2010 CB Draft: Pacific Division Press Conferences

[Roy H.]

I rank Sacramento behind Phoenix because I'm not crazy about the quality of their SGs or their centers and because I think Randolph coming off the bench playing third banana will cause locker room/chemistry problems.

We'll agree to disagree on the Randolph stuff, and I like Sacramento's center rotation; I'd say their centers (combined) are better than the Celtics centers in '08, '09, or '10, especially since Boozer has played a ton of center in Utah.

Even though I disagree with those criticisms, I understand them.  However, I don't get the critique of Sacramento's SGs as a major weakness.

Some people have seemed to adopt this philosophy that in order to compete, a team needs to have five great starters, or at least very good ones.  I disagree.  I think a team can do quite well with one starter who is average / above-average, especially when the backup is also in about the same category.

Lee and Garcia are both starters in this league.  Both are role players, but both are good at what they do.  They're each guys who defend very well, they're good-to-excellent shooters, and they slash to the hoop.  They're also both good teammates, and Lee was a starter on a Finals team.

Both played on bad teams last year, but interestingly, the Kings actually outscored their opponents with Garcia in the game at SG, suggesting that he was a difference maker.  (The same can't be said about Lee, of course, because he was on the historically bad Nets.  However, his team did perform better when he was in the game, despite him battling injuries for a good portion of the season.)

Relative to their position played, I'd say Garcia and Lee are at about the same level as Felton, with both playing a little better defense (and much better defense, if you want to judge Felton on how he handled Jameer in the playoffs).

[StartOrien]

I'm no fan of Fransisco Garcia, but Courntey Lee is a prototype for role-playing SG's IMO.

[Roy H.]

I'm no fan of Fransisco Garcia, but Courntey Lee is a prototype for role-playing SG's IMO.

You might not have seen "Cisco" play enough.  If you did, you'd be a fan.  

But yes, I agree completely on Courtney Lee.  There's a reason why the Magic took a significant step backward after trading "flawed" guys like Lee and Turkuglu for the "talented" Vince Carter.

[StartOrien]

I'm no fan of Fransisco Garcia, but Courntey Lee is a prototype for role-playing SG's IMO.

You might not have seen "Cisco" play enough.  If you did, you'd be a fan.  

But yes, I agree completely on Courtney Lee.  There's a reason why the Magic took a significant step backward after trading "flawed" guys like Lee and Turkuglu for the "talented" Vince Carter.

I think we can both agree that Hedo Turkoglu and Courtney Lee played an enormously huge part in the Orlando Magic's run to the finals

[mgent]

Wow guys my bad.  I wasn't able to get to a computer yesterday.  I'm gonna write something now if that's still acceptable.

[Roy H.]

Wow guys my bad.  I wasn't able to get to a computer yesterday.  I'm gonna write something now if that's still acceptable.

No problem.  The next division isn't up until Tuesday, so there's plenty of time to get questions in for your squad.

[mgent]

Sorry this is late everyone (keep in my while looking at my guys that a lot of those picks were late too).  If I play next year, which I hope I will, I’ll have to manage my time better.

LA Clippers

My head coach is Don Nelson and he is one of the greatest coaches of all time, but I won’t waste time talking about him since I think this draft is much more about the guys who actually play the game.

Reserves:  Larry Hughes, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sundiata Gaines (project)

Reggie Evans  –  3.4ppg, 3.8rpg, 11mpg
Won’t play a ton of minutes, but he is a solid role player.  Brings defense and rebounding to the bench.  Primarily a hustle player (similar to Leon Powe) and every team needs hustle.

Carlos Arroyo – 6.1ppg, 3.1apg, 1.8rpg, 48% fg, 0.8 tov
Excellent backup PG.  Stole the starting position in Miami last year.  He knows how to take care of the ball and will keep the offense moving for the 2nd unit.  Decent defender.

Andres Nocioni  –  8.5ppg, 3rpg, 1apg, 39% 3pt, 19mpg
One of my many sharpshooters.  Didn’t have a great role last season on a very young Sac team.  He is a great guy to have coming off the bench on a championship team.

Anthony Parker – 7.3ppg, 2.9rpg, 1.9apg, 41% 3pt
Started 81 of his 81 games last season.  Excellent 3 point shooter.  He’s capable of getting red hot.  Good defender.

Yi Jialian – 12ppg, 7.2rpg, 1apg, 1bpg, 37% 3pt
Most likely the 6th man and first guy off the bench.  He’s gonna be key in keeping KG and Big Ben’s minutes down.  When we need offense he will quickly be subbed for Wallace.  He’s a 7 footer and will space the floor nicely with Garnett.  Will likely see time at the end of the game due to his good FT shooting and added offense.  Still young and improving.

Ben Wallace - 5.5ppg, 8.7rpg, 1.5apg, 1.2bpg, 1.2spg, 54% fg
I'm glad to have one of the best defensive players of all time on my squad.  Obviously he has limited offensive ability, but he can still pick up the garbage and that's all he has to do for us.  He might be getting old, but he proved last year he can still start on an NBA team (67 of his 69 games).  I expect him to be slightly rejuvenated playing with KG, the other best defensive player of the last decade.  Together they can really shut down the paint.  As long as Big Ben is playing consistent defense and is rebounding, he’s doing his job for this team.

Shawn Marion – 12ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.4apg, .9spg, .8bpg, 51% fg
He’s still one of the most versatile players in the league in my opinion.  Excellent rebounder at the 3.  Still a lockdown defender.  He’ll be an important piece on my championship team.

Jason Richardson – 15.7ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.8apg, .8spg, 39% 3pt
Strong, athletic guard.  Excellent rebounder.  He came up big in the playoffs last year.  He’s a good shooter and defender.  He’s capable of being a go-to-scorer.  He’ll be carrying the majority of the scoring load with Chauncey.

Chauncey Billups – 19.5ppg, 5.6apg, 3.1rpg, 1.1spg, 39% 3pt
Another strong athletic  guard.  He’s coming off one of the best years of his career.  He knows how to run the team and is an excellent leader.  He’ll  be taking all the big shots late in games as that is his specialty.  

Captain:  Kevin Garnett – 14.3ppg, 7.3rpg, 2.7apg, 1spg, .8bpg, 52% fg
I’m a believer in KG.  I have to be because I’m a Celtic fan.  But even if I wasn’t, I have no doubt KG is gonna come back as hard as he can this year.  He’s still one of the best defenders in the NBA as seen in the Celtics’ playoff run.  More importantly, he makes everyone around him better defenders (and they are already good).  His pick and roll with Chauncey will be nearly unstoppable.  He’s tough and aggressive and will talk more crap than anyone else in the league.


Overall I can objectively say I think I have one of the best teams.  If this squad doesn’t make it to the finals I will be severely disappointed.  Defense wins championships, bottom line.  It’d be hard to convince anyone who watches basketball that this isn’t the best defensive team in the league.  I also think I’ve got one of the better rebounding teams if not the best (considering my guys at the 1 2 and 3).  No weak links in the two most important areas for winning.

I think all my guys go together great.  Excellent chemistry.  Also very well balanced.  My backcourt is gonna wreak havoc.  I’ve got several ELITE 3pt shooters.  When my team is hot they will go lights out.  I haven’t talked a lot about my bench because I don’t think it’s better than most of the other teams, but I think they’re somewhere in the middle and will get the job done.

All in all, my guys are winners.  They’re gonna win.  3 of my starting 5 has the jewelry to prove it.  4 of my starting 5 were big parts of elite title-contending teams last season.  The starting 5 has 37 years of playoff experience.  This is a team of vets coming together for one last chance, and it’s absolutely within their reach.  No one wants it more.

[mgent]

Also, a rough rotation if anyone is interested:

Wallace(30), Jialian(18)
Garnett(30), Jialian(8 ), Nocioni(6), Evans(4)
Marion(33), Nocioni(12), Parker(3)
Richardson(36), Parker(12)
Billups(33), Arroyo(10), Parker(5)

(regular season)

[Roy H.]

Questions for the Clippers:

1.  Ben Wallace is 36 years old, and played 29 minutes per game last year.  Your backup center is a poor defender who didn't play any center at all in New Jersey.  With the size in the Pacific division, is this a concern?

2.  This is how a Raptors blogger described Reggie Evans:

There was also Reggie Evans, a poor man-defender but a decent rebounder, who was traded for to address rebounding. Due to injury and an unexplainable addiction to convert the rare rebound he got to a failed field-goal attempt, was about as useless as a Raptor ever was.

Discuss.

3.  Andres Nocioni played very poorly at SF, and has for several seasons.  Is that a worry?

(In case you're sensing a theme, I like your starters, but I'm not sold on your bench.)

4.  The question all Celtics fans care about:  is KG going to bounce back next year, or will he continue his decline?  Also, can he still defend bigger players?

[nickagneta]

I rank Sacramento behind Phoenix because I'm not crazy about the quality of their SGs or their centers and because I think Randolph coming off the bench playing third banana will cause locker room/chemistry problems.

We'll agree to disagree on the Randolph stuff, and I like Sacramento's center rotation; I'd say their centers (combined) are better than the Celtics centers in '08, '09, or '10, especially since Boozer has played a ton of center in Utah.

Even though I disagree with those criticisms, I understand them.  However, I don't get the critique of Sacramento's SGs as a major weakness.

Some people have seemed to adopt this philosophy that in order to compete, a team needs to have five great starters, or at least very good ones.  I disagree.  I think a team can do quite well with one starter who is average / above-average, especially when the backup is also in about the same category.

Lee and Garcia are both starters in this league.  Both are role players, but both are good at what they do.  They're each guys who defend very well, they're good-to-excellent shooters, and they slash to the hoop.  They're also both good teammates, and Lee was a starter on a Finals team.

Both played on bad teams last year, but interestingly, the Kings actually outscored their opponents with Garcia in the game at SG, suggesting that he was a difference maker.  (The same can't be said about Lee, of course, because he was on the historically bad Nets.  However, his team did perform better when he was in the game, despite him battling injuries for a good portion of the season.)

Relative to their position played, I'd say Garcia and Lee are at about the same level as Felton, with both playing a little better defense (and much better defense, if you want to judge Felton on how he handled Jameer in the playoffs).

Why do you have to keep going back and comparing your teams shortcomings to mine when I criticize your team. When people criticize my team I defend my team from their assertions. I don't go back and say yeah but the player on your team yada, yada, yada.

I know my team isn't perfect. Have criticisms of it? Go back to the Southeast presser and voice them and I will defend my team from them there, if I chose so. I find this counter attack at my team when I critique your team rather.....well, not necessary. Just head over to the Southeast presser and make your statements there.

Sorry Roy if I'm not in love with your team like others are. I think they are playoff worthy and good. But I don't like Lee and Garcia as SGs, I am totally underwhelmed by your starting center and I believe Boozer is a PF, I don't care how much Sloan played him out of position last year. Play him long minutes there against the leagues better centers and your team will suffer.

Just my opinion.

[Roy H.]

I rank Sacramento behind Phoenix because I'm not crazy about the quality of their SGs or their centers and because I think Randolph coming off the bench playing third banana will cause locker room/chemistry problems.

We'll agree to disagree on the Randolph stuff, and I like Sacramento's center rotation; I'd say their centers (combined) are better than the Celtics centers in '08, '09, or '10, especially since Boozer has played a ton of center in Utah.

Even though I disagree with those criticisms, I understand them.  However, I don't get the critique of Sacramento's SGs as a major weakness.

Some people have seemed to adopt this philosophy that in order to compete, a team needs to have five great starters, or at least very good ones.  I disagree.  I think a team can do quite well with one starter who is average / above-average, especially when the backup is also in about the same category.

Lee and Garcia are both starters in this league.  Both are role players, but both are good at what they do.  They're each guys who defend very well, they're good-to-excellent shooters, and they slash to the hoop.  They're also both good teammates, and Lee was a starter on a Finals team.

Both played on bad teams last year, but interestingly, the Kings actually outscored their opponents with Garcia in the game at SG, suggesting that he was a difference maker.  (The same can't be said about Lee, of course, because he was on the historically bad Nets.  However, his team did perform better when he was in the game, despite him battling injuries for a good portion of the season.)

Relative to their position played, I'd say Garcia and Lee are at about the same level as Felton, with both playing a little better defense (and much better defense, if you want to judge Felton on how he handled Jameer in the playoffs).

Why do you have to keep going back and comparing your teams shortcomings to mine when I criticize your team. When people criticize my team I defend my team from their assertions. I don't go back and say yeah but the player on your team yada, yada, yada.

I know my team isn't perfect. Have criticisms of it? Go back to the Southeast presser and voice them and I will defend my team from them there, if I chose so. I find this counter attack at my team when I critique your team rather.....well, not necessary. Just head over to the Southeast presser and make your statements there.

Sorry Roy if I'm not in love with your team like others are. I think they are playoff worthy and good. But I don't like Lee and Garcia as SGs, I am totally underwhelmed by your starting center and I believe Boozer is a PF, I don't care how much Sloan played him out of position last year. Play him long minutes there against the leagues better centers and your team will suffer.

Just my opinion.

I'm just pointing out that the issues you're pointing out aren't big ones.  I'm responding to your critiques of my team by showing that many teams -- including your own -- have equal and similar "flaws" (which to me, are basically non-flaws.)

I'm sorry if I offended you, nick.  It wasn't my intent, I'm just showing that the fact that my SGs are supposedly "underwhelming" or whatever is really not a big deal, when taken in context.  I think you might be blowing this up into a bigger deal than it is, since I spent one sentence out of a six paragraph post mentioning your players, leading to your four paragraph response.

[StartOrien]

Upon reviewal, I'd change my divisional rankings (excluding my own team)

1. Kings
------
2. Lakers
-----
3. Warriors
-----
4. Clippers

My concern w/ the Clippers is the depth at the big man, especially when you have two older players starting who have A LOT of miles on those legs. Arguably the best starting 5 in the league though.

I'll also say that I think the Lakers are only about a half step from away from the Kings, and I wouldn't rule out changing my mind on them even further int he playoffs.

[nickagneta]

I rank Sacramento behind Phoenix because I'm not crazy about the quality of their SGs or their centers and because I think Randolph coming off the bench playing third banana will cause locker room/chemistry problems.

We'll agree to disagree on the Randolph stuff, and I like Sacramento's center rotation; I'd say their centers (combined) are better than the Celtics centers in '08, '09, or '10, especially since Boozer has played a ton of center in Utah.

Even though I disagree with those criticisms, I understand them.  However, I don't get the critique of Sacramento's SGs as a major weakness.

Some people have seemed to adopt this philosophy that in order to compete, a team needs to have five great starters, or at least very good ones.  I disagree.  I think a team can do quite well with one starter who is average / above-average, especially when the backup is also in about the same category.

Lee and Garcia are both starters in this league.  Both are role players, but both are good at what they do.  They're each guys who defend very well, they're good-to-excellent shooters, and they slash to the hoop.  They're also both good teammates, and Lee was a starter on a Finals team.

Both played on bad teams last year, but interestingly, the Kings actually outscored their opponents with Garcia in the game at SG, suggesting that he was a difference maker.  (The same can't be said about Lee, of course, because he was on the historically bad Nets.  However, his team did perform better when he was in the game, despite him battling injuries for a good portion of the season.)

Relative to their position played, I'd say Garcia and Lee are at about the same level as Felton, with both playing a little better defense (and much better defense, if you want to judge Felton on how he handled Jameer in the playoffs).

Why do you have to keep going back and comparing your teams shortcomings to mine when I criticize your team. When people criticize my team I defend my team from their assertions. I don't go back and say yeah but the player on your team yada, yada, yada.

I know my team isn't perfect. Have criticisms of it? Go back to the Southeast presser and voice them and I will defend my team from them there, if I chose so. I find this counter attack at my team when I critique your team rather.....well, not necessary. Just head over to the Southeast presser and make your statements there.

Sorry Roy if I'm not in love with your team like others are. I think they are playoff worthy and good. But I don't like Lee and Garcia as SGs, I am totally underwhelmed by your starting center and I believe Boozer is a PF, I don't care how much Sloan played him out of position last year. Play him long minutes there against the leagues better centers and your team will suffer.

Just my opinion.

I'm just pointing out that the issues you're pointing out aren't big ones.  I'm responding to your critiques of my team by showing that many teams -- including your own -- have equal and similar "flaws" (which to me, are basically non-flaws.)

I'm sorry if I offended you, nick.  It wasn't my intent, I'm just showing that the fact that my SGs are supposedly "underwhelming" or whatever is really not a big deal, when taken in context.  I think you might be blowing this up into a bigger deal than it is, since I spent one sentence out of a six paragraph post mentioning your players, leading to your four paragraph response.

It's not the first time you did it Roy, so hence my problem. No biggie.

[indeedproceed]

Sorry Roy if I'm not in love with your team like others are.

Who else just got deja vu?

I also like Phoenix over Sacramento, in large part because there is no cure for Deeeeeee-White. I also think Rashard at the 3 is a big mistake, and Phoenix looks more traditionally like a team to me.

I also don't think Richard Jefferson is bouncing back to 2007-2008 Richard Jefferson anytime soon, and while Derrick Rose is better than Baron Davis, he's not head and shoulders better than he is..not to the level where he can determine the series if Baron continues his improvement from last season and builds on it, which I think he would with Dwight. On the off guard I give Phoenix the slight edge there too.

While I like Sac's PF rotation quite a bit more than PHoenix's, I don't think it is such a grand disparity of talent that it can come close compensating for the havoc that Dwight Howard will impose upon them.

[Roy H.]

Sorry Roy if I'm not in love with your team like others are.

Who else just got deja vu?

I also like Phoenix over Sacramento, in large part because there is no cure for Deeeeeee-White. I also think Rashard at the 3 is a big mistake, and Phoenix looks more traditionally like a team to me.

I also don't think Richard Jefferson is bouncing back to 2007-2008 Richard Jefferson anytime soon, and while Derrick Rose is better than Baron Davis, he's not head and shoulders better than he is..not to the level where he can determine the series if Baron continues his improvement from last season and builds on it, which I think he would with Dwight. On the off guard I give Phoenix the slight edge there too.

While I like Sac's PF rotation quite a bit more than PHoenix's, I don't think it is such a grand disparity of talent that it can come close compensating for the havoc that Dwight Howard will impose upon them.

Let's save it for the playoffs.    I'm not going to compare my team to Phoenix at this stage, other than to say I'm saving it for the playoffs.  I think highly of Phoenix, and think that they are one of the top two teams in the conference (with Sacramento being the other).

(I will say that I think my team is better equipped for the regular season than Phoenix.  Phoenix is working a couple of rookies into the rotation, and Baron Davis will inevitably miss at least a handful of games, like he does every season.  The regular season isn't solely about H2H matchups; depth becomes much more important, and Sacramento is clearly the deeper team in my opinion.)