Single elim is impossible to say since even bad teams can beat great ones on a given night. In a best-of-seven, I’m taking the Blue Team. The main reason for this is that Blue can better utilize modern offensive philosophies, which imo are objectively more effective and efficient than ever.
They won’t have to rely on iso, but will always have the option. They can fall back on arguably the greatest PnR handler of all time attacking the opponent’s weakest defender, and arguably the greatest PnR finisher of all time to score off the play, with 3 decent-to-great spacers in Kobe/Bron/Nowtizki.
They also strike me as the superior transition team, with the greatest transition player of all time on their side in Lebron. They have two all-time playmakers, whereas Red doesn’t have any, so their offense should be more deliberate and less wasteful.
I see one defensive weakness on each team, Dirk and Dame, but I think Dame’s gonna be more exploitable. He has nowhere to hide, with no chance whatsoever at guarding prime CP3 or anyone he switches onto. Dirk will be guarding KG, and won’t be able to protect the rim as well as the TD/KG combo, but can cheat a little bit due to the lack of frontcourt spacing from Red. He will give up long KG twos all day, knowing they’ll get those points back.
Single elim is impossible to say since even bad teams can beat great ones on a given night. In a best-of-seven, I’m taking the Blue Team. The main reason for this is that Blue can better utilize modern offensive philosophies, which imo are objectively more effective and efficient than ever.
They won’t have to rely on iso, but will always have the option. They can fall back on arguably the greatest PnR handler of all time attacking the opponent’s weakest defender, and arguably the greatest PnR finisher of all time to score off the play, with 3 decent-to-great spacers in Kobe/Bron/Nowtizki.
They also strike me as the superior transition team, with the greatest transition player of all time on their side in Lebron. They have two all-time playmakers, whereas Red doesn’t have any, so their offense should be more deliberate and less wasteful.
I see one defensive weakness on each team, Dirk and Dame, but I think Dame’s gonna be more exploitable. He has nowhere to hide, with no chance whatsoever at guarding prime CP3 or anyone he switches onto. Dirk will be guarding KG, and won’t be able to protect the rim as well as the TD/KG combo, but can cheat a little bit due to the lack of frontcourt spacing from Red. He will give up long KG twos all day, knowing they’ll get those points back.