How much stock is Portland putting into Mike Bibby defensively? How willing is Portland to sit Bibby and put in Holiday or West in for high pressure situations? Holiday is a rookie, but one who is probably more defensively able, West is a bigger more athletic guy than Bibby, but is he tough enough to guard elite PG's?
Mike Bibby has been defending elite point guards his entire career, and has always shined during crunch time. That being said, if he's struggling, we have absolutely no problem bringing in Delonte.
Jrue is going to cut his teeth in the D-League. We may get him some regular season minutes, but it's unlikely that he'll have much of a role in the playoffs unless he plays up to his full potential.
Are you concerned about Rashard Lewis matching up against quicker craftier SF's? He's obviously a good offensive PF in the NBA, but as a SF if relegated to the perimeter, doesn't he lose a bit of his mismatch advantage? Its not like he's going to spend much time in the paint if JO and Shaq are in there.
Rashard Lewis is an elite athlete; he's not a lumbering "power 3". What makes Rashard Lewis an elite player is that he can play both the three and the four equally well. He played predominantly at the 3 in Seattle, earning himself a max contract. In Orlando, he plays the 4. He's created mismatches at both positions.
If you remember his games against the Celtics, neither small forwards *not* power forwards could guard him; the only answer the Celts had was KG, and there's only one KG.
We don't think Rashard will have any problem getting touches. Shaq will command a double-team in the post, meaning that Rashard or another one of our players is going to have a lot of room to move.
Are you concerned with your depth at the SG/SF position? Redd Manu and Lewis are all very good players, but Fred Jones and Jared Dudley are not. Excepting Redd and Manu's injury histories, and age factor (ie each injury presumably takes a little bit out of them athletically, its just the aging process), Ryan Gomes and Fred Jones are going to see playing time..if not Fred Jones then Delonte, but then who plays your backup point behind Bibby?
The following players on our roster can play SG / SF: Rashard (SF only), Redd (both), Manu (both), Delonte (SG), Gomes (SF), Jones (both), Dudley (both), Ross (both). I don't think depth at the position is an issue at all.
Jones is a competent player. I wouldn't call him "good", but he did start 21 games last season and played very efficiently. Jared Dudley is a lot better than you're giving him credit for. Again, I wouldn't want him as a starter, but as a third or fourth string SF, he's pretty solid.
It seems kind of like your perimeter rotation is like a tightly wound (is that the right word?) clock, and if one gasket breaks loose its just not going to run right. That's not to say its not a fine clock, but a vulnerable one. Injuries are a concern for every team, but with you double dipping between Lewis, Manu, and Delonte, do you worry that shortening your rotation one player screws the whole thing up?
Can you explain your reasoning? I don't see it the same way you do. We feel that we've got the deepest team in the league, so if any one player is injured, we can absorb that loss. We have 10 players who are capable NBA starters.
For instance, if Jermaine O'Neal gets injured, we'll move Rashard Lewis into the starting lineup, and Turiaf steps in as his backup. If Manu goes down, a combination of Delonte, Ross, and Jones can cover the position adequately.
In the "real" NBA, most teams get by with 8 or 9 man rotations, so it's not like you need a full-time backup at every position. That being said, it's exactly what we have.
Topic: CB Draft '09 Mock Press Conference: Northwest Division (Read 93824 times)