Sadds The Gr8
10-05-2013, 05:28 PM
Every summer, PSD holds a game where GM's re-draft players to see who creates the best team. This year, users from the site had to utilize their skills via draft, trades. At the end of the game, GMs voted on how they believed the regular season of this game would shake up. These are the playoffs of PSD's 2013 NBA Re-Draft
Please take the time to consider each line up, the match-up itself, and vote on which team you believe would win in a seven game series.
Harlem Depth Chart:
Depth Chart (MPG):
PG: Derrick Rose(36) - O.J. Mayo(12) - Eric Maynor
SG: O.J. Mayo(20) - Ray Allen(28) - Gerald Green
SF: Tayshaun Prince(27) - Luc Ricard Mbah A Moute(17) - Ray Allen(4)
PF: Greg Monroe(18) - Kenyon Martin(27) - Rashard Lewis(3)
C: Andrew Bynum(32) - Greg Monroe(16) - Greg Oden
Tijuana Depth Chart:
PG: Mike Conley - Pablo Prigioni - Norris Cole
SG: Jamal Crawford - Willie Green
SF: Danny Granger - Chris Copeland - Stephen Jackson
PF: Serge Ibaka - Brandan Wright
C: Brook Lopez - Meyers Leonard
HARLEM HAS HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
Harlem Writeup:
First off, congrats to Tijuana for a quality run in this redraft. Their GM is relatively new to these games and he made a solid team. But, Tijuana will not be advancing past the first round in these playoffs. Harlem outmatches them almost everywhere, and will win this playoff series.
Offensive Strategy: Obviously, this offense will be led by a former MVP and a top 10 player in the league, Derrick Rose. Hate on Rose all you want, but he is one of the most dynamic players in this game today. His playmaking and slashing ability is unmatched in the entire NBA, and he simply will not be stopped by an albeit solid defender in Mike Conley. No one other than LeBron slowed down Rose in his last full season, and it will not be starting in this series. Now, Tijuana might point to Serge Ibaka being able to stop Rose in the paint. This would be quite humorous in my opinion because Ibaka will have his hands full with a great power forward in Greg Monroe, our number 2 option on offense. If Ibaka tries to play help defense, easy buckets will be coming for Monroe left and right. And then we also have former All-Star Andrew Bynum. Now, I know some of you will degrade him because of his injuries, but even a 75% Bynum is a force on both ends of the court. Luckily, he will be covered by an average defender Brook Lopez. Bynum will get double digit touches on the block and will be able to go to work against Lopez, not to mention plenty of put-back buckets due to Tijuana's weak rebounding frontcourt. Now, I know what you are thinking. Where is the floor spacing on this team? No need to worry, we have plenty of it on our wings. Ray Allen, OJ Mayo, and Tayshaun Prince are all great shooters from the outside, and will open up the paint for our bigs and Rose to dominate. Mayo and Allen also have another affect on this offense due to their ability of being quality ball handlers, something Rose has never had on his side before. Surrounding Rose with other ball handlers will take pressure off of him and allow him to be even more effective on a few less touches. The bottom line on offense is that we have way too much talent to stop, no matter how you slice it. Two 16 and 10 bigs and an MVP? Tijuana cannot stop that.
Defensive Strategy: This is where Tijuana will truly struggle. They can praise Brook Lopez all they want, but he has a defensive force matched up against him in Andrew Bynum. Even when playing hurt, Bynum has been dominant on the defensive side of the ball, and certainly will slow down Lopez on his offensive touches. So who is the number one option? Who is the guy that wins games for Tijuana? We all know that you need a #1 option to win in the playoffs. The Heat had LeBron, the Spurs had Parker, the Pacers had George. Who does Tijuana have? No one. Danny Granger has declined sharply, he simply cannot be trusted as a #1 option anymore, especially with a good defender on him with Tayshaun Prince. Serge Ibaka is strictly a jump shooter on offense, he isn't a reliable offensive player. Jamal Crawford is a career 6th man for a reason, his offense becomes erratic a lot when he dominates the ball and he at times even becomes a bit of a chucker. And Mike Conley is good, but he isn't someone who will win you a playoff series, especially considering that he will have to guard an MVP on the other end. Tijuana quite frankly will struggle to put up points on our defense, which is something that they will need with our high-flying offense.
Bench: This is a huge advantage for Harlem. We have 3 quality players on our bench, creating a dynamic 8 man rotation. We have the greatest 3-point shooter of all time with Ray Allen, one of the best bench bigs in the league with Kenyon Martin, and a very good defensive wing with Luc Ricard Mbah A Moute. By my count, Tijuana only has one quality player on their bench that should be playing solid playoff minutes and that is Brandan Wright. So what happens when Pablo Prigioni comes in and has to deal with Derrick Rose? What about Willie Green against one of our SG's? Meyers Leonard covering Bynum or Monroe? You have to be kidding me. Tijuana's depth is a huge issue that will seriously limit their effectiveness in this series.
Bottom Line: Talent wins you basketball games folks, moreso in today's NBA than ever before. Harlem simply is much more talented than Tijuana on both sides of the court, and off of the bench. We have one of the biggest stars in the NBA as well as the best supporting cast that he has ever had. Tijuana has a solid center, an often-injured forward, and a decent point guard that they are going to rely on to win this series for them. But the answer is clear. Harlem's talent wins us this series, with Rose leaving us with multiple impact plays that will be remembered for a long time.
Tijuana Writeup:
Quick Points:
Harlem will point out how "Granger was injured" and etc, but they are relying heavily on two players with significant injuries, Rose and Bynum, to carry the load ; One hasn't been healthy for 2 years and the other missed all of last season due to an ACL tear. We at Tijuana would like to point out, that we do not rely on Granger to carry our team, he's just another option out on the floor and he'll thrive as a more efficient 15 PPG scorer instead of trying to carry the team like he was required to do with IND in the past.
Also, Harlem's floor spacing is horrendous, which doesn't bode well for Rose, Harlem's primary weapon; because with Monroe and Bynum clogging up the paint, you are limiting Rose to be more of a shooter which is a style of play he doesn't excel in (Career .534 TS% and .486 eFG%). Tijuana's defensive game-plan is simple but effective, shut-down the paint and force Harlem to become a shooting team, ultimately they don't have efficient shooters outside of Ray Allen and he alone can not create the necessary space for Harlem's offense to be a productive one in this series.
On the other hand, Tijuana's lineup possesses versatile players all on the floor at the same time; so no matter what Harlem's "strategy" might be, Tijuana has the pieces to make adjustments and still be able to have a productive and efficient offense. We won't depend on "one guy" to dominate a series although we certainly do have players capable of doing so. Brook can be a primary offensive option in the low post or run P&R, Conley will run the show and either penetrate to create looks for himself or to set up his teammates, Ibaka is known for being an excellent defender but he doesn't get enough credit when it comes to his offensive game. He doesn't need the ball in his hands to contribute as he moves well without the ball and can space the floor and knock down shots off ball movement or double teams. Plus, I still haven't mentioned Crawford and Granger who we all know can score yet are 4th/5th options on this team.
Head to head:
PG Mike Conley vs Derrick Rose
Mike Conley can put pressure on the ball and is an excellent defender at the PG position with the speed and IQ to keep up with a "healthy" Rose, if he ever is able to get back to that level which at the moment, nobody knows if he'll be able to. Derrick Rose won't be able to carry this team past the first round. Once the playoffs arrive, defenses tighten up and collapse on Rose and he regresses as an offensive player. He becomes more of a volume scorer, an inefficient one, as evidenced by his career playoff stats: 22.2 FGA to achieve 25.1 PPG on 43% FG%, 26% from 3P%, .503 TS% and .449 eFG%. These numbers will hold true in this series as well because Harlem's floor spacing will not allow Rose the necessary space to attack the paint and there are no options to "kick out" the ball to as it will be fairly easy to neutralize Harlem's only pure shooter, Ray Allen, when he's on the court.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../rosede01.html
SG Jamal Crawford vs O.J. Mayo & Ray Allen
Mayo is not on a team that will allow him to maximize his strengths. He needs the ball in his hands to impact the game and being paired with a ball dominant PG who will relinquish him to being a "catch and shoot" guy will not end well. Meanwhile, Ray Allen is 37 years old and just posted the lowest PER of his career since his rookie season in 1996. He's still a pure shooter, but he won't get the same open looks he got with Miami last year where defenders had to really focus in on Lebron/Wade/Bosh, that won't be the case with Harlem. Yes, we are using Crawford as a starter on Tijuana, and before you say "but he's a 6th man", he has played starters minutes throughout his entire career so he's definitely capable of starting, especially on a team as loaded as this.
SF Danny Granger vs Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun Prince just posted the lowest PER of his career and continues to spiral downward. He's not the athletic wing he used to be. Granger will excel as an efficient 4th/5th option for Tijuana, not having to carry a team like he did with IND.
PF Serge Ibaka vs Greg Monroe
Monroe's defense leaves a lot to be desired and Ibaka can certainly shut him down as he's a DPOY quality big man.
C Brook Lopez vs Andrew Bynum
Brook has completely dominated Bynum when they face off by playing 37.8 minutes per game and averaging the following #'s:
24 PPG on 51% FG%
9.8 REB
9 FT attempts per game and shooting 83% FT%
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bynuman01&p2=lopezbr01
Brook gets Bynum into foul trouble with ease as Bynum averages 5 fouls per game when he's matched up against Brook, even fouling out in under 10 minutes of playing time in one of the games. What does this mean? It means that Harlem will be left counting on Martin to play major minutes at the 4/5 which is not something you want at this point in his career. While Brook has continued to blossom into one of the top C's in the league by getting better each year, Bynum hasn't played in over 2 years. Will he even reach 90% of his past production? Nobody knows, not even his GM.
Please take the time to consider each line up, the match-up itself, and vote on which team you believe would win in a seven game series.
Harlem Depth Chart:
Depth Chart (MPG):
PG: Derrick Rose(36) - O.J. Mayo(12) - Eric Maynor
SG: O.J. Mayo(20) - Ray Allen(28) - Gerald Green
SF: Tayshaun Prince(27) - Luc Ricard Mbah A Moute(17) - Ray Allen(4)
PF: Greg Monroe(18) - Kenyon Martin(27) - Rashard Lewis(3)
C: Andrew Bynum(32) - Greg Monroe(16) - Greg Oden
Tijuana Depth Chart:
PG: Mike Conley - Pablo Prigioni - Norris Cole
SG: Jamal Crawford - Willie Green
SF: Danny Granger - Chris Copeland - Stephen Jackson
PF: Serge Ibaka - Brandan Wright
C: Brook Lopez - Meyers Leonard
HARLEM HAS HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
Harlem Writeup:
First off, congrats to Tijuana for a quality run in this redraft. Their GM is relatively new to these games and he made a solid team. But, Tijuana will not be advancing past the first round in these playoffs. Harlem outmatches them almost everywhere, and will win this playoff series.
Offensive Strategy: Obviously, this offense will be led by a former MVP and a top 10 player in the league, Derrick Rose. Hate on Rose all you want, but he is one of the most dynamic players in this game today. His playmaking and slashing ability is unmatched in the entire NBA, and he simply will not be stopped by an albeit solid defender in Mike Conley. No one other than LeBron slowed down Rose in his last full season, and it will not be starting in this series. Now, Tijuana might point to Serge Ibaka being able to stop Rose in the paint. This would be quite humorous in my opinion because Ibaka will have his hands full with a great power forward in Greg Monroe, our number 2 option on offense. If Ibaka tries to play help defense, easy buckets will be coming for Monroe left and right. And then we also have former All-Star Andrew Bynum. Now, I know some of you will degrade him because of his injuries, but even a 75% Bynum is a force on both ends of the court. Luckily, he will be covered by an average defender Brook Lopez. Bynum will get double digit touches on the block and will be able to go to work against Lopez, not to mention plenty of put-back buckets due to Tijuana's weak rebounding frontcourt. Now, I know what you are thinking. Where is the floor spacing on this team? No need to worry, we have plenty of it on our wings. Ray Allen, OJ Mayo, and Tayshaun Prince are all great shooters from the outside, and will open up the paint for our bigs and Rose to dominate. Mayo and Allen also have another affect on this offense due to their ability of being quality ball handlers, something Rose has never had on his side before. Surrounding Rose with other ball handlers will take pressure off of him and allow him to be even more effective on a few less touches. The bottom line on offense is that we have way too much talent to stop, no matter how you slice it. Two 16 and 10 bigs and an MVP? Tijuana cannot stop that.
Defensive Strategy: This is where Tijuana will truly struggle. They can praise Brook Lopez all they want, but he has a defensive force matched up against him in Andrew Bynum. Even when playing hurt, Bynum has been dominant on the defensive side of the ball, and certainly will slow down Lopez on his offensive touches. So who is the number one option? Who is the guy that wins games for Tijuana? We all know that you need a #1 option to win in the playoffs. The Heat had LeBron, the Spurs had Parker, the Pacers had George. Who does Tijuana have? No one. Danny Granger has declined sharply, he simply cannot be trusted as a #1 option anymore, especially with a good defender on him with Tayshaun Prince. Serge Ibaka is strictly a jump shooter on offense, he isn't a reliable offensive player. Jamal Crawford is a career 6th man for a reason, his offense becomes erratic a lot when he dominates the ball and he at times even becomes a bit of a chucker. And Mike Conley is good, but he isn't someone who will win you a playoff series, especially considering that he will have to guard an MVP on the other end. Tijuana quite frankly will struggle to put up points on our defense, which is something that they will need with our high-flying offense.
Bench: This is a huge advantage for Harlem. We have 3 quality players on our bench, creating a dynamic 8 man rotation. We have the greatest 3-point shooter of all time with Ray Allen, one of the best bench bigs in the league with Kenyon Martin, and a very good defensive wing with Luc Ricard Mbah A Moute. By my count, Tijuana only has one quality player on their bench that should be playing solid playoff minutes and that is Brandan Wright. So what happens when Pablo Prigioni comes in and has to deal with Derrick Rose? What about Willie Green against one of our SG's? Meyers Leonard covering Bynum or Monroe? You have to be kidding me. Tijuana's depth is a huge issue that will seriously limit their effectiveness in this series.
Bottom Line: Talent wins you basketball games folks, moreso in today's NBA than ever before. Harlem simply is much more talented than Tijuana on both sides of the court, and off of the bench. We have one of the biggest stars in the NBA as well as the best supporting cast that he has ever had. Tijuana has a solid center, an often-injured forward, and a decent point guard that they are going to rely on to win this series for them. But the answer is clear. Harlem's talent wins us this series, with Rose leaving us with multiple impact plays that will be remembered for a long time.
Tijuana Writeup:
Quick Points:
Harlem will point out how "Granger was injured" and etc, but they are relying heavily on two players with significant injuries, Rose and Bynum, to carry the load ; One hasn't been healthy for 2 years and the other missed all of last season due to an ACL tear. We at Tijuana would like to point out, that we do not rely on Granger to carry our team, he's just another option out on the floor and he'll thrive as a more efficient 15 PPG scorer instead of trying to carry the team like he was required to do with IND in the past.
Also, Harlem's floor spacing is horrendous, which doesn't bode well for Rose, Harlem's primary weapon; because with Monroe and Bynum clogging up the paint, you are limiting Rose to be more of a shooter which is a style of play he doesn't excel in (Career .534 TS% and .486 eFG%). Tijuana's defensive game-plan is simple but effective, shut-down the paint and force Harlem to become a shooting team, ultimately they don't have efficient shooters outside of Ray Allen and he alone can not create the necessary space for Harlem's offense to be a productive one in this series.
On the other hand, Tijuana's lineup possesses versatile players all on the floor at the same time; so no matter what Harlem's "strategy" might be, Tijuana has the pieces to make adjustments and still be able to have a productive and efficient offense. We won't depend on "one guy" to dominate a series although we certainly do have players capable of doing so. Brook can be a primary offensive option in the low post or run P&R, Conley will run the show and either penetrate to create looks for himself or to set up his teammates, Ibaka is known for being an excellent defender but he doesn't get enough credit when it comes to his offensive game. He doesn't need the ball in his hands to contribute as he moves well without the ball and can space the floor and knock down shots off ball movement or double teams. Plus, I still haven't mentioned Crawford and Granger who we all know can score yet are 4th/5th options on this team.
Head to head:
PG Mike Conley vs Derrick Rose
Mike Conley can put pressure on the ball and is an excellent defender at the PG position with the speed and IQ to keep up with a "healthy" Rose, if he ever is able to get back to that level which at the moment, nobody knows if he'll be able to. Derrick Rose won't be able to carry this team past the first round. Once the playoffs arrive, defenses tighten up and collapse on Rose and he regresses as an offensive player. He becomes more of a volume scorer, an inefficient one, as evidenced by his career playoff stats: 22.2 FGA to achieve 25.1 PPG on 43% FG%, 26% from 3P%, .503 TS% and .449 eFG%. These numbers will hold true in this series as well because Harlem's floor spacing will not allow Rose the necessary space to attack the paint and there are no options to "kick out" the ball to as it will be fairly easy to neutralize Harlem's only pure shooter, Ray Allen, when he's on the court.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../rosede01.html
SG Jamal Crawford vs O.J. Mayo & Ray Allen
Mayo is not on a team that will allow him to maximize his strengths. He needs the ball in his hands to impact the game and being paired with a ball dominant PG who will relinquish him to being a "catch and shoot" guy will not end well. Meanwhile, Ray Allen is 37 years old and just posted the lowest PER of his career since his rookie season in 1996. He's still a pure shooter, but he won't get the same open looks he got with Miami last year where defenders had to really focus in on Lebron/Wade/Bosh, that won't be the case with Harlem. Yes, we are using Crawford as a starter on Tijuana, and before you say "but he's a 6th man", he has played starters minutes throughout his entire career so he's definitely capable of starting, especially on a team as loaded as this.
SF Danny Granger vs Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun Prince just posted the lowest PER of his career and continues to spiral downward. He's not the athletic wing he used to be. Granger will excel as an efficient 4th/5th option for Tijuana, not having to carry a team like he did with IND.
PF Serge Ibaka vs Greg Monroe
Monroe's defense leaves a lot to be desired and Ibaka can certainly shut him down as he's a DPOY quality big man.
C Brook Lopez vs Andrew Bynum
Brook has completely dominated Bynum when they face off by playing 37.8 minutes per game and averaging the following #'s:
24 PPG on 51% FG%
9.8 REB
9 FT attempts per game and shooting 83% FT%
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bynuman01&p2=lopezbr01
Brook gets Bynum into foul trouble with ease as Bynum averages 5 fouls per game when he's matched up against Brook, even fouling out in under 10 minutes of playing time in one of the games. What does this mean? It means that Harlem will be left counting on Martin to play major minutes at the 4/5 which is not something you want at this point in his career. While Brook has continued to blossom into one of the top C's in the league by getting better each year, Bynum hasn't played in over 2 years. Will he even reach 90% of his past production? Nobody knows, not even his GM.