How is my Pick 2 team?

[Fafnir]

I think Gortat is an Anderson Varejao level player, an elite role player.

That's really all you need from your C when you have Boozer/Rose.

[Edgar]

I think Gortat is an Anderson Varejao level player, an elite role player.

That's really all you need from your C when you have Boozer/Rose.

mmmm... hes Za Za

[Redz]

I think Gortat is an Anderson Varejao level player, an elite role player.

That's really all you need from your C when you have Boozer/Rose.

I can live with that.

[Redz]

I think Gortat is an Anderson Varejao level player, an elite role player.

That's really all you need from your C when you have Boozer/Rose.

mmmm... hes Za Za

ok, now I'm insulted 

[Edgar]

I think Gortat is an Anderson Varejao level player, an elite role player.

That's really all you need from your C when you have Boozer/Rose.

mmmm... hes Za Za

ok, now I'm insulted 

from 4 years ago?

[Redz]

I think Gortat is an Anderson Varejao level player, an elite role player.

That's really all you need from your C when you have Boozer/Rose.

mmmm... hes Za Za

ok, now I'm insulted 

from 4 years ago?

no, i'm only recently insulted   

[slamtheking]

TP to everyone that offered some feedback on the Spur(ned).

[action781]

Updated Pick 2 Blazers:

PG: Mo(The cancer) Williams
SG: Wesley(Will KC ever get me in one of these drafts) Matthews
SF: Tayshaun(The Fresh)Prince
PF: LaMarcus(Why did my mom have to ruin a perfectly good name like Marcus by putting La in front of it) Aldridge
C: Kendrick(You don't want to meet me in a dark alley) Perkins

Bench: Ersan(IP convinced me how good he was in the CB Draft) Ilyasova

I'd like to finally speak out about my thoughts on this.  During the CB Draft, I feel like some young players, specifically Ilyasova, Batum, and Casspi were very highly praised.  I had absolutely no idea how people had such strong opinions on these players, but everybody seemed very confidently high on them.  I assumed people watched League Pass way more than I did, because I had seen them each play maybe once or twice in fairly limited minutes to not gather much of an impression on them.

After seeing them more and paying more attention to them this season (specifically Batum and Casspi), I feel like my original thoughts have been reinforced this season - they are all merely serviceable/solid role players.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I think some of us have been bullied in these drafts by some posters to thinking some of these players are more than they are.

It depends on what your expectations are.  Batum, for instance, is a guy who can max out as a less crazy Ron Artest / more athletic Shane Battier.  That's a very valuable player, I think.  It doesn't make him a superstar, but it does make him somebody worth praising.  The Blazers, Nuggets, and a lot of other actual NBA teams put a very high value on him.

Batum has all-star talent, its a matter of whether or not he realizes his potential.

All-star talent?  So what all-star do you feel like is his ceiling?  He will never even come close to as good as any of this year's all stars.  Not even close.

I've paid a lot of attention to Batum this year because I have him as a very cheap keeper in a fantasy basketball league.  I agree with Roy that Batum can "max out" as a less crazy Artest (of maybe a few yrs ago, Batum won't touch Artest's prime), more athletic Battier, but most probably IMO a better shooting Ariza.  That's "max out" - not where he currently is.  So yeah, he has the potential to max out as a very valuable player.  But in the present?  I've watched him a lot this year and he just kind of seems like ... there a lot of the time.

[Edgar]

I think Gortat is an Anderson Varejao level player, an elite role player.

That's really all you need from your C when you have Boozer/Rose.

mmmm... hes Za Za

ok, now I'm insulted 

from 4 years ago?

no, i'm only recently insulted   

funny

[indeedproceed]

Regarding Ilyasova, and why I thought he'd do better this year than he has, and why where Nick has him is actually a good place:

1) He's young (23), and he seemed to make leaps and bounds in progress from his rookie campaign to his sophomore campaign. Since there was 1 season in between the two which he spent in Europe, it would make a lot of sense that he would further improve this year.

2) He hustles his turkish delights off. He's a stretch 4 that up until this season rebounded at a very good rate. He also is very good at getting steals, and his length+mobility make him a great addition when facing a team with a mobile stretch 4 of their own.

3) He was a career 35% 3pt shooter until this season, and those numbers usually go up. While he possessed absolutely no back to the basket game, he was able to finish and stretch the defense. One could anticipate his overall FG% going up and his 3pt% going up this season.

4) Very good at taking charges, which means he's not afraid of contact, and might lend a fearlessness on defense at the 4, that might compensate for some of his lack of bulk.

Reasons why I was wrong:

None of that happened.

I thought 13 points and 10 boards in 30 mpg was a realistic expectation for Ilyasova. In 25 mins he's getting 9.6 pts and 6 boards. A lot of that is due to his 28% 3pt %, which I cannot explain.

Since the beginning of the new year, he's averaging 12 pts, 7rbs, and 1.5 steals in 28 mins per contest as the anointed starter. He's shooting 50% from the field and 31% from 3, with 90% from the line. He's also committing 3.6 fouls in that time. He's also shooting less than 2 3's a contest.

Right now, he's a heck of a 6th man if you're going to play him over 25 mpg, which right now it looks like Nick will.

[Atzar]

Anybody want to take another shot at my team thus far?

Devin Harris
Joe Johnson
Trevor Ariza
Ryan Anderson
Al Horford

Ben Gordon

Where do you see this team maxing out?  Can they contend, or are they just a perennial playoff afterthought?

[indeedproceed]

Anybody want to take another shot at my team thus far?

Devin Harris
Joe Johnson
Trevor Ariza
Ryan Anderson
Al Horford

Ben Gordon

Where do you see this team maxing out?  Can they contend, or are they just a perennial playoff afterthought?

Devin Harris and the current mix alone to me makes them comperable to the Hawks..I don't know if you're better..Ariza is uber athletic, but so is Marvin Williams...Ryan Andersen is a better spot shooter than Josh Smith, but he's not nearly the defensive equal..Ben Gordon vs Jamal Crawford I'm calling a wash, but Gordon is the higher impact guy..yet I doubt you'll use him more than 20 minutes a contest.

Hard to pin down right now.

[Edgar]

Anybody want to take another shot at my team thus far?

Devin Harris
Joe Johnson
Trevor Ariza
Ryan Anderson
Al Horford

Ben Gordon

Where do you see this team maxing out?  Can they contend, or are they just a perennial playoff afterthought?

Nice backourt because ariza can cover the other two
and gordon
very offensive a little small in my taste

Anderson is not the player hes glorified to be between
the league and i am sure there were better options but i understand him as a good 3 pt shooter that today in particular stinked.
Horford is a beast an will help any team
no matter what they play, that includes soccer.

.500 team or little better

[Atzar]

Anybody want to take another shot at my team thus far?

Devin Harris
Joe Johnson
Trevor Ariza
Ryan Anderson
Al Horford

Ben Gordon

Where do you see this team maxing out?  Can they contend, or are they just a perennial playoff afterthought?

Devin Harris and the current mix alone to me makes them comperable to the Hawks..I don't know if you're better..Ariza is uber athletic, but so is Marvin Williams...Ryan Andersen is a better spot shooter than Josh Smith, but he's not nearly the defensive equal..Ben Gordon vs Jamal Crawford I'm calling a wash, but Gordon is the higher impact guy..yet I doubt you'll use him more than 20 minutes a contest.

Hard to pin down right now.

This is my self-assessment.

Personally, I think the biggest dropoff from the real team to my team is clearly at PF.  Ryan Anderson will give Horford space to work inside, but you're right - he's a liability on defense.  I think Ariza is a better player than Marvin - more athletic, comparable as a shooter and a better defender.  Devin Harris is much, much better than Mike Bibby, and I feel that upgrade more than makes up for the ground I lost at PF.  I like Ben Gordon for this team - they make good use of a gun off the bench.  The biggest difference I see between Gordon and Crawford is that Gordon has proven to be an asset in the playoffs - he gave the Celtics a lot of problems a couple years ago.

I'd like to think that my team 1-6 is better than real Atlanta, if only marginally so.  I'll need a productive big man next - ideally it would be a hard-nosed defender who can rebound and hit an open midrange jumper.  Haslem would have been great, but Lucky beat me to him.  I'll have to think about that.

[Who]

Anybody want to take another shot at my team thus far?

Devin Harris
Joe Johnson
Trevor Ariza
Ryan Anderson
Al Horford

Ben Gordon

Where do you see this team maxing out?  Can they contend, or are they just a perennial playoff afterthought?

Not enough interior defense to contend.

A quality backup big man (preferably a shot-blocker, a legitimate center) would go a long way to improving that though. It could thrust you into that group of contending teams.

I was surprised when you passed up on Brendan Haywood to draft Ryan Anderson. 

If you had Haywood, you would be looking probably have a top 5 defensive team (two strong interior defenders with Horford and Haywood, two very talented wing defenders in JJ and Ariza and a good defensive PG -- impressive lineup/foundation) with good go-to scorers in Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Ben Gordon and Devin Harris. That would have been a very difficult team to play against in the playoffs. A legitimate contender.

If you can't find that interior defense, I would consider the Hawks team to be in a similar situation to their real life predicament. A very good team but not good enough to be a contender. Could win a playoff series but won't go much further.