How is my Pick 2 team?

[wdleehi]

Jeff Green is an abomination in terms of defense and rebounding as a PF in the NBA ... and frankly, he doesn't contribute enough offensively to make up for those negatives.

In contrast, he is an above average player in those areas as a small forward. He does lose some of his offensive value at SF because he loses the quickness advantage he has as a quick four. His post game becomes an option but there is still a significant loss in his ability to create his own shot.

His posting ability as a SF works nicely with the jump shooting offense of Bosh.  In both cases, defenders are out of their usual role. 

Or they can switch, but then Green has the speed advantage again and Bosh has a size advantage. 

[indeedproceed]

With just the Bosh upgrade. 


Throw in the upgrades at the other positions, the record keep going up.

Where are the other upgrades though? You lost McGee, and replaced him with either Kris Humphries (6'9 in shoes) or Greg Monroe (solid prospect, but still, just a prospect right now). You replaced Nick Young with James Harden (which I'm inclined to call an upgrade..but maybe someone more familiar with Harden's game can elaborate), and and you replaced Kirk Hinrich with Steve Blake.

I think that you put the Wizards in a significantly better position long-term, but I wonder how much better they got in the short term.

Throw in the larger growth potential of this team, and the future is up. 

In DC, many say the team has one starter and a bunch of bench players.  That is not the case for TheWiz. 

That I agree with.

[Rondo2287]

Central

Chicago:
Derrick Rose
Marco Belinelli
Mike Miller
Carlos Boozer
Marcin Gortat

Sixth Men: Jamal Crawford, Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf
Role Players: Tracy McGrady, Francisco Elson
Bench Warmers: Michael Redd, Brian Scalabrine,

Milwaukee:
PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: Landry Fields
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Serge Ibaka
C: A Bogut

Sixth Men: Reggie Williams, Jerryd Bayless, Tyler Hansbrough
Role Players: Drew Gooden, DeShawn Stevenson
Bench Warmers: Omer Asik, Shawne Williams

Indiana:
PG: George Hill
SG: Shawn Marion
SF: Danny Granger
PF: Tyrus Thomas
C: Andrew Bynum

Sixth Men: Marcus Camby, Goran Dragic, Mickael Pietrus
Role players: Jared Dudley, Erick Dampier
Bench Warmers: Lance Stephenson, Joey Dorsey

Detroit:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Rodney Stuckey
SF: Dorell Wright
PF: Kevin Love
C: Darko Milicic

Sixth Men: Daniel Gibson, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Amir Johnson
Role Players: Reggie Evans, Semih Erden
Bench Warmers: Sebastian Telfair. Christian Eyenga

Overall Rankings
1) Chicago**
2) Milwaukee**
3) Indiana
4) Detroit
**-Playoff team

Thoughts: Chicago is a flawed team in a lot of ways. Their defense is going to be atrocious..just absolutely bad. Their offense is less versatile on the Pick 2 team than it is in reality,  and without Joakim Noah, they’re significantly worse as a team defensive unit. But, they’ve still got the best low post scorer in the conference, and the best player/point guard in the conference, and they’ve surrounded him with shooters and scorers off the bench.  

Milwaukee I think is just an inspired tough team that is going to give everyone fits and make you the fan reconsider what words like “beauty” and “rainbows” mean.  I think their defense is the toughest in the league, and the grind it out games they’ll play will allow their scorers time to figure things out.

Indiana Is a team that I’m having trouble figuring out. I really like Danny Granger and I’m a fan of a lot of Indiana’s rotation players (Hill, Dragic, Dudley, Camby), and in a league (as in the pick 2) that seems like it is continuously trying to pass off power forwards as centers without repercussion, Andrew Bynum and Camby will present real matchup problems, while workers like Jared Dudley make every team continue to work, even while the starters rest. The thing that worries me though is that I don’t like any of their distributors. George Hill is 60th out of 64 ranked PG’s in terms of assist ratio (% of made assists while on the floor), while Goran Dragic is 42nd. Danny Granger isn’t any better, so what worries me is that without a real facilitator on offense, Indiana won’t be able to take advantage of their real options on offense.

Detroit just isn’t with the rest of the division, talent wise. I think they’ve got a really good base with Kevin Love as the centerpiece, but they need a better scorer (or even scoring prospect), because Love while a gifted rebounder isn’t a guy you want being your primary scorer. Rodney Stuckey is one of my least favorite players in the league too, because the guy can’t really shoot, but he can’t really pass, and while he can score, he’s not the guy you want right behind Kevin Love (or even ahead of him). I think this team is a real leader and scorer away from a playoff spot, but at presently constituted, they’re waiting for next year.

Pick 2 Draft Success
-I define 'Pick 2 Success' by how well you addressed the flaws left in your roster after your two keepers were selected, and if your team was constructed using a clear coherent plan for success.

1) Milwaukee
2) Indiana
3) Detroit
4) Chicago

Thoughts: Milwaukee’s current emotional leader is Brandon Jennings. They’re a defense-first team littered with poor defenders. I think Milwaukee’s acquisition of Serge Ibaka and Landry Fields immediately improved that situation, and set the tone early with putting defense first and foremost. Milwaukee got younger and older at the same time too, because while beyond Fields and Ibaka they also added a 24 yr old pass first starting pg, and a few key rotation players that are all around 22-24 years old. On top of that, they’re my team, so if I think I did the best job, and you disagree, write your own darn writeup.

Indiana, although I don’t like their choices for points of swingman rotations, has made Indiana one or two players away from a real exciting team, possibly a contender in a year or two. They’ve got the bench, they’ve got the big man, they’ve got the scoerer…they’ve got everything they need except for the right wing and point. Good team, but maybe a little ambitious in the ‘outside the box’ construction.

Detroit to me had the toughest job of anyone in this draft. They’re stuck with keeping role players past their time, or young players with a low ceiling. None of it looked to be too great. They managed to get Kevin Love, who looks like he is not only a perennial All-Star in the making, but he is also a guy who can remain passionate in a rebuilding situation, instilling the right kind of tone for a team that will take a year or two of maturing to come together. They also picked up solid role players in Mike Conley Jr, Dorrell Wright, and LRMAM. They still need more, but that right there is a good place to start.

Not sure how a team with Gortat, Turiaf and Maggette make the playoffs, they are bums

[indeedproceed]

Not sure how a team with Gortat, Turiaf and Maggette make the playoffs, they are bums

I will say this: I do not feel bad at all about criticizing Gortat and Maggette in your lineups this summer. At the time, you were perfectly rational in your arguments, but on the actual performance..Maggette has disappointed, and Gortat has underperformed from where I think a lot of people (myself included..as long as it wasn't during the playoff matchups) he is capable of.

EDIT: actually as a starter in Milwaukee this season, Maggette is shooting 50% from the field, 42% from 3, and 100 % from being bald. Consider me surprised.

[Who]

Chicago:
Derrick Rose
Marco Belinelli
Mike Miller
Carlos Boozer
Marcin Gortat

Sixth Men: Jamal Crawford, Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf
Role Players: Tracy McGrady, Francisco Elson
Bench Warmers: Michael Redd, Brian Scalabrine

With the exception of Corey Maggette, I really like what Chicago has done.

A quality defensive wing and floor spacer in his place and I think Chicago are in business.

How much of an impact do you think losing Joakim Noah has?

Marcin Gortat is a very good replacement ... there is a loss there for Chicago but Gortat will do a very good job limiting that drop off.

The biggest downgrade here for Chicago is Noah's ability to play more minutes than Gortat. Based on what I have seen so far from Gortat in extended minutes ... I think he can play at a high level for 25-28 minutes, or, with some drop off, can give you 30-34 minutes a night. In contrast, Noah can go full tilt for 36-40 minutes a night. Vastly superior stamina.

Marcin Gortat will give Chicago a tougher man-to-man defensive player in the paint and a very good team defender albeit not as good as Joakim Noah. Doesn't have the quickness or defensive range of Noah.

Joakim Noah is a much superior rebounder. His quickness, agility and stamina make him a more difficult player to keep off the glass. Gortat does a wonderful job on the boards in short minutes but seems to experience a drop off as his minutes rise.

Offensively, Gortat sets sturdier screens and is just as effective a finisher on the pick and roll. Noah is excellent in transition whereas Gortat is simply good. Noah is a very good passer and decision maker while Gortat is far more limited and best kept away from making decisions (easy to do at his position). Gortat is a better shot-creator in the post while Noah has more of a face up game (neither should be shot-creators, Noah does give Chicago a small outlet late in shot clocks when truly desperate though).

There will be a loss here for Chicago but with Gortat picking up 32-34 of Noah's minutes ... I think they have covered themselves well.

[wdleehi]

With just the Bosh upgrade. 


Throw in the upgrades at the other positions, the record keep going up.

Where are the other upgrades though? You lost McGee, and replaced him with either Kris Humphries (6'9 in shoes) or Greg Monroe (solid prospect, but still, just a prospect right now). You replaced Nick Young with James Harden (which I'm inclined to call an upgrade..but maybe someone more familiar with Harden's game can elaborate), and and you replaced Kirk Hinrich with Steve Blake.

I think that you put the Wizards in a significantly better position long-term, but I wonder how much better they got in the short term.

Throw in the larger growth potential of this team, and the future is up. 

In DC, many say the team has one starter and a bunch of bench players.  That is not the case for TheWiz. 

That I agree with.

Nick Young is a shooter who is allergic to defense. 

A teacher I work with has season tickets to the Wiz.  He tells me he watches the pre-game.  Young and Blatche are out there just firing up shots from the sames spots outside and playing.  Both are Gilbert guys.  Gilbert is who they learned how the NBA is played from. 



I do agree Blake is a downgrade in talent from Hinrich, but on TheWiz, there is less of a need for the backup PG to be a SG.  We just want someone who can run an offense and work with Wall on how to be a PG in the NBA.  We figured a successful backup PG with limited physical abilities would have a great understanding on what it takes to succeed to your maximum potential.  While we would have liked to keep Hinrich, a starting level PG, other positions were more important at the time. 

[indeedproceed]

With just the Bosh upgrade. 


Throw in the upgrades at the other positions, the record keep going up.

Where are the other upgrades though? You lost McGee, and replaced him with either Kris Humphries (6'9 in shoes) or Greg Monroe (solid prospect, but still, just a prospect right now). You replaced Nick Young with James Harden (which I'm inclined to call an upgrade..but maybe someone more familiar with Harden's game can elaborate), and and you replaced Kirk Hinrich with Steve Blake.

I think that you put the Wizards in a significantly better position long-term, but I wonder how much better they got in the short term.

Throw in the larger growth potential of this team, and the future is up. 

In DC, many say the team has one starter and a bunch of bench players.  That is not the case for TheWiz. 

That I agree with.

Nick Young is a shooter who is allergic to defense. 

A teacher I work with has season tickets to the Wiz.  He tells me he watches the pre-game.  Young and Blatche are out there just firing up shots from the sames spots outside and playing.  Both are Gilbert guys.  Gilbert is who they learned how the NBA is played from. 



I do agree Blake is a downgrade in talent from Hinrich, but on TheWiz, there is less of a need for the backup PG to be a SG.  We just want someone who can run an offense and work with Wall on how to be a PG in the NBA.  We figured a successful backup PG with limited physical abilities would have a great understanding on what it takes to succeed to your maximum potential.  While we would have liked to keep Hinrich, a starting level PG, other positions were more important at the time. 

Well I  mean, basically it comes down to defense (lets forget Charlotte for a second).

In your starting 5, you've got Wall (skills to be a plus defender, but as far as being an impact player..not there yet), Harden (not a good defender), Green (good defender on a lot of 3's and 4's), Bosh (a good defender, but not an impact player on that end), and Kris Humphries or Greg Monroe (both very poor defenders as the best option at the 5..more on them later)

Off the bench you've got Butler and Blake, who are both acceptable options, but you also have Wright as your primary guy in the paint..and he's not.

With a year and the maturation of Greg Monroe or new-found health of Greg Oden, your defensive potential changes considerably..but as presently constituted, you have no defensive anchor.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Green (good defender on a lot of 3's and 4's)

Jeff Green is a surprisingly poor defender. (Or anyway I was surprised given his high effort and length.)

And, only loosely related: Synergy's up to the moment list of the NBA's five worst defenders judged by points per possession (minimum 300 minutes plays): 1. J.R. Smith, 2. Ramon Sessions, 3. Daniel Gibson, 4. Marco Belinelli, 5. Nic Batum.

Very surprised to see Batum on that list. Have the Trailblazers been playing him out of position? The consequence of no help defense? Is he gassed?

[indeedproceed]

Green (good defender on a lot of 3's and 4's)

Jeff Green is a surprisingly poor defender. (Or anyway I was surprised given his high effort and length.)

And, only loosely related: Synergy's up to the moment list of the NBA's five worst defenders judged by points per possession (minimum 300 minutes plays): 1. J.R. Smith, 2. Ramon Sessions, 3. Daniel Gibson, 4. Marco Belinelli, 5. Nic Batum.

Very surprised to see Batum on that list. Have the Trailblazers been playing him out of position? The consequence of no help defense? Is he gassed?

I'm also very surprised to see that.

[Who]

IP's Playoff Teams In The East:

(Seed, Team)
1, Miami
2, Chicago
3, New York
4, Orlando
5, Boston
6, Milwaukee
7, Atlanta
8, Indiana

I have seven of those eight teams but I am undecided on the final playoff team.

Still undecided on Orlando and Washington ... as my eight seed.

I'd also love to know what Boston intends to do with their lineup because it'll greatly effect their seed.

[indeedproceed]

IP's Playoff Teams In The East:

(Seed, Team)
1, Miami
2, Chicago
3, New York
4, Orlando
5, Boston
6, Milwaukee
7, Atlanta
8, Indiana

I have seven of those eight teams but I am undecided on the final playoff team.

Still undecided on Orlando and Washington ... as my eight seed.

I'd also love to know what Boston intends to do with their lineup because it'll greatly effect their seed.

As long as you got Milwaukee in there. They're going to be the eventual champion.

[Roy H.]

Not sure how a team with Gortat, Turiaf and Maggette make the playoffs, they are bums

I will say this: I do not feel bad at all about criticizing Gortat and Maggette in your lineups this summer. At the time, you were perfectly rational in your arguments, but on the actual performance..Maggette has disappointed, and Gortat has underperformed from where I think a lot of people (myself included..as long as it wasn't during the playoff matchups) he is capable of.

EDIT: actually as a starter in Milwaukee this season, Maggette is shooting 50% from the field, 42% from 3, and 100 % from being bald. Consider me surprised.

I'm very surprised by how much criticism Gortat has gotten.  The guy is putting up about 12/9 over the past two months in Phoenix, and is playing very good (and physical) defense.  What's not to like?

The drop-off from Noah to Gortat is not all that great, despite Noah's over-inflated reputation.

[Who]

Green (good defender on a lot of 3's and 4's)

Jeff Green is a surprisingly poor defender. (Or anyway I was surprised given his high effort and length.

Jeff Green has a standing reach of 8 foot 7 which is below average for a small forward. Nevermind a power forward.

His lack of physical size both in terms of length and heft makes it very difficult for him to be an effective man-to-man defender as a power forward.

In terms of team defense, Jeff Green is a very good help defender away from the rim (transition defense, pick and roll defense, switches 1-4, closing out on shooters, other defensive rotations) but very poor on interior help defense.

[The Walker Wiggle]

IP's Playoff Teams In The East:

(Seed, Team)
1, Miami
2, Chicago
3, New York
4, Orlando
5, Boston
6, Milwaukee
7, Atlanta
8, Indiana

I have seven of those eight teams but I am undecided on the final playoff team.

Still undecided on Orlando and Washington ... as my eight seed.

I'd also love to know what Boston intends to do with their lineup because it'll greatly effect their seed.

As long as you got Milwaukee in there. They're going to be the eventual champion.

I have to admit I've enjoyed seeing you sell a team built on defense, efficiency and rebounding.

I'm not sure the Pick Two Bucks compare favorably to the CB Draft Bucs who narrowly earned the 8th seed and were blown out in the first round.

[indeedproceed]

Not sure how a team with Gortat, Turiaf and Maggette make the playoffs, they are bums

I will say this: I do not feel bad at all about criticizing Gortat and Maggette in your lineups this summer. At the time, you were perfectly rational in your arguments, but on the actual performance..Maggette has disappointed, and Gortat has underperformed from where I think a lot of people (myself included..as long as it wasn't during the playoff matchups) he is capable of.

EDIT: actually as a starter in Milwaukee this season, Maggette is shooting 50% from the field, 42% from 3, and 100 % from being bald. Consider me surprised.

I'm very surprised by how much criticism Gortat has gotten.  The guy is putting up about 12/9 over the past two months in Phoenix, and is playing very good (and physical) defense.  What's not to like?

The drop-off from Noah to Gortat is not all that great, despite Noah's over-inflated reputation.

You're just saying he's over-inflated because you didn't think of trading Amar'e Stoudemire for him first.