lineup possibilities, you have Ridnour listed at SG. Ridnour is 6'2. There's no way he can guard opposing SG's (whose average height is ~6'6)...

 

Height isn't everything.

 

Plus, if it ever gets to be a problem, I can always slide Battier over to play some minutes at SG.

 

Here's my rotation:
PG Rondo (38 mins) / McGrady (10 mins)
SG Johnson (38 mins) / McGrady (10 mins)
SF Gallinari (30 mins) / Young (18 mins)
PF Odom (36 mins) / Humphries (9 mins) / Young (3 mins)
C Okafor (35 mins) / Humphries (13 mins)

My roster is extremely versatile. Depending on the matchup, I could go:
Big (Rondo, Johnson, Odom, Humphries, Okafor)
Small (Rondo, Johnson, Gallinari, Young, Odom)
Shooting (my starting lineup)
Lock down D: (Rondo, Johnson, Odom, Humphries, Okafor)

Everyone's very athletic and almost everyone can shoot the rock.

Remember, per 36 minutes last year, Odom averaged 16.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game. He shot 53% from the field and 38.2% from 3. That kind of shooting and his quickness cause huge matchup problems at the PF spot. No way Boozer has a chance to guard him.

Humphries is going to play 22 minutes a game in my rotation. Last year in 28 minute a game he averaged 10 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game, so he'll be a huge factor coming off the bench with rebounding and scoring.

Don't underrate Gallinari and Thaddeus Young either. Per 36 minutes last year, Gallinari averaged 16.6 points and 5.2 rebounds a game and is a potent 3 point shooter. Young averaged 17.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per 36 minutes along with 54% shooting and as a career 34% 3 point shooter he can knock one down from long range if he needs to.

In all, my team has length, athleticism and very good defense, and the versatility to match up against anyone.

 

And that leaves you with 1 perimeter threat (Battier) which isn't enough to space the floor properly.

 

If McGrady is the point guard, you'll have no transition offense, and he'd be a huge liability on defense.

Boozer weighs about 40 lbs more than Odom. Can Odom guard Boozer?

The baseline for projections is the 2010-2011 season. Thaddeus Young shot 27% from the 3pt line last season.

Like Fadeaway's team, you have limited perimeter threats (Gallinari is the only respectable 3pt shooter) so spacing might be an issue.

 

A back court of Ridnour + Battier isn't out of the question in some circumstances. Plus, Jennings is a streaky shooter capable of getting hot sometimes. Jennings actually shot a decent 3P% in his rookie year, although that tailed off a bit last season.

 

Johnson played injured last year. He's around 37% career from three - Larry Bird %. So I would say JJ is a decent shooter. Also odom shot 38% from 3 this year. I doubt he would repeat that but he's definitely above average for a 4. So I consider this team to have decent but not great shooting. Bob definitely has the best shooters in this group. I think the lakers and jazz have played a few times in the playoffs. How did boozer and odom do?

 

If I was going head to head against fadeaway I would double the hell out of Gasol and Boozer as soon as they got the ball in the post. I'll take my chances with Smith and Derozan chucking 3s all game.

Johnson, Gallinari and Odom are all legitimate perimeter threats. If my transition offense with my backup point guard is my biggest issue, I'm fine with that.

 

If you did that, I would make sure Ridnour and Battier were on the court. Both of those blokes can hit the open 3, no worries.