2013 Pick 2 Draft: How's my team look?

[fairweatherfan]

oh yeah?

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

That's with a team that plays no defense. Now add the wall of defenders stopping EVERYTHING you throw at it.

Monta has got it all, man... Who's the ball hog now?

disagree and watch me get irrationally angry over nothing.

I BET U DONT EVEN LIFT

[nickagneta]

Lakers

Starters

PG: Deron Williams               17.3/3.2/7.7/42%/37%/86%
SG: JJ Redick                          15.1/2.4/4.4/45%/39%/90%
SF: Metta World Peace          12.7/5.5/1.5/40%/35%/74%
PF: Andrei Kirilenko                13.1/6.0/2.9/51%/31%/77%
C: Dwight Howard                  16.3/11.9/1.5/58%/25%/49%

Bench

C/PF: Tiago Splitter                10.5/5.8/1.5/60%/0O%/74%
SF: Mike Dunleavy                   11.1/3.9/2.0/46%/43%/81%
PG: Devin Harris                      8.8/1.9/2.7/44%/35%/72%
SG: CJ Miles                            11.1/2.6/0.9/41%/38%/93%
C/PF: Brandon Wright             6.9/3.3/0.5/62%/00%/62%
PF: Marcus Morris                    8.4/3.9/0.8/43%/38%/64%
PG: Brian Roberts                    6.44/1.0/2.3/41%/37%/93%
SG: James Anderson              3.3/1.5/1.1/44%/40%/88%

Total Salary                       $82,580,000
Salary Cap Remaining   $16,720,000


PPG/RPG/APG/FG%/3PT%/FT%

Really like this team. Yes, the whole thing revolves around Howard and Williams having comebacks from nagging injuries in the second half for it to work, but I think both have already shown signs of this already. Also, these guys have been wanting to play on each others teams for years, that should appease both superstars.

The rest is fit and weapons in roles and I think the Lakers have tons of that. Devin Harris/CJ Miles/Mike Dunleavy/Marcus Morris/Tiago Splitter could beat 1 or 2 teams starting fives in this league. That's the Lakers bench. And on the Lakers deep bench is currently a player ranked in the top 10 for rookies so far this year by ESPN.com.

Not sure if it is the best team here, but I think its better than the current Lakers and I saved over $33 million when you include luxury tax that would have to have been paid on that money I saved.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

oh yeah?

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

That's with a team that plays no defense. Now add the wall of defenders stopping EVERYTHING you throw at it.

Monta has got it all, man... Who's the ball hog now?

disagree and watch me get irrationally angry over nothing.

I BET U DONT EVEN LIFT

Haven't been in a while (6 months now maybe, still paying for gym membership). Thank you for reminding me. 

[KGs Knee]

FWF, I agree the Knicks and Nets are clearly the class of the East.  I'd venture to say, whoever wins our battle wins the whole thing as well.

Couple of points a disagree on though.

-Chandler is obviously better than Gortat.  Gortat just needs to play his role on offense and keep Chandler off the boards.  I feel your team needs more from Chandler than mine needs from Gortat.  So, you get the individual advantage but it won't be much.

-Boozer vs Milsap is a wash.  I don't care how much some here hate him, Boozer is way better than people give him credit for.  Milsap isn't really equipped to take advantage of whatever defensive shortcomings Boozer has.

Melo/Butler vs Kobe/Kawhi.  Kobe and Melo are two of the premier scorers in this league.  Both are clutch as well.  The difference is, and why I give myself the slight edge here, Kawhi should be better able to defend Melo than Butler could Kobe.  Kawhi is also a deadly 3pt shooter, the perfect complement to Kobe.

Hill vs Conley.  I'll say it's a wash.  Hill is also one of the best defensive PG's in the league.  Neither player is going to be running the offense, so any advantage Conley has as a facilitator is negated.  The primary skill important here is ability to knock down an open shot.

Benches: I agree with pretty much everything you said.  No argument here.

Basically, I boil this matchup down to Kobe vs Melo.  Who you gonna trust in the big moment more?

[StartOrien]

Ladies and germs....

Your 2013 CB Pick 2 CHAMPIONS!

Brooklyn Nets

Head Coach:  (11-time NBA World Champion)  Phil Jackson

Starting Lineup

 C- Marcin Gortat
PF- Carlos Boozer
SF- Kawhi Leonard
SG- Kobe Bryant
PG- George Hill

Bench

 C- Andray Blatche
PF- Udonis Haslem
SF- Matt Barnes
 G- Jason Terry
 G- Nando de Colo

Reserves:  Marcus Camby, Antoine Walker

I think your opinion of your team is significantly higher than most others.

[Who]

Ladies and germs....

Your 2013 CB Pick 2 CHAMPIONS!

Brooklyn Nets

I hope so, because Antoine Walker just put his future championship ring down as collateral for a horse racing bet 

Let's break our inevitable ECF down now, though.

C: Chandler >> Gortat.  Gortat's a nice player but doesn't do anything better than Chandler except a slight edge in shot blocking.  Chandler is clearly the superior defender and rebounder, has a a 5 pt advantage in PER and over double the win shares to boot.

PF: Millsap ~= Boozer.  Boozer is a better rebounder but Millsap is a better shooter, passer, and defender, and can actually hit the 3 in a pinch.  I'm inclined to give Millsap a small edge, and I'm guessing most here would agree with me, but I'm willing to consider it a wash for argument's sake. 

SF: Carmelo >>> Kawhi.  Kawhi's a nice young role player, but still just a role player.  Carmelo's a top 10 player and future HOFer at the peak of his prime.  No contest.

SG: Butler <<< Kobe.  I'd probably start Butler over Foye in this matchup to try and slow Kobe down.  Still a major matchup advantage in Brooklyn's favor, though - Kobe is slowing down just a bit, but still a top 10-12 player of all-time.  Again, no contest.

PG: Conley > Hill.  Hill is a slightly better scorer and significantly better rebounder.  Conley is a better distributor and a better defender.  Pretty much equal as shooters.  Very close but I give a small edge to Conley because defense wins made-up championships.

Benches:

Big Men:  Davis + O'Neal > Blatche + Haslem.  Davis is an up-and-coming big man with pretty sick advanced stats, and O'Neal is playing like his much younger self, dropping double-doubles with multiple blocks coming off Phoenix's bench.  Efficiency-wise he hasn't been this effective since 2007, and that's for the entire season, not just this hot streak. 

Blatche has had a rejuvenation of his own and is probably the best of the 4 this season, but Haslem has dropped off sharply and is bordering on irrelevancy.  Small edge to the Knicks with 2 strong contributors over 1.

Wings: Pondexter + Foye < Barnes + Terry.  Almost like the younger versions of Brooklyn's bench here.  2 40+% three point shooters and tough D from Pondexter make me want to call it a push or even give the Knicks a small edge, but respect for the veteran savvy of Brooklyn's guys and Terry's past clutch play swing this Brooklyn's way.

PG: Brooks > de Colo.  Nando's still learning the NBA game, and Brooks has better stats despite getting yanked around in Sacramento, and a fair amount of playoff experience to boot.

Deep bench: Villanueva + James Johnson + Beverley >>> Camby + Toine + whoever #13 is.  Pretty self-evident - won't be very relevant unless there are injuries or foul trouble, but the Knicks' better deep bench gives them lots of depth and lineup flexibility.

EDIT:  Oops, forgot the most important part.  KNICKS in 6 - Book it!


That's my (possibly biased, definitely half-assed) breakdown.  Feel free to agree with me for TPs, or disagree and watch me get irrationally angry over nothing.  Cheers!

I would see it as:

Starters
C: Gortat vs Tyson = neutral. Both players very similar.
PF: Boozer vs Millsap = advantage Millsap. More well-rounded PF.
Wings: Melo/J.Bulter vs Kawhi/Kobe = cancel one another out.
PG: Conley vs George Hill = advantage M.Conley due to his superior floor game and playmaking.

No way do I think Conley is a better defender than George Hill though. 

Bench
C: Blatche vs JO = advantage Blatche due to his offensive prowess
PF: Haslem vs E.Davis = neutral. Two nothing players who cancel one another.
SF: Barnes vs Pondexter = neutral.
SG: Terry vs Foye = I really dislike Foye but this is a good matchup for him. Neutral.
PG: De Colo vs Brooks = advantage Brooks over De Colo. I imagine Terry will eat up these minutes though. So that matchup would be neutral.

Deep Reserves

New York = I dislike Villanueva but I think he will be quite valuable on this team. More valuable than Ed Davis in fact and should be playing ahead of Ed Davis. James Johnson gives you an advantage over Antoine. Beverley, I don't know.

Brooklyn = Camby is a very good backup big man if he can get healthy. Antoine isn't an NBA player anymore. Nobody listed for final spot.

Overall

I think New York has a sizable advantage and takes the series against Brooklyn.

[AB_Celtic]

Can I nominate myself for most improved from what I started with? 

[fairweatherfan]

Basically, I boil this matchup down to Kobe vs Melo.  Who you gonna trust in the big moment more?

I'm glad you said so, because Melo consistently performs better in the clutch than Kobe. 

http://www.82games.com/CSORT11.HTM

The margin's been even wider in earlier seasons.  Kobe's had much better teams, but his actual individual clutch play has been worse than Melo's.

EDIT:  Another good table at the bottom here:  http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-bryant-in-crunch-time

1996-2011, final 24 seconds, down 1-2 points or tied, Melo 1st in FG%, Kobe 25th.

[Who]

The new-look Miami Heat:
Starters
Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Emeka Okafor, Brandon Knight, Mo Williams

Bench:
Guards: Lou Williams, Jordan Crawford,
SF: John Salmons, Omri Casspi
PF: Chris Copeland ,  Kyle O'Quinn
Center: BJ Mullens, Kurt Thomas

Beat that.

Why did you go with a small backcourt of Mo Williams + Brandon Knight?

[KGs Knee]

Basically, I boil this matchup down to Kobe vs Melo.  Who you gonna trust in the big moment more?

I'm glad you said so, because Melo consistently performs better in the clutch than Kobe. 

http://www.82games.com/CSORT11.HTM

The margin's been even wider in earlier seasons.  Kobe's had much better teams, but his actual individual clutch play has been worse than Melo's.

5 rings>>>>>Zero rings 

[Who]

Can I nominate myself for most improved from what I started with? 

Washington made one hell of a leap. I would say they got the most improved team award wrapped up. Although, that late Joe Johnson trade may put their place in question.

You definitely did a great job with Milwaukee. They are a vastly improved squad. One of the biggest turnarounds, no doubt.

[fairweatherfan]

Can I nominate myself for most improved from what I started with? 

Agree with Who that Washington is my gut impulse for most improved, but you did a great job building up from a pretty bad initial position.

[indeedproceed]

The Pick Two Cavaliers
"What I Did I Done And I Ain't Ashamed. A Confession Of Excellence"

For the old timers:

Not Pictured: Nikola Mirotic. You should read about him.

Depth Chart:
PG: Kyrie Irving (34) / Isaiah Thomas (14)
SG: Lance Stephenson (32) / Wayne Ellington (16)
SF: Harrison Barnes (28) / Tobias Harris (10) / Dante Cunningham (10)
PF: Ryan Anderson (28) / Mirza Teletovic (10) / Tobias Harris (10)
C: Andrew Bynum (26) / Tyler Zeller (11) / Greg Smith (11)

IR/Overseas: Jason Richardson, Nikola Mirotic

[AB_Celtic]

The Pick Two Cavaliers
"What I Did I Done And I Ain't Ashamed. A Confession Of Excellence"

For the old timers:

What site did you use to do that?

Edit: Or did you do it by yourself on Excel? If so, well done

[fairweatherfan]

Basically, I boil this matchup down to Kobe vs Melo.  Who you gonna trust in the big moment more?

I'm glad you said so, because Melo consistently performs better in the clutch than Kobe. 

http://www.82games.com/CSORT11.HTM

The margin's been even wider in earlier seasons.  Kobe's had much better teams, but his actual individual clutch play has been worse than Melo's.

EDIT:  Another good table at the bottom here:  http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-bryant-in-crunch-time

1996-2011, final 24 seconds, down 1-2 points or tied, Melo 1st in FG%, Kobe 25th.

5 rings>>>>>Zero rings 

Allow me to rebut that with a long, elaborate, thoroughly-sourced argument that conclusively shows that...hello, what's this here?



Quittin time!  TPs all around for another fun Pick 2 draft.