CB Draft '10 Playoffs Western Conference Semi-Finals

[Roy H.]

I noticed these questions weren't answered, so I figured I'd repost them:

How many minutes is Calderon playing?

How do you like the Rose vs. Willie Green matchup?

Who initiates your offense when Calderon is on the bench?

What present point guards in the NBA do you think are worse defenders than Calderon?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ntFroiHOA

Why don't you tell these folks why you've been ducking me?

[StartOrien]

Denver = Overrated

[Who]

On Yao's health, I'll be giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise (on the court).

I expect Yao to have 2-4 good years left in him before he falls apart.

When Yao's own team doesn't even have confidence that he can survive the regular season, how much benefit of the doubt does he deserve?  And what level of play do you expect him at?  2009 production?  Better?  Worse?

Until proven otherwise ... I'm going to go with 2008/09 performance level.

I do not expect Yao to start the season at that level but he may finish the year there.

Isn't this backwards though? He missed an entire season. In the three seasons leading up  to the 08/09 season he played in 55, 48, 57 games. Given that track record mixed with his his massive size, don't you think he'd have to prove healthy as opposed to the other way around?

Yao Ming has returned from his past injuries and played a very high level ... so yes, given the number of seasons which ended prematurely, Yao has to prove that he can stay healthy but not necessarily his performance level while fit (which has been a constant).

In summary, I don't know whether Yao can last the year but if fit I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt performance wise until proven (on the floor) to the contrary.

----------------------------------------

I expect Yao's to age badly as a combination of size + unfortunate injuries ... but I'm hopeful he can squeeze out another couple of years at a high level.

[StartOrien]

On Yao's health, I'll be giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise (on the court).

I expect Yao to have 2-4 good years left in him before he falls apart.

When Yao's own team doesn't even have confidence that he can survive the regular season, how much benefit of the doubt does he deserve?  And what level of play do you expect him at?  2009 production?  Better?  Worse?

Until proven otherwise ... I'm going to go with 2008/09 performance level.

I do not expect Yao to start the season at that level but he may finish the year there.

Isn't this backwards though? He missed an entire season. In the three seasons leading up  to the 08/09 season he played in 55, 48, 57 games. Given that track record mixed with his his massive size, don't you think he'd have to prove healthy as opposed to the other way around?

Yao Ming has returned from his past injuries and played a very high level ... so yes, given the number of seasons which ended prematurely, Yao has to prove that he can stay healthy but not necessarily his performance level while fit (which has been a constant).

In summary, I don't know whether Yao can last the year but if fit I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt performance wise until proven (on the floor) to the contrary.

----------------------------------------

I expect Yao's to age badly as a combination of size + unfortunate injuries ... but I'm hopeful he can squeeze out another couple of years at a high level.

But is hope the reason you're giving him the benefit of the doubt when voting?

[Who]

On Yao's health, I'll be giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise (on the court).

I expect Yao to have 2-4 good years left in him before he falls apart.

When Yao's own team doesn't even have confidence that he can survive the regular season, how much benefit of the doubt does he deserve?  And what level of play do you expect him at?  2009 production?  Better?  Worse?

Until proven otherwise ... I'm going to go with 2008/09 performance level.

I do not expect Yao to start the season at that level but he may finish the year there.

Isn't this backwards though? He missed an entire season. In the three seasons leading up  to the 08/09 season he played in 55, 48, 57 games. Given that track record mixed with his his massive size, don't you think he'd have to prove healthy as opposed to the other way around?

Yao Ming has returned from his past injuries and played a very high level ... so yes, given the number of seasons which ended prematurely, Yao has to prove that he can stay healthy but not necessarily his performance level while fit (which has been a constant).

In summary, I don't know whether Yao can last the year but if fit I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt performance wise until proven (on the floor) to the contrary.

----------------------------------------

I expect Yao's to age badly as a combination of size + unfortunate injuries ... but I'm hopeful he can squeeze out another couple of years at a high level.

But is hope the reason you're giving him the benefit of the doubt when voting?

Sure -- I don't like penciling players out because of injuries which haven't happened yet. Same outlook for everyone.

[Roy H.]

Yao Ming has returned from his past injuries and played a very high level ... so yes, given the number of seasons which ended prematurely, Yao has to prove that he can stay healthy but not necessarily his performance level while fit (which has been a constant).

In summary, I don't know whether Yao can last the year but if fit I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt performance wise until proven (on the floor) to the contrary.

----------------------------------------

I expect Yao's to age badly as a combination of size + unfortunate injuries ... but I'm hopeful he can squeeze out another couple of years at a high level.

I'm not going to knock your philosophy; I'm more of a "show me" guy, but I respect your viewpoint.

However, I would disagree that Yao's performance hasn't been affected by injuries, or that his production has remained a constant.  He's declined since his peak of '06 and '07, and after two foot surgeries and taking a year off, I think that his game will decline more.

[StartOrien]

On Yao's health, I'll be giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise (on the court).

I expect Yao to have 2-4 good years left in him before he falls apart.

When Yao's own team doesn't even have confidence that he can survive the regular season, how much benefit of the doubt does he deserve?  And what level of play do you expect him at?  2009 production?  Better?  Worse?

Until proven otherwise ... I'm going to go with 2008/09 performance level.

I do not expect Yao to start the season at that level but he may finish the year there.

Isn't this backwards though? He missed an entire season. In the three seasons leading up  to the 08/09 season he played in 55, 48, 57 games. Given that track record mixed with his his massive size, don't you think he'd have to prove healthy as opposed to the other way around?

Yao Ming has returned from his past injuries and played a very high level ... so yes, given the number of seasons which ended prematurely, Yao has to prove that he can stay healthy but not necessarily his performance level while fit (which has been a constant).

In summary, I don't know whether Yao can last the year but if fit I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt performance wise until proven (on the floor) to the contrary.

----------------------------------------

I expect Yao's to age badly as a combination of size + unfortunate injuries ... but I'm hopeful he can squeeze out another couple of years at a high level.

But is hope the reason you're giving him the benefit of the doubt when voting?

Sure -- I don't like penciling players out because of injuries which haven't happened yet. Same outlook for everyone.

But if I met you at a bar, and offered you a 20 dollar bet on if Yao would be healthy come playoff timie, would you take it?

I don't want to be grim either, but to be fair to both owners I have to vote on what I think the more likely situation is. And I think its more likely than not that Yao will not be able to finish the season healthy.

EDIT: That being said, I don't plan on voting until 5.

[nickagneta]

Two interesting tidbits out of "real life" Houston today:

1.  Houston offered Dampier a two year deal.  If Daryl Morey thinks he can still play, he can play;

2.  Here's Houston's plan for Yao:

The Rockets plan to limit center Yao Ming to 24 minutes per game this season.

There will be no exceptions, once the All-Star center reaches his limit he'll be removed from the game.

"Twenty-four is his number all year," trainer Keith Jones said. "Playoffs come, things could change. We're trying to get him through April.

"We're trying to give him the best chance to play the whole season by limiting stress. Even practices, if we play on Monday and play again on Wednesday, can he practice on Tuesday? No. He'll practice, but he won't scrimmage."

Yao also is likely to be held out of the second half of back-to-backs.

24 minutes per game, "all year".  Why?  Because Houston's training staff is "trying to get him through April".  That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement of Yao's health.  In fact, it sounds like the Rockets are very, very concerned that Yao's health isn't going to get better during the course of the year at all.

Glad I brought this up yesterday. Hopefully people can now understand what I was talking about with the structural integrity of the injury and the long term prognosis of getting worse as the season went along, not better.

[Donoghus]

I noticed these questions weren't answered, so I figured I'd repost them:

How many minutes is Calderon playing?

How do you like the Rose vs. Willie Green matchup?

Who initiates your offense when Calderon is on the bench?

What present point guards in the NBA do you think are worse defenders than Calderon?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ntFroiHOA

Why don't you tell these folks why you've been ducking me?

I'm not ducking.  I actually have stuff to get done in the outside world like find a full-time job so I can't be on top of everything at every minute here.  

I think Who was pretty right on when he said 30-32 minutes.  I think, on occasion, he can up it a bit more.  He's just two seasons removed from averaging 34.3 mpg althogh I certainly don't want that on a nightly basis.  Ideally, probably around 30ish.

I don't think Green-Rose is the worst of matchups. Not ideal, either.  I'd concede that. Once again, it will help be facilited by my help defense.  You might see Johnson/Mbah a Moute out there in some of those minutes.  Plus you're still gonna have some sort of twin tower combo in the paint to make things more difficult. I still like my team defense.

In regards to initiating the offense when Calderon is out, I think you'll see my wings take more charge in running the offense. Green will contribute also but I could forsee Casspi on the wing working with the big guys. I know rookies are the big wildcard in this game but I also think Wes Johnson could help facilitate the offense Who touched on it before but we'd be running things through the post.  Again, this is all in limited minutes.  When Rose is out and I'm sure he's gonna be out at some point, I think Green-Teague would be just fine.  

Yes, its been established that Calderon isn't all-world defense.  I've also made it known that its not as lopsided as you make it out to be.  Not sure what else you want me to say here.  There are plenty of PGs in the league that play better defense.  I also think that Calderon's playmaking abilities on the offensive end are being slighted here and I think that's what closes the Rose-Calderon gap a bit.

[Donoghus]

Two interesting tidbits out of "real life" Houston today:

1.  Houston offered Dampier a two year deal.  If Daryl Morey thinks he can still play, he can play;

2.  Here's Houston's plan for Yao:

The Rockets plan to limit center Yao Ming to 24 minutes per game this season.

There will be no exceptions, once the All-Star center reaches his limit he'll be removed from the game.

"Twenty-four is his number all year," trainer Keith Jones said. "Playoffs come, things could change. We're trying to get him through April.

"We're trying to give him the best chance to play the whole season by limiting stress. Even practices, if we play on Monday and play again on Wednesday, can he practice on Tuesday? No. He'll practice, but he won't scrimmage."

Yao also is likely to be held out of the second half of back-to-backs.

24 minutes per game, "all year".  Why?  Because Houston's training staff is "trying to get him through April".  That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement of Yao's health.  In fact, it sounds like the Rockets are very, very concerned that Yao's health isn't going to get better during the course of the year at all.

Glad I brought this up yesterday. Hopefully people can now understand what I was talking about with the structural integrity of the injury and the long term prognosis of getting worse as the season went along, not better.

Shockingly, I don't see this as fact and I don't see Houston's training staff necessarily agreeing with that POV.  And those guys have medical degrees.

[StartOrien]

For those who missed it, I kinda gave a breakdown on my matchups on page 3 of this thread. It was brilliant.

[Donoghus]

For those who missed it, I kinda gave a breakdown on my matchups on page 3 of this thread. It was brilliant.

Sorry that your matchup is getting buried a bit, S.O.

[StartOrien]

For those who missed it, I kinda gave a breakdown on my matchups on page 3 of this thread. It was brilliant.

Sorry that your matchup is getting buried a bit, S.O.

This 1 seed does not mind that his 1-4 matchup is getting buried 

Plus your guys matchup is a really good one, and rather interesting. From an entertainment stand point alone, I def prefer the way things are going.

[Who]

On Yao's health, I'll be giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise (on the court).

I expect Yao to have 2-4 good years left in him before he falls apart.

When Yao's own team doesn't even have confidence that he can survive the regular season, how much benefit of the doubt does he deserve?  And what level of play do you expect him at?  2009 production?  Better?  Worse?

Until proven otherwise ... I'm going to go with 2008/09 performance level.

I do not expect Yao to start the season at that level but he may finish the year there.

Isn't this backwards though? He missed an entire season. In the three seasons leading up  to the 08/09 season he played in 55, 48, 57 games. Given that track record mixed with his his massive size, don't you think he'd have to prove healthy as opposed to the other way around?

Yao Ming has returned from his past injuries and played a very high level ... so yes, given the number of seasons which ended prematurely, Yao has to prove that he can stay healthy but not necessarily his performance level while fit (which has been a constant).

In summary, I don't know whether Yao can last the year but if fit I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt performance wise until proven (on the floor) to the contrary.

----------------------------------------

I expect Yao's to age badly as a combination of size + unfortunate injuries ... but I'm hopeful he can squeeze out another couple of years at a high level.

But is hope the reason you're giving him the benefit of the doubt when voting?

Sure -- I don't like penciling players out because of injuries which haven't happened yet. Same outlook for everyone.

But if I met you at a bar, and offered you a 20 dollar bet on if Yao would be healthy come playoff timie, would you take it?

I don't want to be grim either, but to be fair to both owners I have to vote on what I think the more likely situation is. And I think its more likely than not that Yao will not be able to finish the season healthy.

I wouldn't make the bet either way. Not for Yao staying healthy or Yao getting injured.

-----------------------------------------------

You should vote on how view the situation and so should everyone else.

I was describing how I am treating the situation - I am giving Yao the benefit of the doubt. 

-----------------------------------------------

The likelihood of Yao being injured versus not.

I agree, I think Yao is more likely than not to pick up an injury than make it through the season (play 75-82 games _ playoffs). I got two problems from here

(1) The injury -- if Yao does get injured, does that injury happen early in the season? middle of the season? Does it keep him out for a month or two?

Or, is it another severe season ending injury which takes away the rest of his season? Or is it a smaller injury that happens late in the regular season or in the playoffs? That stops him from being in the playoffs.

That is a lot of unknowns ... and let's remember Yao is not a certainty (at least I don't think he is) to get injured in the first place ... nevermind the exact moment, the playoffs, that we are discussing here.

(2) On my treatment of player injuries ... for me to write someone off due to injury ... I need to view it as an overwhelmingly likely event, a near certainty (say 85%), rather than just more likely than not (say 55%). 

In Yao's case, I don't. I'm not there yet. I'm not at a place where I think it's a near certainty that he misses the playoffs.

I need to see on the court and evaluate his performance / health before I get anywhere near the view point.

[StartOrien]

Video of Dwight Howard straight WORKING Tim Duncan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNBVlc8eQBg