Western Conference Semis: Blazers (2) Vs Jazz (3)

[indeedproceed]

Question: Is Pierce anymore an unanswerable property than Amar'e Stoudemire?

Because I can live with the 36 mins, 20 pts, 50% shooting, 30% from deep that Pierce has put up against Delfino in the years Delfino has been starting for Milwaukee. That's a good stat line.

But Garnett is going to be a year older next year. He's going to be a year slower, and Amar'e already showed what he can do healthy to Kevin Garnett in the playoffs when he was 35. How's he gonna do when KG will be near-36? He'll do even better against Al Jefferson.

And while Brendan Haywood is way better than Al Jefferson as a defensive anchor, he's hardly fast enough to switch out on James Harden after THabo Sefelosha gets picked like an afro by Andrew Bogut.

Also, Kyle Lowry shut Baron Davis down this year as a starter. Part of that All-NBA caliber defense Baron doesn't know anything about.

Advantages at the 1, 2, 4, 5, with Delfino playing his heart out against Pierce. Pierce might go off for one of two of those games, but Delfino will go off defensively as well. And, when Lowry has made Baron Davis hide behind his beard, and Caron Butler can't figure out what to do because nobody is passing him the ball, and Al Jefferson is exposed as a complete liability when he's not scoring...who ya gonna call?

[action781]

This might seem counter-intuitive. Why would I go at Kevin Garnett in any fashion? Well, if that seems counter-intuitive, than you didn't watch game 1 of this years' Celtics-Knicks playoff series. You didn't watch Amar'e Stoudemire consistently destroy Kevin Garnett, en-route to a 28pts, 11 rebounds, 67% shooting rampage. The only thing that stopped the Knicks from winning that game was Carmelo Anthony needing shots.

But, Amar'e got hurt soon after, and limped through the rest of the series, which the Celtics mostly cruised on to win. They knew they could, because Amar'e wasn't there to expose Kevin Garnett anymore.

Garnett used to dominate Amare, in the same way that a big brother dominates his little brother that is almost 7 years younger. But, Amar'e isn't that little kid anymore, and he let KG know that this year in the playoffs. KG's impeccable footwork couldn't keep up, his incredible reach wasn't long enough, and his savvy basketball IQ was about as useful as a rolled up newspaper in a lions pen.

I remember Amare really did annihilate KG that game.  KG didn't stand a chance.  The manner in which he abused KG that game really made me think that it could happen quite a bit, but it was still just 1 game.  Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off on KG and I was listening to that game on the radio so didn't get to really see it with my own eyes.  So I'm not completely sold that he'd score 30+ more than twice over the course of 6 or 7 games.  But I am pretty convinced that he would have two ridiculous games against him.

[Rondo2287]

IP Any comments on the fact that Bogut is ranked 142nd in the league in "True Tip-In Efficiency when he has is back to the basket and is guarded by players below 6 foot 2"?

This seems like a glaring weekness to me

[Who]

I have the Garnett vs Amare matchup in Utah's favour.

I think KG's defense, rebounding and passing exceeds Amare's superior scoring.

[Fafnir]

Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off

He scored 39, 27, and 16 in the regular season. On a TS% of .594, .727, and .477.

He lit us up 2 out of 3 in the regular season. Though a part of me wonders how much of that was against KG. I do recall Doc putting Davis on him for long long stretches of those games waiting to use KG in the four quarter. I know KG fouled out in one of the Knick games...

[indeedproceed]

not a surprise to any1, but i have never been that high on portland.  my vote goes to utah in this series, although i think utah is a little overrated by some on here

You've never really gotten into why you're down on Portland. I'd love to hear why.

in a nutshell.....i like amare, bogut, and harden.....however i think u are extremely weak at the point. i think ur bench is very thin as well. i think lopez is ok, and he is perhaps ur strongest bench player. i think portland's roster would hold up better in the east.  compared to other western teams, i just dont value them as much.  i certainly dont think they are a two seed, imo.

i saw ur post about loving ur team, and i assume (i can only assume since i have never tried being a gm in this) most people feel the same way about their team.  i think in this game people debate, use stats to make their case, and find faults in others team and attempt to exploit it, even if it is minuscule.  i think a lot of gm's debate and "play the game" and eventually begin to buy all their arguments, when they wouldn't if they werent involved.

i think being an outside, i have no emotions in teams and rosters and vote as such.  i can understand people's love for their team since it is evident people put a ton of time and energy into building their team.

just my 2 cents, since i was asked.  ip, ur debating skills are very good, i have to give it to u.  but like i said in a different thread, for me personally, it takes more than a good argument to get my vote.

Well see I guess that's what it comes down to. I've got more than a good set of arguements..you're calling me weak at the point, but if you'd watched the Rockets play last year, especially later in the year, you'd see Lowry was their best player. Dude was just on fire.

Ah well, people have their opinions and they can only base them on what they've seen. I've watched more Rockets basketball than most, but if you want me to tell you about Amir Johnson's positives, I'd be at a loss besides "He can jump high".

[Who]

Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off

He scored 39, 27, and 16 in the regular season. On a TS% of .594, .727, and .477.

He lit us up 2 out of 3 in the regular season. Though a part of me wonders how much of that was against KG. I do recall Doc putting Davis on him for long long stretches of those games waiting to use KG in the four quarter. I know KG fouled out in one of the Knick games...

Amare played a lot of center in those two earlier regular season contests (his big scoring nights) with NY spacing the floor with four shooters.

It's a whole different ball game to put him at PF with a big man clogging the paint. That makes Amare a much easier player to defend. His turnovers go up and his scoring efficiency goes down.

[indeedproceed]

I have the Garnett vs Amare matchup in Utah's favour.

I think KG's defense, rebounding and passing exceeds Amare's superior scoring.

You think KG's defense, rebounding, and passing will remain static over the next year, especially with the already sizeable blows we've seen to KG's lateral quickness?

His passing I don't see changing, but each year will rob him a little of his quickness, his explosiveness..that translates into bad news bears against Amar'e.

[Who]

I have the Garnett vs Amare matchup in Utah's favour.

I think KG's defense, rebounding and passing exceeds Amare's superior scoring.

You think KG's defense, rebounding, and passing will remain static over the next year, especially with the already sizeable blows we've seen to KG's lateral quickness?

His passing I don't see changing, but each year will rob him a little of his quickness, his explosiveness..that translates into bad news bears against Amar'e.

Garnett had a great season last year and looked very good physically. Better than the year prior. He has a body type and skill-set which should continue to age very well.

It's hard to know how much of a drop off we'll see next year but I doubt it's enough to make Amare the superior player.

[action781]

Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off

He scored 39, 27, and 16 in the regular season. On a TS% of .594, .727, and .477.

He lit us up 2 out of 3 in the regular season. Though a part of me wonders how much of that was against KG. I do recall Doc putting Davis on him for long long stretches of those games waiting to use KG in the four quarter. I know KG fouled out in one of the Knick games...

I guess "lit up" is a very subjective term.  I don't think Amare scoring 27 is "lighting it up" since it's only slightly above his average.  I consider "lighting it up" relative to the player's average.  Like James Jones can light it up for 25, but Lebron scoring 25 wouldn't be lighting it up IMO.  But it's all opinion, so that's just my take on it.

[indeedproceed]

Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off

He scored 39, 27, and 16 in the regular season. On a TS% of .594, .727, and .477.

He lit us up 2 out of 3 in the regular season. Though a part of me wonders how much of that was against KG. I do recall Doc putting Davis on him for long long stretches of those games waiting to use KG in the four quarter. I know KG fouled out in one of the Knick games...

Amare played a lot of center in those two earlier regular season contests (his big scoring nights) with NY spacing the floor with four shooters.

It's a whole different ball game to put him at PF with a big man clogging the paint. That makes Amare a much easier player to defend. His turnovers go up and his scoring efficiency goes down.

Why? Amar'e is very skilled at putting the ball on the floor and finishing in traffic. Since AL Jefferson will be playing next to KG, what's stopping Amar'e from taking KG to task early on and taking him to the rack? Stopping quick athletic frontcourt players who can put the ball on the floor seems to be KG's biggest weakness, due to his diminished lateral quickness.

[Rondo2287]

Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off

He scored 39, 27, and 16 in the regular season. On a TS% of .594, .727, and .477.

He lit us up 2 out of 3 in the regular season. Though a part of me wonders how much of that was against KG. I do recall Doc putting Davis on him for long long stretches of those games waiting to use KG in the four quarter. I know KG fouled out in one of the Knick games...

Amare played a lot of center in those two earlier regular season contests (his big scoring nights) with NY spacing the floor with four shooters.

It's a whole different ball game to put him at PF with a big man clogging the paint. That makes Amare a much easier player to defend. His turnovers go up and his scoring efficiency goes down.

Why? Amar'e is very skilled at putting the ball on the floor and finishing in traffic. Since AL Jefferson will be playing next to KG, what's stopping Amar'e from taking KG to task early on and taking him to the rack? Stopping quick athletic frontcourt players who can put the ball on the floor seems to be KG's biggest weakness, due to his diminished lateral quickness.

To add some validity to IP's point here, Amare is ranked first in the league in finishing in traffic with either hand when traffic consists of 3.5 or more people withing a 2 foot radius of him.

[dark_lord]

not a surprise to any1, but i have never been that high on portland.  my vote goes to utah in this series, although i think utah is a little overrated by some on here

You've never really gotten into why you're down on Portland. I'd love to hear why.

in a nutshell.....i like amare, bogut, and harden.....however i think u are extremely weak at the point. i think ur bench is very thin as well. i think lopez is ok, and he is perhaps ur strongest bench player. i think portland's roster would hold up better in the east.  compared to other western teams, i just dont value them as much.  i certainly dont think they are a two seed, imo.

i saw ur post about loving ur team, and i assume (i can only assume since i have never tried being a gm in this) most people feel the same way about their team.  i think in this game people debate, use stats to make their case, and find faults in others team and attempt to exploit it, even if it is minuscule.  i think a lot of gm's debate and "play the game" and eventually begin to buy all their arguments, when they wouldn't if they werent involved.

i think being an outside, i have no emotions in teams and rosters and vote as such.  i can understand people's love for their team since it is evident people put a ton of time and energy into building their team.

just my 2 cents, since i was asked.  ip, ur debating skills are very good, i have to give it to u.  but like i said in a different thread, for me personally, it takes more than a good argument to get my vote.

Well see I guess that's what it comes down to. I've got more than a good set of arguements..you're calling me weak at the point, but if you'd watched the Rockets play last year, especially later in the year, you'd see Lowry was their best player. Dude was just on fire.

Ah well, people have their opinions and they can only base them on what they've seen. I've watched more Rockets basketball than most, but if you want me to tell you about Amir Johnson's positives, I'd be at a loss besides "He can jump high".

ur making an assumption, an inaccurate one at that. lowry would be better suited as a backup.  truth is, i did see lowry play...not every game, but a fair share. ur trusting lowry, based on the second half of one season....im not sold on that. plus i dont like the backup at that position....thus ur weak at the point, imo

[Who]

Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off

He scored 39, 27, and 16 in the regular season. On a TS% of .594, .727, and .477.

He lit us up 2 out of 3 in the regular season. Though a part of me wonders how much of that was against KG. I do recall Doc putting Davis on him for long long stretches of those games waiting to use KG in the four quarter. I know KG fouled out in one of the Knick games...

Amare played a lot of center in those two earlier regular season contests (his big scoring nights) with NY spacing the floor with four shooters.

It's a whole different ball game to put him at PF with a big man clogging the paint. That makes Amare a much easier player to defend. His turnovers go up and his scoring efficiency goes down.

Why? Amar'e is very skilled at putting the ball on the floor and finishing in traffic. Since AL Jefferson will be playing next to KG, what's stopping Amar'e from taking KG to task early on and taking him to the rack? Stopping quick athletic frontcourt players who can put the ball on the floor seems to be KG's biggest weakness, due to his diminished lateral quickness.

Amare's athletic + skill-set advantages are far greater vs centers than power forwards.

Centers are slower and less equipped athletically to match him + are generally weaker defensively away from the basket and have a very tough time with his face up game.

Power forwards are quicker and defend his face up game much better.

-------------------------------------------------

Kevin Garnett was the second best defensive big man in the league last year and was, by a large margin, the best defensive PF around.

[indeedproceed]

Only 1 of the other several times they played that season did Amare go off

He scored 39, 27, and 16 in the regular season. On a TS% of .594, .727, and .477.

He lit us up 2 out of 3 in the regular season. Though a part of me wonders how much of that was against KG. I do recall Doc putting Davis on him for long long stretches of those games waiting to use KG in the four quarter. I know KG fouled out in one of the Knick games...

Amare played a lot of center in those two earlier regular season contests (his big scoring nights) with NY spacing the floor with four shooters.

It's a whole different ball game to put him at PF with a big man clogging the paint. That makes Amare a much easier player to defend. His turnovers go up and his scoring efficiency goes down.

Why? Amar'e is very skilled at putting the ball on the floor and finishing in traffic. Since AL Jefferson will be playing next to KG, what's stopping Amar'e from taking KG to task early on and taking him to the rack? Stopping quick athletic frontcourt players who can put the ball on the floor seems to be KG's biggest weakness, due to his diminished lateral quickness.

To add some validity to IP's point here, Amare is ranked first in the league in finishing in traffic with either hand when traffic consists of 3.5 or more people withing a 2 foot radius of him.

Hatin.