How do we match up with Cleveland?

[Jon]

However we match up with CLE, we don't ahve the moral high ground. We're sorry LEon!

I feel better that the team offered him a contract.  I think that the failure to pick up the qualifying offer really got under his skin, though.

Agree. Seems like he was ticked at that and blinded to any other offer. I also wonder what extension offers Powe turned down (if any.)

Leon can be ticked all he wants, but he still can't hold KG's jock strap which will force the Cavs to have to double team if they don't want to pay severely.

Moreover, even if Powe is healthy come playoff time, will he even get off the bench?  If the Cavs want to give Shaq and Big Z more than 24 mpg, they're going to have to go with some Twin Towers lineups.  Throw in the fact that the Cavs have Varejo and Hickson at the 4 and that they sometimes like to throw LeBron there, and I don't see how Powe gets his butt off the bench to even get his supposed "revenge."

[ToppersBsktball10]

Better Question: How does Cleveland match up with us? 

[Bankshot]

Better Question: How does Cleveland match up with us? 

I was going to say the same thing.

[the_Bird]

I'll take our top eight players over their top eight players, with one caveat.

Cleveland's best player is still getting better; our three best players are all getting older, and presumably will be slowing down.

BronBron's better than any of our wings, you can't deny that.  But, I'll take our frontcourt any day of the week over theirs; I'll trust Perk and KG to contain Shaq and Big Z, but I don't think either Shaq or Z can do anything to slow down KG and 'Sheed.  If they have to give big minutes to Sideshow to try and contain our bigs, that's a huge advantage in our favor.

In the backcourt, if Rondo keeps improving like he did all last year, there aren't going to be too many guards who can match up with him - and those that can will be named "CP3" and "Deron," not "Mo" and "Delonte."

I'm a homer, I know, but Cleveland can basically beat us one way - with LeBron just going MJ on us and completely dominating on both ends.  Count me among those that think Shaq will be a decent player for Cleveland - but not a difference-maker. 

We can beat Cleveland in a lot of different ways, though; we can ride Pierce's coattails, we can ride the shooting of Ray Allen and Eddie House, it can be dominant play by KG and 'Sheed, inside and out.  Like we saw at times in last years' playoffs, Rondo can simply be the most dominant player on the court at times. 

Cleveland and Boston can both also be lock-down defensive teams, but we've got more ways of making the offense work; it's not just a one-man show when we've got the ball. 

Key is, though, keeping our guys fresh for the playoffs.

[Jon]

I'll take our top eight players over their top eight players, with one caveat.

Cleveland's best player is still getting better; our three best players are all getting older, and presumably will be slowing down.

BronBron's better than any of our wings, you can't deny that.  But, I'll take our frontcourt any day of the week over theirs; I'll trust Perk and KG to contain Shaq and Big Z, but I don't think either Shaq or Z can do anything to slow down KG and 'Sheed.  If they have to give big minutes to Sideshow to try and contain our bigs, that's a huge advantage in our favor.

In the backcourt, if Rondo keeps improving like he did all last year, there aren't going to be too many guards who can match up with him - and those that can will be named "CP3" and "Deron," not "Mo" and "Delonte."

I'm a homer, I know, but Cleveland can basically beat us one way - with LeBron just going MJ on us and completely dominating on both ends.  Count me among those that think Shaq will be a decent player for Cleveland - but not a difference-maker. 

We can beat Cleveland in a lot of different ways, though; we can ride Pierce's coattails, we can ride the shooting of Ray Allen and Eddie House, it can be dominant play by KG and 'Sheed, inside and out.  Like we saw at times in last years' playoffs, Rondo can simply be the most dominant player on the court at times. 

Cleveland and Boston can both also be lock-down defensive teams, but we've got more ways of making the offense work; it's not just a one-man show when we've got the ball. 

Key is, though, keeping our guys fresh for the playoffs.

True.  Depth will be important for both teams in terms of keeping our guys fresh.  However, I also agree that it's really only worth looking at the top 8 on each team when judging against other teams.  The fact of the matter is that come playoff time, assuming we're healthy, it won't matter who our tenth man is because he won't be playing. 

[Check_My_Stats]

I'll take our top eight players over their top eight players, with one caveat.

Cleveland's best player is still getting better; our three best players are all getting older, and presumably will be slowing down.

BronBron's better than any of our wings, you can't deny that.  But, I'll take our frontcourt any day of the week over theirs; I'll trust Perk and KG to contain Shaq and Big Z, but I don't think either Shaq or Z can do anything to slow down KG and 'Sheed.  If they have to give big minutes to Sideshow to try and contain our bigs, that's a huge advantage in our favor.

In the backcourt, if Rondo keeps improving like he did all last year, there aren't going to be too many guards who can match up with him - and those that can will be named "CP3" and "Deron," not "Mo" and "Delonte."

I'm a homer, I know, but Cleveland can basically beat us one way - with LeBron just going MJ on us and completely dominating on both ends.  Count me among those that think Shaq will be a decent player for Cleveland - but not a difference-maker. 

We can beat Cleveland in a lot of different ways, though; we can ride Pierce's coattails, we can ride the shooting of Ray Allen and Eddie House, it can be dominant play by KG and 'Sheed, inside and out.  Like we saw at times in last years' playoffs, Rondo can simply be the most dominant player on the court at times. 

Cleveland and Boston can both also be lock-down defensive teams, but we've got more ways of making the offense work; it's not just a one-man show when we've got the ball. 

Key is, though, keeping our guys fresh for the playoffs.

Why hasn't Sheed been able to dominate Big Z in the last 3 playoff series they played against Cleveland? This is the same Sheed that got outplayed by Varejao for a whole playoff series and got smoked by Joe Smith for like 25 points in game 3.  Sheed will be usless against Cleveland.

[Fafnir]

I'll take our top eight players over their top eight players, with one caveat.

Cleveland's best player is still getting better; our three best players are all getting older, and presumably will be slowing down.

BronBron's better than any of our wings, you can't deny that.  But, I'll take our frontcourt any day of the week over theirs; I'll trust Perk and KG to contain Shaq and Big Z, but I don't think either Shaq or Z can do anything to slow down KG and 'Sheed.  If they have to give big minutes to Sideshow to try and contain our bigs, that's a huge advantage in our favor.

In the backcourt, if Rondo keeps improving like he did all last year, there aren't going to be too many guards who can match up with him - and those that can will be named "CP3" and "Deron," not "Mo" and "Delonte."

I'm a homer, I know, but Cleveland can basically beat us one way - with LeBron just going MJ on us and completely dominating on both ends.  Count me among those that think Shaq will be a decent player for Cleveland - but not a difference-maker. 

We can beat Cleveland in a lot of different ways, though; we can ride Pierce's coattails, we can ride the shooting of Ray Allen and Eddie House, it can be dominant play by KG and 'Sheed, inside and out.  Like we saw at times in last years' playoffs, Rondo can simply be the most dominant player on the court at times. 

Cleveland and Boston can both also be lock-down defensive teams, but we've got more ways of making the offense work; it's not just a one-man show when we've got the ball. 

Key is, though, keeping our guys fresh for the playoffs.

Why hasn't Sheed been able to dominate Big Z in the last 3 playoff series they played against Cleveland? This is the same Sheed that got outplayed by Varejao for a whole playoff series and got smoked by Joe Smith for like 25 points in game 3.  Sheed will be usless against Cleveland.

That entire Pistons team with the exception of McDyess quit.

[Check_My_Stats]

I'll take our top eight players over their top eight players, with one caveat.

Cleveland's best player is still getting better; our three best players are all getting older, and presumably will be slowing down.

BronBron's better than any of our wings, you can't deny that.  But, I'll take our frontcourt any day of the week over theirs; I'll trust Perk and KG to contain Shaq and Big Z, but I don't think either Shaq or Z can do anything to slow down KG and 'Sheed.  If they have to give big minutes to Sideshow to try and contain our bigs, that's a huge advantage in our favor.

In the backcourt, if Rondo keeps improving like he did all last year, there aren't going to be too many guards who can match up with him - and those that can will be named "CP3" and "Deron," not "Mo" and "Delonte."

I'm a homer, I know, but Cleveland can basically beat us one way - with LeBron just going MJ on us and completely dominating on both ends.  Count me among those that think Shaq will be a decent player for Cleveland - but not a difference-maker. 

We can beat Cleveland in a lot of different ways, though; we can ride Pierce's coattails, we can ride the shooting of Ray Allen and Eddie House, it can be dominant play by KG and 'Sheed, inside and out.  Like we saw at times in last years' playoffs, Rondo can simply be the most dominant player on the court at times. 

Cleveland and Boston can both also be lock-down defensive teams, but we've got more ways of making the offense work; it's not just a one-man show when we've got the ball. 

Key is, though, keeping our guys fresh for the playoffs.

Why hasn't Sheed been able to dominate Big Z in the last 3 playoff series they played against Cleveland? This is the same Sheed that got outplayed by Varejao for a whole playoff series and got smoked by Joe Smith for like 25 points in game 3.  Sheed will be usless against Cleveland.

That entire Pistons team with the exception of McDyess quit.

What about the other two playoff series against Cleveland? Did Sheed quit in 2007 also? There is no Cleveland/Sheed mismatch.

[Jon]

I'll take our top eight players over their top eight players, with one caveat.

Cleveland's best player is still getting better; our three best players are all getting older, and presumably will be slowing down.

BronBron's better than any of our wings, you can't deny that.  But, I'll take our frontcourt any day of the week over theirs; I'll trust Perk and KG to contain Shaq and Big Z, but I don't think either Shaq or Z can do anything to slow down KG and 'Sheed.  If they have to give big minutes to Sideshow to try and contain our bigs, that's a huge advantage in our favor.

In the backcourt, if Rondo keeps improving like he did all last year, there aren't going to be too many guards who can match up with him - and those that can will be named "CP3" and "Deron," not "Mo" and "Delonte."

I'm a homer, I know, but Cleveland can basically beat us one way - with LeBron just going MJ on us and completely dominating on both ends.  Count me among those that think Shaq will be a decent player for Cleveland - but not a difference-maker. 

We can beat Cleveland in a lot of different ways, though; we can ride Pierce's coattails, we can ride the shooting of Ray Allen and Eddie House, it can be dominant play by KG and 'Sheed, inside and out.  Like we saw at times in last years' playoffs, Rondo can simply be the most dominant player on the court at times. 

Cleveland and Boston can both also be lock-down defensive teams, but we've got more ways of making the offense work; it's not just a one-man show when we've got the ball. 

Key is, though, keeping our guys fresh for the playoffs.

Why hasn't Sheed been able to dominate Big Z in the last 3 playoff series they played against Cleveland? This is the same Sheed that got outplayed by Varejao for a whole playoff series and got smoked by Joe Smith for like 25 points in game 3.  Sheed will be usless against Cleveland.

That entire Pistons team with the exception of McDyess quit.

What about the other two playoff series against Cleveland? Did Sheed quit in 2007 also? There is no Cleveland/Sheed mismatch.

I think you're forgetting that during Sheeds entire time in Detroit he was never statistically dominant for an entire playoffs.  If you look at Sheed's playoff averages from 03-04 to 07-08 he averaged 13-14 ppg, 6-7 rpg, and shot 41-43% from the field.  In fact, his consistency in those numbers over 5 seasons is somewhat astonishing in itself.  If you want to see it yourself, check out http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rasheed_wallace/career_stats.html

Excluding last year (which I'll forgive him for, since Joe Dumars basically gave up on the team by blowing it up and trading Chauncey Billups), those numbers have been good enough for Detroit to be very successful and for the Pistons to even win a championship.  I see no reason why he can't put up similar numbers at a minutes adjusted rate (he averaged around 35 mpg to get those numbers, which he probably won't quite see here; so maybe 11-12 points and 5-6 boards). 

What's more, even if he has a statistically poor series against Cleveland next year, it doesn't mean he doesn't have value.  Putting him on the court, particularly with KG, is going to be a matchup nightmare.  Whether he's had bad series against Cleveland in the past or not, Mike Brown isn't going to let him stand out on the three point line uncontested, which is going to open up things inside for Pierce and Rondo to get to the hoop. 

To top it all off, I think things are different for Sheed now.  Detroit relied on him in the past fairly heavily, so when he did have bad games it killed them.  It won't be the case here.  He'll likely be the 5th option on the floor when he's on the court with Rondo, Allen, Pierce, and KG.  If he has even 2-3 good games against Cleveland, it should be enough for the C's to win the series. 

[the_Bird]

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.

[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. 

[RAcker]

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. 

I'll have some of what he's having.   

You are conveniently only focusing on the Cavs strengths and not on their weaknesses.  We drink the green kool aid.  You must have the maroon variety on tap today.

[BrickJames]

As well as anyone in the league given no one can stop the LeBron train (literally bulldozing people).

Too bad they can't stop us either. Shaq does not help their #1 glaring defense weakness (pick and roll/pop) and Jamario Moon has a history of getting absolutely eaten alive by Pierce.

Orlando scares me match-up wise more than Cleveland, and I'm not scared of Orlando with the addition of Rasheed.  Rashard Lewis was the #1 source of all the mismatches that were created, and with Ra and a healthy KG that is no longer a problem.

[angryguy77]

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.

[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.