Is Your Pick Two Team Better than When it Started?

[indeedproceed]

Devin Harris
THabo Sefelosha
Omri Casspi
David Lee
Brrok Lopez

[Edgar]

Andre Miller
Rip Hamilton
Ron Artest
Rashard Lewis
and
Superman

Wonders...why is people so worried about second place.

[Who]

Ooh, do us next!

New Orleans

Chris Paul
Eric Gordon
Marvin Williams
Dejuan Blair
Yao

6th man: Boris Diaw

Start Diaw and bench Blair and that team is freaking amazing!

Diaw is the key glue guy who makes everything works. The team needs his quickness + defensive play to combat Yao's inability to defend away from the rim. And it needs his jump shooting ability to space the floor for Yao in the low post. Blair is a poor defender and ineffective away from the rim offensively, makes him a poor fit alongside Yao. Blair will be a lot more effective offensively when Yao is out of the game because he can spend more time terrorizing opponents around the rim.

The perimeter defense (Paul-Gordon-Marvin) + the defensive versatility of Diaw + the size and interior defense of Yao Ming is an incredible combination. Then add the three main cogs offensively of Chris Paul, Yao Ming and Eric Gordon and then three beautiful complementary players in Marvin Williams, DeJuan Blair and Boris Diaw and you have an elite offense too.

Elite defensive team + Elite offensive team + Good rebounding team = Title Contender

I think that's the best team that I've seen so far.

[Truck Lewis]

     Before                 After
PG: Tyreke Evans   ---  Tyreke Evans
SG: Kevin Martin   ---  Corey Brewer
SF: Omri Casspi    ---  Caron Butler
PF: Jason Thompson ---  David West
C:  Spencer Hawes  ---  Andrew Bynum
6th: Donte Green   ---  Jeff Green

[fairweatherfan]

Ooh, do us next!

New Orleans

Chris Paul
Eric Gordon
Marvin Williams
Dejuan Blair
Yao

6th man: Boris Diaw

Start Diaw and bench Blair and that team is freaking amazing!

Diaw is the key glue guy who makes everything works. The team needs his quickness + defensive play to combat Yao's inability to defend away from the rim. And it needs his jump shooting ability to space the floor for Yao in the low post. Blair is a poor defender and ineffective away from the rim offensively, makes him a poor fit alongside Yao. Blair will be a lot more effective offensively when Yao is out of the game because he can spend more time terrorizing opponents around the rim.

The perimeter defense (Paul-Gordon-Marvin) + the defensive versatility of Diaw + the size and interior defense of Yao Ming is an incredible combination. Then add the three main cogs offensively of Chris Paul, Yao Ming and Eric Gordon and then three beautiful complementary players in Marvin Williams, DeJuan Blair and Boris Diaw and you have an elite offense too.

Elite defensive team + Elite offensive team + Good rebounding team = Title Contender

I think that's the best team that I've seen so far.

You better believe that's a TP, Who!  Thanks for the kind words; I've thought about starting Diaw but I was interested in a playmaker coming off the bench.  Diaw would play most of the crunch time regardless.

EDIT: Blatantly stealing your idea and moving Diaw to the starting spot.  Thanks for the advice, you make a great case for the move.

[KCattheStripe]

Ooh, do us next!

New Orleans

Chris Paul
Eric Gordon
Marvin Williams
Dejuan Blair
Yao

6th man: Boris Diaw

Pretty Obvious they're better, although its gonna be rough for the remainder of the season.

[fairweatherfan]

Ooh, do us next!

New Orleans

Chris Paul
Eric Gordon
Marvin Williams
Dejuan Blair
Yao

6th man: Boris Diaw

Pretty Obvious they're better, although its gonna be rough for the remainder of the season.

Can I include "High 2010 lottery pick TBD" on my team roster? 

[fairweatherfan]

    Before                 After
PG: Tyreke Evans   ---  Tyreke Evans
SG: Kevin Martin   ---  Corey Brewer
SF: Omri Casspi    ---  Caron Butler
PF: Jason Thompson ---  David West
C:  Spencer Hawes  ---  Andrew Bynum
6th: Donte Green   ---  Jeff Green

Really like this bunch overall, but they'll have to gel pretty quickly before Butler and West start slipping.  Also haven't seen a lot of Evans this year, so I don't know how well he'll distribute the ball.  Your 3 man forward rotation can hang with absolutely anybody, though.

[Who]

Devin Harris
Thabo Sefelosha
Omri Casspi
David Lee
Brook Lopez

I thought your team was better off with Nene instead of David Lee.

The team lost an awful lot of defensive quality. Nene is a very good defender both in man-to-man defense and team defense. Lee is a very poor defender in both areas. Also, it further complicates two other player's defensive play (1) Harris has been struggling with his defensive effort/focus since leaving Dallas, and, (2) with Brook Lopez still learning the trade. Those two players would give you more defensively on a team with a strong defensive mentality. As you lose some of that defensive identity, you lose some of their defensive play too.

I don't think you gained much offensively from the move either. Lee is less of a matchup problem at PF rather than C (loses quickness advantage) and will see less touches/shot attempts/PnRs on that roster than with the Knicks so his scoring will drop. A 16ppg threat versus a 14ppg threat in Nene. Both are incredibly efficient so no gains there either.

Large improvement on the backboards though. Should be one of the best rebounding teams in the league.

[Edgar]

What about mine Who

It will be benched around MLE LLE vets
with 3 point shooting and defense

[Who]

Andre Miller
Rip Hamilton
Ron Artest
Rashard Lewis
and
Superman

Wonders...why is people so worried about second place.

I don't know what to make of this team. I'm not convinced of the perimeter trio ... of how well they complement Dwight + Rashard Lewis.

A point guard with a questionable jump shot. A two guard who needs a heavily structured offense full of off the ball screens. A small forward with dubious offensive qualities. None of them are good fits in a 4 out 1 in offense. Artest and Rip are sub par rebounders too which combined with Lewis' poor rebounding for a PF is an issue. Artest and Miller are both at their best in the low post. Neither Artest or Rip are high level passers/playmakers which makes the team quite dependent on Miller's creative play offensively. A risk of a lot of one-on-one basketball. Quite a bit of uncertainty about how well they complement Rashard + Dwight.

I love the defensive quality 2 through 5 though. Rip + Artest + Lewis + Dwight. That's special. An elite defensive team.

[Who]

I'd like to see Orlando get a playmaking wing like Manu Ginobili. Add Ryan Anderson as the PF and shift Rashard Lewis to the SF. Then bring in a PG like Steve Blake or use Manu at the point and bring in a shooter/defender at SG.

Blake + Ginobili + Lewis + Anderson + Dwight
Ginobili + Pietrus + Lewis + Anderson + Dwight

Then have a strong defensive minded backup wing to complement the first unit or a strong backup point guard to allow Manu Ginobili to play some time at SG. Create some more lineup flexibility.

[JSD]

This thread is so others can critique your team, it's needs and whether or not people think it's better than before the draft.

I'll start:

1. Derrick Rose
2. Nicolas Batum
3. Danillo Gallinari
4. Emeka Okafor
5. Joakim Noah.

I think a better low post presence on the offensive end make your team better inside and out. Not sure you can expect Batum to log starter minutes just yet. I'd place your team around 25 wins as presently constituted. It's a future playoff team for sure though.

Real Bulls win by 12.

[Lucky17]

Andre Miller
Rip Hamilton
Ron Artest
Rashard Lewis
and
Superman

Wonders...why is people so worried about second place.

I don't know what to make of this team. I'm not convinced of the perimeter trio ... of how well they complement Dwight + Rashard Lewis.

A point guard with a questionable jump shot. A two guard who needs a heavily structured offense full of off the ball screens. A small forward with dubious offensive qualities. None of them are good fits in a 4 out 1 in offense. Artest and Rip are sub par rebounders too which combined with Lewis' poor rebounding for a PF is an issue. Artest and Miller are both at their best in the low post. Neither Artest or Rip are high level passers/playmakers which makes the team quite dependent on Miller's creative play offensively. A risk of a lot of one-on-one basketball. Quite a bit of uncertainty about how well they complement Rashard + Dwight.

I love the defensive quality 2 through 5 though. Rip + Artest + Lewis + Dwight. That's special. An elite defensive team.

Those were my thoughts as well. Opposing defenses can disrupt Orlando's offense by putting a ball hawk on Miller, or by doubling Howard in the post and cheating off Artest or Miller and daring them to shoot.

[JSD]

C:  Dwight Howard
PF: Rashard Lewis
SF: Ron Artest
SG: Rip Hamilton
PG: Andre Miller

This team is a title contender despite lacking a primary scorer. Who's going to take the ball off the dribble and go to the hoop on a consistent basis?

Real Magic lose by 8