2012 CB Draft NW Division Press Conferences

[Roy H.]

Portland:  What's the status on Rubio's ACL tear?  That injury usually takes 12 months to heal, and sometimes 18 to 24 months before a player is fully himself again.  If Rubio comes back in the spring, is he going to have enough time to adjust before the playoffs?

And could his unavailability be enough for Utah to overtake you in the regular season?

[jgod213]

 

Portland:  Is Rubio ready for the pressure of keeping so many players happy?  How are you going to keep Howard happy?  How can you stand having Matt Barnes on your team?

Haha, believe it or not i actually really like Matt Barnes (on the court).  I liked him a lot more prior to last season, but i don't think Mike Brown handled his SF rotation very well.

As far as Rubio goes, i think not only will my starters be happy, but they'll be ecstatic playing next to him.  He'll keep Howard pleased with a masterful execution of the high p&r.  He'll keep JJ happy by feeding him off of screens and in the post, and defering to his iso in certain spots.

He just has a knack for dribble-penetration and finding open shooters.  Millsap & Chandler will get rewarded for cuts and can expect entry passes when they establish good position on the blocks.

I'd pay good money to see this lineup go to work, and i'm not sure there's a better distributor for this group of men other than CP3, Deron Williams and Rondo.

[Who]

Jazz:  If AK looks to be close to what he was, any though on having him start at PF and Randolph staring at C?  Would that help your team match up with Dallas better? 

Kirilenko (PF) and Z.Randolph (C) are going to play a lot together but I want to keep Asik in the starting lineup as my defensive anchor.

I want Kirilenko around 30 minutes a game off the bench (vast majority at PF) so he'll be seeing near-starter's minutes off the bench.

For Dallas specifically ... would I change my starting lineup?

I had planned to do when Brand was starting. With Varejao there now, I'm not sure. Varejao's lack of a jump-shot allows Asik to roam in the paint and provide shot-blocking. I think there is more value there now for Asik in the lineup than there was. So I'm leaning towards leaving him in there. But Kirilenko + Z-Bo will be a combination that sees a lot of playing time against Dallas.

[jgod213]

Portland:  What's the status on Rubio's ACL tear?  That injury usually takes 12 months to heal, and sometimes 18 to 24 months before a player is fully himself again.  If Rubio comes back in the spring, is he going to have enough time to adjust before the playoffs?

And could his unavailability be enough for Utah to overtake you in the regular season?

From what i've dug up, Rubio seems to be ahead of schedule and will be with the team for training camp.

http://minnesota.sbnation.com/minnesota-timberwolves/2012/8/2/3215992/ricky-rubio-injury-knee-timberwolves-minnesota-kahn-training-camp

all indications right now seem to point that he'll be close to 100% to open the year.

Obviously that's pure speculation, that's why i have him in somewhat limited minutes to start the season.  I'd also like to avoid wearing him out - which seemed to happen last year.

I think the Rubio injury would level the playing field for a month or so with Utah, but at full strength i don't see Portland having much trouble outside of them in the Northwest.  Ultimately this is Portland's Conference to lose and i don't think easing Rubio into the water places our expectations in jeopardy.

[BigAlTheFuture]

Portland: You have a really good starting 5, one of the best. But, do you think your bench will be able to hold on to the lead when the 1st unit comes out?

[The Walker Wiggle]

Question for Portland: While many already have you ranked 1st in your division, why shouldn't your front court reserves give me pause? Your best PF/C is 20 mpg role player Matt Bonner. The red rocket is one of the league's best three point shooting big men, but when his three point shot isn't falling he's a liability. Witness the Spurs' 13 game playoff run in which he shot 31% (11% in the team's conference finals upset loss) good for 2.4 points, 1.9 rebound 0.3 blocks. A low point for a guy that typically underperforms in the postseason.

You're backing him up with Chuck Hayes coming off the worst season of his career - in which he posted a career low rebound rate (12.4% his previous low was 15%) while shooting 43% from the floor (2nd lowest mark in his career) and turning the ball over at a career worst rate.

In a 24 team league why isn't this a problem? One of your own division rivals features a center rotation of three NBA starters. You've already said your plan is to bring Howard along slowly to start the season. Can you reliably get buckets inside and rebounding when either he or Millsap - a player I like a lot - are on the bench or worse still when both Millsap and Howard are out?

[The Walker Wiggle]

Question for Utah: How many minutes is Asik in line for? What are your expectations for Omer in a starting role for a full season?

He started only two games last year for the Bulls - the only two games in 2011-12 in which he exceeded 30 minutes - that doesn't provide us with a particularly telling sample.

Clearly the actual Houston Rockets intend to start him, so you're prediction is going to be put to the test quickly.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Question for everyone:  I currently have the division ranked: 1. Portland 2. Utah 3. Denver 4. Oklahoma City.  Tell me why I'm wrong (or right).

Question for everyone: i currently have the division rankings as 1. Portland 2. Utah 3. OKC 4. Denver, tell me why i am wrong or right with my rankings

I'll tell you both that this is just a bad question.

It's letting folks know where you stand, and giving them an opportunity to change your mind.

I look forward to seeing your revised rankings. 

[jgod213]

Portland: You have a really good starting 5, one of the best. But, do you think your bench will be able to hold on to the lead when the 1st unit comes out?

Question for Portland: While many already have you ranked 1st in your division, why shouldn't your front court reserves give me pause?

I won't hide away from this issue because it is legitimate.  Bottom line is yes, my second unit is going to get knocked around from time to time.  It's the plain truth.

The backup PF position is one of concern as Hansborough, Speights, and Kirilenko are legitimate offensive players.  Matt Bonner will have trouble, but that's why the big man is back there to help defensively.  On a team with Tim Duncan at C, yes, Bonner at the 4 is a bigtime liability defensively.  Next to the best defender of our generation? Not as big of a deal.

I concede that, with Hayes & Bonner on the floor, we aren't offering a lot.  That's where Wilson Chandler comes in.  He's had a good deal of success at the 4 in his career and actually defends the post quite well. Chandler gave up only .69 ppp in the post (albeit in a limited sample). For reference Dwight Howard gave up .73 ppp in the post.  His ability to bump up to the 4 is very valuable for us.

As far as my center situation goes, i'm not overly concerned with the 15 to 18 extra minutes to fill early in the season.  Yes Chuck Hayes had a down year, but let's not forget who he will be banging against - namely Perkins, Kosta Koufas, and Zaza.  None of these three are particularly adept offensively and won't be able to take advantage of Dwight's absence.  Chris Kaman could pose some issues but he appears to be limited to under 10 minutes a night.

[Who]

Question for Utah: How many minutes is Asik in line for? What are your expectations for Omer in a starting role for a full season?

He started only two games last year for the Bulls - the only two games in 2011-12 in which he exceeded 30 minutes - that doesn't provide us with a particularly telling sample.

Clearly the actual Houston Rockets intend to start him, so you're prediction is going to be put to the test quickly.

I consider Asik to be a 26-28 minute a night player tops.

A lot like a Kendrick Perkins type player. Both are too limited offensively to be a 30+ minute a night guy. And if a guy like Asik is playing more than 26-28mpg, it is an indictment of that team's roster more than it is praise for the player.

Of course, there will be the odd occasion where more minutes are required of him (Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum) but that is the ball-park from where we start. That 26-28 minute bracket. Likewise, there might be some occasions where he plays less due to matchups (perhaps against your Golden State squad).

My expectations for Asik are too be a high level defender and a well above average rebounder and also to be one of the worst offensive players in the league at his position. Very low usage player offensively. In terms of numbers, I'd say something like 6-8 points and 7-8 rebounds in 26-28 minutes. So-so scoring efficiency. Large defensive impact.

I value defensive anchors over shot-creators at the center position ... so with that in mind, for me, I would rate Asik as a top 20 center in the league.

[Roy H.]

Question for everyone:  I currently have the division ranked: 1. Portland 2. Utah 3. Denver 4. Oklahoma City.  Tell me why I'm wrong (or right).

Question for everyone: i currently have the division rankings as 1. Portland 2. Utah 3. OKC 4. Denver, tell me why i am wrong or right with my rankings

I'll tell you both that this is just a bad question.

It's letting folks know where you stand, and giving them an opportunity to change your mind.

I look forward to seeing your revised rankings. 

Not that folks have necessarily answered the question, but after thinking about it I'm pretty sure I'm going to invert Portland and Utah.  Portland's injured stars and lack of depth hurts them in the regular season slog.

I still like Portland better in the playoffs, most likely, but in the regular season I'm now leaning toward Utah.

[Kane3387]

For Portland:

Whats good with Chuck Hayes? He was solid in Houston and then went to Sacramento and was never hear of again.

Howard juts came off MAJOR Back surgery and might not even be ready for the start of the season. Forcing him to carry an incredible load offensively, defensively and from a minutes perspective might be a good way to hurt him.

Where is he at with his back? And how comfortable are you playing Milsap at Center?

For OKC: Cousins and Evans haven't seemed to work that well. Why should I believe Bynum and Cousins will?

For Utah: What needs to happen to get Deron reengaged? And what is your strategy fro doing so?

For Denver: What is the minute plan for KG? Also Mayo and Conley never seemed to fit in Memphis so why will they in Denver?

[The Walker Wiggle]

Mike Conley posts the division's best Offensive Rating by a full four points over Deron Williams (110 to 106) His division best Win Score (6.4) is 2.1 points higher than Mario Chalmers second best mark (4.3). He is the division's best defender and it's second best shooter.

Deron Williams is the star in the Northwest but has shot just 39.8% in a year and a half with the Nets, and posted career worsts in assists and turnovers last season. Was some of his offensive success the result of Jerry Sloan's system? He was assisted on some 47% of his baskets.

Rubio is a rare talent as a playmaker and a smart disruptive defender, but he's a streaky shooter who struggles to finish at the rim (35.7 FG%) and in a best case scenario won't be cleared to run until September.

Open question that I'm surprised to be asking: Is Conley's steady hand, and well rounded game, enough to give the Nuggets the nod at the point guard position?

[GreenFaith1819]

Looks like everyone forgot this division.  This team could conceivably have four playoff teams.

Question for everyone:  I currently have the division ranked: 1. Portland 2. Utah 3. Denver 4. Oklahoma City.  Tell me why I'm wrong (or right).

Utah:  Zach Randolph had a very poor year last year.  Was that solely injury related?  If Randolph doesn't produce like a star, what's your team's outlook?

Denver:  Why will Conley and Mayo look better on your team than in "real life"?  Boozer and KG are both best defending centers at this point in their career; how are they going to decide defensive assignments?

Portland:  You have two guys who shot below 40% in your starting lineup.  Why is that not a major weakness?

OKC:  Do you regret any of your trades?

Roy, I think Conley and Mayo will work very well together in this fantasy draft because O.J. Mayo will get more touches AND be a primary scorer (like he'll be in DAL next season). I easily see Mayo/Boozer as 1 and 1A with KG/Conley taking up the remainder of the scoring slack.

As for defensive assignments, Boozer can guard most centers. KG as well. KG can guard just about ALL PFs, even at 35-36 years of age. With Boozer, he won't have to be concerned about staying too close to the basket on most nights. Boozer is strong enough to simply keep most Bigs off-center and away from their sweet spots.

The only concerns are vs Chris Bosh, Blake Griffin and similar PFs that are long and quick. They have the quickness and athleticism to give KG some problems, but I'm sure neither of them won't get 30 on KG on ANY night.

We also have Chris Singleton who can get pressed into extended duty vs these types of PFs. He is quick, long and strong enough to slow them down a bit.

As for rankings, I can leave those to the observers. But I do have serious concerns for Portland. They have a solid starting 5 I believe, but once/if Dwight gets into foul trouble vs the better centers in the NBA (Bynum/KG/Marc Gasol), who can they bring in to sub for him?

 

[GreenFaith1819]

Mike Conley posts the division's best Offensive Rating by a full four points over Deron Williams (110 to 106) His division best Win Score (6.4) is 2.1 points higher than Mario Chalmers second best mark (4.3). He is the division's best defender and it's second best shooter.

Deron Williams is the star in the Northwest but has shot just 39.8% in a year and a half with the Nets, and posted career worsts in assists and turnovers last season. Was some of his offensive success the result of Jerry Sloan's system? He was assisted on some 47% of his baskets.

Rubio is a rare talent as a playmaker and a smart disruptive defender, but he's a streaky shooter who struggles to finish at the rim (35.7 FG%) and in a best case scenario won't be cleared to run until September.

Open question that I'm surprised to be asking: Is Conley's steady hand, and well rounded game, enough to give the Nuggets the nod at the point guard position?

W/W poses some very good questions and observations, especially regarding health. I believe that even in fantasy leagues you have to account for that.

With that being said, our club (DEN) have no worries with health. I managed to draft relatively healthy players and have one of the deepest and most experienced squads out there.

As for the nod at PG? WalkerWiggle poses some interesting statistics....this is why I think Conley and KG are my most important players. Not only do I have a defensive frontstop and backstop in these two, but Mike Conley over the years has been one of the steadiest PGs in the league.

Lionel Hollins doesn't run a club of flashy players, in real life or here. Such a backdrop causes Conley to be the last player on anyone's lists as far as ranking PGs - up until he's put up 18 pts, 8 assists, 4 steals on your team - while shooting VERY WELL from the field and from deep.

And the man won't cry for touches, either...he is perfectly happy being OUT of the limelight, but no one can mistake that for lack of experience. The man has guided MEM to the WC Semi-Finals and took MEM to 7 games vs Clips last season.

Mike Conley leads a team well. Very coachable, efficient, smart, capable player.