Fake Playoffs are Here: Hype your Team/Matchup!

[johnnyrondo]

Where are we supposed to see our Eastern Conf. matchups... or do we just post 85 pictures of our players like Chicago and hope that works? (i kid...)

Due to the runoff, I'm sure the ballots for the East will be released at midnight tonight.  Unfortunately, you won't know who you're playing until about that time.

No problem... just figured i'd ask.

BTW -- if folks have NBA TV they should check out their top 20 games of the year.... they're running 1 hr long condensed versions all this week.

They're good refreshers as we head into the CBNBA playoffs...

I was watching SAC vs. GSW 3OT game this morning. And I've downgraded Kevin Martin's defense from "average" to "bad". Guys were blowing right by him. His shooting/scoring helped keep SAC in it, but they probably win going away if he D's his man up even once in a while.

Martin's a great fantasy league guy (and is my anchor to Dwight Howard in one of my keeper leagues), but in real life he's atrocious defensively.

I'm sure they win going away if he doesn't score 50 too.

Were there any Bucks games on that top 20 list? You know where Charlie V might have scored 50, so we could watch his horrendous defense?

[Roy Hobbs]

Where are we supposed to see our Eastern Conf. matchups... or do we just post 85 pictures of our players like Chicago and hope that works? (i kid...)

Due to the runoff, I'm sure the ballots for the East will be released at midnight tonight.  Unfortunately, you won't know who you're playing until about that time.

No problem... just figured i'd ask.

BTW -- if folks have NBA TV they should check out their top 20 games of the year.... they're running 1 hr long condensed versions all this week.

They're good refreshers as we head into the CBNBA playoffs...

I was watching SAC vs. GSW 3OT game this morning. And I've downgraded Kevin Martin's defense from "average" to "bad". Guys were blowing right by him. His shooting/scoring helped keep SAC in it, but they probably win going away if he D's his man up even once in a while.

Martin's a great fantasy league guy (and is my anchor to Dwight Howard in one of my keeper leagues), but in real life he's atrocious defensively.

Were there any Bucks games on that top 20 list? You know where Charlie V might have scored 50, so we could watch his horrendous defense?

Can't we all agree that both Martin *and* Charlie V suck at defense? 

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

But IP, what are you asking Rondo to do? You have Rondo as possibly the most important player on your team, and his effect on the game is comparable to Ford's. That can't be a good thing for Phoenix, considering the importance of both players to their team.

Also, if you're putting Oberto on Duncan, let's just say that Seattle is okay with that matchup. Because if Oberto is in the game and on Duncan, then Biedrins is out of the game, making the other two Kenyon Martin and Al Jefferson.

Big Al scored 26, 20, and 20 points in 3 games against Kenyon Martin and Denver this year. With Oberto on Duncan, that leaves Al Jefferson against Kenyon Martin. Is that 22 point average enough to beat Seattle in a seven game series, considering Rondo and Ford are equally matched?

Now keep in mind, is that production from Rondo and Jefferson enough to win if the other matchups are Duncan on Oberto, Gordon on Roger Mason, and Thaddeus Young on Josh Howard??

I don't think so.

[johnnyrondo]

Yes we can all agree that Charlie V, Michael Redd and Mike Bibby suck at defense.

[indeedproceed]

But IP, what are you asking Rondo to do? You have Rondo as possibly the most important player on your team, and his effect on the game is comparable to Ford's. That can't be a good thing for Phoenix, considering the importance of both players to their team.

Also, if you're putting Oberto on Duncan, let's just say that Seattle is okay with that matchup. Because if Oberto is in the game and on Duncan, then Biedrins is out of the game, making the other two Kenyon Martin and Al Jefferson.

Big Al scored 26, 20, and 20 points in 3 games against Kenyon Martin and Denver this year. With Oberto on Duncan, that leaves Al Jefferson against Kenyon Martin. Is that 22 point average enough to beat Seattle in a seven game series, considering Rondo and Ford are equally matched?

Now keep in mind, is that production from Rondo and Jefferson enough to win if the other matchups are Duncan on Oberto, Gordon on Roger Mason, and Thaddeus Young on Josh Howard??

I don't think so.

Al Jefferson outclasses Kenyon Martin pretty handily. Josh Howard also outclasses Thad Young pretty handily.

Ford outscores Rondo, but Rondo outplays him everywhere else on the court. Ben Gordon, whatver he does scoring wise, won't change what Roger Mason Jr puts out.

Tim Duncan is slipping, Hoyo. He couldn't make it out of the first round last year, and he won't make it out this year against the fake Suns.

[Roy Hobbs]

Yes we can all agree that Charlie V, Michael Redd and Mike Bibby suck at defense.

Michael Redd will surprise you, although nobody will say that defense is a strength.  He has his moments, though, and he's not atrocious (which is how GC described Kevin Martin.)

[johnnyrondo]

Yes we can all agree that Charlie V, Michael Redd and Mike Bibby suck at defense.

Michael Redd will surprise you, although nobody will say that defense is a strength.  He has his moments, though, and he's not atrocious (which is how GC described Kevin Martin.)

Yes, GC was disappointed in Martin's 50 point game. Your correct that nobody would say that defense was a strength of Redd. Now recovering form his serious knee surgery, Redd might hope to be at the "atrocious" level.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

But IP, what are you asking Rondo to do? You have Rondo as possibly the most important player on your team, and his effect on the game is comparable to Ford's. That can't be a good thing for Phoenix, considering the importance of both players to their team.

Also, if you're putting Oberto on Duncan, let's just say that Seattle is okay with that matchup. Because if Oberto is in the game and on Duncan, then Biedrins is out of the game, making the other two Kenyon Martin and Al Jefferson.

Big Al scored 26, 20, and 20 points in 3 games against Kenyon Martin and Denver this year. With Oberto on Duncan, that leaves Al Jefferson against Kenyon Martin. Is that 22 point average enough to beat Seattle in a seven game series, considering Rondo and Ford are equally matched?

Now keep in mind, is that production from Rondo and Jefferson enough to win if the other matchups are Duncan on Oberto, Gordon on Roger Mason, and Thaddeus Young on Josh Howard??

I don't think so.

Al Jefferson outclasses Kenyon Martin pretty handily. Josh Howard also outclasses Thad Young pretty handily.

Ford outscores Rondo, but Rondo outplays him everywhere else on the court. Ben Gordon, whatver he does scoring wise, won't change what Roger Mason Jr puts out.

Tim Duncan is slipping, Hoyo. He couldn't make it out of the first round last year, and he won't make it out this year against the fake Suns.

I gave you Jefferson's numbers. You love numbers, IP  

He averaged 22 PPG against Denver. Is that enough to win this series? Nope.

Tim Duncan is not slipping yet. You want him to be, you desperately need him to be to win this. But he's not slipping enough. He's still averaged 19.3 PPG and 10.7 RPG in 2009. He's a 20/10 guy, and he will be again.

I love too how Howard outclasses Thaddeus Young pretty handily. Really?

Last season, Howard had 10 points against Philly in both meetings. Thaddeus Young had 11 and 8 in those same meetings. Problem is, Young's getting better. His most recent game was the 11, and with another year under his belt, making him still 21 years old and at the end of his 4th year, Young has Howard very much under control. You know what you get with 29 year old Josh Howard, and 21 year old Thaddeus Young is still very much improving. He's already with Howard, and after one more year? Howard certainly doesn't outclass Young handily. It's a generous draw, only because I can't predict just how much Young will improve, but should his current improvement rate stay steady, that's a Seattle advantage. Certainly not "outclassed pretty handily."

Ford negates a Rondo advantage. That duel is a wash. Those three matchups discussed above (Big Al-Martin, Howard-Young, and Rondo-Ford) should have been your advantages, but they either aren't (Rondo and Howard) or aren't sizeable enough to get you the win (Jefferson-Martin). That leaves us with Oberto-Duncan and Mason-Gordon. Let's just say I'm feeling pretty good if it comes down to Tim Duncan and Ben Gordon vs. Fabricio Oberto and Roger Mason Jr. with a second round berth on the line.  

[Roy Hobbs]

In fairness to IP and the Howard / Young matchup, when the teams went head to head wasn't it Igoudala who was matched up on Howard for much of the game?  It's not like Young single-handedly shut him down.

I still think IP wins that particular matchup.

[jgod213]

the Houston Rockets vs the Dallas Mavericks

Why might the Mavs have trouble w/ the Rockets?

The combo of Ellis/Johnson is tough for any team, nevermind a back court who's lists of strengths don't include pure speed.  Our strategy will be to put the larger Kidd on Johnson and put the smaller Terry on Ellis.  We won't win a points matchup here, but with the talented help defense of Smith, Marion, Dalembert, and Daneils off the bench, we feel confident that we can contain these two to a degree and force jumpshots.  Brandon Jennings off the bench will provide a better defensive matchup off the bench for us against Ellis for several minutes/game.


But ultimately, why do the Mavs win this matchup?
Let's take a peak at the frontcourt battles:


Chris Bosh '08/'09 averages: 49%fg, 22.7ppg, 8 free throw attempts/game, 3 offensive reobunds/game

Chris Bosh vs. NYK (aka David Lee) '08/'09: 42% fg, 17.7ppg, 4.5 free throw attempts/game, 1.5 offensive rebounds/game

The numbers indicate that David Lee (despite being my center, Lee will shift over to cover Bosh on defense) will play Bosh virtually even, meaning they pretty much cancel eachother out.  That leaves Houston with a combination of Anthony Randolph, DeJuan Blair, and David Anderson to throw against the combination of Josh Smith, Samuel Dalembert, and Al Harrington.  I really do like the potential of those bigs for Houston, but the key words here are POTENTIAL and PLAYOFFS.  

Randolph/Blair/Andersen combination: 63 combined games played, 22 career starts, no playoff experience.
Smith/Dalembert/Harrington combination: 1,604 games played, 1,191 career starts, 71 games of playoff experience

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

In fairness to IP and the Howard / Young matchup, when the teams went head to head wasn't it Igoudala who was matched up on Howard for much of the game?  It's not like Young single-handedly shut him down.

I still think IP wins that particular matchup.

This was during the time that Brand was out, so Thad Young was defending Nowitzki and Bass and Howard in one of those games, but when Brand came back in the other one Young had Howard with the Dalembert-Brand-Young frontcourt.

My problem was not calling that a win for Phoenix, it was saying Howard outclasses Young pretty handily. Not a chance, especially considering Young will be 21 years old in next years playoffs. That matchup can be a very slight win for Phoenix, but look at what else is there. Is it sizeable enough to make up for Duncan-Oberto AND Gordon-Mason? No way.

[johnnyrondo]

Man I need to Know IP's answer to my Oberto question before I vote.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

Man I need to Know IP's answer to my Oberto question before I vote.

Ok I'll ask my question to the Suns now and collect my two Tommy's


So you're saying Oberto is guarding Duncan? what happened to Biedrins?

His mins will be limited. Oberto won't guard Duncan EVERY minute he's on the floor, but Oberto will see about 25 mins, and not a one when Timmy is not in.

Biedrins will get his time when Duncan is not in, and sometimes paired with Oberto if I don't think their PF can compete with Biedrins. Probably around 20 mpg.

That's his answer, JR. An answer the Seattle Sonics are very okay with.

[indeedproceed]

But IP, what are you asking Rondo to do? You have Rondo as possibly the most important player on your team, and his effect on the game is comparable to Ford's. That can't be a good thing for Phoenix, considering the importance of both players to their team.

Also, if you're putting Oberto on Duncan, let's just say that Seattle is okay with that matchup. Because if Oberto is in the game and on Duncan, then Biedrins is out of the game, making the other two Kenyon Martin and Al Jefferson.

Big Al scored 26, 20, and 20 points in 3 games against Kenyon Martin and Denver this year. With Oberto on Duncan, that leaves Al Jefferson against Kenyon Martin. Is that 22 point average enough to beat Seattle in a seven game series, considering Rondo and Ford are equally matched?

Now keep in mind, is that production from Rondo and Jefferson enough to win if the other matchups are Duncan on Oberto, Gordon on Roger Mason, and Thaddeus Young on Josh Howard??

I don't think so.

Al Jefferson outclasses Kenyon Martin pretty handily. Josh Howard also outclasses Thad Young pretty handily.

Ford outscores Rondo, but Rondo outplays him everywhere else on the court. Ben Gordon, whatver he does scoring wise, won't change what Roger Mason Jr puts out.

Tim Duncan is slipping, Hoyo. He couldn't make it out of the first round last year, and he won't make it out this year against the fake Suns.

I gave you Jefferson's numbers. You love numbers, IP  

He averaged 22 PPG against Denver. Is that enough to win this series? Nope.

Tim Duncan is not slipping yet. You want him to be, you desperately need him to be to win this. But he's not slipping enough. He's still averaged 19.3 PPG and 10.7 RPG in 2009. He's a 20/10 guy, and he will be again.

I love too how Howard outclasses Thaddeus Young pretty handily. Really?

Last season, Howard had 10 points against Philly in both meetings. Thaddeus Young had 11 and 8 in those same meetings. Problem is, Young's getting better. His most recent game was the 11, and with another year under his belt, making him still 21 years old and at the end of his 4th year, Young has Howard very much under control. You know what you get with 29 year old Josh Howard, and 21 year old Thaddeus Young is still very much improving. He's already with Howard, and after one more year? Howard certainly doesn't outclass Young handily. It's a generous draw, only because I can't predict just how much Young will improve, but should his current improvement rate stay steady, that's a Seattle advantage. Certainly not "outclassed pretty handily."

Ford negates a Rondo advantage. That duel is a wash. Those three matchups discussed above (Big Al-Martin, Howard-Young, and Rondo-Ford) should have been your advantages, but they either aren't (Rondo and Howard) or aren't sizeable enough to get you the win (Jefferson-Martin). That leaves us with Oberto-Duncan and Mason-Gordon. Let's just say I'm feeling pretty good if it comes down to Tim Duncan and Ben Gordon vs. Fabricio Oberto and Roger Mason Jr. with a second round berth on the line.  

Well, that all depends. If Thad Young can get better, why can't Rondo, Jefferson and like the rest of my bench?

If Playoff experience matters, then why doesn't Rondo, Howard, Oberto, and Bowen give me an advantage?

If Al Jefferson's 20ppg against Kenyon Martin isn't enough to put me over the top, how does it compare to the 7ppg Kenyon Martin averaged in those same contests? I will take 20 over 7 any day.

And I keep getting the feeling that you percieve Oberto as some kind of speedbump at the very least. Lets look at Oberto/Duncan.

Oberto has played for 4 years in teh NBA, and all 4 were spend with San Antonio. He started out as Duncan's backup, but his defensive acumen and nose for crafty scoring and rebounding got him the starting job.

Now against a lot of other guys in the league you might say "Well, Oberto is good defender, but he's no big deal"...but against Tim Duncan that's a different story. He practiced with him, would've been the major guy Tim went against. He knows Tim's moved inside and out, and he's old enough and smart enough to cheat on Tim Duncan (I mean as in positionally and how he defends the shot, I don't mean he's going to punch him or something...but he might).

Also Oberto has been resting all season. Tim Duncan can been carrying a weak frontcourt on his back the whole season for Seattle.

So my question is who has the advantage? An improved Al Jefferson with his 20+ppg and Fabricio Oberto's 5ppg or Tim Duncan with his 20ppg and Kenyon Martin's 7ppg?

I'd say its either advantage Phoenix or a wash.

Then you have Gordon vs Mason Jr and Young vs Howard.

Well we've both been stupid. Howard didn't get his 10ppg against Young, he got them against Iguadola. Young played the PF in those games this year.

So if I face Iguadola, I am worried, because it seems like he's got Josh Howard's number. But Thad Young? Well we won't know. I will take the 6'7 29 year old two way player in any bet though.

As far as benches go, I think Nate Robinson, Kyle Korver, Bruce Bowen (who I could easily put on Ben Gordon), Andris Biendrins, Jason Smith and Ersan Ilaysova have Brandon Bass Dahntay Jones and J Bayless by a country mile.

[indeedproceed]

JR to answer your question,

I will be starting Biedrins but quickly taking him out. He will get his PT when Duncan is not in.

I like this for me because behind TD, we've got Patty Obryant and Theo Ratliff, both players I consider terrible.

While I don't like Biedrins on Duncan, I love him against Seattle's bench. I don't think they get a single rebound.