2013 CB Draft: Northwest Division Press Conferences

[Who]

OKC: Are you worried about spacing the floor? With a starting five of slashers, drivers and paint cloggers, how will you make up for the lack of floor spacing to play the drive and dish/inside out games?

I don't think this question really applies to my SG/SF rotation, as all of them have demonstrated the ability to knock down shots with range.

In the half-court set offense, Taj's main focus will be to set screens and picks, and crash the boards. If he's the one holding the ball on the baseline with 3 seconds left on the shot clock, he'll shoot it. He's not a huge liability from mid-range (shooting 39% from 10-15 feet, and 32% beyond).

Taj Gibson shot the ball best when he was a rookie and played longer minutes (25-30mpg to 20-22mpg). He might be one of those guys whose shooting stroke benefits from extra playing time (consistency).

Then again, maybe not. Maybe it'll be the exact same. Who knows.

[riah32]

One ball will be used.

BTW if eveyone is so worried about touches how does the US National Team win every tournment there in or come close t oit if they are all chuckers on that team?

I would have loved to have seen a low usage PG instead of Brandon Jennings alongside Joe Johnson and Carmelo Anthony. I don't think there are enough touches to go around for all three of them to flourish.

Enes Kanter will need quite a few touches inside too (15ppg low post threat) and so too will Andrei Kirilenko who I think is a 15ppg 4apg threat as an undersized quick PF. Then there is Darren Collison (backup PG) who likes to have the ball in his hands and if fit Andrew Bynum.

I think there are a lot of guys here in Portland who will see dramatically lower offensive number + I think the players here will have a hard time accepting roles and playing together as a cohesive unit. Furthermore, I would expect those offensive difficulties to leak onto the defensive end of the floor and effect several player's defensive efforts.

Plenty of talent on the roster, no question. But I dont think having 4 chuckers in the starting line up is going to work well cohesively.

I dont see 4 chuckers in my starting lineup. Joe Johnson has played fine along side Darren Williams who constantly has the ball in his hand, he did the same while playing with Nash so there should be no fighting over shots there.

Jennings has played with the biggest chucker ever Monte Ellis and that worked okay. The other possibilty is start Collison and move jennings to the bench which will probably happen from time to time.

Melo is a chucker because he as always been the go to guy but with this team he won't need to do that and he can feel he needs to force so many shots.

AK 47 doesn't need that many touches

Bynum and Kanter will get there share as well.

The way my team is put together I could very easily trade somebody if need be.

[Lucky17]

OKC:

Question 1: You're the first presser I've read start to finish without stopping. You're welcome. I liked the way it was broken up into segments and wasn't 2000 words long.

Thanks. I figure, we all know who these guys are, let's just get down to the nitty gritty and the Q&A, yes?

Question 2: Brad Stevens (he's so hot right now) is full of crap. He pays some graduate from William and Mary of Holy Cross 30k to work 50 hours a week preparing advanced metrics reports. Don't think you get to pretend that numbers don't exist by quoting some folksy maxims.

Brad Stevens, Hansel of the NBA's coaching ranks.

Obviously, numbers exist. But they don't tell entire stories. This is what struck me in one of yesterday's pressers, where a GM was bringing out stats to demonstrate the particular defensive prowess of one of his players during a playoff series. I checked the numbers: that same player had the worst +/- rating on either team for the entire series.

Question 3: Did Shump Shump really shoot 40% on nearly 5 attempts per 36 minutes from long? Did that actually happen? How did I miss that?

I thought his series vs. the Celtics was truly a revelation. He seemed to knock down big shot after big shot from deep.

Question 4: Dwight Howard took half the season last year to get healthy, and his injuries stem from now chronic back problems. Houston's concerned enough about it to keep a disgruntled Asik on the roster rather than have the possibility of having nothing when Howard has his minutes limited or misses extended time. What's your backup plan, cowboy?

Yeah, like every other team, if I suffer a major injury to one of my superstars, my team's hopes are pretty much dashed. I'm OK living with that, though. Investing resources in top-flight backups for my cornerstones seems counterproductive to me: I'd rather use my chips to improve the quality of play around them, rather than have a pricey guy play out of position, or only 15-20 minutes a night.

I fully believe Daryl Morey will jump at a trade offer for Asik that makes his starting lineup better talent- and fit-wise. Asik as PF is just posturing/GM-speak.

Question 5: I like a lot of your depth. Maynor, Marco Bellinelli, Landry Fields, Haslem, Mahini. All guys where you're like, "Well, they're not starters, but they'll do great."

Yeah, those are the types of guys I gravitate towards. Substance over style or flash. Would rather a bunch of utility guys than one-trick ponies.

[riah32]

Question for Denever:

Who takes the last shot of the game for you?


Down 1 with 10 seconds left?

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Question for Denever:

Who takes the last shot of the game for you?


Down 1 with 10 seconds left?

This is by far the easiest question anyone has asked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKKYUlDyXRg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbtNFgYthBw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5fcDSZgY7U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2vLXgPNLL8

Seems pretty clutch and alpha dog-ish to me... That's with ALL STAR LaMarcus Aldridge in the lineup, and yet who's got the ball on crunch time and taking the clutch shots...?

Look at this game as well and find out who led the comeback.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejPSz6WBi84

And for everyone who's going to ask about not having an elite talent in this team, may I suggest watching the videos as well.

[Lucky17]

OKC: Are you worried about spacing the floor? With a starting five of slashers, drivers and paint cloggers, how will you make up for the lack of floor spacing to play the drive and dish/inside out games?

I don't think this question really applies to my SG/SF rotation, as all of them have demonstrated the ability to knock down shots with range.

In the half-court set offense, Taj's main focus will be to set screens and picks, and crash the boards. If he's the one holding the ball on the baseline with 3 seconds left on the shot clock, he'll shoot it. He's not a huge liability from mid-range (shooting 39% from 10-15 feet, and 32% beyond).

Taj Gibson shot the ball best when he was a rookie and played longer minutes (25-30mpg to 20-22mpg). He might be one of those guys whose shooting stroke benefits from extra playing time (consistency).

Then again, maybe not. Maybe it'll be the exact same. Who knows.

That's true. And it's hard to say which is the cause, and which is the effect. Did he shoot better because he got more attempts because he was playing more minutes, or was he getting more minutes because he was shooting effectively?

Regardless, I do plan to give Taj closer to those 25-30 mpg he was playing that rookie year than the 20-25 mpg he's been playing in recent years.

[fairweatherfan]

Portland: Why are you "very certain" Bynum will be healthy?  I know we talk up our teams here but is there a specific reason why you're so confident?

Denver: You've got Monroe and Bogut as your starting bigs, with Monroe at the 4.  What will you do against more mobile, smaller lineups - say Portland with Kirilenko or Melo at the 4, or Milwaukee with Ryan Anderson spending a lot of time at the 3 pt line?  Will you adjust your lineup or leave Monroe to defend on the perimeter?

[rondoallaturca]

Denver: For all the flak I gave you earlier, I'll come right out and say I've warmed up to your team greatly. I do realize there are some sneaky ways for you to maximize some of your talent, such as playing a Lowry/Lillard backcourt. However, one thing still lingers in my mind: What do you think your team's chances are for the championship?

In your outlook, I found it interesting that instead of focusing on the championship, you rather decided to emphasize how this team is a lock for the playoffs (which I certainly agree). So what happens once the team is there? While you may be the deepest team in the league, you still can only put five players out on the court at any given time, and a lot of your talent will be going to waste.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Denver: You've got Monroe and Bogut as your starting bigs, with Monroe at the 4.  What will you do against more mobile, smaller lineups - say Portland with Kirilenko or Melo at the 4, or Milwaukee with Ryan Anderson spending a lot of time at the 3 pt line?  Will you adjust your lineup or leave Monroe to defend on the perimeter?

Let's not forget that we have the one of the best Pick and Roll defenders in Anderson Varejao. He's quick footed enough that he can play against these "mobile" PF's. He's also talented enough in a sense that Denver will not lose any production, especially rebounding if he is on the floor instead of Bogut.

So what does Denver do against AK47, Dirk, LaMarcus? Simple, we bump Andy in the starting lineup. And if teams don't have that mobile 4, well, sorry but Monroe and Bogut will kill you inside as the game starts.

[riah32]

Portland: Why are you "very certain" Bynum will be healthy?  I know we talk up our teams here but is there a specific reason why you're so confident?

While I dont have any proof he will be healthy and I don't think anybody does, I just think not rushing back last year and taking the year off to get completely healthy will help a lot.

[Who]

I love the Taj Gibson + Dwight Howard combination defensively. I think they are going to be unbelievably good. Dwight's power and rim protection combined with Taj's quickness, length and weak side shot-blocking.

I think OKC's pick and roll defense, their transition defense, help rotations, closing out on shooters, and, rim protection is going to be top notch with those two on the floor together.

That is before we even get to Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert who just might be the best defensive backcourt in the league. Phenomenal quickness and athleticism defensively.

[fairweatherfan]

So what does Denver do against AK47, Dirk, LaMarcus? Simple, we bump Andy in the starting lineup. And if teams don't have that mobile 4, well, sorry but Monroe and Bogut will kill you inside as the game starts.

Thanks for the reply.  If you did this, would Monroe or Bogut be the one to sit?

[Yoki_IsTheName]

So what does Denver do against AK47, Dirk, LaMarcus? Simple, we bump Andy in the starting lineup. And if teams don't have that mobile 4, well, sorry but Monroe and Bogut will kill you inside as the game starts.

Thanks for the reply.  If you did this, would Monroe or Bogut be the one to sit?

Monroe is never going to be bumped out of the starting lineup, barring injuries. Denver needs an inside scorer and a number two option.

Bogut and Varejao would be switching roles in the starting lineup depending on the matchups. Both possess individual skill and style to combat pretty much any frontcourt that gets to play the Nuggets.

Varejao will technically be listed at 4, but on the floor, he always takes the quicker, agile opposing big, whether it's the 4 or the 5 to hide Monroe and Bogut's (if he's playing with him) lack of speed.

[Lucky17]

This is looking like one tough, tough division. Without looking closely at the rest of the West, I have to believe all four teams are legit playoff teams.

[rondoallaturca]

This is looking like one tough, tough division. Without looking closely at the rest of the West, I have to believe all four teams are legit playoff teams.

I agree with this. The Northwest is not a division I would want to be in. Despite that, I do have a sense of how I would rank these teams. I'm still waiting on McHP to release his detailed presser though, as his team is the big X-factor of where exactly these teams will fall in my rankings.