I don't want to pile too heavily on any one team, because I don't wanted people to feel targeted. It takes the fun out of these things.
But, I'll note that Luka's usage is uniquely high. His career average is 35.5 (!!!) That's the highest in NBA history. The player with the 6th highest usage in history? Lebron. You also have #7 (Mitchell), #16 (Carmelo) and #17 (Shaq). 11 guys have been drafted that rank in the top-18 of career usage. You have 5 of those 11 playing together.
The "there's only one ball" critique is probably overused in these drafts, but I think this year in particular you may have leaned into ball dominant guys a little too much.
Miami Shaq's touches were no where near his LA or Orlando days though. He was already trending downward and frankly if a guy is going to hit over 60% of his FG's and get fouled on 70% of his shots, I'm ok with a higher usage. As for Lebron. Lebron's USG in 13 was 30.2. Wade was 29.5 and Bosh was 22.7. Bosh was always an upper 20's USG player except the 4 years with Lebron when he was in the lower 20's (that is basically the same thing with Kevin Love). I think Bosh is a great example of what Wemby and Brown will look like. Guys that when they are the 1st or 2nd option have upper 20's USG, but when they are 3rd option (or lower) their USG goes down while generally playing at essentially the same level of play (with less touches). BTW, Lebron's USG that year is basically exactly the same USG he had for the Lakers last year. I think that is important because it shows that adding a higher USG player like Luka isn't particularly detrimental to Lebron's game. Luka is obviously a high USG player, but he really is only a few percentages higher than Wade and Irving were during their Lebron years and he is far better passer or rebounder than either of them were (also a better scorer). And Luka has played with plenty of high usage players, like Irving, Brunson, and Porzingis (along with Lebron).
Mitchell and Anthony are bench guys playing 15 mpg a game or so on a unit of defensive players. They are exactly what you'd want as scoring pop off the bench. Instant offense. And for all the crap Melo gets, he has fit in and played incredibly well on the US National Team and when he played with another high usage HOFer in Denver, his USG dropped dramatically and he set his career high for TS% (well until his last year playing with Lebron in LA when he came off the bench).
I get there is only 1 ball, but that is where style and personality fit. I like the Lebron/Luka/Shaq trio. I think they fit very well. I have no concerns at all about Brown and Wemby taking on a lesser role. I think the bench rotation also has a very nice mix with Daniels/Mitchell/Wallace/Anthony/Noah. That is a very balanced defensive and offensive bench unit and the players can provide significant lineup versatility with the starters as basically every player can play multiple positions (outside of Shaq/Noah). I can matchup with basically anyone and have a lineup for every occassion i.e. if I need a defensive unit I run out Daniels, Brown, Lebron, Wemby, and Shaq/Noah or I can swap in Wallace for Wemby or Shaq/Noah and play smaller (center depending on opposing big man). I can play a deadly small ball offensive lineup with Mitchell and Anthony in at SG and PF.
Who is someone like Curry or Brunson going to guard with both Luka and Donovan on the floor (heck can they even guard someone the size and strength of Brown?). Even Jrue, while an elite defender, isn't all that big (same with Victor). He will struggle guarding all of the elite SG's in this and Hedo is not a good defender. That is what I was saying about your point of attack defense. It isn't good. It a clear weak point on your team. I think you needed to pick a defending PG not Brunson given Curry is your starter. That is why I wanted Daniels. I wanted someone that could provide a different skill set than Luka. I think that is important. It provides way more lineup options and flexibility. I mean if Curry isn't defending well, it isn't like Brunson is going to come in and play lock down defense. That is why I liked JV picking up White to backup Lillard. I also liked the inverse that Tim did with Rondo starting he went with an offensive juggernaut in Westbrook to back him up (not that I really like Russ in this, but I like the different style approach), similar to his AK and Peja forward duo. If your starter has a weakness, his backup should have that weakness be his strength. At least that is my philosophy to team building.
Topic: 2025 CelticsBlog Fantasy Draft: '05-'25 Edition (Read 95360 times)