CB Draft Western Semis: (1) Mavericks vs. (4) Suns

[Roy H.]

[Roy H.]

I'm going to be in court most of the day, but some quick hits on this series:

* We'll probably play a lot of the Brand/Lebron/Green/Thabo/Irving lineup. 

* Specifically, we like Brand's ability to spread the floor, taking Noah outside.  There's no way Love can hang with Lebron.

* Thabo will spend a lot of time covering Nash, and Irving will spend a good chunk of his time on Richardson.  While there's a size disadvantage there, Richardson isn't good enough any more to really burn us.

* Yes, Lebron can cover Love.  He has effectively guarded bigger, stronger, and/or more athletic guys such as Pau Gasol and David West.

* If Phoenix does something gimmicky like putting Prince on Lebron and having Love cover our small forward, we'll have Green or Dunleavy play mostly along the perimeter, dragging Love away from the basket so he won't be snagging rebounds. 

* Our bench is MUCH better than Phoenix:

Lopez / Anthony
Brand (or Varejao)
Dunleavy / Kleiza
Gordon
Brooks / Dooling

vs.

T. Thompson / Evans
Jamison / Maxiell
Salmons
Crawford / W. Green
A. Miller

There isn't a single player on that bench that plays defense, they lack reliable shooting, and they're mostly chuckers.

* Again, Lebron.  He's coming off perhaps the best playoffs in NBA history, and there's nobody on Phoenix that comes close to being able to stop him.

[ronaldo943]

Wow, i dont see no one beating Dallas, Roy just has a way with words.

[Roy H.]

Wow, i dont see no one beating Dallas, Roy just has a way with words.

Mostly it's a six letter word named "Lebron".  I think you can make an argument that Lebron is more valuable than any other two players in this draft.

I mean, if you're giving me a roster of average players, except team A has Lebron, and team B has Durant and CP3, I'm taking Bron Bron's team.  He was that dominant last year.

[ronaldo943]

Wow, i dont see no one beating Dallas, Roy just has a way with words.

Mostly it's a six letter word named "Lebron".  I think you can make an argument that Lebron is more valuable than any other two players in this draft.

I mean, if you're giving me a roster of average players, except team A has Lebron, and team B has Durant and CP3, I'm taking Bron Bron's team.  He was that dominant last year.

Yea i have to agree, LeBron was really that good that whoever had Lebron would have easily made it to the finals

[dark_lord]

im going with dallas. 

[Who]

* Thabo will spend a lot of time covering Nash, and Irving will spend a good chunk of his time on Richardson.  While there's a size disadvantage there, Richardson isn't good enough any more to really burn us.

I think J-Rich's effectiveness as a post scorer has decline quite a lot against guys his own size but I think J-Rich could really go to work on a smaller guy like Kyrie Irving.

[KCattheStripe]

I can't get past how bad Nash's D is and how much kyrie will light him up.

[jgod213]

Wow, tough matchup for Pheonix.

You've got to figure they'd have to mix in a healthy dose of zone.

You can't expect Kevin Love to stay anywhere near LeBron and Steve Nash is going to have little help from Noah as Joakim is going to be spread really thin between helping Nash and Love all while trying to stay within reach of Verajo and Brand.

Hey it worked for the Real life Mavs 2 years ago, maybe BigAl has something up his sleeve...

[Who]

Lopez / Anthony
Brand (or Varejao)
Dunleavy / Kleiza
Gordon
Brooks / Dooling

vs.

T. Thompson / Evans
Jamison / Maxiell
Salmons
Crawford / W. Green
A. Miller

I would give Dallas a matchup advantage 2 through 5 with Phoenix having the edge at PG with Andre Miller (who I thought played excellent ball last year as a backup PG).

Very large advantage on the bench. 4 to 1.

[BigAlTheFuture]

So, obviously I can't out-argue an arguer, especially when that arguer has the best basketball player in the world on his team.

But I will say this much, my team is definitely hungrier. I expect the Suns to out hustle the Mavs on EVERY possession. We have Steve Nash, who is dying for a championship. Kevin Love, who is looking for a chance to prove himself to the whole league. Joakim Noah, who is as competitive as they come. The rest of my team are full of hungry veterans.

You guys say Kyrie Irving will light up Nash, but let's not forget, Kyrie is not a great defender himself. Like Who said, J-Rich is much bigger than Irving, and would post him up all day.

I do agree that Lebron will make K-Love work. But I expect K-Love would make Lebron work just as hard. A big man who can bang down low and shoot it from the perimeter is a tough match up for any player, even the Mighty Lebron James.

I'm definitely not convinced Brand can outplay Noah an entire series. The size difference will also be a problem for the Mavs.

I expect Prince to lockdown Green the whole series. I don't think Jeffrey Green can get anything done against my defense. Him missing a whole season doesn't help the fact, either.

Imo, my bench is pretty even with the Mavs'. I obviously have the advantage at PG. Jamal Crawford and Ben Gordon is basically the same player. This position is neutral. I'll give Roy the advantage at the 3 but not by a big margin. Reggie Evans vs. Lopez, both hustle, "do the dirty work" type guys. Neither players will change the outcome of the game.

This being a playoff series, I don't think the bench will log tons of minutes, anyways. This is 1st unit vs 1 unit. And I say my starting 5 is the best in the league.

Dallas may be the younger, more athletic team, and probably more talented. But the Suns have hungry veterans, top to bottom. THE SUNS WANT IT MORE.

Suns in 7.

[BigAlTheFuture]

I mean, if you're giving me a roster of average players, except team A has Lebron, and team B has Durant and CP3, I'm taking Bron Bron's team.  He was that dominant last year.

You don't honestly believe this, do you? We're definitely starting to overrate Lebron. This dude needed Wade and Bosh to win. CP3 and Durant, easily.

What we all know here is that, we still don't know if Lebron can carry a team to a championship by himself. We do know that he needs another top 5 player and another top 20 player to do so. Besides Bron, the Mavs has no other top 20 player.

[Who]

I expect Prince to lockdown Green the whole series. I don't think Jeffrey Green can get anything done against my defense. Him missing a whole season doesn't help the fact, either.

If Tayshaun Prince is on Jeff Green, who is defending LeBron James?

[Roy H.]

I expect Prince to lockdown Green the whole series. I don't think Jeffrey Green can get anything done against my defense. Him missing a whole season doesn't help the fact, either.

If Tayshaun Prince is on Jeff Green, who is defending LeBron James?

Kevin Love, at least nominally.

[Who]

I think Phoenix should put K-Love on Thabo Sefolosha and then switch him onto Jeff Green when Thabo takes a seat and Ben Gordon takes his place. Leave Joakim Noah on Varejao, Brand or R.Lopez to provide PnR defense and some paint protection. J-Rich on Jeff Green (which will create post-up options for J.Green). And Tayshaun Prince on LeBron James.

Hmm ... Outside of Prince, I don't think Phoenix have anyone who can really matchup against LeBron. Jason Richardson is too small an inadequate defensively (against a big forward like LeBron). Kevin Love is too slow and immobile to check LeBron. Jamison is pathetic (defensively).

John Salmons is the only other guy who is even serviceable defensively against LeBron and that isn't a matchup that creates confidence in Phoenix's defense. Heck, Noah is probably the next best after Salmons (which is frightening).

I think that lack of a second (and third) quality defender to throw at LeBron is a big deal.