2009 Celticsblog Draft: Draft Thread

[johnnyrondo]

Yes, hopefully he doesn't lose a finger on Lebron's growth

I see a lot of the my player is better than that player but this player isn't as good as that player when mentioning team matchups. The thing is though how do the teams match up. The C's championship year the Celtics owned the individual matchups against Charlotte right down to the team mascots, but that team drove the C's, maybe one of the best teams of the last 10-12 years nuts. Their style and athleticism gave the Celtics fits. Same with Atlanta.

Team's are not better than other teams because 4 of their starters are better than 4 of the other teams starters individually. It comes down to team weaknesses and style and strengths not individuals. Larry Bird was always better than Michael Cooper but on more than a few occasions it was Cooper who won the matchup because of his ability to take Larry out of his game. It was a good style and strength vs style and strength match.

not sure what that has to do with Gerald Green, but you speak a lot of truth. you need to have a solid team, an identity, a leader, but also supporting members. A one man team won't cut it. It;s why the 80's Celtics beat the Jordan Bulls or why the C's in 2008 beat the Cavs.

One thing I like about your team is that it is a team.

[Gainesville Celtic]

Yes, hopefully he doesn't lose a finger on Lebron's growth

I see a lot of the my player is better than that player but this player isn't as good as that player when mentioning team matchups. The thing is though how do the teams match up. The C's championship year the Celtics owned the individual matchups against Charlotte right down to the team mascots, but that team drove the C's, maybe one of the best teams of the last 10-12 years nuts. Their style and athleticism gave the Celtics fits. Same with Atlanta.

Team's are not better than other teams because 4 of their starters are better than 4 of the other teams starters individually. It comes down to team weaknesses and style and strengths not individuals. Larry Bird was always better than Michael Cooper but on more than a few occasions it was Cooper who won the matchup because of his ability to take Larry out of his game. It was a good style and strength vs style and strength match.

couldn't agree more Nick... i hope people keep this in mind when evaluating all the teams. there are some teams that have some great talent, but will matchup poorly against other teams in their division/conference and/or aren't really built for an 82 game season

just like in the real NBA it's not just about who has the best single or small group of players. it's that thinking that led the "experts" to pick the Lakers in 4 or 5 games vs. the Celtics 2 years ago. 
 
i think Don's playoff system is sort of geared toward drawing matchups more into play.

[johnnyrondo]

Yes, hopefully he doesn't lose a finger on Lebron's growth

I see a lot of the my player is better than that player but this player isn't as good as that player when mentioning team matchups. The thing is though how do the teams match up. The C's championship year the Celtics owned the individual matchups against Charlotte right down to the team mascots, but that team drove the C's, maybe one of the best teams of the last 10-12 years nuts. Their style and athleticism gave the Celtics fits. Same with Atlanta.

Team's are not better than other teams because 4 of their starters are better than 4 of the other teams starters individually. It comes down to team weaknesses and style and strengths not individuals. Larry Bird was always better than Michael Cooper but on more than a few occasions it was Cooper who won the matchup because of his ability to take Larry out of his game. It was a good style and strength vs style and strength match.

couldn't agree more Nick... i hope people keep this in mind when evaluating all the teams. there are some teams that have some great talent, but will matchup poorly against other teams in their division/conference and/or aren't really built for an 82 game season

just like in the real NBA it's not just about who has the best single or small group of players. it's that thinking that led the "experts" to pick the Lakers in 4 or 5 games vs. the Celtics 2 years ago. 
 
i think Don's playoff system is sort of geared toward drawing matchups more into play.

Well said. Just b/c the Lakers had Kobe, people assumed they were the favorites, but the C's had a leader (KG), a system, and complimentary stars to go with him. Man, i hope the real C's stay healthy this yr. I miss that team.

[johnnyrondo]

Btw, it's nice that the East is getting some air time. Those Western teams were hogging up the scene.

[indeedproceed]

Btw, it's nice that the East is getting some air time. Those Western teams were hogging up the scene.

Well people wanna talk about quality.

[johnnyrondo]

So who do people think is the favorite in the West? The Braves?

[indeedproceed]

So who do people think is the favorite in the West? The Braves?

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[nickagneta]

Sorry j.r. I hit the quote button on the wrong post and didn't reference the correct post that my response was about. As you stated my post had nothing to do with Gerald. And I'm not criticizing your use of that particular way of comparing teams but I think it goes on way to much and doesn't take into account whether players match up well or not.

This is the post I was trying to reference:

Raja, Bogans and Deshawn were all seen in the weight room preparing the Lebron rules (mainly make him shoot the jumper)

Unless there's one of those racks from midieval dungeons i don't know how the 6-5 Bell, Bogans, Stevenson are gonna handle the 6-8 James. So good luck with that.

Interesting too that you added Stevenson and Bogans after we said in the chat you had no answer for Lebron 

yes we definitely wanted to add some guys to rotate on his majesty. That will be your advantage.

Obviously though we have the advantage at the point
CP3>hinrich
at the 2
Kevin Martin>Jrich
at the 4
Gasol> Charlie V
and the 5
Horford> Marc G

LeBron is definitely a better player than Paul Pierce but in a head to head matchup Pierce almost always plays him to a draw. Just an example of what I mean.

[johnnyrondo]

Just trying to say that just because a team has a great player doesn't mean they are the favorites. ESPN might say that, but I think team is important. That's why I tried to surround my PG leader with one high scoring wing and one high scoring post but then tough D glue guys like Raja and Horford. I didn't create a running team with slow bigs. I think "team" is key.

[The Walker Wiggle]

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I'm with stupid.

Wait, ask me again.

[johnnyrondo]

<--------
I'm with stupid.

Wait, ask me again.

lol.

[johnnyrondo]

I must also add if Houston discloses who their center is they are also in the mix in the West. Memphis and Seattle too. And maybe the Kings if Thabeet is good.

[nickagneta]

Just trying to say that just because a team has a great player doesn't mean they are the favorites. ESPN might say that, but I think team is important. That's why I tried to surround my PG leader with one high scoring wing and one high scoring post but then tough D glue guys like Raja and Horford. I didn't create a running team with slow bigs. I think "team" is key.

I think you have the strongest staring 5 in the league. Where your team lacks long term is a bench that will be effective enough to give your starters the rest they need. you won't be able to rely on 40 point leads  for rest to keep your starters  minutes down.

[johnnyrondo]

Just trying to say that just because a team has a great player doesn't mean they are the favorites. ESPN might say that, but I think team is important. That's why I tried to surround my PG leader with one high scoring wing and one high scoring post but then tough D glue guys like Raja and Horford. I didn't create a running team with slow bigs. I think "team" is key.

I think you have the strongest staring 5 in the league. Where your team lacks long term is a bench that will be effective enough to give your starters the rest they need. you won't be able to rely on 40 point leads  for rest to keep your starters  minutes down.

Not hockey though Nick. All 5 starters not going out at once. C's don't do that either.

[indeedproceed]

RE: Team vs Individuals

I took that very seriously when assembling my team, but instead focused on a chemistry POV. I feel like I had the opportunity to have more talent, both in the immediate and the future, but sacrificed that to make sure that to make sure that the talent I kept was maximized.

Also I didn't want guys whose games didn't mesh. That's why I ended up getting rid of Artest, because if I wanted the ball to run through Rondo>Al>Basket, I didn't want every other possession to be Rondo>Artest>brick. I didn't want guys that needed the ball in their hands 60% of the time to score 42% of the time on my team, I wanted guys that make the most of possessions, not just their shots.

I also wanted to look for guys that had something to prove, and had the hunger to prove it..like with the McRoberts, Jason Smith, Livingston and Robinson picks.

And well played WW.