Celticsblog Mock GM Press Conferences: Pacific Division

[celticmaestro]

Lakers.  Where is the tough guy, dirty job C that you need to protect Durrant and Bosh?  A Perkins type?  Is that the biggest hole you need to fill in the future, or is it PG?  Is Duhan really a long term starter?

Celticmaestro - I think its clear to everyone that Darko is the biggest concern of all your starters.  What will you do if/when he is not producing or playing up to the standards of the rest of your team?  Is Stephen Hunter a possibility to drop into that starting C spot at some point?

Just to make it clear that Darko, for the first time in his career, is being given the opportunity to what he does best. That's defend, rebound and do the "dirty work". If he doesn't take that opportunity, then I see Hunter as an able replacement, and hold the likes of Jawai and Tomic in high regard.

Duhon, like Darko, is being given the job long-term. If he doesn't perform we feel that Petteri Koponen can come into the NBA and be a great PG.

[celticmaestro]

celticmaestro:

How do you match up with the Blazers' team, as a "team of the future"?

Amare (25)
Horford (22)
Gay (22)
Iguodala (24)
Ford (25)
B. Wright (20)
Webster (21)
Blake (28)
Haslem (28)
Ukic (23)
Ross (27)
Pekovic (22)
Asik (22)
Erden (22)
Arroyo (29)
Barac (22)

Assuming that Bosh/Durant/Mayo cancels out Amare/Gay/Iguodala, is there any way you can match the rest of the Blazers' depth with players of similar stature?

Aside from Amare and TJ's injury concerns, I'd say that in terms of youth we have very similar style squads. A distinct advantage for us is the lack of an out and out superstar in your team - Amare included - and the fact we have potentially 2 in ours in Bosh and Durant. I'm not ready to say Mayo will be a superstar yet, but he's got as good a chance as Gay or Iguodala at reaching that level.

A lot depends on Darko's performances and whether he and Horford can match each other. I think Darko will give his all defending Horford, and with the offensive weapons in Bosh, Durant and Mayo he wont be the go-to-guy so his lack of offensive skill isn't a hole that needs filling.

TJ has the upper hand on Duhon (other than on the defensive end), just a question of whether he stays fit. I see Koponen as a potential star in the NBA anyway, so it's very possible that he comes in as the starter at a later date.

B. Wright (20) - Fazekas (23)
Webster (21) - McCants (23)
Blake (28) - Koponen (20)
Haslem (28) - Walton (28)
Ukic (23) - Delfino (25)
Ross (27) - Butler (29)
Pekovic (22) - Tomic (21)
Asik (22) - Jawai (21)
Erden (22) - Zabelin (20)
Arroyo (29) - Claxton (30)
Barac (22)

In terms of depth and youth, I don't see that much of difference in our teams. Both have our fair share of projects, both have our fair share of talent. When it comes to playoff experience with the youngsters, I'd say we're pretty much in the same boat there, too.

Overall, I'd think we match up well together, not much to choose between the two but I'd give myself the edge due to having two certified superstars in Durant and Bosh.

[celticmaestro]

Celticmaestro - are you concerned there may be some character issues with OJ Mayo? 

For someone I have always viewed as a prima donna, I have serious concerns about him fitting on to any team.  Bosh and Durant are a good combo to build around, and even though Durant has already played in the league a year I could see Mayo being a bad influence on him.  Mayo is clearly talented, but if you get rid of him even for a lesser player I think it would be addition by subtraction.  I see Mayo as a me first player who will hold any team back (like a Stephon Marbury).

I can see a situation like this happening:  Team hovers a little under .500 for most of the year playing inconsistently as any young team would.  Mayo goes down with an injury with say 20 games left.  Luke Walton is inserted to the starting lineup at the 3, Durant slides to the 2, and the team plays their best ball all seaon finishing something like 14-6 as the offense runs more much smoothly and the team just plays great team basketball with an improved chemistry and catapults themselves to the 7th or 8th seed.

My prediction, the Lakers will challenge for a playoff spot, be eliminated first round at best, but are a team to be reckoned with in the future.  Could be a an upper tier team in 3 years I think.

See i see it the opposite way.  I think Durant/Bosh are young enought to relate to Mayo, but accomplished enough to command his respect on the court.  I see Mayo having no more or less problems as any other young player.   I think Mayo is gonna surprise some folks (and woulda been a good fit in MIN, but they got so much for him it was an impossible deal to turn down).

CelticBlog Mock GM draft aside - I see Mayo as the ROY for this year. He's a special talent if he can put it all together.

[crownsy]

mine wont be out till 430-5ish. not going to write this at work while alt tabbign every two seconds. my grammer and spelling goes to poop when speed typing 

[Evantime34]

Evantime 34, you mentioned Don Nelson is going to tell Nashy to run and gun, at the same time, you said lots of points will be coming from your defence. So will your team be running and gunning like Phoenix and Golden State or actually playing tough defence? Because I have yet to see a team that runs and guns like they do that plays defence. And if you do play tough defence, would you be worried about Nash's ability to do so? I mean, sure your team can force steals and blocks....but can they really play tough defence like Boston? Howabout your thoughts on Kenyon Martin's and Stromile Swift's health in order for them to be big contributors?

So will your team be running and gunning like Phoenix and Golden State or actually playing tough defence? Why can't it be both, the old great Celtics teams ran off of their defense and pushed the ball at every opportunity. Just because recently we haven't seen and NBA team put the two aspects together doesn't mean it can't be done. Legendary coaches Don Cheaney and Bob Knight will be ready to teach some hard nosed defense.

 And if you do play tough defence, would you be worried about Nash's ability to do so? the most important part of defense is desire, we've seen before when a vet really wants a championship and ups their defense.

As far as Stro and KMart's health, not many teams have a plan when their 2nd and 3rd big man go down. I think it is not out of the question to get one healthy season from them combined (that means each of them is healthy for at least half a season). Yi showed some flashes last year, he is clearly a player that is made for a running style. So we're not depending on Yi unless both KMart and Swift go down but if they do he should be able to step up.

[jgod213]

CelticMaestro:

obviously one of, if not THE the biggest concern in your division will be how your team will respond to seeing Dwight Howard on a frequent basis over the next decade.  Since Darko is your "defensive force," are you comfortable letting him bang alone with Howard? Will you employ the hack-a-howard approach?  Your team seems like it will be able to keep up with the warriors in transition without a problem, but in a half court set you could be in a bit of trouble, what's the solution?

evantime:

Your team no doubt wins the matchup here between PG and C, but you will be in trouble guarding maestro's wings.  Why not start Bruce Bowen? Plays a game similar to Raja Bell - who has thrived next to Nash.  he might have lost a step or two, but he should still be able to cause Durant the occasional fit for another year or two.

[celticmaestro]

CelticMaestro:

obviously one of, if not THE the biggest concern in your division will be how your team will respond to seeing Dwight Howard on a frequent basis over the next decade.  Since Darko is your "defensive force," are you comfortable letting him bang alone with Howard? Will you employ the hack-a-howard approach?  Your team seems like it will be able to keep up with the warriors in transition without a problem, but in a half court set you could be in a bit of trouble, what's the solution?

Hack-a-Howard is an option. More of a plan b. Plan a is to let Darko go to work on him - they know each other well from his days on Orlando - and I've got no problem doubling him if need be with Bosh as Kenyon and/or Yi don't worry me.

[Evantime34]

Evantime34:

1) Any worries about Hughes and Kmart, two players who haven't bought into a team concept in the past? 
I think KMart bought into the team concept when he was playing with the Nets, I don't believe there currently is a team concept to buy into in Denver. Hughes is a talented player that has been traded around and many people have given up on. Now he's in the perfect situation with one last chance to right his career. Bowen and Horry will bring in the veteran leadership that will help them both stay on course.
2) Outside of Nash, there aren't a lot of great shooters in your starting lineup.  Is stretching the floor a concern?
We are going to try to score going to the basket. When I watch Phoenix I do notice that they finish a lot of fast breaks with jumpers, but I believe this can be attributed not to Nash but to Phoenix not having players other than Amare and Barbosa who can finish in traffic. Both Gordon and Bowen can shoot a little bit off the bench. Thornton has been working on his three point shot all summer and has made dramatic improvement and Hughes' 3pt % will go up because of more open looks.
3) The "real" Suns are concerned about Steve Nash's health, and have indicated that they will sit him out entire games to make sure he's healthy.  Is this a concern for you?  If Nash goes down, are you comfortable having Sergio as your only backup?  (Dickau signed overseas.)
I feel that we will lower his minutes by beating teams by a lot. He can sit out games once we've clinched a playoff spot and the division. I'm certainly comfortable with Spanish Chocolate as my backup, if Nash goes down then it would hurt my team, just as it would if anyone elses first round pick went down.
As far as Dickau is concerned didn't the commish say that we could bring people back from overseas if we gave good reasoning? I attempted to do that in his section of my roster breakdown. If he has to stay overseas I will sign a third string point.

4) You bench is very inexperienced, outside of Bowen and Horry, who are both ancient.  Is that a concern?
9 times out of 10 I will choose talent over experience and I guess it showed in my bench. I would be open to trading for a veteran but to do so I probably would have to give up a player that was more talented than the one I was getting. I am pretty much taking on the bench philosophy of this upcomming years Celtics, Youth and guys with injury concerns. Horry and Bowen will be playing the role of Cassell (although they won't be sucking as much) and PJ, also they will bring the championship experience that Posey brought except more of it.
5) How does your team match up in your division?  How does it match up against Houston and Portland in the West?
My team matches up well in my division because no one has a player that can match Steve Nash or Dwight Howard. They are the two best players at their position in the division. As far as matching up against Houston and Portland in the west I don't have their rosters memorized so I'll do a separate post in a sec on that.

[Evantime34]

CelticMaestro:

obviously one of, if not THE the biggest concern in your division will be how your team will respond to seeing Dwight Howard on a frequent basis over the next decade.  Since Darko is your "defensive force," are you comfortable letting him bang alone with Howard? Will you employ the hack-a-howard approach?  Your team seems like it will be able to keep up with the warriors in transition without a problem, but in a half court set you could be in a bit of trouble, what's the solution?

evantime:

Your team no doubt wins the matchup here between PG and C, but you will be in trouble guarding maestro's wings.  Why not start Bruce Bowen? Plays a game similar to Raja Bell - who has thrived next to Nash.  he might have lost a step or two, but he should still be able to cause Durant the occasional fit for another year or two.

Just because I don't start Bowen doesn't mean he's not going to play a lot, that is if he doesn't start. Those are just lineup projections, if Bowen comes in and takes the spot then he could start at the two or the three. We will force maestro's wings to the bucket where they will meet the brick wall known as Dwight Howard. Our defense will be team defense, if he is able to completely isolate my wings against his wings it would be a problem, but with everyone helping on those matchups we should be able to shut down those wings.

[Evantime34]

CelticMaestro:

obviously one of, if not THE the biggest concern in your division will be how your team will respond to seeing Dwight Howard on a frequent basis over the next decade.  Since Darko is your "defensive force," are you comfortable letting him bang alone with Howard? Will you employ the hack-a-howard approach?  Your team seems like it will be able to keep up with the warriors in transition without a problem, but in a half court set you could be in a bit of trouble, what's the solution?

Hack-a-Howard is an option. More of a plan b. Plan a is to let Darko go to work on him - they know each other well from his days on Orlando - and I've got no problem doubling him if need be with Bosh as Kenyon and/or Yi don't worry me.

If you double with Bosh, Kenyon Martin will get open dunk after open dunk. If you choose to double with both you big men and play a rotating defense Kenyon Martin will eat your 3 or 2 alive.

[celticmaestro]

CelticMaestro:

obviously one of, if not THE the biggest concern in your division will be how your team will respond to seeing Dwight Howard on a frequent basis over the next decade.  Since Darko is your "defensive force," are you comfortable letting him bang alone with Howard? Will you employ the hack-a-howard approach?  Your team seems like it will be able to keep up with the warriors in transition without a problem, but in a half court set you could be in a bit of trouble, what's the solution?

Hack-a-Howard is an option. More of a plan b. Plan a is to let Darko go to work on him - they know each other well from his days on Orlando - and I've got no problem doubling him if need be with Bosh as Kenyon and/or Yi don't worry me.

If you double with Bosh, Kenyon Martin will get open dunk after open dunk. If you choose to double with both you big men and play a rotating defense Kenyon Martin will eat your 3 or 2 alive.

Can Kenyon Martin stay fit for a season? Because if he can't, I'm not concerned with Yi one bit. Like I originally said, I see Darko being able to put all his effort into containing Dwight. If I double off Martin, is Dwight a good enough passer to find Martin each time? I think you underrate the defensive capabilities of my team.

[Gainesville Celtic]

mine wont be out till 430-5ish. not going to write this at work while alt tabbign every two seconds. my grammer and spelling goes to poop when speed typing 

Just do what i do --- type it in an email then paste it in the window. 

just be sure to take out the client's name you put at the top for disguise/cover.

[Evantime34]

I didn't mean to under rate your team. But there is absolutely no way Dwight can be consistently gaurded by Darko. If the double comes he will find the open man. I think Yi can hit open jumpers, so you certainly won't be able to leave him alone like some people did against Rondo. Anyway this is a moot point, I am going to run as much as possible, which will prevent a double from coming to Howard because it won't get there fast enough. Dwight is faster up the court than Darko, Nash is faster than Duhon. If you put Bosh on Dwight for speed reasons on the break KMart or Stro will torch Darko down the court.

[Roy Hobbs]

A distinct advantage for us is the lack of an out and out superstar in your team - Amare included - and the fact we have potentially 2 in ours in Bosh and Durant.
...
Overall, I'd think we match up well together, not much to choose between the two but I'd give myself the edge due to having two certified superstars in Durant and Bosh.

See, I just don't agree with this.  If Amare isn't a "superstar", Bosh certainly isn't.  Amare scores more points, shoots a higher percentage, and rebounds more.  He blocks substantially more shots, although Bosh is a better one-on-one defend.  They're roughly the same age, and Bosh has missed at least 12 games in each of the last three seasons, meaning he isn't exactly a picture of health (whereas Amare has only missed two games, total, in the last two years).

What's your thinking in labeling Bosh a "superstar" and Amare as something less than that?  I just don't see it.

As for Durant, he has the *potential* to be a star, but he's not there yet.  I would say that the same applies to Rudy Gay, though; I think a lot of people are sleeping on how good he's going to be.  Durant will probably be a better player, but I don't think the gap is going to be as wide as you're implying.

I think the rest of the Portland vs. Las Vegas debate can be left for another thread (when we vote for "team of the future").  However, I do want to get your thoughts on this "superstar" thing.

[celticmaestro]

I didn't mean to under rate your team. But there is absolutely no way Dwight can be consistently gaurded by Darko. If the double comes he will find the open man. I think Yi can hit open jumpers, so you certainly won't be able to leave him alone like some people did against Rondo. Anyway this is a moot point, I am going to run as much as possible, which will prevent a double from coming to Howard because it won't get there fast enough. Dwight is faster up the court than Darko, Nash is faster than Duhon. If you put Bosh on Dwight for speed reasons on the break KMart or Stro will torch Darko down the court.

No Darko can't guard Dwight for 48 minutes, but in the half-court set he can do as good a job as most.