Sorry i'm late ya'll... work is kickin' my butt.
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1. Roster / depth chart(bold = key rotation guys)
PG -
Chris Paul / CJ Watson / Brian Roberts
SG -
Thabo Sefelosha / Victor Oladipo
SF -
Jared Dudley / Dorell WrightPF -
Ersan Ilyasova / Dante Cunningham / Lavoy Allen
C -
Nikola Pekovic / Chuck HayesCOACH: Jeff Van Gundy
2. Stats/PicsPG: Chris Paul
16.9 ppg, 9.7 apg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 stl, 1.1 3pm
4:2 Ast/TO, 26.4 PER
I'm not gonna waste your time: CP3 is the best PG in the NBA (or fake NBA).
Backups: CJ Watson & Brian RobertsWatson is a solid defender with an above average AST/TO and who shot 41% on 3pt last year (making 1.1/gm) ... which is all we need from a backup. There will be a few mins a game where he and CP3 share the court in small lineups. Roberts might be the best 3rd string PG in the CBD. Mimics CP3's pick-and-roll prowess and another above average shooter.
SG: Thabo Sefelosha
7.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.3 stlg, 1.3 3pm, 42% 3p FG
Our defensive workhorse. He'll draw the toughest defensive assignment on the wing -- just like he does for OKC -- guarding 2s, 3s and even the occasional PG to free CP3 up.
Skilled 3pt shooter who will benefit from the looks he gets playing alongside the
NBA's best PGBackups: Victor Oladipo, CJ WatsonOladipo was drafted to be a Tony Allen clone: a hard worker, who irritates opposing 2s/3s with his hustle and defense. Watson will see some time at SG (alongside CP3 or Roberts occaisionally) and we may even have some big lineups with Wright at the 2.
SF: Jared Dudley
10.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.9 spg, 1.3 3pm/gm
39% 3PT, 14.9 PER
SF: Dorell Wright
9.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.8 stl, 0.4 bpg, 1.7 3pm/gm
37.4% 3pT%, 16.0 PER 
Dudley and Wright are really interchangeable. Dudley will probalbly start just b/c Wright is a willing bench guy and his offensive punch can be utilized off the bench.
Wright is probably the more dynamic scorer, Dudley the better passer and shooter. Both defend well if not at Thabo's level. They'll be asked to be secondary offensive facilitators and to shoot the ball and defend. They are both very good at all 3 of those things.
Backups: Victor Oladipo, Dante CunninghamBoth of these guys can back up the 3, but seldom will. Dudley and Wright will get all the mins.
PF: Ersan Ilyasova
13.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 0.9 spg, 0.5 bpg, 1.3 3pm/gm
18.3 PER, 44% 3P% 
Ilyasova is a shooter and a rebounder - and does both above average for a PF. One of the leading strecth 4s in the game, his outside shooting will open things up for
the best PG in the NBA to break down his man, penetrate and/or work his pick and roll magic with Pekovic.
Backups: Dante Cunningham, Chuck Hayes, Lavoy Allen Cunningham is another tough defender who filled in admirably for Kevin Love last year -- holding opposing PFs to a below-average PER. He's a bit undersized, but rebounds well in his bench mins (5.1 rpg in 25 mpg last year). Lavoy Allen will draw the assignment against the biggest PFs that give Cunningham trouble.
C: Nikola Pekovic
16.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 0.7 spg, 0.8 bpg, 20.2 PER
Pekovic is a big, strong center. While not a shot-blocker a la Howard or Noah, he holds his own defensively.
Moreover, he's a skilled and efficient offensive big who will team with
the best PG in the NBA to form a deadly pick-and-roll combo (
if he can do it with Alexy Shved... he'll SLAY with CP3)
Backups: Chuck Hayes, Lavoy Allen Hayes is another skilled passer and tough-nosed defender. We drafted him primarily b/c he gives Dwight Howard fits with his low center of gravity and old-man strength/BBall smarts. Allen will fill in here and there at center too and is a skilled shot-blocker.
Coach: Jeff Van Gundy
career 57.5 win pct and skilled defensive coach
3. Statement regarding drafting philosophy
We obviously built a team of passers, shooters and wing defenders around CP3,
the best PG in the NBA, to contend now.
In a conference with Lebron and Dwight Howard we did as much as we could with our roster to deal with defending each and think we did a good job. Sefolosha/Dudley/Oladipo/Wright/Cunningham can all rotate defending Lebron keeping them each fresh. CP3 will make their offensive jobs much easier too -- a struggle for d-first guys sometimes. Pekovic & Hayes are big strong defenders who won't be overpowered by Dwight Howard.
5. Toughest decisionTo draft CP3 or James Harden.
I went with CP3 b/c he's been playing at an all-NBA level for 6 years -- while Harden's done it for one. CP3 makes all the guys around him better.
6. Best move (trade, pick, etc.) / worst moveBest: Trading up to get CP3
Worst: Trading down from 8.20 (missing out on guys like Barea, Reggie Jackson, Pondexter, Haslem and Kenyon Martin
7. Your outlook for this coming season
Matchups will make the difference but the Grizzzzz are poised for a deep playoff run.. and if things break right a shot at the finals!
Ubuntu.
Questions from yesterday we missed, sorry
Questions for the Teams
Memphis
I really like the team you have built around Paul. You have numerous floor spreaders that give CP3 the ability to drive and dish along with a glass cleaner in Pekovic. However, Paul is not a leading scorer and it seems you lack a dominant scoring threat. How would you respond to a critic who thinks your team's offense lacks punch?
Neither LAC or MEM in the real NBA had a scorers who avg. over 18.6 ppg last year and both won 56 games and made the playoffs...
The key in both cases were PGs (CP3 and Conley) who found the open man and created offensive opportunities and efficient, pass oriented offenses that relied on depth rather than a dominant scorer.
Dallas, Houston, San Antonio: You all have very strong teams, but the West is stacked and at least one strong team will be left out of the playoffs entirely. I'm having a very hard time separating the three of you right now. Make your case for being the best team in Texas.
Memphis: Feel free to tell me why I'm a stupidhead for not having you in the same class as the other 3.
Because CP3 is the best player in the Division (sorry Harden) and our team is the most-balanced.
HOU has some nice names, but Dragic has never led his team to the playoffs. The hype on Harden has gone to far IMO. He excelled but HOU was already a pretty good team. The next full season DAL's Nash/Gordon make it through will be their first in 2-3 years. SAS's got probably the most talent, but it's an odd mix of strangely inefficient players outside of Love -- though I think SAS and MEM are the class of the division.
Memphis,
I would have loved to have seen them add a high level interior defender. Either a shot-blocker instead of Pekovic. Or a top defensive PF instead of Ilyasova. Or even bring a top defensive big off the bench like New York might do with Larry Sanders or Denver with Anderson Varejao.
That would have been a big difference maker for me. Possibly enough to put Memphis in the title mix in the West. I do think it is still a really solid team even without that.
See Who's blurb below.. he's a smart man.
I'll be honest... we mortgaged a lot to move up from 1.20 (where you can build a team with a broad base of talent but no star to lead you deep in the playoffs). That put us at a disadvantage vs. teams building from a high pick they owned.
We went with offensive efficiency and rebounding on our frontline and focussed on Defense on the wings...
Some of the things I really like about Memphis,
(1) I love the perimeter defense
PG - Chris Paul, CJ Watson
SG - Thabo Sefolosha, Victor Oladipo
SF - Jared Dudley, Dorell Wright
I love the ability of that group to really get up in people's faces and get stops out on the perimeter. I think they'll be fantastic at creating extra possessions too.
Chris Paul is very good at creating turnovers and grabbing rebounds. Thabo Sefolosha too. I think Oladipo is going to be fantastic in each respect as a rookie. I was really impressed with his defensive quickness and activity / work rate defensively in summer league.
Dorell Wright is the weakest man-to-man defender of the group but he has great length, good size and quickness and can be very effective as a help defender as seen during his Miami days under Erik Spoelstra. Jared Dudley is a different type of defender. A solid position based defender who won't create many turnovers but does a good job of contesting shots. CJ Watson athletic and active defender off the bench at backup PG.
I think that capacity to create turnovers and gang rebound is going to be very valuable for Memphis.
(2) The floor spacing offensively
A bit concerned at the lack of a true 2nd banana behind Chris Paul but I think Memphis makes up for it well by having a fantastic blend of offensive talents who geared around CP3's pick and roll centric game.
Pekovic and Ilyasova are the most important. Pekovic with his size and bulk inside. A terrific finisher. Very efficient. Sets excellent screens. Has strong hands. Very good in the pick and roll. Then Ilyasova with his speed and long distance shooting ability creating a four our one in offense and causing all types of matchup problems. Making it very difficult for opposing teams to send help defenders over to CP3/Pekovic in the pick and roll.
J.Dudley and T.Sefolosha provide two marksmen from three point range. Both are capable of posting TS% around 60%. Thabo can provide some secondary ball-handling. Then there is Dorell Wright off the bench. Another strong perimeter shooter. Another guy who can handle the ball in the pick and roll and make plays.
I think those guys are going to bring the best out of CP3's game. They complement his skill-set beautifully on offense.
Edit: I also really like Jeff Van Gundy. A strong defensive coach. I think he is going to help out in organizing your team defense.
Topic: 2013 CB Draft: Southwest Division Press Conferences (Read 30074 times)