Winning the Debate

It is often said by championship debate coaches that in order to win, one must first recognize the strength of his opponent's argument. And seeing as how I have spent the past 2 weeks verbally throttling Team Breaking Bad, I thought it might be appropriate to take a moment and publicly recognize the strength of their position. Of course, once I delineate your team's strengths, I'll then take an opportunity to mitigate and deconstruct how LFTW will use those strengths against you.

1) Size: Breaking Bad has some interesting size with Stephens, BC, Donley, and B-EZ. This gives them the top PCTI 2 rebounder, the top 2 rebounders from PCTI 1, and the most ripped rebounder in PCTI. Although not great at blocking shots, they have some length, size, and strength that will help them to defend the paint and contest easy looks. BBC made the comment that his team has the best size, and that very well may be true, but LFTW answers by sending out the most physically imposing player in PCTI history, the best shot blocker in PCTI history, and the 2 best rebounding guards in PCTI. Factor in that LFTW is simply hungrier, and it gives me the sense that "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog".

2) Offensive Firepower: Breaking Bad can throw out some interesting lineups in which multiple players on the floor will be double digit scorers. Stephens, JT, BC, Pitto, and Dawson have legitimate scoring ability, and B-EZ and Hops have both had tremendous individual game outputs. Donley is certainly more than capable as well. In fact, if you add up their 8 scoring totals versus our 8 scoring totals, it is no contest. But basketball is not a game in which you simply add up scoring totals. Last time I checked, hoops is a game that is played with a single basketball, and not everybody gets to shoot equally or as often as they would like. Who is willing to sacrifice his offense for the objective of the team? How does the hierarchy shake out once they start playing? How will JT and BC subjugate their games for the betterment of the team, or will they choose not to? These are not questions that LFTW has to answer as we understand roles and responsibilities. Can Breaking Bad overcome these significant obstacles? There are times when 1 + 1 = 3, and there are times when 1 + 1 = 1. Which equation does each team represent?

3) Confidence: Breaking Bad is an outwardly confident team. Their captain is a 2 time winner, as is their Doctor. And of course, Donley is undefeated. It seems that B-EZ and Hops provide them with a stabilizing influence that may serve to calm some of the rocky relationships on the team. But I wonder if things could unravel when LFTW goes on a significant run, or there is internal strife, or there is acrimony for minutes or shots. These are issues that LFTW simply doesn't have to deal with. I suppose only time will tell, but it is better to climb the mountain beginning at base camp versus starting in a hole.

Does Breaking Bad have a shot in PCTI? Sure they do. They are big, talented, and skilled in some areas. In fact, they have many talented players that I targeted in the draft. However, they have many more questions than answers at this point, and LFTW seeks to exploit those as we make our run for the championship.

Sabin