Celticsblog Mock GM Press Conferences: Pacific Division

[crownsy]

some quick thoughts on the Pacific, have to be at dinner in 10 mins...

Clippers - they can throw Oberto/Varejao/Ratliff at Howard and let Dirk feast on the GSW Pfs... that tips the scales.  Mo williams' health is an issue esp. with Brooks the only backup.  but that's the only prob. i have with their lineup... great depth at the wings.

Warriors - originally i had them first b/c i love the Nash/Howard combo and believe (contrary to Roy's thoughts) that Nash will make it through the year. Spanish Choclate can help keep Nash's mins to 29-31 mpg.  But their lack of frontcourt depth gives the slight edge to LAC.


Suns - I love the Roy/Butler combo with conley, Daniels and perk... they and the Lakers aren't seperated by much IMO, maybe just a coin flip and PHO's depth

Lakers - the Mayo/Durant/Bosh combo is strong. Count me as somoeone who believes Mayo will work in the NBA as a 2nd/3rd option .... like a better, Larry Hughes. depth is an issue, and flip Duhon and Antonio Daniels and I think las vegas finishes ahead of Phoenix.

kings - only 10 players      Jefferson and Gomes are good picks but just about everyone else went higher (in some cases MUCH higher) than they should have IMO... i will have to read the draft explanations closer.

i dont only have ten players, i choose, if you read, to expound on only my ten guys important  for the future. my other players are austin and sasha kaun.

here, ill describe there role.

scrubs for garbage time, to be released the minute i can get something better.

[Evantime34]

some quick thoughts on the Pacific, have to be at dinner in 10 mins...

Clippers - they can throw Oberto/Varejao/Ratliff at Howard and let Dirk feast on the GSW Pfs... that tips the scales.  Mo williams' health is an issue esp. with Brooks the only backup.  but that's the only prob. i have with their lineup... great depth at the wings.

Warriors - originally i had them first b/c i love the Nash/Howard combo and believe (contrary to Roy's thoughts) that Nash will make it through the year. Spanish Choclate can help keep Nash's mins to 29-31 mpg.  But their lack of frontcourt depth gives the slight edge to LAC.


Suns - I love the Roy/Butler combo with conley, Daniels and perk... they and the Lakers aren't seperated by much IMO, maybe just a coin flip and PHO's depth

Lakers - the Mayo/Durant/Bosh combo is strong. Count me as somoeone who believes Mayo will work in the NBA as a 2nd/3rd option .... like a better, Larry Hughes. depth is an issue, and flip Duhon and Antonio Daniels and I think las vegas finishes ahead of Phoenix.

kings - only 10 players      Jefferson and Gomes are good picks but just about everyone else went higher (in some cases MUCH higher) than they should have IMO... i will have to read the draft explanations closer.

Wait so you're telling me Dirk, a wing power forward feasts on Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift and Yi Jianlian all extremely fast and athletic fours, but Oberto/Ratliff/Varejao can gaurd Howard. I think those mismatches are easily a wash if not giving me the edge. Can any of his big men keep up with Dwight Howard running on the break?

[RebusRankin]

Dirk put up 32ppg, 11.5 rpg on 60% shooting against Denver last season. I think he'll do quite well versus Kmart. Swift is injury prone and struggled for minutes on a bad NJ team. Yi can't guard him either.

As for Howard, it'll be tough but I have 4 bodies to throw at him in Oberto, Varejao, Ratliff and Benson. Yes, he'll hurt my team. Yes, he's great in the open court but he's not going to get that many open court dunks in the NBA.

[RebusRankin]

I'll go further Hamilton/Jackson is a better wing combo than Hughes/Thorton.

[Evantime34]

I'll go further Hamilton/Jackson is a better wing combo than Hughes/Thorton.

I agree with that, but that you can guard Howard because you have four big men is ludicrous. Just like to say I can guard Dirk because I have KMart/Swift/Yi/Ajinca to guard him is equally ridiculous. If Dirk stays on the wing then Bowen and Thornton will be able to get under him, as well as Miles if he's healthy.

As far as the wing i'll take Gordon/Bowen/Miles over your backup wings.

[KCattheStripe]

I love the smell of conference rivalries in the morning, it smells like...basketball.

[Lucky17]

I'll go further Hamilton/Jackson is a better wing combo than Hughes/Thorton.

I agree with that, but that you can guard Howard because you have four big men is ludicrous. Just like to say I can guard Dirk because I have KMart/Swift/Yi/Ajinca to guard him is equally ridiculous. If Dirk stays on the wing then Bowen and Thornton will be able to get under him, as well as Miles if he's healthy.

As far as the wing i'll take Gordon/Bowen/Miles over your backup wings.

Well, I doubt this is what Rebus was getting at, but in terms of throwing bodies against the opponent's PF, the Hack-a-Dwight defense works as a tactic, while Hack-a-Dirk does not.

Gordon/Bowen/Miles vs Evans/Hill/Shawne Williams is pretty even, but I give the edge to the Clips. You've got a rookie and a guy who's been out of the league for 1+ years because of knee surgery.

Hill vs. Bowen would be a fun matchup to watch, though.

[RebusRankin]

Well to a degree I was hinting at a Hack a Dwight. I concede the Warriors are stronger at the 5 but I feel that I have defenders in Oberto, Varejao and Ratliff who can body him up, bang with him in the paint, battle him on the boards and make him work.

As well, the Warriors have some starters with some poor injury histories (Martin, Hughes). Will they hold up all season or will they miss significant time as they have recently?

Oh and don't forget the Championship experience my players have. Hamilton, Jackson and Oberto all have rings and Dirk, Varejao and Ratliff all have Finals experience.

[bucknersrevenge]

After debating a while over fairly even teams I'm gonna go with the Clippers to take this division. To me perimeter defense is paramount in any team trying to win anything significant. You absolutely HAVE to be able to defend on the perimeter and deny penetration. While neither team are necessarily starting elite perimeter defenders I like the Clips perimeter guys on defense as a hole with Mo, Rip, Captain Jack and Mo Evans coming off the bench More than Nash(who is a sieve back when he was healthy let alone now), Hughes, Thornton and Bowen who I think is now half the defender he used to be.

Not to mention when the game is on the line I like Dirk as a go-to guy to make a shot more than I like Howard or anybody the Warriors have. On defense I would double Howard all night and force him to have to cut me apart with precision passing out of doubles to beat me. I don't think Howard has mastered this skill yet.

[Gainesville Celtic]

some quick thoughts on the Pacific, have to be at dinner in 10 mins...

Clippers - they can throw Oberto/Varejao/Ratliff at Howard and let Dirk feast on the GSW Pfs... that tips the scales.  Mo williams' health is an issue esp. with Brooks the only backup.  but that's the only prob. i have with their lineup... great depth at the wings.

Warriors - originally i had them first b/c i love the Nash/Howard combo and believe (contrary to Roy's thoughts) that Nash will make it through the year. Spanish Choclate can help keep Nash's mins to 29-31 mpg.  But their lack of frontcourt depth gives the slight edge to LAC.


Suns - I love the Roy/Butler combo with conley, Daniels and perk... they and the Lakers aren't seperated by much IMO, maybe just a coin flip and PHO's depth

Lakers - the Mayo/Durant/Bosh combo is strong. Count me as somoeone who believes Mayo will work in the NBA as a 2nd/3rd option .... like a better, Larry Hughes. depth is an issue, and flip Duhon and Antonio Daniels and I think las vegas finishes ahead of Phoenix.

kings - only 10 players      Jefferson and Gomes are good picks but just about everyone else went higher (in some cases MUCH higher) than they should have IMO... i will have to read the draft explanations closer.

Wait so you're telling me Dirk, a wing power forward feasts on Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift and Yi Jianlian all extremely fast and athletic fours, but Oberto/Ratliff/Varejao can gaurd Howard. I think those mismatches are easily a wash if not giving me the edge. Can any of his big men keep up with Dwight Howard running on the break?

My point -- which i think some folks hit on -- was this:

D. Howard is a beast. No one in my opnion can guard him 1-on-1, but... the closest you can come to slowing him down is to have 3 NBA level bigs to body him throughout the game. The one way i've seen Howard get slowed down is to body/bang/frutstrate him.  You couldn't do that with just, say, Oberto.  And a team like Las Vegas if they throw Bosh at Howard, will get him in foul trouble and hurt a key offensive player.  LAC protects their best offensive player (Dirk) by having 3 bigs to go up against DHo with.

Martin and Swift are decent defenders, but Nowitzki has 2-3 inches on Martin in the post (when he decides to go there for his fadeaway).  And if they're out guarding Dirk on the perimeter it negates Martin/Swift's strong suit -- help side shot blocking.

Like i said, i orignally had you 1st --- which means its VERY close IMO --- but if Howard gets in foul trouble (which he sometimes does) or is slowed, the Warriors frontcourt is a bit thinner. In a close match that might be all that seperates y'all.

I think this might be one of the deeper divisions, with (depending on the Southwest) as many as 4 teams able to challenge for the playoffs.

[Evantime34]

wait so does the poll decide who won the division or do we do that later?

[wdleehi]

wait so does the poll decide who won the division or do we do that later?

No.  This lets you know where you are right now.  I will post new polls after the 2nd trade window.  GMs can use this as a guide to decide if they need to make a move if they want to win now.  (if there really is ever a winner and a loser)

[RebusRankin]

wait so does the poll decide who won the division or do we do that later?

No.  This lets you know where you are right now.  I will post new polls after the 2nd trade window.  GMs can use this as a guide to decide if they need to make a move if they want to win now.  (if there really is ever a winner and a loser)

So I have time to bribe other gms to vote for me? Sweet. Ahh I mean persuade them with my well thought out argument.

[indeedproceed]

Nene Promises To Be Ready
Nene Hilario | Nuggets
After beating testicular cancer and coming back from numerous injuries, Nene heads into the third year of a six-year, $60 million contract knowing he has to deliver if the Nuggets are going to improve.

With training camp set to start Sept. 30, Nene promises to be ready. He has spent all summer preparing.

"I've been though a lot of things, the injuries, the chemotherapy," Nene said. "To be able to be fine through the season, I had to sacrifice my summer and be in shape early to prevent all that stuff. So that's what I did." -- The Denver Post

Don't sleep on the Suns. They've got 2 good post defenders in Nene and K Perk, 2 versatile scorers in Brandon Roy and Caron Butler, 2 able point guards in mike conley Jr and Antonio Daniels, and the depth to keep them fresh for a playoff run. Be afraid Pacific Division.

[celticmaestro]

Regardless, I think we're pretty much certain to wrap this division up 7 out of the next 10 years minimum. Uh-huh.

Las Vegas Lakers, the team of the future.