2013 Pick 2 Draft: How's my team look?

[ronaldo943]

Brooklyn Nets after round 5

 C:  B.Lopez ($13.67m)
PF: C.Boozer ($15m)  A.Blatche ($.85m)
SF: M.Barnes ($.85m)
SG: K.Bryant ($27.85m)  J.Terry ($5m)
PG: G.Hill ($8m)

Remaining salary: $11.4m (including $.49m roster charge)


Thoughts???

I dont like Matt Barnes and Carlos Boozer on that team
Where are my TPs?

One TP paid, even if your wayyyyyy wrong.

Say it wit yo chest!

[indeedproceed]

Brooklyn Nets after round 5

 C:  B.Lopez ($13.67m)
PF: C.Boozer ($15m)  A.Blatche ($.85m)
SF: M.Barnes ($.85m)
SG: K.Bryant ($27.85m)  J.Terry ($5m)
PG: G.Hill ($8m)

Remaining salary: $11.4m (including $.49m roster charge)


Thoughts???

LOVE: George Hill next to Kobe, Brook Lopez's offensive game, Jason Terry as a Kobe-sub and game closer. The half-court potential of the offense is very strong here.

Neutral: Boozer's offensive game, his defense of centers. Andray Blatche's 'reformation', Kobe's ability to be the principal facilitator in the offense (which he would need to be).

Hate: Brook Lopez and Carlos Boozer as a defensive tandem, and the defensive viability of the situation as a whole. Matt Barnes in general. Athleticism isn't very high, and speed will be a liability here.

Overall: Need to improve athleticism, preferably starting with the 3. A great addition (and I'm not saying this to be difficult) would be Kawhi Leonard.

[Who]

So no one has enlightened thoughts about my bold choices in Lance Stephenson, Isaiah THomas, or Greg Smith?

Isaiah Thomas = Middle of the pack backup PG. Too small and weak. Lousy defender/rebounder. Solid skill-level offensively.

Lance Stephenson = I haven't been impressed by in his time as a starter. He hasn't been able to create offensively against players his own size and is too limited off the ball. A weak offensive player. A good solid defender/rebounder but he doesn't bring enough to the table to earn a starting position. One of the limiting factors in Indiana's success this year. I rate him as a well below average but passable backup SG. I still prefer him as lead ball-handler (PG).

Greg Smith = I read that he got sent down to the D-League recently because he stopped putting in effort defensively and wasn't playing with enough energy. Just wanted to shoot the ball. He looked quite good when he first broke into the Rockets team but his play has deteriorated since then leading to the demotion to the D-League.

I thought Greg Smith showed really good talent offensively with that jump-shot and finishing around the basket. Very efficient. His rebounding numbers are good so he can clearly rebound when focused. I don't have a good read on him defensively.

I think he'll be fine in the long run. Just a bump (the D-League demotion) in the road me thinks. Showed too much talent to disappear for long.

[snively]

Lakers

Starters

PG: Deron Williams $17.18 million
SG: JJ Redick $6.19 million
SF: Metta Word Peace $7.26 million
PF: Andrei Kirilenko $9.78 million
C: Dwight Howard $19.54 million

Bench

C/PF: Tiago Splitter $3.94 million
SF: Mike Dunleavy $3.75 million

Total salary spent: $67.64 million
Cap remaining: $31.66 million

Scary team.  An embarrassment of riches at center, an excellent backcourt, and an intriguing Jekyll/Hyde tandem with MWP/Dunleavy + AK's versatility.   

Impressive work.

The one thing that comes to mind immediately is that Splitter/Howard together won't work as well as Splitter/Duncan, so I'd look to add a PF with range, or trade Splitter for a F/C who can play with Howard more.

[Who]

Brooklyn Nets after round 5

 C:  B.Lopez ($13.67m)
PF: C.Boozer ($15m)  A.Blatche ($.85m)
SF: M.Barnes ($.85m)
SG: K.Bryant ($27.85m)  J.Terry ($5m)
PG: G.Hill ($8m)

Remaining salary: $11.4m (including $.49m roster charge)


TP awarded to all comments

I am really high on your backcourt (Kobe, Terry, Hill) and Brook Lopez.

I like Andray Blatche very much as a backup center but would like him more if he had a better defensive center in front of him. Not against a Brook-Blatche combo but a little less happy with it than I would be with Blatche as my backup center otherwise. One of the best, if not the best, offensive backup centers in the league.

I do not like your forward combination. I don't think it works well with your team.

I like Matt Barnes as a backup SF but I think he is out of his depth as a starting SF. He is lacking too much in quickness / athleticism and will be considerably less effective defensively there than when coming off the bench.

I like Carlos Boozer as an individual player but I really hate the idea of Boozer and B.Lopez together defensively. It's more a question of fit than talent. Boozer is still a good player in his own right.

I dislike the idea of Blatche being used mainly at PF rather than C. He is a less effective player there than at C. He needs to play closer to the rim. Plays too far out and takes too many jumpers at PF. A few minutes at PF would be fine but extensive playing time there would cause problems.

I think your backcourt and center rotation will carry your team to a strong 50-55 win playoff squad but that your forwards and lack of interior defense will stop you from being a contender.

[snively]

no comments the first time around for my team.  how are they looking now?

Starters
Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Emeka Okafor, Brandon Knight, Mo Williams

Bench:
BJ Mullens, Lou Williams (currently injured but will be back next year)

I think you invested too heavily in Okafor and a lot of combo guards.  Need another wing or two or three to allow for the small ball line-ups that LBJ has been so deadly in.

[KGs Knee]

Some food for thought on Carlos Boozer as a terrible defender.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes this season, Carlos Boozer with his DRtg of 99, ranks 2nd behind only David West.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes, Carlos Boozer with a DRB% of 25.8, ranks 3rd.

Is Boozer as good as his stats say, no.  Playing next to Joakim Noah boosts his numbers somewhat.  Is he a terrible defender as some here say, not a chance.

He is overpaid at $15m per, but for this excercise, I am hardly moved by this.

[KGs Knee]

And yes, I agree Matt Barnes starting at SF is an issue.

TP's paid for all your comments.

[indeedproceed]

Some food for thought on Carlos Boozer as a terrible defender.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes this season, Carlos Boozer with his DRtg of 99, ranks 2nd behind only David West.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes, Carlos Boozer with a DRB% of 25.8, ranks 3rd.

Is Boozer as good as his stats say, no.  Playing next to Joakim Noah boosts his numbers somewhat.  Is he a terrible defender as some here say, not a chance.

He is overpaid at $15m per, but for this excercise, I am hardly moved by this.

Its not that he's a terrible defender, its that he's no longer able to hang with quicker forwards. He also isn't great at defending the P&R. And Brook Lopez can't do either of those things either.

You want Boozer next to a quick agile 5 who can shrink the floor. Lopez can't do that.

[fairweatherfan]

Some food for thought on Carlos Boozer as a terrible defender.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes this season, Carlos Boozer with his DRtg of 99, ranks 2nd behind only David West.

Ed Davis has played 1170 minutes and has a DRtg of 98 for the 83 minutes he's played in Memphis

[ronaldo943]

Some food for thought on Carlos Boozer as a terrible defender.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes this season, Carlos Boozer with his DRtg of 99, ranks 2nd behind only David West.

Ed Davis has played 1170 minutes and has a DRtg of 98 for the 83 minutes he's played in Memphis

[StartOrien]

Some food for thought on Carlos Boozer as a terrible defender.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes this season, Carlos Boozer with his DRtg of 99, ranks 2nd behind only David West.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes, Carlos Boozer with a DRB% of 25.8, ranks 3rd.

Is Boozer as good as his stats say, no.  Playing next to Joakim Noah boosts his numbers somewhat.  Is he a terrible defender as some here say, not a chance.

He is overpaid at $15m per, but for this excercise, I am hardly moved by this.

CARLOS BOOZER CAN DEFEND THE CENTER POSITION *mic drop*

[AB_Celtic]

Some food for thought on Carlos Boozer as a terrible defender.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes this season, Carlos Boozer with his DRtg of 99, ranks 2nd behind only David West.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes, Carlos Boozer with a DRB% of 25.8, ranks 3rd.

Is Boozer as good as his stats say, no.  Playing next to Joakim Noah boosts his numbers somewhat.  Is he a terrible defender as some here say, not a chance.

He is overpaid at $15m per, but for this excercise, I am hardly moved by this.

KGK, where do you look up DRtg's? I use basketball-reference.com but that doesn't allow you to see the rankings.

EDIT: Neeeeeeever mind. Yes it does.

[indeedproceed]

So no one has enlightened thoughts about my bold choices in Lance Stephenson, Isaiah THomas, or Greg Smith?

Isaiah Thomas = Middle of the pack backup PG. Too small and weak. Lousy defender/rebounder. Solid skill-level offensively.

Lance Stephenson = I haven't been impressed by in his time as a starter. He hasn't been able to create offensively against players his own size and is too limited off the ball. A weak offensive player. A good solid defender/rebounder but he doesn't bring enough to the table to earn a starting position. One of the limiting factors in Indiana's success this year. I rate him as a well below average but passable backup SG. I still prefer him as lead ball-handler (PG).

Rarely do I disagree with everything you put out there, but this is the case here. Per Thomas, he is small, and he isnt terribly strong, but he's got a super-high motor and a scoring touch, and with the way I'm constructing the second unit (tough defenders, versatile), my vision is that he's the straw that stirs the drink. I don't think his talent level is so low among backup PG's, and I'd say there are only a handful of them out there who are definitively above Thomas. Not ideal as a starter, but he's no middle of the pack backup.

Per Stephenson: I haven't watched a ton of Pacers ball this year, but I do read about them a lot. Here's something about Stephenson in a recent game. Here's another thing. He also has the second best ON/Off the court numbers on the Pacers, so while maybe there are more than a few guys you'd rather have starting there, I don't think on the Pacers he's the worst choice. He's likely below average as a starting 2, but he's not the worst one in the league either.

Greg Smith = I read that he got sent down to the D-League recently because he stopped putting in effort defensively and wasn't playing with enough energy. Just wanted to shoot the ball. He looked quite good when he first broke into the Rockets team but his play has deteriorated since then leading to the demotion to the D-League.

I thought Greg Smith showed really good talent offensively with that jump-shot and finishing around the basket. Very efficient. His rebounding numbers are good so he can clearly rebound when focused. I don't have a good read on him defensively.

I think he'll be fine in the long run. Just a bump (the D-League demotion) in the road me thinks. Showed too much talent to disappear for long.

Ultimately, this was my conclusion as well. Who knows though. I'm glad I dont have to defend him ala CB Draft character standards.

[KGs Knee]

Some food for thought on Carlos Boozer as a terrible defender.

Of all PF's listed who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes this season, Carlos Boozer with his DRtg of 99, ranks 2nd behind only David West.

Ed Davis has played 1170 minutes and has a DRtg of 98 for the 83 minutes he's played in Memphis

This gets a serious    LOL!!!

I will gladly pay you one TP in an hour