CB Draft '09 Mock Press Conference: Northwest Division

[Roy Hobbs]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

[wdleehi]

Questions for Denver:

1) Among the non-injured players on your team, only Haslem was a full-time starter on a playoff team.  Oden made the playoffs, but was relegated to a secondary role on his "real life" team.  The vast majority of your players played on truly horrid teams such as Oklahoma City, Memphis, and Minnesota.

Does your team have the experience and winning attitude necessary to compete now?  Does it have the mentors to allow the team to develop, so as to compete later?

2)  With so many guys competing for spots, will the internal hierarchy on your team be an issue? 

3) Where do you see yourself in our division?

1) Those players played on mismanged teams with rosters out of whack.  OC has no good big men.  Memphis had only one big man.  Minnesota lost their best player.  On Denver, the team has players that fill every position and reserves.  

Haslem, Pietrus and Scali are the vet leadership.  All have finals experience.  All show what hustle and defensive effort can do for your team.  

Finally, I put trust in Larry Brown.  He might not be there for the long run.  But with one exception (the mess that is the Knicks) all his NBA teams are better when he leaves vs. when he got there.

2) The team is filled with young hungry guys.  The key guys have rolls planed out for them.  Even if they don't earn starting nods right away, they will get minutes.  The guys lower on the chart (Wright, Boone, Colins) are used to not getting alot of time.  It is up to them to earn minutes.  On this team, they might have a better chance.

3)  I am not sure.  I don't see the team at the top right now.  If players improve this year like many are expected to, I can see this team being third; making a run for the 8th playoff spot.  

[wdleehi]

youre fast...

[johnnyrondo]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

 

Question for Portland

1)Is Jrue Holiday Shaq's son or the child of one of your younger starters (younger meaning lower 30's)?

2) Every NBA Champion since I can remember has always had an MVP candidate/1st team All-NBA player. Looking at previous champions: Kobe, KG, Duncan, Wade, Duncan, early millenium Shaq, Jordan, Hakeem, Isiah, Magic, Larry, Kareem, Moses, Dr.J, etc. This is off the top of my head. The only team that bucked this trend was the great defensive 2004 Pistons when they played a Lakers team with too many former stars (Lakers Payton sort of resembles Bibby on your team and Malone sort of resembles your Shaq version) and rape allegations and infighting. Who is your MVP/1st team All NBA candidate? Do you compare yourself to that Pistons team and their defense?

3) Follow-up question. Are you concerned about the Bibby/Redd backcourt defensively? The O'Neal bros big man tandem in transition defensively?

[johnnyrondo]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 31 yr old KG who won a title? Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 30 yr old Pierce who won a title?

[Edgar]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 31 yr old KG who won a title? Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 30 yr old Pierce who won a title?

well michael redd was widely compared to paul pierce just like vince carter
and remember dometimes great players on bad teams simply fake injuries tanking
like PP and AJ
 

[johnnyrondo]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 31 yr old KG who won a title? Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 30 yr old Pierce who won a title?

well michael redd was widely compared to paul pierce just like vince carter
and remember dometimes great players on bad teams simply fake injuries tanking
like PP and AJ
 

So Edgar are you saying that Redd is as good as 2007/2008 Paul Pierce? Or are you just saying they once had the comparison?

[Roy Hobbs]

Question for Portland

1)Is Jrue Holiday Shaq's son or the child of one of your younger starters (younger meaning lower 30's)?

2) Every NBA Champion since I can remember has always had an MVP candidate/1st team All-NBA player. Looking at previous champions: Kobe, KG, Duncan, Wade, Duncan, early millenium Shaq, Jordan, Hakeem, Isiah, Magic, Larry, Kareem, Moses, Dr.J, etc. This is off the top of my head. The only team that bucked this trend was the great defensive 2004 Pistons when they played a Lakers team with too many former stars (Lakers Payton sort of resembles Bibby on your team and Malone sort of resembles your Shaq version) and rape allegations and infighting. Who is your MVP candidate? Do you compare yourself to that Pistons team and their defense?

3) Follow-up question. Are you concerned about the Bibby/Redd backcourt defensively? The O'Neal bros big man tandem in transition defensively?

1) We've addressed the age comments; late 20s / early 30s just isn't that old in today's NBA.  As for Jrue, he's an amazing talent who was worth gambling on; he lacks experience, but in terms of talent, I think he could prove to be a top-5 player to come out of this year's draft (no posturing).

2) Manu was earning MVP votes as late as the 2007-08 season; he's an elite player in our league, even though he accepts a reduced role.  That being said, we disagree with the thought that a team needs to have a "super-duper" star to win.  As you mentioned, the Pistons won with an ensemble, and I'd argue that the 2008 Celtics didn't have one truly dominant star, either.  KG, Ray, and Pierce are all excellent players, but at this stage of their careers, none of them is dominant.

3) Neither Bibby nor Redd is what I'd call a poor defender.  They're average.  Additionally, we have very strong backcourt defenders coming off of the bench, in Manu, Delonte, and Ross.

As for transition defense, I'm not aware of too many centers who are stopping fast breaks at the other end.  Jermaine can run with other power forwards, and our other players are all excellent athletes.  The role of Shaq and our other big men will be to finish on offense and to make it difficult for opposing teams to rebound, so that breaks don't get started in the first place.  Since we have potentially the most offensively efficient team in the fake NBA, I like our chances.

[Edgar]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 31 yr old KG who won a title? Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 30 yr old Pierce who won a title?

well michael redd was widely compared to paul pierce just like vince carter
and remember dometimes great players on bad teams simply fake injuries tanking
like PP and AJ
 

So Edgar are you saying that Redd is as good as 2007/2008 Paul Pierce? Or are you just saying they once had the comparison?

I am just saying he was injuried
hes coming back
hes been always a great scorer
he can be a good gouy in a  expericed team
and
hell
if hes not there
pst pst
we have manu  

[Roy Hobbs]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 31 yr old KG who won a title? Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 30 yr old Pierce who won a title?

well michael redd was widely compared to paul pierce just like vince carter
and remember dometimes great players on bad teams simply fake injuries tanking
like PP and AJ
 

So Edgar are you saying that Redd is as good as 2007/2008 Paul Pierce? Or are you just saying they once had the comparison?

Manu plays most similarly to Pierce, although Redd has a similar offensive game.  Per 36 minutes, both Redd and Manu scored more last season than Pierce did in 2008, and all three were very close in terms of efficiency.  Manu actually had a higher rebounding percentage than Pierce.  In fact, per 36 minutes, Manu had more points, rebounds, assists, and steals, had an equal number of blocks, and had fewer turnovers than Pierce in his championship season.  The two players had very similar efficiency ratings, and got to the line about the same amount.  Also, of course, this was in a *bad* season for Manu.

As for KG, no player on our team is going to match his defensive contributions, but Shaq is a more efficient offensive player.

[indeedproceed]

How much stock is Portland putting into Mike Bibby defensively? How willing is Portland to sit Bibby and put in Holiday or West in for high pressure situations? Holiday is a rookie, but one who is probably more defensively able, West is a bigger more athletic guy than Bibby, but is he tough enough to guard elite PG's?

Are you concerned about Rashard Lewis matching up against quicker craftier SF's? He's obviously a good offensive PF in the NBA, but as a SF if relegated to the perimeter, doesn't he lose a bit of his mismatch advantage? Its not like he's going to spend much time in the paint if JO and Shaq are in there.

Are you concerned with your depth at the SG/SF position? Redd Manu and Lewis are all very good players, but Fred Jones and Jared Dudley are not. Excepting Redd and Manu's injury histories, and age factor (ie each injury presumably takes a little bit out of them athletically, its just the aging process), Ryan Gomes and Fred Jones are going to see playing time..if not Fred Jones then Delonte, but then who plays your backup point behind Bibby?

It seems kind of like your perimeter rotation is like a tightly wound (is that the right word?) clock, and if one gasket breaks loose its just not going to run right. That's not to say its not a fine clock, but a vulnerable one. Injuries are a concern for every team, but with you double dipping between Lewis, Manu, and Delonte, do you worry that shortening your rotation one player screws the whole thing up?

[johnnyrondo]

Fair answers Roy. So basically you are using that Pistons model, but going with the ensemble offensive theme over the ensemble defensive theme more or less?  So now all you need to do is get to the Finals and hope you face a competitor with a superstar with a serious criminal investigation against him and who also has alienated his costar by mentioning his adulterous behavior to the police and breaking up his costar's marriage and a power forward who likes to hit on the first star's wife. Shouldn't be that hard  

Nice presser btw. Call me old fashioned, but the less scrolling text the better  

[Edgar]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 31 yr old KG who won a title? Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 30 yr old Pierce who won a title?

well michael redd was widely compared to paul pierce just like vince carter
and remember dometimes great players on bad teams simply fake injuries tanking
like PP and AJ
 

So Edgar are you saying that Redd is as good as 2007/2008 Paul Pierce? Or are you just saying they once had the comparison?

Manu plays most similarly to Pierce, although Redd has a similar offensive game.  Per 36 minutes, both Redd and Manu scored more last season than Pierce did in 2008, and all three were very close in terms of efficiency.  Manu actually had a higher rebounding percentage than Pierce.

As for KG, no player on our team is going to match his defensive contributions, but Shaq is a more efficient offensive player.

just to add our BENCH value..
manu was a champ b4 pp
playing as good as him..or better

[johnnyrondo]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 31 yr old KG who won a title? Which player on the CrotoNats do you compare to the 30 yr old Pierce who won a title?

well michael redd was widely compared to paul pierce just like vince carter
and remember dometimes great players on bad teams simply fake injuries tanking
like PP and AJ
 

So Edgar are you saying that Redd is as good as 2007/2008 Paul Pierce? Or are you just saying they once had the comparison?

Manu plays most similarly to Pierce, although Redd has a similar offensive game.  Per 36 minutes, both Redd and Manu scored more last season than Pierce did in 2008, and all three were very close in terms of efficiency.  Manu actually had a higher rebounding percentage than Pierce.  In fact, per 36 minutes, Manu had more points, rebounds, assists, and steals, had an equal number of blocks, and had fewer turnovers than Pierce in his championship season.  Also, of course, this was in a *bad* season for Manu.

As for KG, no player on our team is going to match his defensive contributions, but Shaq is a more efficient offensive player.

If you subsituted this yr's Redd or Manu for 2007/2008 Pierce and this yr's Shaq for 2007/2008 KG, do the Celtics win the title?

[KCattheStripe]

A question for Portland: Do you plan on keeping your lockerroom stocked with Wrther's Originals? Also a follow up, how do you plan on keeping thoe darn kids off the lawwn?

Quite possibly.  After winning the championship, we will also be attaching hundreds / thousands of helium balloons to our arena and taking it on a trip to South America. 

By the way, 14 out of 15 players on our roster are younger than Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen; 13 are younger than Paul Pierce (he's about 2 1/2 months younger than Manu).

Not exactly 50, but you could do worse:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEM, YOUR PORTLAND CROTONATS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoEMx_-ccR0&feature=related

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