Seattle:
1) Will your fans support you after the emotional roller coaster of leaving for Oklahoma, only to come crawling back to them?
2) Is your bench good enough to compete? Bayless, Brewer, and Theo Ratliff either barely played last year, or were ineffective when doing so. Dahntay Jones is an all-defense, no-offense type of a guy. Only Brandon Bass seems to be an above-average bench player. Will that be enough to make you a strong Western playoff contender?
3) What type of offense are you running? Is the focal point Duncan, or one of the guys in your backcourt?
4) T.J. Ford and Ben Gordon have never cared about defense, and they're a very small backcourt. How do you prevent them from being exploited?
5) Thad Young's stats actually regressed from his rookie year to his sophomore season. Can he be relied upon to make "the leap"?
6) How do you matchup with the other teams in the division (Denver, Minnesota, Utah, and Portland)?
1. There's a reason the logo, banners, and likenesses of the Seattle Supersonics stayed in Seattle. Those fans will gladly embrace the team again, a move solidified by the front office embracing the history of the Sonics by hiring local legends like Kemp, Payton, and Jack Sikma in high visibility roles within the organization.
2. Bayless barely played because he was buried behind Jarret Jack and Steve Blake. Jack is no longer with the real Blazers because of Bayless's development, and Bayless is being counted on for increased minutes there and here as well. Jones has better offensive skills then you're crediting him for, with his ability to finish on the break and his 3 point FG numbers from last year. He's an extremely hard worker, and for his 3FG% to be where it is now is a testament to the commitment he's given to improve his offensive game. Brewer is an all defense, very limited offensive player. However, he can hit the corner three and defend with his toughness and athleticism, so will play a limited amount of minutes. Ratliff can be counted on for 10 minutes a night, and played well when doing so down the stretch. He is an adequate 4th big man behind Duncan, Martin, and Bass.
3. The Sonics will play an uptempo style with the ability to slow it down if necessary. Defensive stops will lead to fast break baskets with this team, and if they don't we have the pieces necessary to score with the other 17 seconds on the shot clock as well. Gordon is the first offensive option, as Duncan has shown in his career the ability to relinquish number one option status. However, in favorable matchups Duncan can and will obviously be counted on for points.
4. Bayless at 6'3 and Daniels at 6'4 are backups with more size that can spell Ford against larger opposition, and Dahntay Jones at 6'6 is more then adequate as a sizewise replacement for Gordon. Also, the addition of Martin was a major need because of the backcourt size, and should Ford or Gordon be in trouble sizewise on the block, Martin and Duncan are premier help defenders who can assist.
5. I would be interested to see where you are getting this information, as Young had higher PPG, RPG, APG, BPG, SPG, and 3FG% while going from 53%FG to 49%FG in his second season.
6. I respect each of the teams in our division and truly feel the Northwest is the class of the CBNBA, with particular kudos to Minnesota's job salvaging the Timberwolves admirably. That said, Denver scares us in 5 years but not now. Utah has excellent top tier players, but somewhat lacks a cohesive identity in my opinion and might not play enough defense to make playoff noise. I would like to have seen the job celticinorlando could have done with Minnesota from the beginning, because I think he did the best he could and ended up with a solid team, but not a contender. Portland has made much of the matchup issues (IE who matches up with Rashard Lewis, etc.) but I feel confident in the way the Sonics match up with Portland. Thaddeus Young can handle Rashard Lewis, and Young can play the PF if they go small and the SF if they load the paint against Martin, Duncan and Bass. Lewis seemed to be the key to their "matchup issues" and Young at 6'9 can take care of him offensively and defensively.
Topic: CB Draft '09 Mock Press Conference: Northwest Division (Read 109479 times)