explain your choice The judging criteria is based on the following: Frontcourt- Who has the better FC Backcourt- Who has the better BC Bench- WHo has the better bench Offense- Which team has the better overall team offense. Which teams offense would run smoother and be more effective. Defense- Which team plays better defense? This includes team defense as well as individual defense Chemistry- which team would have better chemistry and work together better. For example, a team full of scorers who like to keep the ball in their hands wouldn't work very well. Based on these categories, you will determine the winner. IN THE END, WHO WILL WIN A 7 GAME SERIES RedNation pg: Rajon Rondo sg: James Harden sf: Nicolas Batum pf: Josh Smith C: Demarcus Cousins Bench Jason Terry Danilo Gallinari Taj Gibson 123Rockets PG: Jrue Holiday SG: Arron Afflalo SF: Rudy Gay PF: Kevin Love C: Nikola Pekovic Bench: C: Tiago Splitter PG: Jeff Teague SG: Kevin Martin
RedNation - Because batum will hit Gay's balls, then he will have a ball removal surgery or something and won't be able to play again.
Frontcourt- 123Rockets - I think each of Gay/KLove and Pekovic each fill a role required of that position better with the exception maybe of Pek but still points to 123Rockets Backcourt- RedNation, i think Harden/Rondo is a better combo and more balanced Bench- RedNation - his bench is formidable Offense- 123Rockets, range down to the 4, but the main reason is RedNation doesnt have a bonafide PG backing up Rondo, this would lead to drop offs as he tires. Defense- RedNation, its a close one but Rondo and Batum are better defenders IMO Chemistry- 123Rockets, i feel the players on this team have clearer defined roles, and will therefore operate more seamlessly as a unit Therefore going 4-3, I see it going RedNations way based on the uncounted fact that his team has better experience and clutch performers
First of all, congrats to 123Rockets for ending up with GayLove Holiday. That's a pure win and Sigmund Freud would have something to say about it. Secondly, Love, Pekovic, Gay? That's a solid core. Every time I saw 123R trade, he seemed to be downgrading. But the end result is solid. No idea how you pulled it off. Frontcourt - 123Rockets C: Cousins is probably a slightly better player overall than Pekovic. However, Pekovic will pummel Cousins non-stop on both ends, which will get him very frustrated and emotional. Cousins is typically not great vs. guys he can't bully and push around. Noone can push around Pekovic. PF: Love is just a much better, more efficient and smarter player than Josh Smith. Even defensively I'm not sure who's better --- Smith blocks shots, but Love is similar or better at everything else and has a ton of power. I like how Smith fits with Cousins defensively though. SF: I like Gay more than Batum both offensively and defensively. Backcourt - RedNation Rondo and Harden are just considerably better than Afflalo/Holiday right now. Bench - even. I'd take Gallinari over Martin easily. But I'd take Teague-Splitter over Terry-Gibson. Similar quality players, but Teague is young, better defensively, and Splitter can defend both PF and C well. RedN will need to use Josh Smith as the backup 5. Also, RedN has a lot of guys who need the ball (starters + bench combined). So RedN has probably a slightly more talented bench, but I don't love how his bench complements his starters. So, even. Offense - RedNation. 123Rockets -- a lot of shooting, efficiency, size, strength. But lacks play makers. Afflalo, Gay both mainly spot up shooters, neither is a very efficient creator. Holiday a below average playmaker for a point guard. I'm not sure how this team plays. Stan Van Gundy / Jim O'Brien type of offense? But Pekovic is neither a great passer nor commands double teams. So idk. A lot of tools, but this team lacks that one player to make it all work, someone like Manu Ginobili/Harden or a good smart point guard. RedNation -- a poor decision maker in Josh Smith. Cousins sometimes plays very smart and sometimes his brains black out. Only two solid shooters in Harden and Batum (on the upside, solid shooting off the bench). Other than that... I like it. Two great play makers in the back. An above average offensive player / scorer at every other position. It makes sense. Defense - even. Neither team looks very good defensively. RedNation team has the best defender (Rondo) and shot blocking (which 123 team lacks). But RedNation also has the worst big defender in the matchup (Cousins), a worse bench defense, and his team suffers from some matchups too, IMO. Key points: 1. What happens when Cousins gets in foul trouble, which he will do early and often? RedNation only has Gibson off the bench, and Gibson/Josh Smith front court will get punked by Love/Pekovic (+Splitter). Pekovic will shine defensively vs. Cousins. 2. Rondo is awesome, but he will defend 123 worst player (Holiday), and 123 playmaking will have to be done by committee, so Rondo's impact will be diminished. 3. Josh Smith shotblocking. 123 lacks it. A huge advantage for RedN, but the way I see it, 123 team will be a 3pt team. So shotblocking won't kill it. Other than shotblocking, Josh Smith is a pretty average defender, and Cousins is a poor defender, so I'd say an advantage to 123 inside. 4. Batum has a very slow release. Gay defends jump shooters very well. I think Gay will have defensive advantage over Batum here. Chemistry - 123Rockets. RedNation has more knuckleheads and poor decision makers. 7 game series: RedNation. I think the lack of playmaking will hurt 123Rockets in the end. His front court will dominate RedNation's team, they will frustrate and foul out Cousins. But 123R won't take full advantage of it because of lack of playmaking, and Harden/Rondo will be very effective with cuts and penetration due to lack of shotblocking by 123R.
