How do we match up with Cleveland?

[JBcat]

I think much of it will come down to is how much the older guys have left in their tank Sheed, Shaq, Big Z, and to a lesser extent our big 3 and also how much the young players improve Rondo, BBD, Perk, Lebron, even someone like Hickson ect.  We won't know much of this until the season is under way.

If Lebron gets even better that's scary and he has areas that he can improve on like his post up game and 3 point shot. 

[BrickJames]

Cleveland has one big man that's an effective perimiter defender.

We've got three big men who can hit from outside.  That's the defintion of a good matchup.

What happens to Sheed when he is guarding Shaq in the post once Perkins fouls out? Do you want me to pull Shaq's stats out from last season when Sheed was guarding him? Or when Powe/Lebron are drawing fouls like crazy. Im just a Lebron fan, but even I can admit the refs give him every call. With Powe and Shaq in the frountcourt you guys are guys are going to take a beating. And now Cleveland has a legit SG off the bench in Parker and legit SF in Moon. And anytime Doc sits KG and replaces him with Baby, Brown is just going to move Lebron to the 4. Sheed and KG don't have the ability to guard Shaq. Perkins can hold his own but eventally the fouls are going to pile up. Like I said before, Big Z alone has gave him matchup problems. And the more Doc plays Sheed, the more you are going to see Shaq doing work in the post. 

If Perk can guard DH, I dont think he will have issues with the much older much slower Shaq.
And if you have been watching this team the last couple of years, the D is not played by individuals. This Boston team plays team d better than anyone else in the league. And when it comes to making adjustments to whose on the floor, I'll take Doc over brown any day of the week.

Howard has no post game at all. Shaq actually has the ability to draw fouls. Add that to the fact Boston doesn't have a dominant post presence, Cleveland rolls in a series vs. Boston. Although I don't see anyone beating the Lakers. And to the poster referring to me as a homer, im not a Cavs fan. Im a Lebron fan living in Pittsburgh. A lot of you Boston fans are expecting the worst from the Cavs to happen and everything right for you guys to
happen. As old as Shaq is, he is still the third best center in the NBA (2nd with Yao out). And imo I don't see Sheed being a factor against Cleveland. Im just kind of used to him being useless in any series against the Cavs. But he does play for Boston now, so that means he will play like its 2002 again and be this "matchup nightmare" for Cleveland all of a sudden.

I agree with a lot of your insights - but I fail to see how with KG back, and adding Sheed+Daniels that we don't have a great matchup against Cleveland.

No one can guard LeBron.  As you alluded to, he gets favorable officiating from time to time, but let's just leave that at that.

LeBron is effective (at best) guarding Pierce.  Moon is not (we saw quite a bit of Paul scoring at will against Jamario when he was on the Raps).

Who guards Ray?  Right now no one on the Cavs roster is going to be effective.  Sasha was the only one that could.  Del can't do it (he will probably be on Rondo anyways because Mo is such a horrid defender).

KG and Sheed playing together is going to be a thing of beauty.  If I'm Doc, I put KG on the high post, Sheed on the low post.  Run Pierce off rondo's right to set a pick - if the lane is there, take it.  If not, dish to KG on the high post and run through to the left.  Send pierce to the elbow, Sheed to the weak side corner, Ray strong side.  How is Shaq a factor there?

Shaq is not, nor was ever, by any means a good pick n roll defender.  He's only effective guarding bangers.  Perk is getting better down low (see last year's playoffs) and Sheed can shoot threes with either hand if he has to.  That stretches Cleveland out quite a bit, don't you think?

Now let's talk about the other side of the ball.  Throw a wing and a big at LeBron at all times and hope for the best.  That's all any team can do.  The key is going to be neutralizing the shooters.  FWIW all of our bigs, sans Davis (and yes that includes Shelden Williams) are good-enough perimeter defenders to at least make shooters think twice about shooting.  Do you really think having Shaq down low is that much of an offensive improvement over Z or Varejao at this point?  I really don't.  KG can't guard Shaq, but Perk, Sheed, and Baby can all get a body between him and the rim.  And this isn't the Shaq of 1993.  Did you see how many lil baby hooks he took last year on PHX?  Did you see Baby give him a hard time last year?

You can talk about the delusion of Celtics fans once you own up to your own.

[Jon]

Cleveland has one big man that's an effective perimiter defender.

We've got three big men who can hit from outside.  That's the defintion of a good matchup.

What happens to Sheed when he is guarding Shaq in the post once Perkins fouls out? Do you want me to pull Shaq's stats out from last season when Sheed was guarding him? Or when Powe/Lebron are drawing fouls like crazy. Im just a Lebron fan, but even I can admit the refs give him every call. With Powe and Shaq in the frountcourt you guys are guys are going to take a beating. And now Cleveland has a legit SG off the bench in Parker and legit SF in Moon. And anytime Doc sits KG and replaces him with Baby, Brown is just going to move Lebron to the 4. Sheed and KG don't have the ability to guard Shaq. Perkins can hold his own but eventally the fouls are going to pile up. Like I said before, Big Z alone has gave him matchup problems. And the more Doc plays Sheed, the more you are going to see Shaq doing work in the post. 

If Perk can guard DH, I dont think he will have issues with the much older much slower Shaq.
And if you have been watching this team the last couple of years, the D is not played by individuals. This Boston team plays team d better than anyone else in the league. And when it comes to making adjustments to whose on the floor, I'll take Doc over brown any day of the week.

Howard has no post game at all. Shaq actually has the ability to draw fouls. Add that to the fact Boston doesn't have a dominant post presence, Cleveland rolls in a series vs. Boston. Although I don't see anyone beating the Lakers. And to the poster referring to me as a homer, im not a Cavs fan. Im a Lebron fan living in Pittsburgh. A lot of you Boston fans are expecting the worst from the Cavs to happen and everything right for you guys to
happen. As old as Shaq is, he is still the third best center in the NBA (2nd with Yao out). And imo I don't see Sheed being a factor against Cleveland. Im just kind of used to him being useless in any series against the Cavs. But he does play for Boston now, so that means he will play like its 2002 again and be this "matchup nightmare" for Cleveland all of a sudden.

I agree with a lot of your insights - but I fail to see how with KG back, and adding Sheed+Daniels that we don't have a great matchup against Cleveland.

No one can guard LeBron.  As you alluded to, he gets favorable officiating from time to time, but let's just leave that at that.

LeBron is effective (at best) guarding Pierce.  Moon is not (we saw quite a bit of Paul scoring at will against Jamario when he was on the Raps).

Who guards Ray?  Right now no one on the Cavs roster is going to be effective.  Sasha was the only one that could.  Del can't do it (he will probably be on Rondo anyways because Mo is such a horrid defender).

KG and Sheed playing together is going to be a thing of beauty.  If I'm Doc, I put KG on the high post, Sheed on the low post.  Run Pierce off rondo's right to set a pick - if the lane is there, take it.  If not, dish to KG on the high post and run through to the left.  Send pierce to the elbow, Sheed to the weak side corner, Ray strong side.  How is Shaq a factor there?

Shaq is not, nor was ever, by any means a good pick n roll defender.  He's only effective guarding bangers.  Perk is getting better down low (see last year's playoffs) and Sheed can shoot threes with either hand if he has to.  That stretches Cleveland out quite a bit, don't you think?

Now let's talk about the other side of the ball.  Throw a wing and a big at LeBron at all times and hope for the best.  That's all any team can do.  The key is going to be neutralizing the shooters.  FWIW all of our bigs, sans Davis (and yes that includes Shelden Williams) are good-enough perimeter defenders to at least make shooters think twice about shooting.  Do you really think having Shaq down low is that much of an offensive improvement over Z or Varejao at this point?  I really don't.  KG can't guard Shaq, but Perk, Sheed, and Baby can all get a body between him and the rim.  And this isn't the Shaq of 1993.  Did you see how many lil baby hooks he took last year on PHX?  Did you see Baby give him a hard time last year?

You can talk about the delusion of Celtics fans once you own up to your own.

I said it before and I'll say it again, if Shaq was half the player he was even 5 years ago Phoenix--with a surrounding cast of Nash, Richardson, Hill, and Stoudemire--would have made the playoffs.  Shaq had a nice statistical season with Nash and the shot happy Suns, but he's still not even close to the player he was in Miami, and that player wasn't even close to the player he was in LA. 

[Check_My_Stats]

Cleveland has one big man that's an effective perimiter defender.

We've got three big men who can hit from outside.  That's the defintion of a good matchup.

What happens to Sheed when he is guarding Shaq in the post once Perkins fouls out? Do you want me to pull Shaq's stats out from last season when Sheed was guarding him? Or when Powe/Lebron are drawing fouls like crazy. Im just a Lebron fan, but even I can admit the refs give him every call. With Powe and Shaq in the frountcourt you guys are guys are going to take a beating. And now Cleveland has a legit SG off the bench in Parker and legit SF in Moon. And anytime Doc sits KG and replaces him with Baby, Brown is just going to move Lebron to the 4. Sheed and KG don't have the ability to guard Shaq. Perkins can hold his own but eventally the fouls are going to pile up. Like I said before, Big Z alone has gave him matchup problems. And the more Doc plays Sheed, the more you are going to see Shaq doing work in the post. 

If Perk can guard DH, I dont think he will have issues with the much older much slower Shaq.
And if you have been watching this team the last couple of years, the D is not played by individuals. This Boston team plays team d better than anyone else in the league. And when it comes to making adjustments to whose on the floor, I'll take Doc over brown any day of the week.

Howard has no post game at all. Shaq actually has the ability to draw fouls. Add that to the fact Boston doesn't have a dominant post presence, Cleveland rolls in a series vs. Boston. Although I don't see anyone beating the Lakers. And to the poster referring to me as a homer, im not a Cavs fan. Im a Lebron fan living in Pittsburgh. A lot of you Boston fans are expecting the worst from the Cavs to happen and everything right for you guys to
happen. As old as Shaq is, he is still the third best center in the NBA (2nd with Yao out). And imo I don't see Sheed being a factor against Cleveland. Im just kind of used to him being useless in any series against the Cavs. But he does play for Boston now, so that means he will play like its 2002 again and be this "matchup nightmare" for Cleveland all of a sudden.

I agree with a lot of your insights - but I fail to see how with KG back, and adding Sheed+Daniels that we don't have a great matchup against Cleveland.

No one can guard LeBron.  As you alluded to, he gets favorable officiating from time to time, but let's just leave that at that.

LeBron is effective (at best) guarding Pierce.  Moon is not (we saw quite a bit of Paul scoring at will against Jamario when he was on the Raps).

Who guards Ray?  Right now no one on the Cavs roster is going to be effective.  Sasha was the only one that could.  Del can't do it (he will probably be on Rondo anyways because Mo is such a horrid defender).

KG and Sheed playing together is going to be a thing of beauty.  If I'm Doc, I put KG on the high post, Sheed on the low post.  Run Pierce off rondo's right to set a pick - if the lane is there, take it.  If not, dish to KG on the high post and run through to the left.  Send pierce to the elbow, Sheed to the weak side corner, Ray strong side.  How is Shaq a factor there?

Shaq is not, nor was ever, by any means a good pick n roll defender.  He's only effective guarding bangers.  Perk is getting better down low (see last year's playoffs) and Sheed can shoot threes with either hand if he has to.  That stretches Cleveland out quite a bit, don't you think?

Now let's talk about the other side of the ball.  Throw a wing and a big at LeBron at all times and hope for the best.  That's all any team can do.  The key is going to be neutralizing the shooters.  FWIW all of our bigs, sans Davis (and yes that includes Shelden Williams) are good-enough perimeter defenders to at least make shooters think twice about shooting.  Do you really think having Shaq down low is that much of an offensive improvement over Z or Varejao at this point?  I really don't.  KG can't guard Shaq, but Perk, Sheed, and Baby can all get a body between him and the rim.  And this isn't the Shaq of 1993.  Did you see how many lil baby hooks he took last year on PHX?  Did you see Baby give him a hard time last year?

You can talk about the delusion of Celtics fans once you own up to your own.

1. Who guards Ray Allen? Has he ever had a good game against the Cavs? I remember West doing more than enough to slow him down. Hell, Cleveland threw Wally Szcerbiak at him for whole playoff series without problems. They should be fine in that department

2. KG is a beast. But the Cavs will live with shooting jumpshots and trying to make him work. And will he still be the same after his knee problems?

3. When Sheed proves to me isn't washed up i'll give him some credit. Him and McDyess were supposed to give Cleveland the same kind of matchup problems KG/Sheed are all of sudden supposed to cause. But you fail to understand Sheed can't guard Shaq (check the stats from last season and historically) and Big Z just shoots right over him. Who do you think was guarding Sheed in all the Cavs/Pistons series? Big Z did without problem.

4. Shaq is an improvement in the post no matter you think. In fact, he adds a new element/firepower to the Cavs.

5. And if Powe is healthy and able to contribute i'll take him over anyone else on Boston's bench. Davis is good, but how many of those jumpers he hits are going to be as open as they were in the Bulls series?

[Check_My_Stats]

And the whole part about Pavlovic being the only effective play against Ray Allen is a lie. Sasha has seen very little time against the Celtics or even on the floor in general last season. And when he was on the floor he was guarding Pierce. I know this for a fact because him and Pierce were exchanging words the whole time they were on each other. Like I said before, West did a fine job on Allen last season. And until Allen actually has a good game against Cleveland, I don't think worry about it.

[slamtheking]

Cleveland has one big man that's an effective perimiter defender.

We've got three big men who can hit from outside.  That's the defintion of a good matchup.

What happens to Sheed when he is guarding Shaq in the post once Perkins fouls out? Do you want me to pull Shaq's stats out from last season when Sheed was guarding him? Or when Powe/Lebron are drawing fouls like crazy. Im just a Lebron fan, but even I can admit the refs give him every call. With Powe and Shaq in the frountcourt you guys are guys are going to take a beating. And now Cleveland has a legit SG off the bench in Parker and legit SF in Moon. And anytime Doc sits KG and replaces him with Baby, Brown is just going to move Lebron to the 4. Sheed and KG don't have the ability to guard Shaq. Perkins can hold his own but eventally the fouls are going to pile up. Like I said before, Big Z alone has gave him matchup problems. And the more Doc plays Sheed, the more you are going to see Shaq doing work in the post. 

If Perk can guard DH, I dont think he will have issues with the much older much slower Shaq.
And if you have been watching this team the last couple of years, the D is not played by individuals. This Boston team plays team d better than anyone else in the league. And when it comes to making adjustments to whose on the floor, I'll take Doc over brown any day of the week.

Howard has no post game at all. Shaq actually has the ability to draw fouls. Add that to the fact Boston doesn't have a dominant post presence, Cleveland rolls in a series vs. Boston. Although I don't see anyone beating the Lakers. And to the poster referring to me as a homer, im not a Cavs fan. Im a Lebron fan living in Pittsburgh. A lot of you Boston fans are expecting the worst from the Cavs to happen and everything right for you guys to
happen. As old as Shaq is, he is still the third best center in the NBA (2nd with Yao out). And imo I don't see Sheed being a factor against Cleveland. Im just kind of used to him being useless in any series against the Cavs. But he does play for Boston now, so that means he will play like its 2002 again and be this "matchup nightmare" for Cleveland all of a sudden.

I agree with a lot of your insights - but I fail to see how with KG back, and adding Sheed+Daniels that we don't have a great matchup against Cleveland.

No one can guard LeBron.  As you alluded to, he gets favorable officiating from time to time, but let's just leave that at that.

LeBron is effective (at best) guarding Pierce.  Moon is not (we saw quite a bit of Paul scoring at will against Jamario when he was on the Raps).

Who guards Ray?  Right now no one on the Cavs roster is going to be effective.  Sasha was the only one that could.  Del can't do it (he will probably be on Rondo anyways because Mo is such a horrid defender).

KG and Sheed playing together is going to be a thing of beauty.  If I'm Doc, I put KG on the high post, Sheed on the low post.  Run Pierce off rondo's right to set a pick - if the lane is there, take it.  If not, dish to KG on the high post and run through to the left.  Send pierce to the elbow, Sheed to the weak side corner, Ray strong side.  How is Shaq a factor there?

Shaq is not, nor was ever, by any means a good pick n roll defender.  He's only effective guarding bangers.  Perk is getting better down low (see last year's playoffs) and Sheed can shoot threes with either hand if he has to.  That stretches Cleveland out quite a bit, don't you think?

Now let's talk about the other side of the ball.  Throw a wing and a big at LeBron at all times and hope for the best.  That's all any team can do.  The key is going to be neutralizing the shooters.  FWIW all of our bigs, sans Davis (and yes that includes Shelden Williams) are good-enough perimeter defenders to at least make shooters think twice about shooting.  Do you really think having Shaq down low is that much of an offensive improvement over Z or Varejao at this point?  I really don't.  KG can't guard Shaq, but Perk, Sheed, and Baby can all get a body between him and the rim.  And this isn't the Shaq of 1993.  Did you see how many lil baby hooks he took last year on PHX?  Did you see Baby give him a hard time last year?

You can talk about the delusion of Celtics fans once you own up to your own.

1. Who guards Ray Allen? Has he ever had a good game against the Cavs? I remember West doing more than enough to slow him down. Hell, Cleveland threw Wally Szcerbiak at him for whole playoff series without problems. They should be fine in that department

2. KG is a beast. But the Cavs will live with shooting jumpshots and trying to make him work. And will he still be the same after his knee problems?

3. When Sheed proves to me isn't washed up i'll give him some credit. Him and McDyess were supposed to give Cleveland the same kind of matchup problems KG/Sheed are all of sudden supposed to cause. But you fail to understand Sheed can't guard Shaq (check the stats from last season and historically) and Big Z just shoots right over him. Who do you think was guarding Sheed in all the Cavs/Pistons series? Big Z did without problem.

4. Shaq is an improvement in the post no matter you think. In fact, he adds a new element/firepower to the Cavs.

5. And if Powe is healthy and able to contribute i'll take him over anyone else on Boston's bench. Davis is good, but how many of those jumpers he hits are going to be as open as they were in the Bulls series?

I'll along with your argument that C's fans can no longer assume that Ray will score against other teams' inferior-on-paper SG's based on Ray's performance against Orlando in the playoffs.  He shouldn't have been shut down by JJ Redick and Courtney Lee but yet he was.  I still think he will score but based on the assumption he'll be on the floor with a volume of other scorers where he can't be focussed on by defenders as effectively as last year.  It was basically Ray, Pierce and pray for a BBD jumper to go in for that series.

Shaq my be an improvement from some viewpoints but personally, I just don't see it.  He's older and slower.  He's not the scorer or defender he once was (and even at the height of his career he was overrated due to being coddled by the refs like Lebron is today-->don't forget the league used him as the new star early in his career to offset the first MJ retirement so he got A LOT of ref calls his way and it's carried through his career).  I don't see him being a problem for Perk to defend, certainly not from a foul-accumulation perspective.  Think about it for a second.  Perk handled the much faster, more athletic Howard in the playoffs last year without any real help and did well controlling his fouls.  He won't have nearly the same difficulty containing a slower Shaq.  Z has been a different issue simply because of his height advantage.  Z's has not been a down-low banger for quite a while.  Since he's basically a jumpshooter now, he could be defended by KG or Sheed who still have the quickness and height to challenge his shot.

Powe?  I love his heart and hustle but I'll take Sheed.  Leon won't be able to handle KG or Perk.  I'm not so sure he can handle BBD either.  Powe's ability to draw fouls?  Only worked against shorter players and inferior defenders that reached in.  Smarter defenders or ones that had height advantages simply let Leon make his move before going for the strip or block so that they didn't foul him.  Those players were in position to challenge the shot or strip him and those are the types of players we have.

[Jon]

Cleveland has one big man that's an effective perimiter defender.

We've got three big men who can hit from outside.  That's the defintion of a good matchup.

What happens to Sheed when he is guarding Shaq in the post once Perkins fouls out? Do you want me to pull Shaq's stats out from last season when Sheed was guarding him? Or when Powe/Lebron are drawing fouls like crazy. Im just a Lebron fan, but even I can admit the refs give him every call. With Powe and Shaq in the frountcourt you guys are guys are going to take a beating. And now Cleveland has a legit SG off the bench in Parker and legit SF in Moon. And anytime Doc sits KG and replaces him with Baby, Brown is just going to move Lebron to the 4. Sheed and KG don't have the ability to guard Shaq. Perkins can hold his own but eventally the fouls are going to pile up. Like I said before, Big Z alone has gave him matchup problems. And the more Doc plays Sheed, the more you are going to see Shaq doing work in the post. 

If Perk can guard DH, I dont think he will have issues with the much older much slower Shaq.
And if you have been watching this team the last couple of years, the D is not played by individuals. This Boston team plays team d better than anyone else in the league. And when it comes to making adjustments to whose on the floor, I'll take Doc over brown any day of the week.

Howard has no post game at all. Shaq actually has the ability to draw fouls. Add that to the fact Boston doesn't have a dominant post presence, Cleveland rolls in a series vs. Boston. Although I don't see anyone beating the Lakers. And to the poster referring to me as a homer, im not a Cavs fan. Im a Lebron fan living in Pittsburgh. A lot of you Boston fans are expecting the worst from the Cavs to happen and everything right for you guys to
happen. As old as Shaq is, he is still the third best center in the NBA (2nd with Yao out). And imo I don't see Sheed being a factor against Cleveland. Im just kind of used to him being useless in any series against the Cavs. But he does play for Boston now, so that means he will play like its 2002 again and be this "matchup nightmare" for Cleveland all of a sudden.

I agree with a lot of your insights - but I fail to see how with KG back, and adding Sheed+Daniels that we don't have a great matchup against Cleveland.

No one can guard LeBron.  As you alluded to, he gets favorable officiating from time to time, but let's just leave that at that.

LeBron is effective (at best) guarding Pierce.  Moon is not (we saw quite a bit of Paul scoring at will against Jamario when he was on the Raps).

Who guards Ray?  Right now no one on the Cavs roster is going to be effective.  Sasha was the only one that could.  Del can't do it (he will probably be on Rondo anyways because Mo is such a horrid defender).

KG and Sheed playing together is going to be a thing of beauty.  If I'm Doc, I put KG on the high post, Sheed on the low post.  Run Pierce off rondo's right to set a pick - if the lane is there, take it.  If not, dish to KG on the high post and run through to the left.  Send pierce to the elbow, Sheed to the weak side corner, Ray strong side.  How is Shaq a factor there?

Shaq is not, nor was ever, by any means a good pick n roll defender.  He's only effective guarding bangers.  Perk is getting better down low (see last year's playoffs) and Sheed can shoot threes with either hand if he has to.  That stretches Cleveland out quite a bit, don't you think?

Now let's talk about the other side of the ball.  Throw a wing and a big at LeBron at all times and hope for the best.  That's all any team can do.  The key is going to be neutralizing the shooters.  FWIW all of our bigs, sans Davis (and yes that includes Shelden Williams) are good-enough perimeter defenders to at least make shooters think twice about shooting.  Do you really think having Shaq down low is that much of an offensive improvement over Z or Varejao at this point?  I really don't.  KG can't guard Shaq, but Perk, Sheed, and Baby can all get a body between him and the rim.  And this isn't the Shaq of 1993.  Did you see how many lil baby hooks he took last year on PHX?  Did you see Baby give him a hard time last year?

You can talk about the delusion of Celtics fans once you own up to your own.

1. Who guards Ray Allen? Has he ever had a good game against the Cavs? I remember West doing more than enough to slow him down. Hell, Cleveland threw Wally Szcerbiak at him for whole playoff series without problems. They should be fine in that department

2. KG is a beast. But the Cavs will live with shooting jumpshots and trying to make him work. And will he still be the same after his knee problems?

3. When Sheed proves to me isn't washed up i'll give him some credit. Him and McDyess were supposed to give Cleveland the same kind of matchup problems KG/Sheed are all of sudden supposed to cause. But you fail to understand Sheed can't guard Shaq (check the stats from last season and historically) and Big Z just shoots right over him. Who do you think was guarding Sheed in all the Cavs/Pistons series? Big Z did without problem.

4. Shaq is an improvement in the post no matter you think. In fact, he adds a new element/firepower to the Cavs.

5. And if Powe is healthy and able to contribute i'll take him over anyone else on Boston's bench. Davis is good, but how many of those jumpers he hits are going to be as open as they were in the Bulls series?

I'll along with your argument that C's fans can no longer assume that Ray will score against other teams' inferior-on-paper SG's based on Ray's performance against Orlando in the playoffs.  He shouldn't have been shut down by JJ Redick and Courtney Lee but yet he was.  I still think he will score but based on the assumption he'll be on the floor with a volume of other scorers where he can't be focussed on by defenders as effectively as last year.  It was basically Ray, Pierce and pray for a BBD jumper to go in for that series.

Shaq my be an improvement from some viewpoints but personally, I just don't see it.  He's older and slower.  He's not the scorer or defender he once was (and even at the height of his career he was overrated due to being coddled by the refs like Lebron is today-->don't forget the league used him as the new star early in his career to offset the first MJ retirement so he got A LOT of ref calls his way and it's carried through his career).  I don't see him being a problem for Perk to defend, certainly not from a foul-accumulation perspective.  Think about it for a second.  Perk handled the much faster, more athletic Howard in the playoffs last year without any real help and did well controlling his fouls.  He won't have nearly the same difficulty containing a slower Shaq.  Z has been a different issue simply because of his height advantage.  Z's has not been a down-low banger for quite a while.  Since he's basically a jumpshooter now, he could be defended by KG or Sheed who still have the quickness and height to challenge his shot.

Powe?  I love his heart and hustle but I'll take Sheed.  Leon won't be able to handle KG or Perk.  I'm not so sure he can handle BBD either.  Powe's ability to draw fouls?  Only worked against shorter players and inferior defenders that reached in.  Smarter defenders or ones that had height advantages simply let Leon make his move before going for the strip or block so that they didn't foul him.  Those players were in position to challenge the shot or strip him and those are the types of players we have.

And I think it comes back to it again, even if Powe is actually healthy come next spring, does anyone actually expect him to crack Cleveland's rotation if everyone is healthy?  Though I don't think it'll work all that well, I do think the Cavs will put Shaq and Big Z on the court together for short spurts.  Combine that with minutes for Varejo and the times they throw LeBron at the 4 to spread the floor with more shooters, and I see precious little time for Leon.  And that's not even bringing Hickson into the picture, who could have whatever backup 4 minutes there are left locked up by the time Leon comes back. 

[mgent]

C:  Shaq / Big Z
PF: Varejao / Hickson / (Powe)
SF: Lebron / Moon
SG: Delonte / Parker
PG: Williams / Gibson

C:  Perk / Rasheed
PF: KG / BBD / Scal
SF: Pierce / Daniels
SG: Ray / House
PG: Rondo / (?)

Both teams are fairly stacked.  On paper, which team is better, and why will we beat them in a playoff series?

Perk and Shaq are pretty even.  Neither should score many points.
KG absolutely kills Varejao.
LeBron's better than Pierce, but Pierce usually has good games against him.
Ray is better than Delonte.
Rondo and Williams are pretty much even.
I say we have a slightly better starting 5.  But our bench pretty much kills theirs.
Rasheed and Davis are way better than Big Z and Hickson.
Daniels should be a little better than Moon.
House should be a little better than Parker.
Any PG we sign should be able to match up with Gibson pretty well.
We should beat them in a series.  Whether or not we get a better record will probably depend on if LeBron plays another MVP season and how dominate Shaq will play.