2012 CB Draft Pacific Division Press Conferences

[Who]

Is this the strongest division in the league? I think so.

[StartOrien]

Question for LA.  Where do you think you would be right now if Lamarcus hadn't fallen into your lap?  Were you going to go in a different direction?

The way this team was assembled was the plan all away. Roy hinted at before, and might have the PM to prove it but I thought the only way to compete in this draft without having a super duper star is building around two top bigs (who'd have to be strong on both ends of the floor) and with a lot of defense o the wing. Strong defenders to pester superstars and make passing lanes nightmares, and two athletic trees to get in the way of drives.

It's the Grizzlies model, but on steroids.

If we weren't 'gifted' LMA we would've probably dropped back a few slots and select Nene and then keep our 3rd round pick to select Danny Granger.

[indeedproceed]

Is this the strongest division in the league? I think so.

I think so too. 4 playoff teams, without any doubt.

[Rondo2287]

Question for LA.  Where do you think you would be right now if Lamarcus hadn't fallen into your lap?  Were you going to go in a different direction?

The way this team was assembled was the plan all away. Roy hinted at before, and might have the PM to prove it but I thought the only way to compete in this draft without having a super duper star is building around two top bigs (who'd have to be strong on both ends of the floor) and with a lot of defense o the wing. Strong defenders to pester superstars and make passing lanes nightmares, and two athletic trees to get in the way of drives.
It's the Grizzlies model, but on steroids.

If we weren't 'gifted' LMA we would've probably dropped back a few slots and select Nene and then keep our 3rd round pick to select Danny Granger.

Thanks SO excellent answer

[Rondo2287]

Honest to god I really don't know how to rank this division.  Im leaning towards LAL at the top but the Clippers and Golden state are battling it out in my mind.  I have questions about players on both teams.  Really not sure.

[StartOrien]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjhYC5b9ADo

this.

[Lucky17]

C:Al Horford/ Nick Collison/ Chris Wicox
PF :LaMarcus Alridge/Chris Wilcox/ Al-Faruq Aminu
SF:Rudy Gay/ Carlos Delfino/ Dahntay Jones/ Al-Faruq Aminu
SG: Tony Allen/ Marshaun Brooks/ Dion Waiters
PG: Kyle Lowry/ Devin Harris/ Dion Waiters.

Q1. Can we assume that Waiters and Aminu won't see any meaningful minutes on this team? Likewise, Jones and Wilcox will only see spot duty?

Q2. How much trouble is your team in if Lowry underperforms?

Q3. When MarShon Brooks is in, will anyone else get to shoot the basketball?

[KCattheStripe]

Collison/DeRozan/Favors coming off the bench, should be the defining factor over a tightly contested 82 ga

Harris/Brooks/Delfino/Collison ain't scurred.

[KCattheStripe]

C:Al Horford/ Nick Collison/ Chris Wicox
PF :LaMarcus Alridge/Chris Wilcox/ Al-Faruq Aminu
SF:Rudy Gay/ Carlos Delfino/ Dahntay Jones/ Al-Faruq Aminu
SG: Tony Allen/ Marshaun Brooks/ Dion Waiters
PG: Kyle Lowry/ Devin Harris/ Dion Waiters.

Q1. Can we assume that Waiters and Aminu won't see any meaningful minutes on this team? Likewise, Jones and Wilcox will only see spot duty?

Q2. How much trouble is your team in if Lowry underperforms?

Q3. When MarShon Brooks is in, will anyone else get to shoot the basketball?

Q1. Aminu is insurance, Wiaters will see minutes if he develops. Jones is a legit rotation defender so He'll play a big role, especially against teams with two legit wing threats. Wilcox is the fourth big so spot minutes seems right.

Q2. not much seeing as we have a player behind him who was a starting PG on a playoff team.

q3. Yes. Too good a group of players off the bench for Marshaun to dominate.

[KCattheStripe]

Question for KC:

What's the better Usher song - "Climax" or "Scream"

Scream.

[indeedproceed]

Aldridge/Horford/Collison/Wilcox is an awesome 4-man rotation.

Kyle Lowry is an overrated attempted coach killer who got run out of town by Jeremy Lin.

[Lucky17]

Manu Ginobili and Klay Thompson
Andre Iguodala and Mirza Teletovic
Anthony Davis

Delonte West, Channing Frye, Darrell Arthur, Jonas Jerebko, Alec Burks
Bismack Biyombo and Patrick Mills

Q1. What happens to the team's fortunes if (when?) Ginobili misses time next year to due to injury/fatigue? What if he misses 20+ games?

Q2. What happens to the team's fortunes if (when?) Davis hits the proverbial rookie wall around the All-Star Break?

Q3. Is Patrick Mills your only bench player who can create his own shot? Is this a concern?

[StartOrien]

Aldridge/Horford/Collison/Wilcox is an awesome 4-man rotation.

Kyle Lowry is an overrated attempted coach killer who got run out of town by Jeremy Lin owner of a juice company.

fixed

[Who]

The Dubs' elite rim protector. Anthony Davis was good for 4.65 blocks a game, an astonishing 13.75% of the shots taken against him - by way of comparison the NBA's leader in blocks, Serge Ibaka, rejected 9.8% of shots. But it's how he blocks shots that has captivated scouts. Of his 186 blocks, 144 were kept in play. 103 went to his teammates, leading to 105 points scored.

Offensively, Davis was the most efficient scorer among big men drafted, averaging nearly 1.2 PPP. He turned the ball over at the second lowest rate (on just 8.6% of possessions) and drew fouls at the fourth highest rate, while shooting 70.9% from the line. The rookie also ranked as the best overall finisher, and cutter, and second best in transition. While Davis can and will be muscled off the post, and lacks a reliable jumper, he has to be accounted for offensively as a cutter, as a roll man, and while beating opposing big men down the court.[/font]

If you were to rank Anthony Davis out of the 24 starting centers, how highly would you rate him?

I am undecided. I keep going back and forth on the subject.

[Who]

Offensively, Davis was the most efficient scorer among big men drafted, averaging nearly 1.2 PPP. He turned the ball over at the second lowest rate (on just 8.6% of possessions) and drew fouls at the fourth highest rate, while shooting 70.9% from the line. The rookie also ranked as the best overall finisher, and cutter, and second best in transition. While Davis can and will be muscled off the post, and lacks a reliable jumper, he has to be accounted for offensively as a cutter, as a roll man, and while beating opposing big men down the court.[/font]

I didn't know that. That is pretty disappointing.

I thought Davis was meant to have a reliable jump-shot with range on it.

This analysis also provides us with solid insight into the things Davis needs to work on in the future. Just 13.5% of his possessions came on post-ups, the second lowest of this group after Furkan Aldemir and well under the average of 34% when taking all 26 big men prospects into account. His success rate—0.85 PPP—is below the average of 0.89, indicating that Kentucky's offense clearly wasn't losing much by electing not to throw the ball into the paint more than 1.6 times per game. It's safe to assume that Davis' usage rate as a pick and roll finisher (just 1.5 possessions per game) will rise once he reaches the NBA, but it will be interesting to see how his back to the basket game evolves as he continues to add weight to his 222 pound frame.

Jump shots attempts made up a decent amount of Davis' possessions—22%--but his 0.731 PPP also ranks well below average for this group (0.87), as he made just 23 of 67 (34%) attempts. Clearly this is something he'll need to continue to work on in time as well.