NBA Louisville Cardinals vs. NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish

We resume our tournament with a matchup between two teams who have produced solid NBA talent throughout their histories. One has produced a scrappy bunch of glue guys surrounding their bruising, brilliant center. The other has produced high scoring talent that often disregarded the defensive side of the floor. The matchup between the NBA Louisville Cardinals vs. NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish is a contrast of styles, and the result will depend on the factors highlighted below. (NOTE: 2020 matchup and result update listed below)

NBA Louisville Cardinals vs. NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Key Matchups

Wes Unseld vs. Notre Dame’s shooting big men – All of Notre Dame’s centers had a penchant for playing on the perimeter on offense, and providing a credible threat from long range. Wes Unseld was not a traditional shot-blocking big; he was short, sturdy, and most effective playing post defense. He may be a little lost trying to defend Bill Laimbeer and Troy Murphy out to the three-point line. On the other end of the floor, Unseld was not a scorer; Laimbeer and Murphy will be tasked with putting a body on him and keeping him off the boards. They’re well equipped to do so; Laimbeer and Murphy’s career rebound percentages were 16.7% and 15.7%, respectively, while Unseld’s was 18.0%, suggesting they should be able to at least compete.

Adrian Dantley vs. Louisville’s wings – How do you stop Adrian Dantley? Ideally, you’d have someone who combines length with strength to bother the 6’5” (and likely shorter) low-post machine who was one of the most unique players in league history. Rodney McCray is the best person to defend him on Houston’s roster, but he also is the best person to try to stop Orlando Woolridge. Junior Bridgeman will take his chances with Dantley but will struggle to contain him. They may try one of their big men on him (Pervis Ellison, Gorgui Dieng), but Dantley should be able to get them in foul trouble and have his way in this series.

Biggest Mismatches

Notre Dame’s shooting ability – While the shooting prowess of Notre Dame’s players may not seem impressive in the modern-day context, they still hold a significant advantage over Louisville in this regard. Kelly Tripucka, Laimbeer, John Paxson, Murphy, and Pat Garrity were all dangerous perimeter threats who can open things up for the explosive mid-range and post scorers (Dantley, Woolridge, and Austin Carr) on the roster. Louisville will counter with Darrell Griffith and Francisco Garcia, but they won’t be able to match up from long-range. Relatedly…

Notre Dame’s scoring ability – The Fighting Irish should be able to put a lot of points on the board. They have a legitimate go-to option in the hyper-efficient two-time scoring champion Dantley. They can surround him with shooting as outlined above. Carr and Woolridge were explosive 20+ PPG scorers in their prime. Louisville does have three players who achieved this scoring plateau at least once in their career (Griffith, Derek Smith, and Pervis Ellison), but Notre Dame’s scorers were more consistent and efficient.

Louisville’s defensive versatility – Another way to put this would be ‘Notre Dame’s lack of ability to do anything on defense’. Notre Dame’s lack of defense should open things up for a Louisville team that would typically have a hard time scoring. However, Louisville should also get credit for their collection of guards and wings who can help them guard the perimeter. Starting Bridgeman and McCray at the two forward positions should create a switchable lineup from 1 to 4. Jim Price was an above average defender who made an all-defensive team in his career. They can play several versatile defensive lineups over the course of the series.

X-Factor

Can Louisville take advantage of Notre Dame’s porous perimeter defense? This is a matchup of a resistible force versus a movable object. Louisville will frequently pair Derek Smith with Griffith to make up for their lack of scoring punch, but will it be enough? Unseld and McCray were very good passers for their position, but will good ball movement against a bad defense make up for their collective inability to put the ball in the basket?

Results

This is a fun matchup that features stand out performances from players on each side. Bridgeman, Griffith, McCray, and Smith take advantage of Notre Dame’s defensive futility and combine with Unseld to pull out several close victories. However, the firepower of Notre Dame proves too much for Louisville to handle.

June 2020 Update

NBA Louisville Cardinals vs. NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Louisville was able to upgrade their roster since the original team writeups were drafted. This is still a very competitive matchup, with Notre Dame continuing to hold the edge in outside shooting and overall firepower. However, the additions of Donovan Mitchell and Montrezl Harrell balance out Louisville’s roster and help them take advantage of Notre Dame’s porous defense. In a back-and-forth deciding game, Louisville controls the pace and pulls out the victory.

Louisville wins, four games to three.

Next Round

Louisville faces the winner of the NBA Villanova Wildcats vs. NBA St. John’s Red Storm.

NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish

NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Our next team is one of the most successful college basketball programs to never win a national championship. They’ve made 35 NCAA tournament appearances, and currently rank ninth ever in all-time wins. While they’ve never climbed the mountaintop in college hoops, they’ve produced a handful of players who’ve had success in the NBA, including a couple of multiple-time NBA champions. While they’re not elite, the NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish team is a fun mix of offensively talented players who should be a tough out in our tournament.

Notre Dame has several options in the backcourt, and will start off without a traditional point guard in their starting lineup. Mr. Cavalier, Austin Carr, was a one-time all-star who averaged over 20 points per game in each of the first three seasons of his career. Although injuries derailed him, he was an explosive scorer, and excelled from the mid-range and in. He’ll be asked to take on more ball handling duties on this team, and will have to look for teammates more than he was typically accustomed to. Kelly Tripucka will join him in the starting backcourt. Tripucka was a natural small forward, but his shooting touch was his forte, and allowed him to average over 20 points per game five times in his career. He had the ideal height for a shooting guard (6’6”), though not the ideal quickness, so he’ll have to punish opponents on the offensive end of the floor to be effective. John Paxson, the team’s most natural point guard, will see a lot of time off the bench, and will allow Carr and Tripucka to slide to their natural positions when they share the floor together. Paxson and Tripucka are two examples of this team’s dangerous three-point shooting attack, which will be needed as they try to outscore their opponents.

Adrian Dantley, the standout offensive weapon on this roster, will start at small forward. Dantley led the league in scoring twice during a stretch of four straight seasons where he averaged over 30 points per game. Known for his devastating post-up game despite his modest height (6’5”), Dantley was a master of efficiency, currently ranking sixth all-time in NBA/ABA true shooting percentage. In addition to his excellent shooting from the field (54 percent), Dantley also led the league in made free throws five times, and was one of the more unique offensive players in league history. He’ll be paired up in the starting lineup with 6’9” Orlando Woolridge, another standout scorer who is far and away this team’s best athlete. Woolridge may not have fulfilled his immense potential as a pro, but, when motivated, he was an efficient, explosive scorer. The starting center, Bill Laimbeer, was best known for his thuglike tactics with the Bad Boy Pistons. He was more than just an agitator, however; he was also an elite rebounder who could spread the floor on offense. Laimbeer and Dantley can play an inverted inside-out game that will be difficult for any opponent to stop, especially with talented scorers surrounding them in the lineup.

Off the bench, there are a plethora of forwards who bring different strengths to the table. Donald Royal was a rotation player on the great Orlando teams in the 1990s, and had the ideal frame of a modern day wing player (6’8”, 210 lb). LaPhonso Ellis was a hybrid forward who was an inefficient high volume scorer on the 1990s Nuggets teams, but was a solid offensive rebounder who could cause matchup problems when not serving as an offensive focal point. Bill Hanzlik was a solid defensive wing who made the All-NBA Defensive Second Team in the 1985-86 season. Expect him to earn a large role in the rotation as perhaps the only plus defender on the roster. Tom Hawkins was a contributor to three NBA finalists in the 1960s. Pat Garrity was a good shooter who contributed little else, and will likely join Hawkins as permanent bench fixtures who only enter games in garbage time. Troy Murphy will serve as the de facto backup center. Murphy was an excellent shooter and rebounder who averaged a double-double five times in his solid career. He’s the bench’s most effective weapon, and will play alongside Laimbeer when they face bigger frontcourts.

The NBA Notre Dame Fighting Irish team will have no trouble scoring the ball, with a mix of talented shooters surrounding their efficient small forward. They will struggle mightily on defense, however, and will have to outscore opponents to have a chance to succeed. As the 25th seeded team in our tournament, they have an intriguing first-round matchup with the eighth seeded NBA Louisville Cardinals team.

All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers Team

All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers Team Infographic

Our next franchise has struggled for much of their history. They only made the playoffs four times in their first 17 seasons, and have somehow earned the number one overall pick in the NBA draft six times. While many of those picks have been more solid than spectacular (and in one case, completely disastrous), they were able to acquire one franchise-changing talent who seemed destined to take them to the Promised Land. This Chosen One has taken them to two NBA Finals appearances, but, unfortunately, had his greatest success with another franchise. Now that he’s back, they may finally be on the verge of winning their first ring. Does the All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers team have enough talent around him to advance in our tournament?

Mark Price is the second greatest player in franchise history, and was the leader of the team during their first great run in the late 1980s to early 1990s. One of the greatest shooters that has ever played in the NBA, he’s currently second in NBA history in free-throw percentage. He’s paired in the backcourt with another primary ballhandler, Kyrie Irving. Even though he’s just starting his career, Irving is one of the most skilled players in today’s game, and is another excellent shooter who can stretch the floor. They’re backed up by Terrell Brandon, who Sports Illustrated once touted as the best point guard in the league. Brandon became a star as the team played at a mind-numbingly slow pace (last in the league in both of his all-star seasons), and peaked in the 1996 season, when he was sixth in the league in PER and third in win shares per 48 minutes. World B. Free is one of the unique characters in league history, but he was also a great scorer who some credit with saving professional basketball in Cleveland. Austin Carr was the first number one overall pick in franchise history, and was a solid scorer who’ll also get minutes at shooting guard.

LeBron James, the aforementioned Chosen One, is the starting small forward, and the centerpiece of this team. James is the only MVP in franchise history, and has led the team to its only two NBA Finals appearances. He’s joined in the frontcourt by Larry Nance, who was an excellent all-around player who will serve as the team’s best rim-protector (similar to his role on the All-Time Suns team). They’re backed up by two solid scorers, Mike Mitchell and Campy Russell, along with another premier rim-protector, Hot Rod Williams.

Brad Daugherty was an overlooked player during a golden age for NBA centers, but he was a five-time all-star who became an excellent scoring threat as his career progressed. In 1993, he led the league in true shooting percentage, and he doubled as an excellent passing big man, averaging nearly four assists per game over the course of his career. He’s backed up by 7’3” Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a two-time all-star who was an offensive threat from both inside and out.

This team has one transcendent star, surrounded by a group of all-star level performers. They should be an excellent passing team, that will be better on the offensive end of the court. The 23rd seeded team in our tournament, they have a first-round match against the All-Time New York Knicks team.

Coach: Lenny Wilkens

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .459